Teen Wolf 1. Chapter 1

**Hey, everyone! My name is Maddie! Wow, I haven't posted anything on this site for almost a year now, but now I'm back! Yay! I've never written Teen Wolf fan fiction before and I'm OBSESSED with that show so I figured why not? I am beyond excited to start new stories. I'm going to be starting out with love stories with Stiles and an OC, Derek and an OC, and Isaac and an OC. They will be separate stories but they do eventually all tie in together. I won't be starting Derek's story until the second season. And I know that there's a bunch of stories already with Scott and Stiles having a girl best friend, but I assure you that mine is more different and I have plenty ideas for it. So... here is the first chapter of my first Teen Wolf Fan Fiction, 'Awake and Alive'! I hope you enjoy! :)**

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It was about a quarter to midnight in Beacon Hills, California, so it made perfect sense that everyone in the Henderson household was fast asleep. Plus, it was a school night so Natalie and Zach had no other choice but to be in bed. It took Zach a bit longer to fall into slumber- it was no surprise since he was a hyperactive thirteen year old boy- but once he did, he slept like a baby. As for the oldest child, she had knocked out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Natalie was snoring away in her super comfortable queen-sized bed when all of a sudden, the sound of twigs being snapped traveled to her ears. Her eyes opened up right away, mostly annoyed at the fact that whatever was making the commotion outside interrupted her peaceful slumber. She sat up and rubbed the drowsiness out of her chocolate brown doe-like eyes. She waited another minute and as soon as she realized that the noise was long gone, Natalie lowered herself back onto her bed and closed her eyes once again, slowly drifting off…

_Snap! _

Mumbling to herself angrily, Natalie ripped her blankets off her body and dragged herself to her window. She peeked out into the night only to find nothing except for the tree in her front yard, leaves, twigs, and a few of her dog Rocky's toys. As she was about to turn away, she saw two shadows flash by and disappear not even a second later.

"What the hell?" she said to herself, confused even more.

Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Natalie grabbed her black flip flops and slid them on her feet. She then searched around her room until she found her most beloved baseball bat, which she christened as Tina. No specific story behind it, Natalie just felt like the name rolled off her tongue perfectly.

She slowly opened her door and tiptoed through the halls of her house, cringing whenever the wooden floors would creak. She reached the bottom of the stairs with ease and continued to make her way towards the front door but not before accidentally banging her knee on the coffee table in the living room. Cursing to herself, she held onto her throbbing knee and waited until the pain dulled down before limping over to the door.

The cool night breeze sent shivers down her spine as she opened the door and stepped outside. Her toned arms rose up the aluminum baseball bat, preparing to attack whoever or whatever was making all of that noise. Natalie had a very strong feeling that someone was trying to break into her house, but she wasn't afraid at all to face them. Thanks to countless hours of hitting the gym and baseball practice, she had the strength, muscle, and courage to take anyone down if she had to. Tightening her grip on her bat, Natalie crept towards the porch steps when two teenage boys were suddenly hanging upside down from her roof. She screamed as soon as they came into sight, causing the boys to scream as well and fall onto the grass in front of her. Natalie groaned in annoyance when she realized that the boys were in fact her best friends, Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski.

"You stupid idiots!" Natalie yelled at them as they got up and fixed themselves, "What the hell were you guys trying to do? Give me a freakin' heart attack?!"

Stiles flailed his arms at her. "Well your phone was off so we figured this was the only way for you to come outside! And what is it with you two and bats?" He gestured to both of his best friends.

Scott started to snicker and Natalie raised an eyebrow. "What?" she asked him.

"Nice outfit," Scott chuckled, nodding his head at Natalie's sleep attire.

She wore a grey hoodie that was a size too big and black booty shorts that showed off her short yet toned legs. Her long red velvet hair was piled on top of her head in a bun that was becoming loose due to her rolling around in bed.

Natalie rolled her eyes and lowered her bat. "Well, I _was_ sleeping like a normal human being at midnight before you guys showed up and started making noise. Why the hell are you here anyways?"

"Stiles was listening in on his dad's calls and found out that two joggers found a dead body out in the woods tonight," Scott explained.

The redhead arched her brow again. "Seriously? You came over to my house and woke me up in the middle of the night just to tell me _that_?" She threw her hands up and turned to the door. "Alright, I'm going back to bed. Later-"

Stiles grabbed her hand before she could open the door. "You didn't let me finish. I was gonna say that the joggers only found half of the body."

"Only half?" Natalie perked up. Now she was intrigued. She lived for solving mysteries and she's usually good at figuring out who was behind committing crimes. That's why Scott and Stiles no longer watch crime shows with her since she guessed who the culprits were right away.

Stiles nodded his head excitedly. "Yep. So we decided that we're gonna go look for the other half right now."

The curly haired friend held his hands up in defense. "He made me go with him! I had no say in this whatsoever! Just for your information!"

Stiles shoved Scott, making Natalie chuckle. "So what do you say, Nat?" Stiles asked the redhead, "Are you in?"

No need to ask her twice. Natalie was in once he mentioned only half of the body being found. She tossed her bat up in the air and caught it with one hand. "Let's do this," she said with confidence. She started to make her way down the stairs when Scott held her back by putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're seriously gonna take that with you?" He pointed to Tina.

Natalie looked from her bat to Scott. "Yeah, why not?"

"Don't you think carrying a baseball bat is a _little_ useless for searching for a body out in the woods?" Stiles wondered, pinching the air for emphasis.

The boys' best friend gave them a look that said that they were being stupid. "We're going out in the woods in the middle of the night where some creepy guy or wild animal is out and lurking about. What else are we supposed to defend ourselves with, Scott's inhaler?"

Scott and Stiles rubbed the back of their necks and looked around. They both knew that Natalie was right- she was right pretty much all the time- but neither one of them wanted to admit it. She rolled her eyes when Stiles started whistling.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I'm taking Tina with me."

Stiles let out an exasperated sigh and flailed his arms once again. "Fine, take Tina, I don't care. Can we just go now?"

The other two laughed at their friend's eagerness and followed him to his jeep. Scott sat in the passenger seat after a couple rounds of 'rock, paper, scissors' with Natalie while said girl was sitting in the back, pouting from losing. The drive lasted only a short ten minutes before parking in front of a sign that forbad anyone to enter the preserve at that time. Not caring about what it said, the trio entered the woods, but not before Natalie jumped on Stiles's back and forced him to carry her along the way.

"We're seriously doing this?" Scott asked, unsure of the whole idea as he followed Stiles and Natalie.

"Oh come on, Scotty!" Natalie encouraged as she wrapped her arms around Stiles's neck for balance and tried to be careful not hitting her friend with her bat, "Where's you sense of adventure?"

"Yeah!" Stiles agreed, "Besides, you're the one who always bitches that nothing ever happens in this town!"

Stiles grabbed onto Natalie's thigh with one hand as he pulled a flashlight out of his pocket with the other. He flipped the switch up and light illuminated from the flashlight, giving the trio a better view of where they were heading.

"I was trying to get a good night sleep before practice tomorrow," Scott told him.

"Right, because sitting on the bench on the bench asks such a grueling effort," Stiles retorted sarcastically. The redhead on his back flicked him on the back of the head. "Ow!"

"No, because… I'm playing this year. In fact, I'm making first line."

For Scott, it wasn't just a fantasy he hoped came true- it was a goal he was determined to make happen. That boy had worked his ass off all summer on improving his lacrosse skills alongside Stiles. Even Natalie had given him some pointers to help him do better. Scott was actually feeling confident for practice and he believed he could really make first line and make a name for himself at Beacon Hills High.

He could just picture it- he was running down the field with the ball in this lacrosse stick, the whole stadium cheering him on. He threw the ball and shot it through the goal. He had just scored the winning point! All of his teammates piled on top of him in excitement. All of a sudden, they set Scott on their shoulders as they cheered. They passed by a group of girls who swooned at the new lacrosse star. The biggest smile was plastered on Scott's face and he finally felt like he was important to everyone-

"Hey, that's the spirit!" Stiles said, snapping Scott out of his fantasy, "Everyone should have a dream, even if it's an unrealistic one." Another flick to the head. "God damn!" He turned his head towards Natalie. "Stop flicking me, woman!"

"Stop being such a butthead!" Natalie hopped off of Stiles's back and clasped her hand on her other best friend's shoulder. "Well, I for one believe in you, Scotty. I know you're gonna kick some serious ass during practice tomorrow."

The curly haired boy smiled at his friend's support. "Thank you, Natalie. So when are your baseball tryouts?"

"Next Wednesday," Natalie answered, "I'm so freakin' excited for this year! State championships, here we come! Whoo!" she pumped her fist up in the air.

Stiles cocked up his eyebrow. "You stole a couple of Adderall from my jeep, didn't you?"

"No!" Natalie rolled her eyes and shoved Stiles, "Excuse me that I actually have team spirit, unlike you, Debbie Downer!"

She poked Stiles's ribcage, not expecting him to grab her by the waist and start tickling her sides. Laughter erupted from Natalie's mouth as Stiles continued to attack her. Her red velvet hair had fallen out of the hair band that was holding it up. It was now all messed up due to her thrashing around in Stiles's grasp, but the boy thought Natalie was beautiful nonetheless.

"Okay, I call truce!" Natalie laughed, struggling to break away, "Now let go of me unless you wanna get your ass kicked!" Continuing to laugh, Stiles finally let go of his best friend. The redhead had finally calmed down and she put her hair back up with the hair band around her wrist. "So Stiles, you know, just out of curiosity, which part of the body are we even looking for, anyway?" she asked after they started walking again.

Stiles was silent for a moment as he thought about Natalie's question when realization dawned on him. "Huh… I didn't even think about that." Natalie snorted.

"And, uh, what if the one who killed the body is still out here?" Scott asked as they started walking up a small hill.

"Also something I didn't think about."

Natalie rolled her eyes. She wasn't surprised that Stiles didn't really think this whole situation through. Why the hell did she even agree to go out in the forest with them? Either way, she was starting to regret her decision, and it didn't help that Stiles was leading the trio. "That sounds so promising."

"Yeah, no kidding," Scott agreed sarcastically, "It's comforting to know that you planned this up with your usual attention to details."

"I know!" the short-haired boy chuckled, finding the situation hilarious for some unknown reason.

"Dumbass," Natalie mumbled to herself.

"I heard that!"

"Good!" she called out from behind, "You were supposed to!" Stiles shook his head as he continued to walk. The two didn't even notice Scott stopping by a tree.

Placing his hands on his knees, Scott was trying to slow down his breathing pattern, but his lungs were starting to hurt from his lack of oxygen. He took his inhaler from his pocket and shook it up a few times. "Hey guys, maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one who holds the flashlight." He brought the inhaler to his mouth and puffed some air into his lungs.

Natalie stopped and turned around to make sure her best friend was okay. "You alright there, Scotty?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, thanks," Scott answered, standing straight. He gave Natalie a reassuring smile, which she returned.

The trio continued to walk until the crime scene investigation came into view. It was all blocked off with caution tape, but they could still see everything. They couldn't help but smile a little when they saw what was going down. How could they not? They were fascinated that they were actually witnessing a crime scene! Not a lot of people at their school could say they've done the same.

Not wanting to be seen, they crouched behind a log but continued to watch. Shivers went down Natalie's spine when she saw a pair of dirty bare feet sticking out of the body bag lying on the ground. Stiles mistook his best friend's shivers as a sign from the coldness of the wind so he put his arm around Natalie and rubbed his hand up and down her arm to warm her up. She turned to Stiles and smiled at his gesture as a sign of thanks, making him blush a little. It was a good thing it was nighttime so she couldn't see his cheeks turning red.

"Man, this is like an episode of 'CSI' but live!" Natalie said excitedly as she continued to watch the scene in front of her.

"Is that the second half of the body?" Scott pointed to the body bag that was now being zipped up.

"No," Stiles answered, "They would have called off the search." He stood up from their hiding spot, pulling Natalie up by her elbow. "Come on!"

Stiles ran off with Natalie hot on his tail and Scott following behind her. Scott began to slow down when he started to lose his breath and it was hard for him to keep up with Stiles and Natalie.

"Stiles! Natalie! Wait up!"

But they didn't hear him; they continued to run to the crime scene. Natalie was now trying to keep up with her hyper best friend since it was hard for her to run with sandals on. She finally got frustrated and stopped to take off her sandals. Being cautious of stepping on something sharp, wet, or painful, she started to tiptoe as quickly as she could, still following Stiles.

It took Stiles a while to realize that he had lost his two best friends behind him. He was slowing down to look behind him to look for his friends when a search dog started to bark at him ferociously. It caught Stiles off guard and he stumbled and fell on his rear. Police officers yanked the dogs back with their leashes before they could get out of control. Natalie had finally caught up to the area and she hid behind a tree so she wouldn't get caught.

"Stay right there!" Natalie heard a police officer yell at Stiles.

She heard someone clear their throat. When she turned her head, she saw Scott hiding behind a different tree a few feet from her. He gave her a look that asked what the hell was going on. All Natalie could do was shrug her shoulders and turn back to keep herself hidden.

"Hold on," she heard Stiles's father, Sheriff Stilinski say, "This little delinquent belongs to me. Do you listen in on all of my phone calls?"

"No…" Stiles answered, 'Not the boring ones."

Natalie could only imagine the look on Sheriff Stilinski's face. She couldn't help but chuckle thinking about it. All of a sudden, one of the search dogs saw her and ran over to her. it barked at her, startling her and causing her to yelp and fall down on the dirt, dropping Tina in the process. Natalie tried to hush the German Shepard as much as she could, but it was no use.

"God, I hate that dog so much!" she said to herself as she got up, brushed the dirt off her legs, and picked up Tina.

Then it dawned on her- she was no longer hiding behind the tree. Slowly, she lifted her head up to find not only Stiles and Sheriff Stilinski staring at her, but also her father, Deputy Kurt Henderson. She had completely forgotten that her father was on duty tonight, which was not a smart move on her part to come out into the forest in the middle of the night.

"Dad! Heeeyyy!" Natalie smiled sheepishly and stretched out the 'hey'. "How's it going?"

Kurt crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at his daughter. "Natalie. What did I tell you about sneaking off to check out crime scenes?"

Natalie sighed and rolled her eyes as she recited her father's order. "If it's Stiles's idea, never go through with it." Kurt nodded his head knowingly.

"I'm actually kinda hurt by that order, to be quite honest," Stiles retorted. Everyone ignored his statement.

"So where's your other usual partner in crime?" Sheriff Stilinski asked the two teenagers.

"Who, Scott?" Stiles said, "Scott's home. Said he wanted to get a good night's sleep for the first day of school." He threw his arm around Natalie's shoulders. "It's just me and Natalie… in the woods… alone."

When Sheriff Stilinski and Kurt raised their eyebrows simultaneously, Natalie smacked her forehead with her hand. "Stiles?"

"Hmm?"

"Think about what you just said and look where your arm is."

It finally hit Stiles how suggestive the situation sounded when he looked at the arm that was draped around Natalie's shoulders. Chuckling nervously, he drew his arm back and rubbed the back of his neck. As if getting caught sneaking out into the woods at night wasn't bad enough.

Sheriff Stilinski sighed and called out, "Scott! Are you out there?" Stiles and Natalie waited in suspense to see if their best friend would be caught just like they were, but all they were met with was silence. After waiting a few more moments for a response, Sheriff Stilinski turned to his son. "Alright, young man, I'm taking you back to your car and we're going to discuss a little something called 'invasion of privacy'."

Natalie watched as Sheriff Stilinski dragged Stiles away by the elbow. Her dad cleared his throat so she turned back to face him. "So… am I off the hook?"

Kurt glared at his oldest child for a moment before letting out a deep breath. "Yes, you're off the hook. But next time, I won't let you off so easy. Now have Stiles drop you off at home and get some sleep. You have school tomorrow and I don't want you complaining in the morning about how tired you are."

"Okay," Natalie replied, "Bye, Dad."

"Hey," Kurt said to her.

Natalie turned around and chuckled when her dad gave her a knowing look. She walked back over to her dad and they did their little secret handshake. They laughed for a bit after as they hugged. Natalie bid Kurt one last goodbye before following after Stiles and Sheriff Stilinski, completely forgetting about Scott, who was still standing behind the tree.

Once they had reached Stiles's jeep, Sheriff Stilinski scolded his son for a few minutes and then walked back to the crime scene. The best friends climbed into the car and drove to Natalie's house. When Stiles looked over at Natalie, she was looking down at her hands that were folded on her lap and biting her bottom lip. She didn't have to say anything for Stiles to know what she was thinking- she was worried about Scott.

"You know he's gonna be alright, Nat," Stiles told her.

"I know," she agreed, "but I feel bad that we just left him there by himself while whatever or whoever the hell killed that girl is still out there. What if that… thing attacks him and rips his head off and then we'll get in trouble because we knew he was out there but we didn't say anything and-"

"Natalie!" She stopped her rambling when Stiles shouted and placed his hand on top of hers. "Relax. It's all going to be okay. Scott's a big boy. He'll make his way back to his house safe and sound. You know, like a dog."

"Wow, dude," Natalie chuckled and shook her head, "I can't believe that _that _was your analogy."

"That's just how I roll." Stiles brushed his shoulder as if there were dirt on it. His best friend rolled her eyes and punched his arm. The jumpy teenager whined in pain and rubbed his now sore arm with only one hand on the steering wheel.

The rest of the car ride was filled with jokes, laughs, and making fun of each other. Before they knew it, they were in front of Natalie's house. Stiles parked the jeep beside the curb and turned to Natalie.

"I'm picking you up in the morning, right?" Stiles asked Natalie.

She nodded her head. "Yeah. And we gotta drop Zach off at school, too."

"Sounds like a plan."

Natalie opened the car door and stepped out of the jeep with her bat in her hand. When was at Stiles's side of the car, she bumped her fist with his. "I'll see you tomorrow, Stiles. And if you hear from Scott, let me know right away."

"I will," he promised her, "Don't worry."

Accepting that, Natalie waved goodbye to her best friend then walked to her house. As she was about to turn the doorknob, she heard Stiles call her name. Natalie turned around to see that Stiles had gotten out of his car and was now opening up his arms with a small but noticeable smirk on his face. Shaking her head and giggling, Natalie headed back over to the waiting boy.

When Natalie finally met up with Stiles, he wrapped her up in the biggest hug he could give her. She smiled to herself as she encircled his lanky but toned waist with her arms. The two stayed in that position for some minutes, just enjoying each other's warm and comfortable embrace. Their bodies swayed together, as if they were dancing to an inaudible song.

The crave for Natalie's warmth grew stronger for Stiles when the redhead pulled out of the hug. She looked up at him with sparkling brown eyes and smiled. "Goodnight, Stiles." With that, she walked back to her house."

"Goodnight, Natalie."

A sigh was released from Stiles's mouth as he watched his best friend step inside her house and shut the door behind her. Even though he knew he should be getting home now, he couldn't bring himself to leave. Instead he leaned against the jeep and kept his gaze on Natalie's house. There was just too much on the boy's mind for him to drive at the moment.

These feelings for the redhead have been stuck with Stiles for as long as the he could remember. Ever since Natalie was born, the two have always been close with each other since Kurt and Sheriff Stilinski were best friends. As the two grew older, their bond grew stronger, even when Scott came into the picture in kindergarten. Stiles's little crush bloomed when the school bully was picking on a scrawny and geeky boy so Natalie had beaten him up with no problem. The fact that she was a fearless badass was just one of the many things about her.

Over time, Stiles's infatuation with Natalie had grown into something much deeper. He didn't realize how hard he had fallen for her until his mother Claudia passed away in 2006. Stiles and his father were completely devastated over the loss and the boy turned to his best friends, mostly Natalie. Yes, Scott was there for Stiles when he was at his lowest, but Natalie was able to provide him with the emotional comfort and loving affection that Scott couldn't. When Natalie let Stiles cry on her shoulder and express his grief from losing his mother, he knew that she would always be there for him and he would never let her go.

There's no doubt that Stiles was unconditionally hooked to the redhead. But the real question is, how did she feel about him? Did she return those feelings for him? Or did she only see him as the best friend that he had been for the past sixteen years, or even like a brother? Either way, Stiles was extremely frightened to take the risk of telling Natalie how he really felt and possibly losing her. Then again, he couldn't keep those emotions all bottled up inside him and end up regretting him.

"One day, Stiles," he promised himself, "One day, she'll know."

Stiles opened the car door and sat down. After his door was shut and the keys were in the ignition, he finally drove home. It was now one thirty in the morning and he definitely needed as much sleep he could get before the first day of school.

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**And that marks the beginning of the story! Excuse me if I made an mistakes in regards of the show. I'm trying to stick all of the episodes as much as I can with my own changes. Plus, I'm looking up the scripts online and it's hard to keep track of whether it's accurate or not. But I really hope I do the show justice! PLEASE review, favorite, and follow and let me know what you think of it so far! Reviews are my motivation to keep writing because I then know if people are enjoying it or not so it's very important and helpful if you review! Also, I'm still debating if I wanna make Natalie supernatural or not. I'd have an idea of what she would be, but leave me a review or PM to give your opinion. OH! And keep an eye out for Isaac's story, 'Scars'! I'll be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I just wanna say how beyond grateful I am for the feedback I got on the first chapter of Awake and Alive! Nine reviews? That's the most I've ever gotten on the first chapter of any of my stories so thank you so much! So one of you has asked me if Ariana Grande was Natalie's face claim since the way I described her sounds like Ariana. The thing is that Natalie is a very tough and a sort of tomboy character, and I can't picture Ariana as that. If anyone has any suggestions for who should be Natalie's face claim, let me know! Here's the second chapter of Awake and Alive!**

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_Knock knock knock!_

"Natalie Angelina Henderson!" Kurt called as he knocked on his daughter's bedroom door, "Your mother and I have been calling you for ten minutes now! Are you up yet?"

There was an audible yawn from the other si of the door. "Yeah," Natalie answered groggily, "I'm getting ready right… now…"

The next thing Kurt heard was Natalie snoring again. He furrowed his eyebrows as he opened the door. When he stepped inside, he saw his daughter on her bed, tangled up in her sheets. Her eyes were closed and a tiny bit of drool dripped from the corning of her mouth. It was safe to say that it was not a pleasant sight to see Natalie Henderson in the morning. Shaking his head, Kurt pulled his arm from behind his back. In that hand was a spray bottle. He walked over to her right side of the bed, held up the spray bottle, and blasted Natalie with ice cold water.

"OH MY GOD!" Natalie jumped as the water hit her face. She scrambled to get out of the bed but she was too tangled up in her sheets so she ended up falling on the floor. As soon as she was able to get out of the mess, she bolted to her bathroom with her dad still spraying her. "Okay, I'm up! Stop it!"

"Starting to regret going out in the woods last night?" Kurt asked his daughter tauntingly when she closed her bathroom door.

"I regretted it the moment I got into Stiles's jeep!" Natalie shouted back. Kurt chuckled as he walked out of his daughter's room, letting her get ready for school.

Since Natalie had woken up later than she was supposed to, her shower only lasted for about five minutes. The hot water coming from the shower head felt amazing compared to the freezing water coming from Kurt's spray bottle. She didn't want to get out, but she was already running late. After she washed her hair and body, she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. She grabbed the fluffy purple towel from the cabinet and wrapped it around herself. She then found the hair dryer and straight iron and went to work on her red velvet hair. When the hair was dry, straight, and soft, she turned the lights off in her bathroom and went back to her bedroom.

It was a good thing that Natalie already had picked out her outfit for the day the night before since she had no time to search around her closet for something to wear. She slipped on her blue bra and matching boy shorts before putting on her denim shirt and black leggings. As she laced up her combat boots, her keeshond puppy Rocky ran into the room and jumped on her lap. Natalie glared down at her dog as he looked up at his owner innocently.

"You're really gonna make this difficult for me, aren't you?" she said to her dog. Rocky barked- more like yelped- in response. Natalie chuckled as she scratched behind Rocky's ear. Deciding that she had to finish getting ready, she picked up Rocky, placed him on her bed, and walked over to her dresser. She slid on her angel wings ring on her finger and put on her black stud earrings. She grabbed her black bandana and then walked out of her room with Rocky trailing behind.

Tying the bandana around her head, Natalie walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Zach was eating pancakes at the dinner table across from Kurt who was reading the newspaper and sipping on his cup of coffee. At the stove was Natalie's mother, Terri, fixing up another batch of pancakes for the redhead.

"Morning, family!" Natalie greeted as she walked over to the refrigerator to grab some apple juice.

Terri turned to her daughter with a plate of pancakes in her hand. "Well, good morning to you too, sleeping beauty. Nice of you to finally join us."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Well, sorry. I wasn't expecting to be as tired as I was." She sat down next to her thirteen year old brother. Zach handed her the syrup and she drowned her pancakes in the sticky sweet substance.

"That's what you get for going off with Stiles on a school night," Zach teased his sis ter. He smirked at her. "What were you two doing out there, anyway?"

"Not whatever it is you're thinking of so get your thirteen year old hormonal mind out of the gutter." Natalie cut into her pancake, stabbed it with her fork, and took a bite out of it.

"I'm sure it is." The thirteen year old started making kissing noises until Natalie pinched his arm as hard as she could. "OW!"

"Hey, play nice, you two," Terri told them, but chuckled anyway.

The siblings obeyed their mother and continued to eat their breakfast. Natalie was halfway done with her pancakes when she looked up at her dad who was still concentrating on his paper. "So, Dad-"

"No," Kurt deadpanned, not even looking up.

Baffled, Natalie's mouth gaped open. "You didn't even know what I was gonna say!"

"You were going to ask if I had new information about the body we found last night and no, I don't and even if I did, there is no way in hell I would tell you about it."

"Damn it, I hate this father/daughter telepathy thing," Natalie grumbled before finishing her apple juice.

Kurt set his paper down on the table and pointed his finger at his daughter, "I just don't want you getting caught up in a dangerous case again." Bushy eyebrows rose up when Kurt said 'again'.

"For the last time, that was Stiles's fault, not mine! He thought it would be fun to follow you guys during that car chase. What an idiot…"

Raising his cup, Kurt said, "And that's why you never follow his instincts." As he took a sip of his coffee, the Hendersons heard a car horn from outside. "Speaking of Stiles..."

Natalie took her last bite of her pancakes and stood up. "That's our cue to leave." She nudged Zach and stood up to put her dishes in the sink. Terri placed a couple of pancakes on a paper plate and handed them to her daughter. As a sign of thanks, Natalie kissed her mom on her cheek. "See you guys later!"

"Have a good day, you two!" Terri called out as her children walked out of the house.

The infamous blue jeep was settled next to the curb. Both Natalie and Zach walked over to the passenger side only for the younger Henderson to be pushed into the back before he could get shotgun.

"How come you always get to sit in the front?" Zach complained.

Stiles turned to Natalie's younger brother. "Sorry, bud. We're best friends and she's a girl so she gets special privileges."

The redhead scoffed as she sat down. "That, and I can also kick your ass if I wanted to." Dropping the plate of pancakes on Stiles's lap, she announced, "Breakfast."

The look on Stiles's face resembled one of a kid in a candy store. "Oh my god, your mom's the best!" he greedily took a huge bite out of a pancake, making Natalie roll her eyes. All of a sudden, Stiles's eyes widened as he remembered what had happened that morning. "Oh! By the way, Scott texted me earlier."

Now Natalie's own brown eyes grew. Well, as much as they could because her eyes were already big in shape. "He did?! Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Stiles assured his best friend, making her sigh in relief. "But he said that something bit him last night."

"Ouch," Natalie cringed a little, "That sucks. What was it, do you know?"

Stiles shrugged his shoulders. "No clue. He said he'd tell us when we see him at school."

This will probably be one of the only times in Natalie or Stiles's lives when they actually want to go to school. Did Scott actually find the other half of the body? Lord only knows, and the pair was more anxious to get to their other best friend.

After Zach was dropped off at his middle school, Stiles drove as fast as he could to the school without breaking any laws. Thank god that finding a parking spot was actually easy that day because neither of the two wanted to deal with it. They found Scott hopping off his bike as a fancy looking Porsche parked next to him. Natalie frowned as the captain of the lacrosse team, Jackson Whittemore, got out of the car, hitting Scott with the door in the process.

Jackson glared at Scott. "Dude, watch the paintwork."

When Jackson went over to his friends after leaving a defeated-looking Scott, he passed by Stiles and Natalie. The jock shot them a nasty look. "Stilinski, Strawberry Shortcake."

"Bite me," Natalie shot back. All Jackson responded with was a smirk then he walked away. Huffing to herself, Natalie grabbed Stiles's hand and ran over to Scott. "Yo, Scotty!"

Said boy turned around and waved to his best friends when he saw them. As soon as they reached him, Stiles was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he said, "So, let's see this."

Scott looked around to see if anyone was watching them. All clear. He slightly lifted the hem of his shirt, revealing a white bandage with blood stained in the shaped of a crescent. Both Stiles and Natalie gawked at the wound in fascination.

"Whoa!" Stiles gasped. He reached out to touch it but then Natalie slapped his hand away. "Ow!" Caressing his hand, he glared at Natalie. "You're really violent, you know that?"

"Tell me something I don't know," she replied nonchalantly. She turned to Scott. "But seriously, Scott, that looks pretty nasty. So, do you know what bit you?"

"It was too dark to see very much," Scott said as he led the trio towards the school, "but I'm pretty sure it was a wolf." Natalie snorted, making Scott furrow his eyebrows at her. "What?"

"A wolf bit you?" Stiles said. He shook his head. "Nope. Not a chance."

"I heard a wolf howling."

"No you didn't."

"What do you mean, I didn't?" Scott asked, "How do you know what I heard?"

"Because California hasn't had wolves in like sixty years," Stiles told him.

"Really?" Scott wondered.

"Yes, really." Stiles clasped his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Look, there's no wolf in California."

Natalie shrugged her shoulders. "Well, a bear or a mountain lion maybe, but definitely not a wolf. I think the only thing as close to a wolf Beacon Hills can get is Rocky, but even he doesn't bite people."

Huh. Scott could've sworn that the bite mark on his torso resembled a wolf's. Maybe the adrenaline was so high the night before that he was imagining things.

"Well, Scott spoke, "if you two don't believe me about the wolf, then you're definitely not going to believe me when I tell you I saw the body."

Both of his best friends stopped in their tracks and turned to him with wide eyes.

"Dude, no way!" Natalie exclaimed. Based on her reaction, Scott felt sort of pleased with himself.

"You what?" Stiles piped up, "Are you kidding me?"

"I wish," Scott cringed as he thought about the torso of the girl he found. He shuddered at the memory. "I'm gonna have nightmares about it for a month."

Stiles then got a little too excited about the whole thing. "That's freakin' awesome this is seriously the best thing that's happened to this town since the birth of…" Oh, shit. He then shut his mouth when he remembered that Natalie was standing right next to him. Letting her name slip out of his mouth would've been something he would not live down for the rest of his life.

One of Natalie's eyebrows cocked up as she waited for the rest of Stiles's statement, but he never finished. "Okay, then…" The redhead then turned around when she heard a couple of girls from baseball call her over. "I'm gonna go see them to see what they want," she told Scott and Stiles. Clicking her tongue, she winked and pointed to them. "Catch you on the flip side." She then ran to her teammates, leaving a flustered Stiles and a smirking Scott.

Stiles smacked his forehead and pointed to Scott. "You're the cause of this, you know. Dragging down to your nerd depths." All Scott did was laugh at his friend's accusation and started walking to the school again. "I'm a nerd by association! I've been Scarlett-nerded by you!"

"Dude, relax," Scott chuckled as he placed his hand on Stiles's shoulder, "We've been friends with Nat for pretty much all our lives. It's not like she's abandoned us.

"Yet!" Stiles shrieked, "She's also friends with Lydia Martin, aka the most popular girl in school! Natalie's pretty high on the social food chain. I guarantee you this, Scott, one day she's gonna realize that we're total losers and leave us for the cool crowd. I'm surprised she hasn't yet."

"Stiles, you know Natalie's not like that. She loves us! But if you're so worried about her leaving us-" Scott patted his friend's cheek, "maybe it's time you finally asked out." He walked ahead of Stiles.

The boy pouted a bit. "Easier said than done," he grumbled to himself as he followed Scott to first period.

The two best friends walked into their English class right as the warning bell rang. Scott sat down near the back and Stiles took the seat next to him. Stiles noticed that Natalie wasn't in the class yet so he saved her a seat by placing his backpack in the seat in front of him. About two minutes before the final bell, Natalie strolled in the room. She saw her best friends and noticed that Stiles had saved her a seat so she sat down, thanking the boy as she did so. As the final bell rang, their English teacher wrote on the board.

"As you all know," the teacher spoke, "there was a body found in the woods last night." Scott, Stiles, and Natalie looked at each other and smiled, being the only ones who were actually at the crime scene. "And I'm sure your eager little minds are coming up with all sorts of macabre scenarios as to how it happened, but I've been told that the police have a suspect in custody."

Now the trio raised their eyebrows. Scott looked at Stiles and Natalie in wonder if their dads told them new information. All they did was shrug their shoulders since they didn't know what was going on either.

The teacher continued, "A vagrant with a long history of psychiatric disorders was discovered camping out in the woods near where the body was found, which means your undivided attention can be given to the syllabus outlining the semester on your desks."

At one point during class as the students were still reading their syllabi, the door opens, causing all of the students to look up. The school's principal walked in, but not alone. Standing next to him was a beautiful girl who was tall and slender and she had fair skin, brown hair, and long wavy dark brown hair. The new girl was nervous no doubt, but looked friendly. Scott looked as if her were in a trance. Natalie swore that he was going to pass out at any second. The redhead couldn't hold back the sly smile forming on her face. Yep. Her best friend Scotty was definitely crushing on the new girl. Hard.

"Class," the principal addressed the students, "this is our new student, Allison Argent. Please do your best to make her feel welcome."

Allison looked down shyly as she made her way down the aisle and took a seat behind Scott, who looked like he couldn't breathe. But he seemed to recover quickly as he picked up the pen from his desk, turned towards Allison and handed her the pen. With a skeptical but very grateful smile, she took the pen from him.

"Thanks," Allison said. Scott nodded his head before turning back around with a sort of goofy smile on his face.

This encounter didn't go unnoticed by Stiles and Natalie. It was a little strange at first. How did Scott know that Allison needed a pen? Who knows? But the two best friends looked at the bigger picture: Scott was into a girl! Natalie turned around to face Stiles and gave him a knowing look. Stiles smirked and wiggled his eyebrows, making the redhead giggle and turn back to the syllabus on her desk.

* * *

"Oh, come on, already!" Natalie grumbled as she fidgeted with the lock on the locker, "Why won't you open, you stupid piece of shit!"

For five minutes Natalie had been struggling to open her locker. She was about 99.9% positive that she had put in the right combination, but the lock still wouldn't budge. How was this not working? It was able to open just a couple hours ago! Gripping onto the lock tightly, Natalie placed her foot against the locker on the bottom and pulled as hard as she could. Her teeth were grinding as she pulled. This shouldn't be as difficult as it was.

"God, this is freakin' ridiculous!" As Natalie continued to pull, she felt someone tap her shoulder. Red velvet hair flew as Natalie whipped her head to see who was behind her. "What?!" Then her jaw dropped when she saw that the new girl Allison was staring back at her with wide brown eyes. Well, now Natalie felt like a jerk. "Shit! I totally didn't mean to yell at you. I was having a hard time getting this open so I was irritated and I accidentally took it out on you and now I feel like an asshole and… sorry about that."

But instead of being intimidated and weirded out, Allison was actulally laughing. "It's no big deal. That was actually kind of entertaining to watch." She stuck her hand out to Natalie. "Allison Argent."

Natalie shook her hand as she held onto the lock and had her foot still propped up on the locker. "Natalie Henderson."

"So is there any reason why you were trying to open my locker?"

"Huh?" Now Natalie's eyes grew wide. "_Your_ locker?"

"Yeah. Locker 317." Allison pulled out her schedule for Natalie to see.

The redhead looked down at the schedule and then back up at the locker. Sure enough the locker number was 317. Hers was 320. How the hell did she mix _that _up? Red tinted her cheeks as she dialed the combination on locker 320 and it opened up with ease.

"Umm… I was just… testing your locker to see if it was in good condition." Natalie smiled embarrassingly. "It's all good. You're welcome."

Allison laughed again. "You're funny." She opened up her locker and placed her books, binders, and other supplies inside.

"Well, I try," Natalie joked. As she pulled out her chemistry book, someone poked her side, making her yelp and drop everything in her hands. Laughing next to her was Lydia Martin, one of Natalie's good friends. "God, Lydia! You scared the shit outta me!"

"I'm sorry, it was just too easy!" Lydia giggled, "I wanted to tell you about-" She gasped when she looked at Allison's outfit. "That jacket is totally killer. Where did you get it?"

"My mom was a buyer from a boutique in San Francisco," Allison answered.

"And you are my new best friend."

Jackson came over to the girls and stood next to Lydia. He kissed her before she introduced him to Allison. When Jackson saw Natalie, he nodded at her.

"What's up, Lava Girl?"

"Wow, Jackson," Natalie rolled her eyes, "I'm surprised you're not out terrorizing little kids right now."

"What, you don't count?" Jackson teased, jabbing at the redhead's height.

Natalie scoffed and picked up her stuff that she dropped. "I'm not even that freakin' short, asswipe," she said, but not loud enough for him to hear.

Ignoring her boyfriend and friend's argument, she went back to what she was going to say earlier. "So anyway, this Friday there's a party…"

"A party?" Allison asked nervously, not really too fond of parties.

"Yeah," Jackson said, "Friday night. You should come."

Lydia turned to Natalie. "You're going, right?"

Natalie scoffed once again. "Am I going? Please! Have you met me? Hells yeah, I'm going! Who would miss out on a Lydia Martin party?"

Every year, the students of Beacon Hills High always looked forward to Lydia's parties. The strawberry blonde threw the best parties and were claimed to go down in history. Not only that, Natalie was the most fun person to hang out with at a party. Everyone loved to dance, laugh, and talked with her and she was officially known as the 'Party Queen of Beacon Hills'. She was never one to turn down any of Lydia's extravagant events.

"Yes!" Lydia cheered, "It's gonna be great! So what do you say, Allison?"

Said brunette grimaced. Allison liked Natalie, Lydia, and Jackson, but parties just made her feel awkward. So, she made up a lie that would hopefully get her out of it. "Oh, I can't. It's family night on Friday… but thanks for asking."

"You sure?" Jackson asked, "Everyone's going after the scrimmage game."

"You mean like football?"

"Football is a joke at Beacon Hills. The sport here is lacrosse. We won the state championship last year."

Lydia beamed like a proud mother- or in this case, girlfriend. "Because of a certain team captain." She kissed her boyfriend on the lips.

"Ugh, god," Natalie pretended to gag, earning a glare from Jackson but a giggle from Allison. The redhead smiled to herself. At least there was one person that appreciated her wit.

The jock spoke to Allison. "We practice in a few minutes. If you don't have anything else to do…"

"Well, I was going to-"

"Perfect!" Lydia chirped, "You're coming!"

Trying hard not to laugh, Natalie bit her bottom lip. During English, Scott made it pretty obvious that he liked Allison. And judging by his look across the hall, he had it bad. Natalie knew that once he sees Allison watching him at his practice, he will freak. Oh well. His best friend could only hope that he wouldn't do something completely idiotic trying to impress the new girl.

* * *

"Just think about this," Stiles said to Scott as they and Natalie walked on the lacrosse field right before practice, "if you play, I'll have no one to talk to on the bench. You're really gonna do that to your best friend?"

"Hey, you'll have Natalie," Scott nodded to the redhead, "Besides… I can't sit out again. My whole life is sitting on the sidelines. This season, I make first string."

Natalie smiled and patted Scott's arm. "You got this, Scotty. I know you do." Then she turned to Stiles and smacked his chest, making the jittery teen whine. "And you need to stop being so negative. If you had as much dedication as Scott, you wouldn't even have to worry about who to talk to while sitting on the bench."

Stiles rolled his eyes as they continued to the rest of the lacrosse team. He light shoved Natalie.

"Why do you like to pick on me all the time?" he asked her.

"Hey, I wouldn't pick on you if I didn't love you," Natalie defended herself, "And don't act like you don't love it either. That's what makes our friendship special."

From the corner of Stiles's eye, he could see Scott smirking at the bickering pair. He couldn't help but picture Stiles and Natalie as an old married couple. Hell, he wouldn't even be surprised if the two ever went down that road. Natalie didn't notice Scott chuckling, but Stiles did. When Natalie wasn't looking, Stiles punched Scott in the arm, only making him laugh harder. Before Natalie could question her best friends, Coach Finstock called Scott over.

Natalie walked over to the bench by the bleachers with Stiles trailing behind her. The pair sat down and the redhead rested her head on his shoulder. This was a natural position for the two, but that didn't mean it didn't make Stiles's heart skip a beat every time. Her eyes trialed up to the bleachers and she saw Allison and Lydia talking. Actually, Lydia was doing most of the talking while Allison kept looking over at Scott. When Natalie looked over to Scott, he had a look on his face that resembled a lovesick puppy.

"Check that out," Natalie gestured to the two teenagers. Stiles followed her gaze.

He chuckled. "How much you wanna bet that Scott's gonna do something totally stupid out there?"

"A lot," Natalie laughed along. Then she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I actually think it's kinda cute."

One of Stiles's eyebrows rose. "You do?"

"Yeah." She looked off in the distance and sighed. "Young love is a crazy thing, Stiles. It can make you feel completely dumb but also as if you're on top of the world."

"I know what you mean." The whole time, Stiles was gazing down at his best friend. However, she didn't notice. God, he wanted to tell her how he felt so bad!

Before Natalie or Stiles could say anything else, a whistle was blown right in their ears, making them scream and cover their ears. The whistle dropped from Coach Finstock's mouth as he spoke to Natalie.

"What the hell are you doing here, Henderson?"

"Um, I go to school here," Natalie answered sarcastically, "Just like every other one of these students."

Coach Finstock pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, smartass, I meant that I thought I told you that you're not allowed to go to the practices anymore after you let your dog run around the boys locker room and field. I had to get new uniforms because it pissed all over them!"

Natalie flailed her arms. "You scared him, that's why! Jeez, why don't adults ever let things go?"

"Whatever," The coach pointed at her. "You can stay, but one more stupid stunt and you're out of here."

As Coach Finstock walked back to his team, Natalie stuck her tongue out at him and Stiles laughed. They noticed that Scott was playing goalie and they both cringed. Scott had never played that position before so he most likely had no idea what he was doing. And the fact that Allison was watching made the whole situation even worse. The boy was going to embarrass himself out there.

The lacrosse team got into a line with their sticks in their hands, facing Scott and the net. When the first player threw the ball at Scott's direction, it hit his helmet, causing him to fall. Natalie and Stiles winced. That most likely did not feel good. Scott regained his composure and stood back up. The two sitting on the bench noticed his quick change in demeanor. His hands were gripping on the lacrosse stick tightly and the look on his face was filled with determination. The next player threw the ball and Scott caught it with ease. Along with everyone in the bleachers, Natalie and Stiles cheered for their best friend. Who knew that Scott had it in him?

Scott continued to catch every single ball thrown at him. Everyone's cheers grew louder each time. But then Jackson pushed his way past his teammates to the front of the line. He looked like he wanted to murder Scott for stealing all the attention. It looked like this was not going to go well at all. In fear for her best friend, Natalie gripped onto Stiles's hand. On the outside, Stiles remained calm and collected while on the inside he was freaking out at the simple gesture. Trying not to let it show, he just squeezed her hand and they watched the action on the field in anticipation.

Jackson threw the ball at Scott as hard as he could. To everyone's amazement, Scott caught it. He looked down at the stick in bewilderment. A huge grin stretched across his face. He did it! He actually caught it! Everyone around him erupted in cheers. Natalie screamed in excitement and she flung herself at Stiles. He caught her and he spun her around. When he set her down, Natalie looked up at Allison. The girl was up on her feet and applauding along with everyone else. Natalie smirked to herself. Allison definitely looked impressed with Scott's performance. Looks like the boy has earned some brownie points.

* * *

After school, the trio wandered back into the woods. Scott had dropped his inhaler the night before so since he couldn't really afford to replace it, he tried to retrace his steps with his best friends following him.

"I don't know what it was," Scott told Stiles and Natalie, "I mean, I felt like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball. And that's not the only weird thing. I mean I can hear stuff I shouldn't be able to hear. And I can smell things."

"Smell things? Like what?" Stiles asked.

"Like the mint mojito gum in your pocket and Natalie's strawberries and cream shampoo."

Stiles reached into the pockets of his jacket. "I don't have any…" He cut his sentence short when he pulled the wrapped gum out. After he put the gum back in his pocket, he looked over at Natalie, whose eyebrows were furrowed as she sniffed the ends of her red velvet hair. Stiles lifted a strand of her hair and sniffed it also. Sure enough, it was strawberries and cream and Stiles found it intoxicating. "Huh. Smells nice."

Natalie smacked his hand away and continued to walk behind Scott. "So this whole thing started with that bite?"

Scott nodded his head. "What if it's an infection? What if my body is flooding with adrenaline before I go into shock?"

"Don't you think that's a little dramatic?"

"It could happen, Nat!" Scott cried out.

A sly smile crept onto Stiles's face. Natalie noticed this and rolled her eyes. What the hell was Stiles up to now?

"I've actually heard of this," he said, "It's a specific kind of infection."

Scott stopped walking as his eyes grew wide. "Are you serious?"

Stiles nodded. "Yeah. I think it's called… lycanthropy."

Natalie snorted and lightly smacked Stiles's chest. "You're such an ass, dude."

But Scott didn't catch on. Instead, he became more nervous. "What is that? Is that bad?"

"Oh yeah," Natalie said, deciding to play along, "it's the worst!"

"But only once a month," Stiles added.

"Once a month?" Scott was panicking at this point.

"On the night of the full moon."

He pointed to Natalie, who tilted her head back and began to howl. Realizing that his friends were just screwing with him, Scott glared at them and punched Stiles's arm. He walked away but Stiles and Natalie caught up to him.

"Hey, you're the one who heard a wolf!" Stiles defended himself.

"It's not funny!" Scott said, "There could be something seriously wrong with me."

"I know! You're a werewolf!" Stiles growled, raising his hands up as if they were claws. He and Natalie started to laugh, but Scott shook his head.

Natalie wrapped her arm around Scott's shoulder. "Okay, obviously, Stiles is kidding, Scotty."

"But if you see me in shop class melting down all the silver I can find, it's because Friiday's a full moon."

Scott stopped walking when he found the spot where he fell down the previous night. He crouched onto the ground and began to look around. Natalie and Stiles followed his actions.

"I swear this was it," Scott told them, "The body was here. The deer came running, I dropped my inhaler…"

"Maybe the killer moved the body," Stiles said.

"If he did, I hope he left my inhaler. Those things are like eighty bucks!"

Natalie moved a bunch of leaves around as she continued to look. "You wouldn't be looking around in leaves if you didn't get yourself involved into this mess last night," she grumbled to herself.

Then she felt Stiles pull on her arm and stand her up. She was about to yell at him when she turned to see what he was looking at. Actually, it was more of whom than a what. About ten feet in front of them was a man that looked to be in his very early twenties dressed in dark clothing. He had short black hair and attention-grabbing green eyes. Tall and very built, he was handsome but looked very intimidating. Going into protective mode, Stiles pulled Natalie so he was in front of her. he tapped on Scott's shoulder and he looked at the man and stood up next to his friends.

"What are you doing here?" the man said, "Huh? This is private property!"

"Sorry, man," Stiles said, feeling Natalie grip onto the back of his jacket, "We didn't know."

"Yeah," Scott said, "we were just looking for something. Forget it."

The man then tossed something to Scott and he caught it with one hand. He looked down and lying in his hand was his inhaler. When he looked back up, the man gave the teenagers one last glare and walked away.

Natalie came out from behind Stiles and shivered. "Did anyone else get that creeper vibe from him?"

"I definitely did," Scott agreed, "Come on. I have to get to work."

But Stiles placed his hand on Scott's shoulder before he could walk away. "Dude, that was Derek Hale! You remember, right? He's only a few years older than us."

"_That's_ Derek Hale?" Natalie's eyebrow rose. "Wow. I hardly even recognized him. He definitely looks a lot moodier."

"Wait, remember what?" Scott asked Stiles.

"His family," Stiles answered, "They all burned to death in a fire like ten years ago."

"Wasn't it six years ago?" Natalie asked.

Stiles waved her off. "Details, details." Natalie just rolled her eyes and shoved Stiles.

"I wonder what he's doing back…" Scott said to no one in particular. He looked back down at the inhaler in his hand and curled his fist over it.

"Beats me," Natalie shrugged her shoulders. She pulled onto her best friends' hands and led them down the path they came from. "Now let's go. You don't wanna be late for work, Scotty, and I don't know about you guys, but I don't wanna run into anymore creepy men today."

* * *

**So I hope you guys liked this chapter! It was a lot longer than I expected it to be, but I'm happy with it. PLEASE review and let me know what you think. A few more things before I go:  
**

**1\. PLEASE go check out my IsaacxOC story, Scars! It does tie into this story. I really love the idea for Scars but I haven't gotten a lot of feedback on the prologue. I know it was very short, but reviews keep me motivated to move on with the story. I love Isaac and Delilah and I don't wanna give up on it. So please go check it out and I'll be posting the first chapter either tonight or tomorrow!**

**2\. I'm still debating if I wanna make Natalie supernatural or not, so leave me your opinion by review or PM!**

**3\. How old is Derek in the first season? I need to figure out so it'll be easier to write him in Awake and Alive, Scars, and his own love story that will come out in season two. That would be very helpful if I knew his age.**

**I'll be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, what's up? I know it's been a few weeks since I last updated. I have been busy with school and my laptop broke so I'm using my dad's computer, but I'm back! So yeah, here's chapter 3!**

* * *

"92… 93… 94… 95… Natalie, you are so close! Don't you dare give up on me now!"

Panting like a dog, the redhead held herself up with her hands. With narrow brown eyes she glared up at Danny Mahealani, her lovable gay friend who she was now starting to hate passionately.

"Remind me again why I agreed to do this?" Natalie quipped sassily.

"Because you need to strengthen your biceps for baseball this season," Danny answered. He pointed to Natalie's wobbling arms. "You look like you're about to collapse at any second now!"

Instead of coming up with a witty comeback, Natalie groaned through her gritted teeth as she struggled to hold herself up in this grueling position. Danny rolled his eyes and placed his hands on his hips. Then an idea struck his brain.

"Finish up and I'll buy you some Kit-Kats."

The promise of her favorite candy caused the excited gleam in her eyes. Natalie finished her last five push-ups, collapsing when she reached one hundred. Slowly, she got herself off the gym floor, pumped her fists in the air, and let out a victory yell.

"I AM THE MASTER COMMANDER!" Natalie yelled out, earning a few awkward stares from the other people at the gym. Noticing how the gym got quiet all of a sudden, she looked around. "What? Have you not heard of Olan Rogers? The guy on YouTube?" Not even bothering to wait for a response, she shook her head in disappointment. "Uncultured swine…"

Rolling his eyes once again, Danny pulled Natalie into the break room, which was filled with benches and vending machines. Natalie sat down on one of the benches as Danny bought a couple of items from the machine. He then sat down next to the redhead and handed her a Kit-Kat, which she accepted gratefully. Danny shook his head and chuckled as Natalie broke off a bar and chomped on it.

"So," Natalie said as she broke off another Kit-Kat, "you're going to Lydia's party tomorrow night, right?"

"Yeah, are you?"

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Must I remind you who you're talking to?" She gasped excitedly as she grabbed onto Danny's arm. "Please tell me that you're bringing that guy that you've been talking to all during break! I need to meet him already so I can make sure that he's right for my Danny boy!"

"You're such a weirdo," Danny chuckled, "And yes, I'm bringing him. Although I'm starting to think that's not such a good idea." Than earned him a punch in the arm from Natalie. He continued to chuckle as he rubbed the spot that she punched. "What about you? Who are you bringing to the party?"

"No one," Natalie answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Really? What about Stiles?"

Breaking off another Kit-Kat bar, Natalie said, "What about him?" the only response she got from Danny was a laugh. It was putting the redhead on edge. "Why are you laughing?"

"Oh come on, Nat!" Danny chuckled, "You can't deny that there's something going on between the two of you." When on of Natalie's eyebrows rose, he let out an exasperated sigh. "Dude, the chemistry between you and Stiles couldn't be any more obvious. You two are totally into each other."

Brown doe eyes grew wide in worry. "Is it really that obvious that I like Stiles?"

"Oh yeah. Big time."

A whine left Natalie's mouth as she rested her head in her hands. Great… If other people can see it, there was a very strong possibility that Stiles could, too. Then again, Stiles had always been clueless when it came to his surrounding, which was most likely for the best. But Natalie still found it mortifying that people could tell that she had a thing for him. That information could easily travel to Stiles, which scared the crap out of her.

"Is it really that bad that people know?" Danny asked her.

"Yes!" Natalie exclaimed, "I'm putting our friendship on the line here! If he finds out that I like him, he will reject me and our friendship will be destroyed! I'll be so humiliated that I'll have to dye my hair blonde, change my name to Sally, move out of the country, and raise llamas!"

Now Danny was looking at Natalie like she was insane. Which she kind of was, if she had to be honest. "Are you sure you never took drama?"

"Pfft!" Natalie shook her head. "Hell no! I couldn't stand to be in the same room with those kids for more than five minutes. There's too much… 'drama' in there, if you know what I mean." She couldn't help but smirk at her own dumb joke.

If the redhead could high-five herself, she would. Even though puns may be extremely corny and ridiculous, Natalie had no shame in using them whenever the opportunity was given. However, Danny wasn't so impressed. Instead he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"I don't even know why the hell I'm friends with you," he said as he stood up and walked out of the break room.

Natalie gasped like the comment had offended her. "Hey, don't hate me because you can't date me!" When Danny didn't respond, she left the room to go chase him down. "Danny, get back here! It's time for payback for those push-ups!"

* * *

The next morning, Terri let Natalie take her car to school since she had the day off of work. It was time that Natalie got a car since she finally passed her driving test, but her parents told her that a car wasn't in their budget at the moment. Or so they said. For now, Natalie had to either rely on Stiles for a ride or take her mom's car when she didn't have to go to work. It was a bit annoying that she didn't have a car on her own so she could avoid the trouble, but it'll do for now.

Since Natalie took her mom's car to school, she told Stiles that he didn't need to pick her up at her house. After she dropped off Zach at school, Natalie decided to be a good friend and get some Starbucks for Stiles and herself. She balanced the coffee tray with one hand as she opened her locker with no struggle. Praising herself, she pulled out her English book.

"Natalie!"

Said girl cringed at the loud call. She turned around and saw Stiles running down the hall towards his best friend. By the look on his face, Natalie could tell that he was panicking about something, but she still found his facial expressions comical. He obviously didn't see the 'CAUTION: WET FLOOR' sign from where the janitor mopped earlier so Stiles slipped in the puddle and landed on his rear. Natalie rolled her eyes, shut her locker, and jogged over to her fallen friend, trying not to spill the coffee. She took his hand and pulled him up.

"Whoa, dude," Natalie said when she saw Stiles panting hard from running, "You really need to start going to the gym with me more."

"I'll pass," Stiles wheezed, "The gym is for losers." Natalie punched him in the arm. "OW!"

"You still think that the gym is for losers?" Natalie challenged.

Stiles slightly pouted as he rubbed his sore arm. "No… sorry."

"Apology accepted. Now why do you have so much energy when it's almost eight in the morning?"

"I was listening in on my dad's phone call earlier-"

Groaning, Natalie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Dude, when are you ever gonna learn that all that does is get your ass into trouble?"

Stiles glared at her. "Will you just listen to me, woman?" He waited until he was sure that Natalie wasn't going to interrupt him and then he continued. "As I was saying, the fiber analysis came in and they were saying that there was hair on the body that they found the other night."

"Uh huh. And you're telling me this because…"

Stiles leaned in a little closer to Natalie and lowered his voice so no one else could hear him. "Nat, they were wolf hairs."

Good thing that Stiles had cat-like reflexes because when Natalie went into shock, the coffee slipped out of her hand but Stiles caught it before it could hit the ground. It looked like Natalie's eyes were going to pop out of her head because they were so wide.

"You're joking," Natalie hoped. When she realized that he wasn't, she let out a sigh and ran a hand through her red velvet hair. "Did you tell Scott?"

"I haven't seen him yet," Stiles answered, "When I saw you, I knew that I had to tell you right away."

"Well, I'm glad you did. And when we see Scott, we have to tell him right away because this might have to do with that bite he got."

Stiles nodded. "Definitely." Then he eyed the coffee in his hands. "Is one of these mine?" In his right hand was the drink that Natalie bought for him, which had his name written on the cup. He raised it up to his lips and took a sip. Instantly he spit it out and stuck out his tongue. "What the hell is this?!"

"It's coffee," Natalie answered, "What else would it be?"

"It tastes like shit!" Stiles exclaimed, "It's like there's no caffeine in this whatsoever!"

"That's because it's decaf." Her best friend let out a not so manly squeak. "Trust me, Stiles. You out of all people should not have sugar or caffeine at all. You just proved that to me five minutes ago."

After thrusting the horrid drinks back in Natalie's hands, Stiles accusingly pointed a finger at the redhead. "You are an evil human being!"

Rolling her brown eyes, Natalie tossed Stile's rejected coffee in the trash and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Don't get your panties in a bunch, Stilinski. But we should probably go look for Wolf Boy and tell him what's up." She grabbed Stiles's hand and dragged him around the school to search for Scott.

* * *

Oh god. This was bad. This was really bad. If Stiles wasn't panicking earlier, he felt like he could have a heart attack at any minute. He and Natalie didn't get a chance to talk to Scott until the scrimmage game after school, but even then Scott was too focused on making first line to even talk to them. Together Stiles and Natalie watched nervously as Scott made incredibly spectacular shots. He even threw some tricks and flips in the game, not stopping even once for a breather or a puff from his inhaler. And the real kicker: he ended up making first line!

Everyone who watched was amazed and excited for Scott, except for Jackson who just looked downright pissed. Stiles and Natalie would've been proud if they didn't know that something was wrong. A year ago, Scott wouldn't have been able to play throughout half the game without losing his stamina, let alone do a front flip over one of the other players! His best friends knew this better than anyone, so they had every right to be suspicious.

Now Stiles was sitting at his computer after making a couple of trips to the library. Ever since he had been home, he had been going through endless amounts of research of lycanthropy. Some of the information he found was outstanding! It was also a bit scary and he started to worry about Scott even more. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone knock on his door. He fell out of his chair and rushed to the door to find Natalie on her phone on the other side.

"Hey, I got here as soon as I could. Traffic was a bitch so I- whoa!" Stiles pulled Natalie in his room and shut the door behind her. "Dang, Stiles. Forcing me into your room," she joked with a smirk on her face, "At least buy me dinner first."

The boy's jaw went slack. How the hell was he supposed to respond to a suggestive remark by his best friend/the girl of his dreams? Granted she was only kidding, but still!

"What? That's not why I… I just…" He shook all of the dirty thoughts out of his head. "No! Stop throwing me off guard! This is an emergency!"

"I'll say," Natalie said as she looked around at the many books scattered around Stiles's room. "Why does it look like a tornado came through your room? Or like a library threw up in here?"

"Because," Stiles answered as he sat back down in his chair, "I've been doing some research."

One by one, Natalie started reading the titles on the books on Stiles's bed. "Lycanthropy for Dummies… Full Moon Blues… So You Think You're a Wolf… Hmm, I'm sensing a theme here."

"This is not the time to be funny, Nat!" Stiles exclaimed, "People's lives could be in danger!"

"Stiles, what the hell are you talking about? And why are you looking up all of this information about…" Then it dawned on her. "If this is about the wolf hairs and the bite mark I am one phone call away from sending you to the looney bin."

"But Natalie," Stiles said as he grabbed one of the books and walked towards her, "everything adds up. Look at this." He opened the book and flipped through the pages to find something specific. He then handed the book to Natalie and she took a good look at the bloody crescent shaped mark on the page. "Looks familiar, doesn't it?"

"Scott's bite mark…" The redhead looked up at her best friend in bewilderment. She didn't want to believe it. It was all just too surreal to be true. On the other hand, it all made sense. She started to skim through the book and found all sorts of facts that were accurate with this situation. "This is way too crazy. But then again, it does explain a lot."

"Plus, Scott did say that he heard a wolf howling. You remember that, right?"

Slowly, Natalie nodded her head. With a slam, she closed the book and tossed it on Stiles's bed. "Okay, I believe you. But it's not me that you have to convince."

"I know," Stiles agreed, "Which is why you are texting Scott to come over while I do some more research. Now chop chop. We haven't got all day."

With a roll of her eyes, Natalie did as she was told. After she texted Scott, she joined Stiles at the computer to continue their research. It was actually more like Stiles was doing all of the work. All Natalie did was give Stiles Adderall when he asked for them, which was more than he should have.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, Stiles titled his head back and said, "Adderall me," before opening his mouth.

Natalie opened up the pill bottle and took out a capsule. "Uhh, Stiles, I think you should probably cut back on this stuff."

"Life or death, Natalie," the boy sassed, "You decide." He then opened his mouth again, waiting for Natalie to put the pill in his mouth.

Groaning in annoyance, Natalie dropped the Adderall in Stiles's mouth. "I can't believe this is what my life has come to," she grumbled. She then continued to watch Stiles on his computer, hitting her head on his desk a couple of times.

Thirty minutes later the best friends heard a knock on Stiles's door. As Natalie was staring at one of the pages Stiles printed out in horror, the boy got up and opened the door. Standing in the hall was Scott with his phone in his hand.

"Get in," Stiles said as he went back to his desk and gathered up all of the papers lying around. "You have to see this. Natalie and I have been reading. Websites, books, all of this information…"

Scott took off his jacket and tossed it on Stiles's bed. "How much Adderall have you had today?"

"Uhh… maybe two…"

"Eight."

Stiles glared at Natalie and she gave him a knowing look. He rolled his eyes. "A lot. It doesn't matter. Just listen."

"Is this about the body?" Scott asked, "Did they find who did it?"

"Not, they're still questioning people. Even Derek Hale-"

"Seriously, why the hell doesn't my dad tell me anything?" Natalie wondered out loud, almost offensively.

But no one paid attention to her. "They guy from the woods…" Scott trailed off.

"Yeah," Stiles said, "but that's not it, okay?"

"What then?"

"Scott, do you remember the joke that Stiles and I made the other day? You know, about the 'grr'?" Natalie mimicked the claws that Stiles had made that day. "Well, that's not a joke anymore."

Scott clearly didn't understand, so Stiles specified. "The wolf. The bite in the woods. Do you even know why a wolf howls?"

"Should I?" Scott asked.

"It's a signal. When a wolf is alone, it howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack. So if you heard it howling that means there's others. Maybe a whole pack of them."

"A pack of wolves?"

"No." Then Stiles added in a serious tone, "Werewolves."

Now Scott was becoming agitated. He knew that he heard a wolf howling out in the woods. But a _werewolf_? Even he wasn't that dumb enough to believe that nonsense!

"You're seriously wasting my time with this?" he said, "You know I'm picking Allison up in an hour."

"We saw you on the field, Scott," Stiles told him, referring to himself and Natalie, "What you did wasn't just amazing. It was impossible."

"So I made a good shot," Scott snapped. Seriously, what was the big deal?

"No, you made an incredible shot. The way you moved- the speed, your reflexes… People can't do that overnight. And then there's the hearing, the senses, and don't think that I haven't noticed you don't need your inhaler anymore. You haven't used it since that night."

Scott looked down at Natalie, who had been quiet most of the time sitting on Stiles's chair. "Do you actually believe this?"

The redhead pushed her hair out of her face. "Scotty, I know that this is beyond insane, believe me. But you have to admit, all of the signs are there. This is some serious and scary shit you're dealing with here."

That was enough. Scott shook his head in disbelief. "I can't think about this right now. We'll talk tomorrow, okay?"

"Tomorrow?!" Stiles exclaimed, "Don't you get it? The full moon is _tonight_!"

"What are you two trying to do?!" Scott accused, "I just made first line. I have a date with a girl I can't believe actually wants to go out with me. Everything in my life is somehow perfect! Why are you trying to ruin it?!"

"We're just trying to help you, Scott!" Natalie yelled back. Now she was started to get annoyed with her best friend. "You've been cursed! And it's not only the full moon that causes you to change. It's also when your bloodlust will be at its peak."

"Bloodlust?"

"The urge to kill."

"I'm already starting to have an urge to kill, Natalie." The look on Scott's faced expressed those emotions. As he took a step towards Natalie, she slightly cringed, gradually becoming more afraid of her best friend.

Stiles flipped through another book. "You need to hear this. The change can be caused by anger or anything that raises your pulse. And I've never seen anyone raise your pulse like Allison does. You have to cancel your date. You have to call her."

When Scott wasn't looking, Natalie grabbed his jacket from Stiles's bed and dug through its pockets. After she finally found what she was looking for, she pulled out Scott's phone and scrolled through his contact list. Scott saw this and his eyes grew wide.

"Natalie, what are you doing!" he exclaimed.

"I'm cancelling the date."

"Give it to me!"

The boy yanked the phone out of Natalie's hand harshly. Fear was evident in her eyes when Scott glared at her and she could've sworn that his eyes flashed yellow. Scott was about to shove her against the wall. Stiles couldn't let his best friend hurt the girl he loved so he pushed Natalie so she fell on the bed. Now Stiles was in her previous spot so Scott shoved and pinned him against the wall. Scott looked like he was about to punch him, but he instead lashed out on Stiles's chair, sending it flying across the room, almost like it was weightless. Breathing heavily, Scott slowly drifted out of his angry state. His eyes grew wide at the mess he made and the terrified look on his best friends' faces. What the hell had he done?

"I didn't mean to do that," he said softly, almost inaudibly. He goes to pull Stiles up from the floor, but he flinches away. "I'm sorry… I gotta get ready for that party." He grabbed his jacket from Stiles's bed, where Natalie was still shaking. Scott had never seen her look so frightened before so knowing that was the cause of that broke his heart. "I'm sorry." Then he ran out of the room as fast as he could.

As soon as Scott was out the door, Stiles immediately got up and ran over to Natalie. He started to check her everywhere, placing his hands on her face and arms. "Are you okay, Nat? Did he hurt you?"

Slowly, Natalie nodded her head. "No, he didn't touch me. I'm okay." Stiles wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck. Her eyelids closed and let Stiles's warmth take over and secure her. After a few moments, Natalie's eyes opened back up and grew wide when she looked at the other side of the room. "But I don't think your chair is."

Huh? Stiles pulled out of Natalie's embrace and walked over to his chair. He stood it up straight and was taken aback by what he saw.

Claw marks. They were gashed through the back of his chair, creating ribbons out of the fabric. Natalie got up from the bed and crouched next to Stiles to get a better look. She tugged on a ribbon and when she let go they both watched as it sprung back into place.

"Party on, Wayne?" Natalie said to Stiles, quoting one of their favorite movies.

With determination, Stiles faced his best friend and nodded his head. "Party on, Garth."

* * *

"Stiles, if you call me one more time I will seriously suffocate you in your sleep."

"Well I wouldn't have to bug you if you would just hurry your ass up!" Stiles argued with Natalie over the phone. He was waiting outside of Natalie's house so he could take her to the party with him. Impatience was taking over the boy since he had been waiting in his jeep for about thirty minutes and he was starting to get snappy. "What the hell is taking you so long?"

Natalie snorted on the other end. "In case you've forgotten, I'm still a girl and I do take pride in how I look. Just hold on a second!"

Groaning, Stiles rested his head on his steering wheel. "I swear to god, Nat, if you're not in my jeep in five minutes or less I will leave and you will have to find another way to- holy shit!"

The phone dropped out of Stiles's hand as he heard a knock on the passenger window, making him jump. Natalie was glaring at him, waiting for him to unlock the door. When he did, the redhead climbed in the jeep and buckled in.

"Man, you have no patience whatsoever," Natalie grumbled as she smoothed out her outfit, "What do you think? Too casual?"

Stiles looked over at the girl sitting next to him. Casual, yes. But damn, did she look hot! Natalie's outfit was nowhere near skimpy, but it did frame her body perfectly. Her dark grey sweater highlighted her curves in the right way and the holes on the sleeves gave Stiles a great glimpse of Natalie's toned arms. Since her light-washed jeans hung low on her waist, a hint of midriff peeked out, but not overly so. Red velvet locks were curled to perfection and Stiles that the light grey beanie on the top of her head was a great touch. The look was completed with grey combat boots, which screamed 'badass'. Was there anything that this girl couldn't pull off?

"No, not at all," Stiles answered, "I think you look great, actually."

God, Natalie hoped that she wasn't blushing because that would be totally embarrassing, especially in front of Stiles. "Thanks. So should we get going? We wouldn't want Wolf Boy to torture everybody at the party."

"Yep. Let's do this."

It didn't take long for them to arrive at Lydia Martin's house. Just by the booming of the bass in the music and happy shouts from the partygoers they could tell that the party was in full swing. Stiles led Natalie to the backyard. Everyone back there was dancing, drinking, or swimming in the pool. Natalie could see from the corner of her eye Lydia with her legs hooked around Jackson's waist as they made out. The redhead gagged at the sight. If she didn't know any better, she could've sworn that he was taking her right there on the wall.

The two best friends headed over to the drinks. Stiles handed Natalie a Mike's Hard Lemonade before grabbing a beer for himself. As Natalie pressed the bottle to her lips and took a swig, she looked around at the scene before her. Once again, Lydia had outdone herself with this shindig. Finally she spotted Scott and Allison on the dance floor. Natalie couldn't have been happier for her best friend. He finally landed himself a girl! Natalie also couldn't deny that she was feeling a little bit jealous since she couldn't be with the one guy that she had feelings for.

Stiles could tell that Natalie was feeling distressed. "Hey." He bumped his hip against Natalie's, making her look up at him. "You okay?"

She nodded her head reluctantly. "Yeah, I'm just… worried about Scott, that's all," she lied, "He could probably maim any one of these people at any minute."

Natalie was about to take another drink until Stiles took the bottle out of her hand and set their drinks on the table next to them. Her eyebrow rose as he looked down at her. "Let me help you take your mind off of that." He held his hand out to Natalie. "Dance with me."

No need to ask her twice. Natalie happily placed her hand in Stiles's and she let him pull her onto the dance floor with techno music blasting from the speakers. Once he found a good spot for them, Stiles began to dance. Actually it looked more like he was having a seizure with the way his arms were flailing and his legs were wobbling. Natalie couldn't contain her laughter at the sight.

"Stiles, what the hell are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" he said, "I'm dancing!"

Natalie shook her head. "It looks like you're being electrocuted," she laughed. She grabbed Stiles's hands to get him to stop moving. "First, put your hands right here." She placed them on her hips. When she wrapped her arms around Stiles's neck, he almost fainted at the physical contact. "Then just move along with the music. It's that easy."

Following Natalie's instructions, Stiles began to dance, well, less spastically. True, he wasn't the best dancer, but Natalie looked satisfied so that worked out well for him. Stiles felt that Natalie was too far from him so he pulled the redhead closer so that their chests were pressed together. Natalie was definitely not expecting that, but she loved it. This wasn't the first time they've danced together, but it was the first time they have so… intimately. You could practically feel the sexual tension radiating from the two best friends, it was almost too much to ignore. It was funny to Natalie in some way because she always made fun of those couples who grind like horn dogs on the dance floor. But who would ever have guessed that she would've enjoyed this so much?

From Stiles's perspective, he was in heaven. Here he was at one of the biggest parties in Beacon Hills's history, dancing with the love of his life so dangerously close. It was almost too good to be true. Stiles lowered his head so he and Natalie were just inches from each other. Their foreheads were now touching and the tips of their noses rubbed against each other. They didn't dare to look anywhere else from each other's brown eyes. As ridiculous as it may sound, they felt like they were the only people at this party. Just like they wished they were.

Neither of the best friends could help but glance down at each other's full lips. This was the perfect chance. Something had to be done. One of Stiles's hands slid up Natalie's torso and tangled it in her red velvet hair. As he was about to lower his lips onto hers, from the corner of his eye he saw Scott clutching onto his head and run out of the crowd.

"Shit…"

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows and pulled away from Stiles. "What's wrong?"

"It's Scott," Stiles answered, "Something's wrong." They both turned their heads to see Scott disappear through Lydia's house. Stiles looked back down at the girl in his arms. "I gotta go check to see if he's okay. I'll be right back to come get you." With that, he ran off.

Well, Natalie couldn't just stand there, so she chased after her best friends. "Stiles, wait!" But he didn't hear her. He just continued to look for Scott.

Natalie soon ended up on Lydia's front lawn. Scott had just whizzed by in his mom's car while Stiles climbed into his own. Tires screeched as the blue beat up jeep followed Scott at lightning speed even as Natalie called for Stiles to wait for her. The redhead watched the whole thing happen.

Needless to say, she was pissed.

"God damn it!" Natalie growled, "That little shit was my ride home!" But she wasn't really sure if she was really upset about that or the fact that the most amazing and exhilarating dance of her life with her crush was completely ruined. Damn Scott and his wolf-ness!

"Natalie!" Allison called out to the redhead, walking up to her, "Do you know what happened with Scott? We were dancing but then all of a sudden he just took off and left. Was it me?"

Natalie sighed in sadness when she noticed the gleam of insecurity in Allison's eyes. "No, it wasn't you, Allison. Scott hasn't really been feeling well these past couple of days so I think his nerves just made it worse." She placed her hand on Allison's shoulder. "Hey. Scott really likes you. He was completely freaking out when he was telling me that you were coming here with him. So don't stress out about it. And if he does something stupid, count on me to give him a piece of my mind."

Allison giggled and smiled at her new friend. "Thanks, Natalie."

"Anytime."

"Natalie! Allison!"

Both girls turned around and Natalie's eyes grew wide when she saw Derek Hale walk up to them. Why out of all people was he at a high school party?

"I'm a friend of Scott's," he told the girls, "My name is Derek. Do you girls need a ride home?"

"Yeah, that'd be great!" Allison smiled gratefully. She turned to Natalie. "Is that okay?"

Natalie stammered a bit, looking back and forth from Allison to Derek. The look on Derek's face told the redhead to just go with it. And who was she to piss off a man that could most likely rip her head off?

"Yeah… sure," Natalie said through her teeth, glaring at Derek, "That'd be super."

Derek nodded and led the girls to his black Camaro, which gained Natalie's respect. Hey, she had a thing for cars. Who could blame her? She got into the passenger seat as Allison sat in the back. Since Allison's house was closer, Derek dropped her off first. After she thanked Derek and hugged Natalie goodbye, the brooding man drove off to the redhead's house.

Now, Natalie has had her fair share of awkward car rides, but this one topped the list. It was silent throughout most of the time and it was getting on her nerves. So she decided to turn on the radio but Derek smacked her hand away before she could touch it.

"Hey!"

"Hands off the radio," Derek ordered, keeping his eyes on the road. Natalie rolled her eyes and placed her feet on the dashboard, which Derek immediately pushed off too. "And no feet on my car either. Actually, just don't touch anything."

Natalie let out a huff of air. "God, I can't do anything in this car…" Then it grew silent again. This time it only lasted a few moments. "So… Scott's a werewolf, isn't he?" Derek let out a grunt, which Natalie took as a yes. "Are you a werewolf, too?" Another grunt. "Are you always this unresponsive?"

"Are you always this annoying?" Derek shot back.

"Fair enough," Natalie said, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat.

"You should steer clear from Scott," Derek told her, "He's very dangerous as a newborn. You don't know what he's capable of."

"Who are you, my dad?" Natalie sassed, "Scotty's my best friend. And the supernatural doesn't scare me." Derek raised an eyebrow. "Okay, well maybe you scare me a little bit, but I'm a big girl. And Stiles and I will get him through this."

"Stiles? Oh yeah, your twitchy boyfriend."

Way to tug on Natalie's heartstrings. "He's actually not my boyfriend. We're just really good friends… I think… yeah, we're best friends."

Derek let out a snort. "Sure doesn't look like it."

"Hey, let's not focus on my love life here. Or therefore, lack of…" Then Natalie's doe eyes focused on a picture attached to Derek's dashboard. She plucked it off and looked at it real close. "Let's actually talk about _your_ love life." In the picture was a beautiful girl who looked like she was about Natalie's age. The girl's hair was very long, curly, and dark, which complimented her tan skin nicely. Brown eyes sparkled as she smiled in the photo, almost looking like she was laughing.

The man's eyes widened when he saw the picture in Natalie's hand. "What are you doing? Put that picture back _now_!"

"Who is this?" Natalie asked, "Is this your girlfriend?"

"It's none of your business. Now put it back."

"Wow, she's really pretty," the redhead continued, "You dog. Kudos to you-"

"_I told you not to touch anything_!" Derek yelled, snatching the photo out of Natalie's hands.

Whoa. Blowing up like that was not what Natalie was expecting out of the wolf at all, even though he didn't appear so friendly in the first place. Her eyes were wide as she watched Derek take deep breaths and hold the picture tightly to his chest. Natalie didn't realize that the picture would have a huge impact on him. It made her feel bad and also curious.

"Sorry," Natalie said softy, "I didn't think it would make you upset."

He didn't respond. He just continued to drive with one hand on the wheel and the other holding the photo to his heart. Back to that awkward silence. Thank god that Natalie's house was just around the corner. When Derek parked his car in front of her house- she didn't even bother to ask how he knew where she lived- she got out of the car right away.

"Thanks for the ride," Natalie said in one breath while shutting the car door. Derek just kept holding onto the photo as Natalie ran inside her house.

The first thing that Natalie was going to do when she see Stiles again is kill him for making her go through that hell of a car ride.

* * *

Scott was having the worst night _ever_. First, he had discovered that he was a freakin' werewolf. Second, he had to leave in the middle of what was turning out to be a successful date because of the effects of the full moon. And last but definitely not least, he was shot in the arm with a crossbow by none other than werewolf hunters. This was _not_ his ideal Friday night. It officially sucked.

As Scott was walking down the road with his shirt off, he heard the sound of a car pulling up next to him. He turned around and saw Stiles's jeep. Sighing in relief, he climbed into the passenger seat and shut the door.

"You know what actually worries me the most?" Scott asked as he settled in his seat.

"If you say Allison, I'm gonna punch you in the head," Stiles responded, still bitter from ending his dance with Natalie and going back to Lydia's house to find out that Derek freakin' Hale had given his girl a ride home.

"She probably hates me now."

"I doubt that," Stiles assured his best friend, "But you might wanna come up with a pretty amazing apology. Or you could, you know, just tell her the truth that you're a freakin' werewolf!" Scott gave him a disapproving glare. "Okay, bad idea… but hey, we'll get through this. If I have to I'll chain you up myself on full moon nights and feed you live mice. I had a boa once, I can do it. And if it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one with a girl pissed off at you."

"Really? What happened?"

Stiles's cheeks began to heat up as his mind went back to the erotic-like dance he had with his favorite redhead. But he decided to spare the hot details and just give Scott the PG version.

"I almost kissed Natalie."

All thoughts and worries of Allison and the werewolf hunters vanished from Scott's mind. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious. I was dancing with her at the party and we were so into it that I almost kissed her. But then, someone had to go wolfy on me so I had to leave Natalie at Lydia's to go find you. And now I'm never gonna have that opportunity again!" Stiles leaned his head against his seat. "God, this blows!"

Trying to comfort his friend as much as he could, Scott patted Stiles's shoulder. "Dude, it's Natalie. She can't stay mad at you for long. Just give her the weekend to cool off and on Monday when you see her at school you can talk to her and patch things up. She'll forgive you."

Stiles snorted. "Yeah, if she doesn't castrate me first." He then put the car in gear and drove off.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed it! PLEASE review and let me know what you think! I only got 3 reviews on the last chapter and that was kind of discouraging since I got 9 on the first one. Let me know what you think of this so I can continue to write this because I really like where this is headed! Also the quicker I write this and Isaac's story, the sooner I can start posting Derek's story. Hopefully I get 5 or more reviews. Also if you haven't, check out my IsaacxOC story, 'Scars' and let me know what you think. I plan on updating that one sometime this weekend. I'll be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I had a very busy month! Also don't mind any spelling or grammar mistakes I made. I just got my nails done for prom tonight so my hands are very derpy right now :P But other than that, enjoy chapter 4!**

* * *

Stiles was beyond nervous. He decided to take Scott's advice and gave Natalie the weekend to settle down so she won't want to actually murder him when they came back to school. He had it all planned out. As soon as he saw her, he was going to run up to her and give her the most sincere apology he could muster up.

However, Stiles was still debating on whether he should bring up their almost-kiss from the party or not. He didn't want to hear that Natalie was just tipsy and didn't know what she was doing so she didn't really want to kiss him. He wasn't ready to be rejected by his best friend. It was probably best to just let Natalie take the wheel on that ordeal.

The first person Stiles saw as soon as he got out of his car was Natalie. She was locking up her mom's car. When she was sticking the keys in her pocket, she locked eyes with Stiles. Her own brown eyes grew wide for a moment before they turned into a glare and walking away.

"Wait, Natalie!" Stiles called as he chased after her.

Natalie looked behind her and saw that Stiles was running towards her, so her first instinct was to run also. Stiles chased her from the front of the school to the inside. That caused quite a scene.

"Natalie Angelina Henderson, get back here!" Stiles yelled at his best friend.

"No, fuck you!" Natalie snapped over her shoulder.

They ignored their peers' stares as they continued to sprint down the hall. Now Stiles was more determined than ever to catch up to Natalie so he put more momentum in his legs. When he finally caught up to the redhead, he pounced on her and sent them both tumbling on the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Natalie exclaimed from underneath Stiles, "Did you really just tackle me?"

"Well, it got your attention, didn't it?" he said to her.

"Okay, I'll give you that," Natalie grumbled, "Now can you get off of me? People are staring!"

"I don't care. If you're not gonna talk to me, at least let me talk to you. If I don't, it's gonna bug me all day. Just let me explain myself."

After a small stare-down with Stiles, Natalie groaned in defeat. Once again, she caved in. Damn his begging chocolate brown eyes! "Ugh, fine! I'll talk to you. Now get off of me!" She didn't bother to wait for him and she pushed Stiles off of her, making him flop onto the floor beside her. After standing up and brushing herself off, Natalie pulled him up so he was standing in front of her. Stiles gazed down at her for a bit until she raised an eyebrow. "Well, talk!"

"Okay, okay!" Stiles said, holding his hands up in defense, "Let me start off by saying that I'm very very very very very _deeply_ sorry about leaving you at the party on Friday. I just had to make sure that Scott was alright and didn't do anything stupid. I swear that I was going to come right back and get you."

Natalie flailed her arms around. "And you didn't think to take me with you?! Because of you, I was stuck in a car for what seemed to be the longest twenty freakin' minutes of my life with creepy-ass Hale! Which by the way, you so owe me for that!"

"Well, sorry that I didn't want Scott to attack you during the full moon!"

"Oh, and you thought that leaving me with the big bad wolf would be any better?!"

Stiles pointed at her. "In my defense, I didn't know that he was going to be there! But that's not the point!" He paused to take a deep breath before looking back at his best friend. "I just didn't want you to get hurt if Scott was going crazy. I would never forgive myself if I let anything bad happen to you."

Now Natalie wasn't a typical girly-girl. She never liked going shopping because it made her bored when she stayed at the mall for too long. She never played with dolls because their plastic faces crept her out. And she never liked chick flicks because they were just way too predictable. But even though she would never say it out loud, she was a huge romantic. So when Stiles said that he was worried about her safety, it made her swoon a bit. Mentally, of course.

"Look, Stiles," she said softly, "I really do appreciate you wanting to look out for me. But Scott's my best friend too. And I want to be there for him through this… wolf puberty thing. We're like the three musketeers. We gotta stick together. Which means keeping me in the loop. Best friends till the end, right?"

Stiles engulfed Natalie in a big hug. He let out a sigh as he rested his chin on the top of her head. "Yeah. Best friends till the end."

'_But I wish to be more so badly,' _they both thought to themselves.

* * *

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…" Scott chanted over and over again.

His head was covered with his glove clad hands and his elbows rested on his knees as he sat on the bench by the lacrosse field. He was rocking back and forth in nervousness. What he had found out that morning about Allison's family was still taking over his mind. Man, was he screwed.

Scott was so deep in thought that when Natalie walked up to him, he didn't even notice her. Then she dropped her backpack on the bench, making a loud banging noise. Her best friend jumped up in his seat.

"Holy crap!" Scott yelped and placed his hand over his erratically beating heart.

"What's up, wolf boy?" Natalie said nonchalantly.

With wide eyes, Scott pressed his finger to his lips and shushed her. "Nat, not so loud! Someone could've heard you!"

"Are you okay, Scotty?" Natalie asked him, "Stiles told me that you were feeling upset about leaving Allison at the party. Did you talk to her?"

"Her dad," Scott said shakily, "He's a hunter. A w-werewolf hunter. He shot me the other night with a freakin' crossbow."

Natalie's jaw went slack as she took in the new information. "Intentionally?"

Whoa. Talk about a plot twist on events. As if Scott wasn't in deep shit before, he was definitely in for it now. But a laugh all of a sudden bubbled out of Natalie.

"Wow, this is like a real life Romeo and Juliet scenario, isn't it? Let's just hope it doesn't end in either one of you killing yourselves!" She stopped laughing when she saw Scott glaring at her. "Too insensitive?"

"Just a little."

"Sorry."

The coach blew his whistle and hustled his players to the field. "McCall, get your ass on the field! And Henderson, stop distracting my players! I can kick you off my field if I have to!"

"I'm not even doing anything!" Natalie flailed her arms. "What about you? Aren't you supposed to be focusing on your team?"

Coach Finstock glared at the redhead and pointed to his eyes with two fingers then back to her. "I'll be watching you!"

"Was that a 'Meet the Parents' reference, Coach?" Natalie gave him a thumbs up. "Classic move!" Of course, she was being sarcastic. Coach Finstock just ignored her and started practice.

Natalie watched as the coach talked to his team for a bit before the huddle broke off and the players went into position on the field. Some players went to sit down on the bench, one of them being Stiles. He sat down in his usual spot next to Natalie and together they watched the practice go down. So far, it was not looking so good. It was easy to tell that Jackson had enough of Scott gaining the popularity so he was trying to take the new werewolf down. He seemed to be succeeding. Both of the best friends cringed as they saw Jackson hit Scott hard and he fell. Coach Finstock bent down to Scott's level and talk to him- more like antagonizing him. Scott's eyes were turning yellow and Natalie worried that someone was going to notice. Luckily no one did. When the coach finished talking, Scott stood up and ran back to his starting position.

"McCall's gonna do it again!" Coach Finstock called out, "McCall's gonna do it again!"

This play was much worse than the first one. Because Scott was starting to shift, he was now taking his anger out on Jackson. They charged at each other and collided harshly. When they both fell, Jackson cried out and latched onto his now injured shoulder while Scott was freaking out. Stiles and Natalie jumped out of their seats and rushed over to their friend.

"Scott?" Natalie said, "What's going on?"

"I can't control it!" Scott panted, "It's happening!"

Stiles's eyes grew wide. "What? Right here? Now? Come on, get up!"

Together, Stiles and Natalie pulled Scott up and they ushered him to the boys' locker room. The redhead tried not to breathe with her nose since the room stunk from sweat and Axe body spray. Clothes and practice gear were everywhere! Boys were truly disgusting.

Scott hunched over in the corner of the locker room and breathed heavily. His best friends immediately hovered over him. Natalie then bent down and began rubbing Scott's back soothingly in comfort.

"Scotty, take deep breaths, okay?" she instructed. Although she was trying to be strong at the moment, she was panicking intensely on the inside. "Just relax."

"Scott, are you okay?" Stiles asked when he bent down next to Natalie.

But when Scott turned towards his best friends, it wasn't really Scott they were seeing. No, this boy's face was sharper, hair had grown on both sides of his face, and his teeth had turn into fangs. Those yellow eyes were still there, and they were searching for something to kill.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Scott roared.

Stiles and Natalie fell backwards in fright. They got up as fast as they could and Stiles grabbed Natalie's hand. Scott began to chase the two around the locker room, jumping on and denting lockers in the process. The teens ran to a corner of the room. Natalie buried her head into Stiles's chest and fisted his shirt as he wrapped his arms around her, shielding her from the attacks of their friend. The redhead was starting to have a panic attack. Her best friend could kill her or her crush at any second and it was way too terrifying to wrap her head around that.

She wasn't the only one who was scared. Stiles would never have thought that he would fear for his life because of Scott out of all people. He could feel Natalie shaking in his arms and he just held her tighter as he tried to come up with a way to keep them safe. Then he saw the fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. He quickly grabbed it and sprayed Scott. The wolf panted heavily as he calmed down. When he looked up at Stiles and Natalie, he had shifted back to his human form.

"Stiles? Natalie? What happened?"

"You tried to kill us," Stiles told him.

Scott's eyes grew wide, scaring himself. "Did I hurt you?"

Natalie shook her head. "No, we're okay. You didn't touch us."

"It's like we told you before," Stiles said, "It's the anger. It's your pulse rising."

"But that's lacrosse!" Scott exclaimed, "It's a pretty violent game, if you haven't noticed."

Stiles sighed. "Well it's gonna be much more violent if you kill someone on the field. You can't play on Saturday. You're gonna have to get out of that game."

Scott looked defeated. "But I'm first line."

"Not anymore," Natalie told him sadly, "I'm sorry, Scotty. You can't risk it."

The wolf squeezed his eyes shut and whined as he leaned his head against the wall. Derek told him that the bite was a gift when all it did was make Scott's life worse than before. All the hard work to make first line to only have it taken away after a week. And now Allison will realize what a loser he really is and move on to someone better. Being a werewolf bites.

* * *

The Henderson children struggled to eat their last bite of dinner. Terri made her famous homemade chicken pot pie so both Natalie and Zach were doomed from the start. But they couldn't contain themselves. It was just too good! Finally they finished their dinner and dropped down their forks with a clank. Natalie and Zach slumped in their chairs and rubbed their full stomachs.

"Ugh!" Zach groaned, "I feel like a fat kid! I should go hibernate in my room for the next few days."

"Man, I think I need to hit the gym for an extra two hours!" Natalie quipped, "I probably just gained ten pounds!"

Terri rolled her eyes as she chuckled. "You two are so overdramatic." She picked up her children's plates and placed them in the sink. Then she reached in the freezer and pulled out some ice cream. "Anyone up for dessert?"

Both Natalie and Zach groaned.

"Oh god, I can't even think about taking another bite of anything ever again!" Natalie whined.

"It's homemade cookies and crème."

Natalie glared at Terri. All her mother did was smirk at the redhead. "Why must you torture me like this?"

"It's my Jo." Terri placed a scoop of ice cream into a bowl and set it down in front of her daughter. She then kissed Natalie's head before getting ice cream for Zach.

"Ugh, Danny's gonna kill me for this," Natalie grumbled. She picked up her spoon and took a bite of her cookies and crème. As the flavor hit her taste buds, she moaned in delight. "But at least I can die happily."

Her phone vibrated in her pocket as she took another bite. When Natalie looked on the screen she saw that she had received a text from Scott.

_**Stiles has some update on Jackson. Log onto Skype ASAP!**_

"Well, I'm gonna take this to my room," Natalie announced as she picked up her bowl and stood up. "Apparently I'm needed by Scott and Stiles."

"You mean your twitchy boyfriend?" Zach teased.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Natalie defended herself, "And he's not twitchy! He's just… socially awkward."

The thirteen year old snorted. "Yeah, because that makes it any better."

"Demon child…" the redhead mumbled as she retired to her room.

When Natalie walked into her bedroom, she set down her ice cream on her desk before grabbing a white Pierce the Veil t-shirt and black shorts. She quickly pulled off the clothes she wore for the day and put on her pajamas. After that she sat on her desk chair. She opened up her laptop and she saw Scott's screen name requesting to chat with her so she accepted it. The boy was sitting in his room.

"What up?" Natalie said, "Where's Thing Two at?"

"I'm pulling him up right now," Scott said as he typed up something. "And… here."

One click later and Stiles's box appeared at the top right corner of Natalie's laptop screen. In Stiles's hand was a toy gun and he was making shooting noises with his mouth. Both Scott and Natalie rolled their eyes at their best friend's childish behavior.

"What are you, freakin' five years old?" the redhead sassed. She then squinted her brown eyes as she looked more closely. "Is that _my_ toy gun?"

Stiles's eyes looked back at the toy and embarrassingly lowered his hand. "Maybe…"

Natalie flailed her arms at the screen. "Dude, when did you take that? _Why_ do you even have that?"

"I needed a new one to add to my collection," Stiles answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"So you steal mine?!"

"It's not like you were-"

Loud clapping halted the two friends' bickering. They both looked to Scott's box and saw him glaring at them.

"When you children finally stop arguing with each other," Scott started, "we need to focus on the real issue here. Thank you. So what did you find out?"

"Oh, it's bad," Stiles said, "Jackson has a separated shoulder." All of a sudden Natalie snorted, causing both boys to turn to her. They gave her a look that said, "Really?" and she cleared her throat. She looked away as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Because of me?" Scott wondered out loud.

"Because he's an asshole!" Natalie piped in.

Stiles snapped his fingers and pointed to the redhead's side of the screen. "Accurate."

"Is he gonna play?" Scott asked.

"They don't know yet," Stiles answered, "Now they're just counting on you for Saturday."

Right as Stiles was about to say something else, he squinted his eyes and leaned in closer to his computer screen. Confusion swept across both Scott and Natalie's faces as Stiles began to frantically type something.

_**It looks like-**_

Then his computer froze.

"It looks like what?" Scott asked Stiles. He looked up at Natalie. "What's going on?"

"I don't know!" the redhead shrieked, "I'm just as confused as you are!"

Finally the rest of Stiles's message came through.

_**-someone's behind you.**_

Natalie looked up and her brown eyes widened in fear when she looked at Scott's box. "Uh, Scotty?" Shakily, she pointed to the figure standing behind her best friend.

Scott turned around and then all of a sudden, he was pinned to the wall by Derek. Just as Natalie was about to yell at Derek through her webcam, the battery on her laptop died.

"What the…" Natalie stuttered. She smacked her laptop a couple of times in hopes that it would turn back on. It didn't. This just made Natalie groan and pound her fist down on her desk. "Son of a bitch! This is why I fucking hate Mac!"

* * *

At school a couple of days later, Stiles and Natalie were out at the baseball field during their free period. Baseball tryouts were after school and Natalie would be lying if she said that she wasn't nervous. So she decided to take it upon herself and drag Stiles out to the field and practice a bit. And how could he say no to her? Especially when the redhead used her puppy dog eyes to lure him in. They were tossing each other the baseball Natalie had in her backpack.

"So quick question," Stiles said as he caught the baseball in his glove. He then threw it back to Natalie. "Who do you think would die first in a zombie apocalypse? Me or Jackson?"

"Oh, that's easy," Natalie said, "You for sure."

Stiles's jaw dropped and let out a feminine squeak. He was so taken aback by this statement that when Natalie threw the ball back at him, it almost hit him in the face. "Me? Seriously? Why?"

"Well first of all," the redhead started, "You get distracted easily, as you've just shown me. Also Jackson's faster, both by running and reflexes. He may be a prick but he's quick on his feet. So unless you have some kind of weapon to defend yourself with, you're basically screwed."

Thinking it over, Stiles shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, that may be true, but Jackson has more body mass than I do. Zombies would probably rather eat him than me since I'm skinny."

"They eat brains, stupid! They won't care that he has more meat on his bones than you! You should grateful because that means you're smarter than him. Plus, you're not skinny. You're lean, which is a lot better than being skinny."

A sly grin stretched across Stiles's face. "Did you just compliment me? Well that's a first." He pointed to his ear. "Come on. Say it one more time. I wanna savor this moment."

Natalie rolled her eyes and tossed the baseball in her backpack as the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. "Shut up and let's go."

After she zipped up her backpack and slung it over her shoulders, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her up in the air. Natalie squealed as Stiles draped her body over his shoulder, giving her a nice view of her friend's jean clad rear. She gave it a little smack only for Stiles to smack her own rear back.

"Ow!" the redhead yelped, "Can you put me down now?"

"Nope," Stiles said, popping the 'p', "But I can do this."

Without any warning, he flipped Natalie over so he was now carrying her bridal style. Red hair covered her face as she laughed. Stiles couldn't help but laugh along with her. Naturally- and as carefully as he could without dropping her- he pushed her hair out of Natalie's face.

"Say this," Stiles smirked, "Stiles Stilinski is the most awesome person and biggest badass in the world."

Once again Natalie rolled her eyes at her best friend's request. "Someone's getting a little cocky here, isn't he?" Instead of answering her, Stiles pretended that he was going to drop her, making her wrap her arms around his neck and yelp. "Okay, okay!" She let out an annoyed sigh before repeating, "Stiles Stilinski is the most awesome person and the biggest badass in the world. Now will you please put me down?"

Stiles thought about it then shook his head. "Nah. I think I'm gonna keep holding you. It makes me feel more masculine." There was also the fact that he just wanted to get closer to his favorite girl. But he wasn't going to mention that.

And it's not like Natalie was complaining. She just accepted the gesture with small red hues on her face and let Stiles carry her back into the school. Natalie hopped out of Stiles's arms when she saw that her dad and Sheriff Stilinski talking to the principal. The best friends gave each other a worried look.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Stiles asked the redhead.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know." Then she saw Scott standing in front of his locker. "But there's only one way to find out." Natalie jogged over to Scott, grabbed him by his backpack, and dragged him to where Stiles was standing while ignoring his protests.

"Hey, what are you-"

Stiles pointed to the police officers and the principal. "Tell us what they're saying. Can you hear them?"

Scott shushed them before using his werewolf senses to listen in on the conversation. After a minute, Scott said, "Curfew because of the body."

"Damn it!" Natalie groaned as she stomped her foot. Pouting, she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Thanks a lot, Hale!"

"Unbelievable!" Stiles scoffed, "Our dads are out looking for a rabid animal while the jerk-off who actually killed the girl is just hanging out, doing what he wants!"

"Well you can't exactly tell your dads the truth about Derek," Scott pointed out.

For the second time that day, Stiles let out a sly grin. "We can do something…"

"Like what?"

The redhead crossed her fingers and squeezed her brown eyes shut. "Please don't go there!"

"Find the other half of the body," Stiles answered.

"And he went there."

However Scott wasn't really paying attention. Down the hallway, Lydia was introducing Allison to some of the lacrosse players. Stiles and Natalie turned their heads to see what Scott was looking at and winced. Talk about a low blow. And clearly Scott wasn't so happy with what he was seeing.

Quick to avoid this awkward situation, Stiles grabbed Natalie's hand. "Well we should get going. It looks like you have girl issues you need to take care of and Nat needs to get ready for her baseball tryouts."

Said girl didn't even have a chance to protest before Stiles dragged her down the hallway. "Later, Scotty! Try not to kill anyone!"

* * *

"WHOO!" Stiles hollered with Natalie clinging onto his back, "My best friend is co-captain of Beacon Hills's baseball team!"

"Hells yeah, she is!" Natalie cheered. She pumped her fist up in triumph. "In your face, Stephenson!"

With victorious smiles and lifted spirits, the pair stalked away from the newly excited- and some heartbroken- girls and made their way to Stiles's jeep. Natalie jumped off of Stiles's back before tossing her baseball equipment into the back of the jeep and climbing into the passenger seat. There was a new message on Stiles's phone from Scott but since Stiles had to drive, he tossed the phone to Natalie for her to check what it said.

"God, how freakin' awesome is that?" Stiles beamed as he drove out of the school parking lot, "My best friend Natalie Henderson not only killed it during the tryouts, but was made co-captain of the _varsity _baseball team! That's actually kinda hot." While it was a joking statement, Natalie didn't know that he was being serious. She gave his arm a playful slap but on the inside her heartbeat sped up. "This definitely calls for a celebration."

Wide eyes peered down at the text Scott sent. "Well we can't do it tonight. Scott said that he found something strange at Derek's house and to go over to his place right now."

Stiles's ears perked up and his eyes widened. He was now filled with a brand new excitement. Reaching over Natalie's legs, he opened his glove compartment and pulled out his bottle of Adderall. He took out a few capsules and popped them in his mouth.

"Really, Stiles?" Natalie exclaimed, "You are not intoxicating yourself while operating a vehicle!"

"Hey, my jeep, my rules, woman!" Stiles told the redhead as he continued to drive. Figuring that she wasn't going to get anywhere with this argument, Natalie rolled her eyes and laidback in her seat.

It only took a few more minutes to reach Scott's house. Melissa McCall, Scott's mom, was already on her shift at the hospital so Stiles parked in her spot. The car wasn't even parked all the way when Natalie got out and ran inside Scott's house. Right after Stiles shut off his car he followed after his best friend into Scott's room to find said boy sitting in his desk chair.

Once Stiles reached Scott's room, he began to bombard the wolf with questions. "What did you find? How did you find it? Where did you find it? And yes, I had a lot of Adderall…"

"Unfortunately…" Natalie grumbled as she rubbed her temples with her fingertips.

Scott rolled his eyes and said, "I found something at Derek's house."

"Well, what was it?" Natalie asked impatiently.

The wolf shrugged. "There was something buried there. I could smell blood."

"That's awesome!" Stiles exclaimed excitedly. Natalie smacked his stomach hard, making him double over in pain. "I mean, that's terrible. Ow…"

"Dumbass," Natalie said to Stiles before turning to Scott, "Whose blood was it?"

Once again Scott shrugged. "I don't know. But when I do find out, your dads will arrest Derek for the murder. And then you will help me figure out how to play lacrosse without changing, because there's no way in hell I'm not playing that game."

The trio hopped into Stiles's jeep and drove off to the hospital. Right when they were inside, Scott made sure that his mom wasn't around before heading to the morgue.

"Good luck, I guess," Stiles called after Scott.

Stiles and Natalie went to go sit in the hallway and did their best to not look suspicious. Clearly Natalie was grasping that concept better than Stiles, who picked up a pamphlet about the women menstrual cycle without meaning to. The redhead held back a snort before going over to the vending machine to buy a Kit-Kat. She reached in the pocket of her grey hoodie for her wallet but then remembered that it was in her backpack in Stiles's jeep. A huff of air left her mouth before she turned to Stiles who was still hiding behind the pamphlet.

"Dude," Natalie said, gaining Stiles's attention, "Do you even know what you're reading right now?"

He looked down at the pamphlet and yelped in horror. He quickly tossed it back on the table next to his chair and picked up a much less terrifying magazine.

"Anyway," Natalie chuckled, "I left my wallet in the car. Do you have a dollar on you?"

Nodding his head, Stiles pulled his wallet out of the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a dollar bill. Natalie thanked him when he handed her the money before she turned back to the vending machine. She put the money in the machine and punched in a few numbers. When the Kit-Kat dropped, it got stuck in the bottom. Natalie cursed to herself before bending down to pull it out.

Unintentionally, Stiles glanced up but his gaze stilled when he saw the sight in front of him. Since the two had gone straight to Scott's after Natalie's baseball tryouts, she didn't have a chance to change out of her white Black Veil Brides tank top and black capri leggings. When Stiles saw Natalie, he was glad that she was still wearing those leggings. He couldn't help but gawk at how great those pants made her butt look amazing. Especially when she was bending over. And he wasn't ashamed to be staring. Call him a typical overly hormonal teenage boy, which he was. That wasn't going to stop him from admiring his crush's athletic and beautiful body. Just as long as no one caught him.

Too late. Stiles didn't hear Scott walk up to him so when the wolf ripped the magazine out of his hands, Stiles jumped like two feet in the air. Scott chuckled when he realized that Stiles was checking Natalie out.

"It smelled the same," Scott told them, setting his focus back to the real issue.

"And you're sure about this?" Natalie said as she stood back up, biting into her candy.

"Yes!"

"So he did bury the other half of the body on his property…" Stiles realized.

"Which means we can prove he killed the girl!" Scott concluded.

"I say we use it."

"How?"

Natalie held her hands up in front of her, still holding her Kit-Kat. "Hold on a second there, Scotty. Are you doing this because you want to stop Derek or because you want to play the game and he said you couldn't?"

Scott gave Natalie a serious yet frightened look. "There were bite marks on the legs, Nat. Bite marks!"

"Okay!" Natalie said as she held up her hands in defense.

"Well then," Stiles started with a mischievous grin and gleam in his eye, "we're gonna need a shovel." Shooting a look at Natalie, he added, "Three shovels, to be exact."

Right after the trio left the hospital, Stiles drove them back into the woods to over where the remains of Derek's house lied. They hid behind a tree and waited for the brooding man to leave, which didn't take too long. As soon as Derek skidded away in his sleek black Camaro, Scott, Stiles, and Natalie came out from their hiding spots with their shovels in their hands. Stiles and Natalie were about to start digging until Scott held up his hand to stop them.

"Wait," he said, "Something's different."

"Different how?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know…" Scott trailed off, sensing that something strange was going on. Unsure of himself, he sighed and shook his head. "Let's just get this over with."

Unfortunately, the digging was taking a lot longer than any of them would've liked. They had been in front of Derek's house for at least a couple of hours. And they still haven't found what they were looking for! To make matters worse for the frustrated boys, Natalie had been whistling 'Hi Ho (It's Off to Work We Go' as they were shoveling. Stiles was about ready to rip his ears off.

"Natalie, I love you and everything," he said, "but I'm about ready to bury you alive."

"Hey! Don't give me your attitude," Natalie snapped, "First you drag me out in the middle of the night to look for half of a dead body in the woods and now we're digging around the property of the big bad wolf that could easily kill us if he wanted to. I'm bored, tired, and hungry so this is my only source of entertainment!"

Scott huffed in frustration. "Seriously, Stiles, this is taking way too long!"

"Just keep going," Stiles urged on as he continued to shovel.

"What if he comes back?" Scott worried.

"Then we get the hell out of here."

"What if he catches us?" Natalie added.

"I have a plan for that," the short-haired friend assured them.

"Which is?" Scott wondered.

Stiles answered with, "You run one way, Natalie and I run the other, and whoever he catches first, too bad."

The teen wolf looked at his friend and shook his head. "I hate that plan!"

Natalie scoffed. "Okay, who the hell decided to make him in charge of making all of these rash decisions?"

Scott shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. But either way, it's never happening again."

"Agreed."

"Okay, both of you can stop insulting me like I'm not here!" Stiles exclaimed to his best friends. Grumbling to himself, he continued his digging. Until his shovel hit something. His eyes grew wide and he held Scott and Natalie back with his arms. "Whoa, stop! Stop, stop!"

Stiles started to shovel again until he had cleared the dirt off the object. Now, Scott knew that something felt off here. And Stiles and Natalie also had a bad vibe about this situation. But neither of them expected to find what they did. The three of them screamed and jumped back when they found the upper half of a wolf.

"What the hell is that?!" Stiles exclaimed.

"It's a wolf!" Scott responded.

The redhead clutched onto Stiles's arm. "Yeah, no shit! I thought you said that you smelled blood! An in _human_ blood!"

"I told you something was different!"

"Oh god, that is something I can never not see…" Natalie shuddered, "We've gotta get outta here."

"Yeah," Stiles agreed, "Help me cover it up."

Natalie bent down to pick up the shovel she had dropped but suddenly halted. Planted on the ground in front of her was a purple flower. She tugged on the sleeve on Stiles's jacket and pointed to the mysterious plant. Right away he recognized the flower from movies and websites he had come across before. Scott noticed his best friends tense up.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Stiles pointed to the plant. "Do you see that flower?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"I think it's wolfsbane."

A confused expression swept across Scott's face. "What's that?"

Stiles gaped at him in disbelief. "You've never seen 'The Wolf Man'?"

Scott shook his head. "No."

"Lon Chaney Jr.? Claude Rains?" Natalie tried to help the wolf out, "The original werewolf movie?"

Now Scott was just more in the dark than ever at this point. "What?"

"Dude, you are so unprepared for this," Stiles sighed in disappointment.

"One of these days, Scotty, we are watching all werewolf movies to get you educated," Natalie promised her best friend, clasping a hand on his shoulder.

Stiles walked over to the flower and pulled it off the ground, only to find out that the stem was attached to some rope. Yard by yard, he went around in circles pulling out the rope, which was creating a spiral shape. Finally, Stiles was able to tug all of the rope out. Once again, the three teenagers were taken aback when they looked down at the wolf in the hole.

Only this time, it wasn't a wolf they were seeing. It was the second half of the dead girl's body that they were looking for.

Natalie's jaw went slack in horror. "No fucking way."

* * *

**I hope you guys liked this chapter! PLEASE review and let me know what you think! It gives me motivation to keep going and I love to hear what you guys have to say. Also feel free to leave any questions you have about this story, Scars, and even the DerekxOC that will start hopefully soon!  
**

**I decided that I am going to keep Natalie human because like some of you, I like the idea of Stiles with someone that isn't supernatural. I hope you guys are happy with that because I think it will be a good change.**

**Also if you haven't, PLEASE read and review my IsaacxOC story, Scars. I love the story so far but I don't really have many reviews on it and it makes me sad because I don't want to abort it. And since my 18th birthday is on Thursday (June 5th) it would be a nice present to get a bunch of reviews on both Awake and Alive and Scars!**

**I hope to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello there, muchachos! So for those who have watched the season 4 premiere, wasn't that awesome? And teenage Derek is freakin' gorgeous! But I'm still on the fence about Malia. I wanna like her, but I ship Stiles and Natalie too hard to really accept her yet, but I hope she grows on me. And speaking of Stiles and Natalie, here's chapter 5!  
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After the second half of the body was found, Stiles called his dad to report Derek's crime. Next morning, the trio watched as Kurt chained the werewolf in handcuffs and led him to the police car. Derek looked over to where Scott, Stiles, and Natalie were standing and gave them the most intense death stare. The boys cringed under Derek's glare while Natalie flipped him off, which was a pretty ballsy thing for her to do. All the wolf could do was snarl at the redhead since he was restrained. Kurt pushed Derek in the back of the police car and shut the door. Being the curious teenager he was, Stiles ran towards that same police car.

"Stiles, get back here!" Natalie hissed. But Stiles ignored her and continued to run to the car. "Ugh, I'm gonna kill that kid!"

Natalie followed her best friend, being careful of not being seen by either her or Stiles's dad. Since Stiles took up the passenger side of the vehicle, she ran around it and slid into the driver's seat.

"You are so lucky that it was me that saw you and not your dad or else he would've handed your ass to you," Natalie scolded her best friend.

He scoffed. "I could've easily handled him either way." As Natalie rolled her eyes, Stiles turned to Derek. "Okay, just so you know, I'm not afraid of you."

"Yeah, you are."

Stiles glared at Natalie, who just raised an eyebrow. "I am not!" When he turned back to face Derek, the wolf stared him down like Stiles was his prey. An audible gulp traveled down Stiles's throat. "Okay, maybe I am." Natalie mumbled 'pussy' underneath her breath and Stiles wrapped his arm around her in a headlock and covered her mouth to prevent her from saying anything else. "It doesn't matter. That girl you killed… she was a werewolf. But she was a different kind, wasn't she? I mean, she could turn herself into an actual wolf, and I know Scott can't do that. Is that why you killed her?"

"Why are you so worried about me when it's your friend who's the problem?" Derek glared at the two teens, "When he shifts on the field, what do you think they're gonna do, huh? Just keep cheering him on? I can't stop him from playing, but you can. Both of you." He leaned in closer. "And trust me, you want to."

Before either Stiles or Natalie could respond, Sheriff Stilinski opened Stiles's door and dragged his son out. Derek leaned back in his seat and shut his eyes, processing everything that had happened, from his losing pretty much everyone in his life to being arrested for a murder he didn't even commit. Why must his life turn to absolute shit? Being a werewolf definitely had its disadvantages, and false accusation was one of them.

When Derek opened his eyes, he saw Natalie still sitting in the driver's seat, staring back at him with curious eyes.

"What?" he snarled, annoyed with these three teenagers who keep showing up.

"You know, I'm not gonna stop bugging you until you tell me who that girl in the photo is," Natalie said, "She obviously means something to you and I wanna know why."

"Why?" Derek asked, "What's it to you? Why are you so concerned with someone you don't even know?"

"I just don't understand why you are so closed off about this. Did something happen-"

"Drop it," the werewolf cut her off. He leaned father back and looked down at his lap. "It's not important."

"I don't have to be a werewolf to tell that you're lying." With his slightly wide eyes, Derek looked up at Natalie and she gave him a sad smile.

Although Natalie should be running for the hills at this point, she couldn't help but feel sympathy for Derek. Yes, he was dangerous and scary, but that didn't mean he was incapable of feeling. Even if Natalie didn't like Derek, she didn't like to see people beating themselves up over something beyond their control.

Suddenly, Kurt pulled his daughter out of his vehicle and pulled her by the elbow to where Stiles and his dad were standing.

"Why am I not surprised you are here?" Kurt grumbled as he pulled Natalie along.

"Isn't this police brutality?" Natalie stated, "I am an American citizen! I have rights!"

"Oh, be quiet!" Finally Kurt let Natalie go next to Stiles. "There, stand."

Kurt stood next to Sheriff Stilinski, who stood across from his son. Both police officers had their arms crossed in front of their chests as they glared at their kids.

Sheriff Stilinski was the first to start questioning. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"We're just trying to help!" Stiles defended.

"Uh huh…" Kurt clicked his tongue, "Okay, well then explain to us exactly how you came across it."

"We were looking for Scott's inhaler."

Natalie's eyes grew wide at what Stiles said. Oh, shit! They were gonna be in huge trouble now.

"When did he drop it?" Stiles's dad asked.

Stiles answered, "The other night."

"Stiles, shut up," Natalie said so only he could hear.

"The night when we found the first half of the body?"

"Yes!"

"Oh my god, Stiles, shut up!" Natalie groaned.

One of Sheriff Stilinski's eyebrows rose. "The night you and Natalie told us you two were alone and Scott was at home?"

"Yes!" Stiles answered a little too quickly. Once he realized what he had just said to his dad, his eyes grew wide and he tried to cover up his lie. "No!" Too late. "Aw, crap…"

The redhead sighed in disappointment and pinched the bridge of her nose. "God, you suck so much…"

"So you two lied to us," Kurt accused.

Natalie sputtered as she shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I mean, that depends."

"On what?"

"How you define lying."

Kurt shot Sheriff Stilinski a glance. "I don't know about you, John, but I define it as not telling the truth."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Stiles's dad agreed, "How do you definite it?"

Natalie's mouth opened and closed as she tried to come up with a response. She nudged Stiles with her elbow. "Stiles, you wanna handle this one?"

It took Stiles off guard and he mimicked his best friend's previous actions. He flattened his hands out in front of him. "Um, reclining your body in a… horizontal position…"

"Get the hell outta here," Sheriff Stilinski told his son.

"Absolutely." Stiles rubbed the back of his neck as he walked towards his car.

Natalie laughed nervously and lightly punched her dad's arm. "I think you both handled that quite well, don't you think? You guys are doing an awesome job here."

"Go home, Natalie," Kurt ordered.

"Ugh, fine!" The redhead followed after Stiles.

As Natalie was walking, she slightly looked down and noticed a corner of a piece of paper sticking out from under a bunch of leaves. Her head whipped side to side to make sure no one was watching her before crouching down. She brushed the leaves away and saw that it wasn't just a piece of paper- it was a photo. To be exact, it was Derek's photo of the mystery girl he was so protective and weird over. Natalie was surprised that it was out of Derek's sight since he freaked out when she touched it. But with him being handcuffed in the back of Kurt's police car, there was nothing Derek could do about it now. Natalie picked up the photo and tucked it in her pocket. As she stood up, she brushed the dirt off her jeans and jogged to catch up with Stiles.

When Natalie was next to Stiles, she kicked him in his rear, making him yelp and jump up a bit. Stiles turned to Natalie with his jaw dropped. "Whenever I say, 'Stiles, shut up', that usually means shut the hell up!" He rolled his eyes as he rubbed the spot Natalie had kicked.

Stiles drove away from the crime scene when the trio got into the jeep. As Stiles was focusing on the road, Scott and Natalie were searching on their phones for more information on the strange purple plant they had found the night before. So far, the internet hadn't helped at all.

"I can't find anything about wolfsbane being used in burials," Scott said, scrolling through his phone.

"Neither can I," Natalie sighed as she tossed her phone onto the seat beside her.

"Just keep looking," Stiles said, "Maybe it's like a ritual or something. Like, maybe they bury you as a wolf. Or maybe it's a special skill, you know, like something you have to learn."

Scott scoffed. "I'll put it on my agenda. Then we have to figure out how I am gonna play this game tonight."

"Maybe it's different for girl werewolves…" Stiles trailed off.

"Ooh!" Natalie exclaimed, "Do you think girl werewolves have to go through periods?"

"Oh god…" Stiles scrunched his nose in disgust.

"What? It's an honest question! If they don't have to go through periods every month, shit, sign me up to be a werewolf!"

"Okay, stop it!" Scott exclaimed.

Natalie shrugged. "Stop what? Talking about periods?"

"No!" the wolf said, "Stop saying 'werewolves'! Stop enjoying this so much!"

Stiles looked over at Scott. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not!" Scott gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, "I'm so far from being okay!"

"It's gonna be alright, Scotty," Natalie assured him, rubbing his back.

"You're gonna have to accept it, Scott," Stiles told him, "Sooner or later."

"I can't!" Scott cried out.

"Well, you're gonna have to!"

"No, I can't breathe!" Scott's eyes were squeezed shut and he was breathing heavily. "Pull over!"

"Why?" Natalie asked, leaning in between the front seats, "What's going on?"

Instead of answering her, Scott sniffed the air. The revolting scent grew stronger when he looked down at Stiles's backpack. He pulled on the zipper and to his horror, there was a bundle of wolfsbane inside.

"You kept it?!"

Natalie smacked Stiles on the back of the head. "Ow!" he cried, "What was I supposed to do with it?!"

"You could've just left it alone like a smart person!" the redhead yelled.

Scott turned to Stiles and Natalie with yellow eyes and bared fangs. "STOP THE CAR!"

Stiles panicked as he slammed down on his brakes. The sudden movements made Natalie fly back against the seats harshly. She cringed as she rubbed the back of her head. Stiles picked up his backpack and tossed it to Natalie.

"Here," he said.

Natalie stared down at it in bewilderment. She immediately threw the backpack back to its owner. "And what the hell am _I_ supposed to do with it?"

"Get rid of it!" Toss.

"Why can't _you_ do it? It's _your_ backpack!" Toss.

"Because I'm the one that's operating the vehicle!" Toss.

"It's parked, dumbass!" Toss.

"SOME PLEASE JUST GET IT OUT OF HERE!" Scott roared.

"Fine, we'll both go!" Natalie compromised.

Both Stiles and Natalie scrambled to get out of the jeep, leaving Scott in his seat. They grabbed both ends of the backpack and swung it back and forth a few times. Finally, they threw it far out in the woods and out of their sights. Giving each other proud looks, Stiles and Natalie chuckled and gave each other a high-five.

"That's what's up," Stiles chuckled breathlessly.

"Damn straight," Natalie agreed. She rolled her head and shoulders back. "Alright, Scotty, it's all good now. We can…" Her voice trailed off when she and Stiles turned back to the jeep. The passenger door was wide open and the seat was now empty. Which only meant one thing:

Scott had taken off.

"How did we not see this coming?!" Natalie exclaimed as her arms flailed around.

Stiles ran a hand over his head. "Maintaining a werewolf best friend is a lot harder than I thought I was going to be."

"Yeah, no shit." Natalie looked up at Stiles. "So now what?"

"Hmm…" He let out a huff of air. "Well, we can go over to my house so I can get ready for the game. On the way we'll call Tara and ask if she's seen anything. Minus the whole Scott going Wolf Man and taking off ordeal."

The redhead threw her hands up. "Sounds good to me." She walked to the passenger side of the jeep. "I call shotgun!"

As Stiles drove to his house, Natalie dialed Tara's number. Tara was an officer that had been working with Stiles and Natalie's fathers for a long time and the teens grew up knowing her. She even sometimes babysat them when they were younger and their parents were working. After Natalie punched in the numbers, she put the phone on speaker. The dial tone rang a few times before Tara finally answered.

"_Stiles, Natalie,"_ Tara sighed over the phone, _"you know you can't call me when I'm on duty."_

"We know," Natalie said, "but this is kinda important. We wanted to know if you had received any odd calls today."

"_Odd how?"_

"You know, like an odd person."

Stiles spoke up. "Or a dog-like individual roaming the streets." Natalie pinched his arm, making him grit his teeth in pain.

"_I'm hanging up now,"_ Tara said.

Natalie's eyes grew wide. "No, wait, Tara! Wait one second-"

"_Goodbye."_

The line went dead.

"A dog-like individual…" Natalie deadpanned, "Really, Stiles? You couldn't have been any more suspicious?!"

"Well, it's true, isn't it?" Stiles exclaimed, "I thought it was pretty accurate!"

Pressing her knuckles to her forehead, she squeezed her eyes shut to try to not let her anger show. She took a couple of deep breaths before looking at Stiles.

"Next time I call the authorities, let me handle it and do all the talking. Got it?"

Stiles rolled his eyes. "You're no fun…"

Soon Stiles parked his car in his driveway. Natalie headed straight for the kitchen when she walked inside Stiles's house with said boy trailing behind. She raided the refrigerator until she found two chocolate pudding cups. Then she pulled out two spoons from the silverware drawer and tossed one of each to Stiles, who easily caught them both. They walked up to his room and Natalie automatically flopped down onto the bed.

"If you spill anything on my bed, I will hunt you down," Stiles threatened playfully as he searched for his lacrosse uniform in his dresser.

"Promise?" Natalie smirked and gave Stiles a little wink.

Flustered, Stiles's lips parted as he tried to come up with something clever to say. But he couldn't think of anything because of the flirtatious look Natalie was giving him. "Just shut up and eat your damn pudding," he finally mumbled.

Natalie smiled to herself and opened her container. Shivers went down her spine as a cool breeze suddenly hit the room. It only reminded her that she forgot to bring a jacket for the game that evening and the long sleeved shirt she was already wearing wasn't really going to keep her warm.

"Hey, Stiles, can I-"

A maroon Beacon Hills High School Lacrosse hoodie landed on Natalie's head. She rolled her eyes as she pulled it away and set down her snack. As she slid into the sweatshirt, she let herself get lost in how warm and soft it was. It may have been big on her, but it just made her love it even more. Its scent was the perfect combination of Stiles's cologne, mint, and a small whiff of curly fries, which most girls might find repulsive but it was something Natalie had grown familiar and fond of over the years. A smile graced her face as she snuggled into the hoodie, which Stiles didn't miss and it made him smile also. He had always adored seeing Natalie wear something of his, whether it was a jacket or flannel. It made her look even more adorable- as if that couldn't have been any more possible.

As Natalie shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed, she felt the picture crinkle in her back pocket. Carefully she pulled it out and unfolded it. She studied the picture as Stiles slipped on his lacrosse uniform. He zipped up his jacket and when he turned to Natalie, he noticed the picture in her hand.

"What is that?" he asked, nodding his head towards the picture.

Natalie shrugged. "When Derek took me home after Lydia's party, he had this stuck to his dashboard. He got pissed when I asked about it so I figured it was important. And I saw it lying on the ground earlier at his house when my dad took him away. I felt like I couldn't just leave it there so I took it."

Stiles took the picture from Natalie. "She's pretty. Do you know who she is?"

"I figured maybe you would know," she said, "You did recognize Derek when we first saw him the other day."

Stiles flipped the picture over and the pair noticed a little message written on the back. Natalie rested her chin on Stiles's shoulder so she could read it.

'_Der-Bear, times may be rough and you may feel like that you will feel alone in the world. You will ask yourself, "What is my purpose? Why am I still here?" When you look at this picture, I hope it will be enough to convince you that you are here because you are surrounded by those who love you. It may just be a little silly picture of me, but remember that you are the reason behind my smile. Don't get yourself down for things that are beyond your control. I'll always be right by your side through thick and thin. After all, what are best friends for? I love you. A. F.'_

"I think I know who she is now," Stiles said, flipping it back to the photo, "She's a Fierro."

"A what?" Natalie asked.

"A Fierro. The Fierro's were friends with the Hales and lived with them in that house. They had three children- two boys and one girl. She was the youngest Fierro. I don't remember what her name was but I do remember that she was always with Derek. Her parents died in the fire but no one has seen either her or her brothers since."

"Wow…" Natalie gazed at the girl in the photo who looked so full of life. "No wonder Derek walks around like he hates everyone. I would be like that too if I lost my best friend."

Stiles wrapped his arms around Natalie's waist and brought her closer so that her back was pressed against his chest. "Well lucky for you, I'm not going anywhere."

The redhead scoffed. "How do you know I'm not talking about Scott?"

"Because you know I'm more irresistible than him."

Natalie chuckled as she placed her hands on top of Stiles's and rested her head on his shoulder. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

They remained in that position for a while. What Natalie had said about losing a best friend pondered in both of their minds. It reminded them of when they were in third grade and Natalie started to get really sick. She was absent from school a lot and whenever Scott and Stiles would visit Natalie at her house, she looked extremely pale. One day Kurt and Terri took Natalie to the emergency room when she had trouble breathing. That trip was when they found out that Natalie was diagnosed with cancer.

When Stiles's parents told him the news, he spent all night crying his eyes out. The first thing that he asked was if Natalie was going to die. John and Claudia Stilinski assured their son that his best friend was going to be just fine. Although they weren't so sure themselves. But whenever Natalie had to go to the hospital when her health was getting worse, Stiles would visit her every day and threw a fit whenever he had to leave her side. He even begged his parents to let them skip school a few times so he could see her. Eventually, thanks to weekly visits to the doctors and hours of chemotherapy, in just a few- and sort of long- months, Natalie became healthy again. She had been cancer-free for about seven years with no signs of it ever coming back.

It was a huge relief for everybody, especially Stiles. Without Natalie in his life… he didn't even want to think about what that would be like. He would just be lost. Of course he'd have Scott, who was basically his brother. But Natalie was his rock, the reason why he could get through every obstacle that stood in his way. If she had died, he would've lost the light of his life. He would've shut down and have himself locked in his room, closing himself off from the rest of the world.

But Natalie was still here. And she wasn't leaving anytime soon. That's all that mattered to him.

Natalie looked over at the clock. As much as she didn't want to pull away from Stiles's arms, she also didn't want him to be late for call-time.

"We should get going," Natalie said, getting up from the bed and shoving the picture back in her pocket, "You need to go warm up for the game."

Stiles groaned and laid back. "I don't wanna!"

"Come on, lazy butt!" The redhead pulled on Stiles's feet, "I will drag your ass out of this house if I have to!"

"God, you are so mean!"

"And yet you still choose to hang out with me!"

With much reluctance- and Natalie pulling on his feet some more- Stiles finally got up and they both walked out of the house. They both hopped in the jeep and Stiles drove them back to the school. After he parked the car, they both got out and bumped fists before he walked to the locker room. Natalie shoved her hands in her- or Stiles's- hoodie and walked over to the bleachers.

"Natalie!"

Said girl turned around and saw Lydia jogging up to her with two posters in her hands. One of them said 'We Love You Jackson' and the second one 'Jackson's #1'.

"What's up, Lydia? Whoa…" Natalie took a good look at the posters. "Don't you think you overdid it maybe just a little bit?"

"Hey," Lydia glared playfully, "what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't support my guy? I'm actually surprised you didn't do anything for that Stiles kid since you have a thing for him or whatever. Well, I guess this counts." The strawberry blonde tugged on Natalie's sleeve then wiped her hand on her coat like she touched something that was grimy.

"God damn it!" Natalie groaned, "Does everyone know?"

"I'm pretty sure everyone besides him knows."

"Great… whatever. Let's just go find some good seats before they're all taken."

As the two searched around for a spot, they heard someone call their names. They looked up to see Allison and a man who Natalie assumed was Allison's father. Allison waved to her two friends and gestured them to come sit next to her. Lydia grabbed Natalie's wrist and dragged her up the bleachers.

"Hey, guys," Allison smiled. She tapped on her father's shoulder. "Dad, these are my friends, Lydia and Natalie."

The fact that Scott had told Natalie that Allison's father was a hunter completely slipped her mind. That was until he looked up at her with those piercing blue eyes that looked ice cold. It took Natalie off guard how menacing he looked. But she quickly swallowed down her fear and shook his hand after Lydia.

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Natalie greeted politely.

"There's no need to call me 'sir', Natalie," he assured, "You can just call me Mr. Argent or Chris. Whichever one you prefer."

"Yeah, I think I just prefer Mr. Argent," Natalie chuckled nervously. He gave her a suspicious look, almost as if he was peering into her soul. Needless to say that it made Natalie very uncomfortable. Thankfully, Melissa saw the redhead and sat down next to her. She let out a sigh of relief and hugged her. "Mama McCall!"

Melissa chuckled, "Hey, sweetie. How are you? It's been a while."

"I've been good," Natalie answered, "Just hanging around and trying to keep my dorks out of trouble. You know, the usual stuff."

"Thank god for that. Someone needs to keep their heads straight."

Natalie smirked. "Don't I know it?"

Soon the lacrosse team filed onto the field, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers. Stiles looked up and saw Natalie sitting with Lydia, Allison, and Melissa. When Natalie finally noticed him, she smiled and waved at him. He returned the gesture, not paying attention to where he was going and accidentally ran into one of his teammates. Natalie rolled her eyes and laughed. What a klutz!

The game finally started. It was going pretty well so far. Except for some strange reason, no one would pass the ball to Scott. Jackson kept scoring and was getting praise from the crowd. Just by the smug look on his face, Natalie knew he was the reason why Scott wouldn't have a shot. Lydia pulled out her first poster and stood Allison up along with her so she could help her hold the sign. It was the one that said 'We Love You Jackson'. It was a low blow for Scott when he saw that Allison was holding up a sign that was supporting Jackson out of all people. Natalie noticed this and buried her face in her hands.

"Shit," she mumbled, "This is not gonna end well."

She peeked in between her fingers and saw Jackson and Danny huddled with a few other players. She could tell that they were talking about Scott because he was looking incredibly angry. Angry to the point where he could… shift. Oh no. this couldn't happen. Not here. Not now. Natalie bit her nails and prayed to God that her best friend wouldn't lose control in front of all of these people. Maybe Derek was right. Scott playing in the game wasn't such a smart idea.

"Which one is Scott again?" Chris asked.

"Number 11," Lydia answered, "The only one who hasn't even touched the ball the entire game." Natalie shot her friend a glare, but Lydia didn't notice.

"I hope he's okay…" Allison worried.

"We need to win this." Lydia grabbed her second poster and stood up. She looked down at the brunette. "Allison! A little help here?"

Allison rolled her eyes, displaying that she really didn't want to help. But she stood up anyway. Natalie noticed Scott looking back up at the girls.

"For Christ's sake!" Natalie grumbled. She got up and dashed down the bleachers so she could sit with Stiles. "Come on!" she hollered, "Pass Scott the damn ball!"

"Henderson!" Coach Finstock yelled, "I swear to God, you need to shut your trap!"

"Last time I checked, this was a lacrosse game!" Natalie argued, "I'll do whatever I want!"

"Alright, easy there, tiger," Stiles said calmly, pulling on her arm so she was sitting next to him. With a huff, she crossed her arms.

Once the game restarted, Scott finally got a hold on the ball and started making some incredible moves. As the game intensified, Stiles reached over and laced his fingers with Natalie's. She looked up at him with her brown doe eyes and he just smiled at her. She smiled back and squeezed his hand. At one point, the other team had the ball. When the player came face to face with Scott, the wolf flashed his yellow eyes and bared his fangs at him. It freaked the opposing player out and he tossed the ball to Scott. Scott caught it and ran off.

Coach Finstock turned to Stiles. "Did the other team deliberately pass us the ball?"

"Yes, I believe so, Coach," Stiles answered. With the hand he wasn't holding, Natalie covered her mouth so she could hide her laughter.

"Interesting…"

Scott scored again, making the crowd cheer. Jackson was pissed and Stiles and Natalie were enjoying every minute of it. The game was now almost over. It was down to the last fifteen seconds. Scott ran towards the goal with the ball in his net. But then he stopped right in front of the goal and didn't shoot for who knows why.

"Come on, Scott," Stiles said, gripping onto Natalie's hand.

"You got this, buddy…"

Then Scott finally moved. He shot the ball right as the timer went off. They did it! Beacon Hills had won the game! The crowd went nuts and everyone ran onto the field in joy. Both Stiles and Natalie screamed in excitement and wrapped their arms around each other. He lifted her up, making her squeal. When he put her down, they looked into each other's eyes with huge smiles still plastered on their faces.

"He did it!" Natalie beamed, "And he didn't kill anyone!"

"Thank god for that!" Stiles laughed. He was about to say something else when he was suddenly distracted by his father's voice. Sheriff Stilinski was on the phone in what seemed to be a deep conversation. "Dad, is there something wrong?"

Sheriff Stilinski put his hand up, telling the teenagers to hold on a minute. Stiles and Natalie looked at each other in worry.

"That was your father," Sheriff Stilinski told Natalie, "He said that whatever killed that girl was an animal, not a human. They let Derek out of jail. And the real kicker? The body belonged to Laura Hale, who just so happened to be Derek's sister." He pulled his phone back out of his pocket when it rung. "I gotta go take this." He answered the phone and walked away from the shocked teens.

"Crap, where's Scott?" Stiles wondered, "We need to go tell him!"

"Uh…" Natalie looked around but found no signs of Scott. "Oh! I saw him run to the locker room. He's probably still in there."

Stiles nodded, grabbed Natalie's hand, and together they ran to the boys' locker room. They headed towards the showers but stopped and quickly hid behind the lockers when they spotted Allison with Scott. Natalie peeked at the two and her eyes widened at the sight of Scott and Allison making out. She smacked Stiles's arm so he could see. They knew that they were invading a private moment, but they couldn't help themselves. Their best friend making out with a girl was something that they didn't see every day! It almost made them proud.

Scott and Allison exchanged a few more words before she walked away. Stiles and Natalie went back to their hiding spots, but it was sort of too late since Allison already knew they were in there.

"Later, Natalie," she said as she passed them, "Later, Stiles."

"Later," the pair said in unison. They looked at each to each other and shrugged their shoulders. One by one, they stepped out from behind the lockers to meet a giddy Scott McCall.

"I kissed her…" Scott said breathlessly.

"We saw that," Natalie smirked, shoving her hands in her pockets.

"She kissed me…"

"Saw that, too," Stiles smirked, "It's pretty good, huh?"

"I… I don't know how," Scott said, "but I controlled it. I pulled back." A smile stretched across his face. "Maybe I _can_ do this. Maybe it's not that bad!"

Natalie patted Scott's arm. "Good for you, Scotty! Look at you, all grown up and everything!"

"Yeah," Stiles said a little too quickly. Once again he grabbed Natalie's hand. "We'll talk later then!"

He was about to leave the room, but Scott knew that something was wrong. Placing a hand on Stiles's shoulder, he stopped him from going anywhere.

"What?" Scott said.

Natalie ran a hand through her red velvet hair. "Um, my dad called Stiles's dad earlier. He said that the medical examiner looked at the half of the body we found last night."

"And?"

The redhead sighed. "There's no easy way to put this. Look, the medical examiner determined that the girl's killer was an animal, not a human. They think that Derek's a human, not an animal. So long story short, Derek's not the killer and they released him from jail."

"Are you kidding?" Scott exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, no," Natalie cringed, "But there's something else. Stiles?"

Said boy spoke up. "Natalie's dad identified the girl. Both halves… Her name was Laura Hale."

Scott's eyes grew wide as can be. "Hale?!"

Stiles nodded. "Derek's sister."

Well, they were pretty much screwed at this point.

After they told Scott what had happened with Derek and the body, the three of them went out to eat at their favorite burger place, trying to forget about everything. When it got late, Stiles dropped his best friends off at their houses. Now Natalie had changed out her clothes and put on black gym shorts and a purple t-shirt with the sleeves cut off to make it into a tank top. She was brushing her teeth in her bathroom when her dog started barking.

"Rocky, be quiet!" Natalie scolded, although it sounded muffled with her toothbrush in her mouth, "People are sleeping!"

She waited until her dog was quiet before she continued to brush her teeth. It wasn't until a few moments later that Rocky was barking again. Natalie rinsed out her mouth and spit in the sink. She then placed her toothbrush on the counter and walked into her bedroom where Rocky was barking at the opened window. Which was strange because Natalie was sure it was closed when she got home.

"What are you yapping at, boy?" Natalie said, scratching her dog's ear. She looked outside her window, but she found nothing. She slid it shut while Rocky's barking ceased. Well that seemed to do the trick.

"You should really lock your windows."

"Oh my god!" Natalie ran to her bed and dived under the covers. Rocky ran out of the room at his owner's sudden outburst. When Natalie pulled her blanket off her head, she saw Derek sitting on her desk chair, looking through her phone.

"It's not really safe," he continued nonchalantly, "Especially with the killer on the loose."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Natalie hissed, "You know my dad's a deputy. I'm sure you remember since he was the one that arrested your ass!"

"Yeah, thanks to three idiotic teenagers who thought digging through my property was such a great idea," Derek snorted, tossing Natalie's phone on her desk.

The redhead pinched the bridge of her nose as she got out of her bed. "Okay, let me ask this again since you clearly ignored me the first time. Why the hell are you here?"

Derek stood up and walked over to Natalie. "I believe you have something that belongs to me." He held out his hand to her.

But Natalie just stared at it as if it was a foreign object. "I don't have anything."

"Are you really going to play dumb with me?" Derek growled, "You think I didn't see you pick up my photo on my lawn?" Blue replaced the green in his eyes, making Natalie step back. "I'm not going to ask you again."

It would be best if Natalie didn't provoke the wolf any further. With a roll of her eyes, she walked to her dresser and plucked off Derek's photo. She hastily smacked the photo against his broad chest.

"Here," she sneered, "There's your precious photo. You can now get the hell out of my house since you're not gonna tell me who that girl is though all I know is that she was someone you were really close to before the fire. Don't let the window hit you on the way out. Or do. I don't give a shit."

Natalie turned off her lights and climbed into bed. Her back was facing towards the window so she didn't have to look at Derek. She was waiting for him to jump out of her window right away. But he didn't.

"Anabelle."

The response was so soft that at first, Natalie wasn't really sure that Derek had said anything at all. Confused, she sat up, turned on her lamp, and faced Derek.

"What did you say?"

Derek shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and faced Natalie. "The girl in the photo. Her name was Anabelle. Her family lived with mine long before we were even born. She used to be my best friend before the fire. But she's not anymore. And I'm the reason why."

It was too silent. Neither of them knew what to say. Natalie honestly wasn't expecting Derek to give her any sort of information about the girl at all. She thought that maybe she should just leave the topic alone. But she was too curious to stop.

"What happened between you two?"

Again, she was met with silence. Derek took a deep breath before hesitantly sitting back down on the chair. He rested his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. His eyes remained on his hands.

"It was a week before the fire. She was out with her boyfriend at the time and didn't come home until the next day. I blew up on her. I called her some things that I even know were out of line. She then brought up my now ex-girlfriend. I was angry and…" He paused for a bit as his hands clenched and then unclenched. "I hurt her. Emotionally and physically." A dark chuckled escaped from his mouth. "I don't even know why the hell I'm telling you this."

"Because I'm a good listener and I don't judge," Natalie said, "And you can't keep stuff like this bottled up."

"Why do you think it's something I should even talk about?"

"It will eat you alive if you don't. You walk around this town like you think you're some kind of badass because you can beat the shit out of people. It's okay to talk about the past and admit that you have feelings. It doesn't make you less of a human."

"But I'm _not_ a human!" Derek snapped, shooting his head up so he was looking at Natalie with his blue wolf eyes, "That's why my family is dead and Anabelle wanted nothing to do with me anymore! Her last words to me were that she hated me and that she never wanted to see me again! I should've listened to her from the beginning but I didn't because I was a stupid teenager who thought that he was in love! And now she's gone! Anabelle's gone because of me! It's the same shit that's going to get Scott in trouble. Or worse, he'll end up dead! Is that what you wanted to hear? Are you satisfied now?"

Derek slammed his fist down on the desk in frustration. His shaky hands grabbed onto his black hair and he took deep breaths. Natalie was just staring at him with wide eyes. She had just witnessed the big bad wolf lose his cool. The outburst definitely frightened her and she was now regretting taking the picture in the first place. She was also kind of surprised that neither her parents nor her brother heard Derek yelling. They were some heavy sleepers.

But that wasn't the point at the moment. All Natalie knew was that she had to choose her next words carefully.

"Did Anabelle die?" she asked cautiously.

Derek sighed before looking back at Natalie with his normal green eyes. "From the fire?" he said more calmly, "No. She was at school with me when that happened. But that was the last time I saw her and that was six years ago. I don't know if she's still alive or not, but if she did, I feel like for some reason, I would know. Either way, I don't think she wants to be found. I've been looking for her all around the country and even some different parts of the world but I can't find her. I just stopped searching a few months ago."

Natalie looked down at her hands in sadness. "I'm sorry. Even though that's most likely what you don't wanna hear."

"It was a long time ago," he said, "Maybe I'll find her one day." Derek shook his head and stood up once again. "But right now, I've got more important things to worry about. And so does Scott. You and Stiles need to tell him that he needs to listen to me if he wants to stay alive."

He didn't give Natalie a chance to say anything and he jumped out of her window. The redhead ran her hands through her hair, trying to process everything that had just happened. Deciding that she didn't want to think about it anymore, she turned her lamp off and settled back into bed. Thankfully it didn't take her long to fall asleep. She hated Scott even more now for dragging her into this werewolf mess.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed it! PLEASE review and let me know what you think! I know this was a lengthy chapter and I packed in a lot of information, but it's all necessary, I promise. And sorry if Derek seems a little too OOC in this chapter, but again, it's necessary for when I start my DerekxOC story (No One Else), which will hopefully be soon.  
**

**If you read Scars, PLEASE don't get mad and kill me, but I'm planning on getting rid of it. The more I think about it, the more cliche the plot sounds and people don't really seem that into it, so I'm gonna write a new IsaacxOC story, but with a different OC and plot. It's gonna start in season 2, just like Derek's story so it might be a while until I start it, but I think it's gonna be a hell of a lot better and I think you guys will enjoy it more. It's gonna be called Nirvana, which I got from Sam Smith.**

**Also, if you have any questions about either Awake and Alive, No One Else, and Nirvana, please ask away when you leave a review and I will happily answer it! I hope to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**I know it's late, but I actually got this out earlier than I thought I would. So... Here's chapter 6! And stay tuned for announcements at the end!**

* * *

"So you killed her?" Stiles asked Scott as they and Natalie entered the school.

Scott stammered as he thought back to the horrifying dream about Allison the night before. "I don't know! I just woke up! I was sweating and I couldn't breathe… I've never had a dream where I woke up like that before…"

"Really? I have." Stiles remembered the no so kid friendly dream he recently had about himself and Natalie. Just the thought of it caused him to blush. "It usually ends a little differently."

"Whoa!" Natalie shook her head and covered her ears with her hands. "That was a lot more than I needed to know!"

Scott scrunched his nose. "A, I said I never had a dream that felt that real and B-"

"_Never_ give us any sort of detail of you in bed again!" Natalie said, still freaked out from the specific information.

However, she began to wonder who the girl Stiles fantasizing about was. A pang of jealousy hit her, since she figured the girl could not possibly be her. It was discouraging. But the thoughts slipped out of her mind when Stiles wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer to his side.

"Noted." His attention turned back to Scott, who was still panicking. "So let me take a guess here…"

"No," Scott said, "I know. You think it has something to do with me going out with Allison tomorrow. Like I'm gonna lose control and rip her throat out."

"I'm sure that's not it," Natalie assured.

Stiles shook his head. "Actually, yeah, that's totally it."

"Oh. Well then, never mind." Natalie saw the worried look on her best friend's face and clasped his shoulder in comfort. "Don't worry too much about it, Scotty. It's all gonna be okay."

"Yeah," Stiles agreed, "Personally, I think you're handling this pretty freakin' amazingly. You know, it's not like there's a Lycanthropy for Beginners class you can take."

Natalie scrunched her nose as she thought to herself. "Hmm. And you'd think that there should be one considering the fact that there are werewolves running around this place."

"I know, right?" Stiles chuckled as he pulled Natalie even closer to him.

"Yeah, not a class, but maybe a teacher…" Scott said. Natalie realized who he was talking about and let out a groan.

"Who? Derek?" Stiles smacked the back of Scott's head, causing the wolf to moan in pain. "Did you forget about the part where we tossed him in jail?!"

"And the part where he snuck in my room and basically threatened me?!" Natalie shrieked. She glared at Scott as she also hit him in the head.

The wolf winced as he rubbed the now sore spots on his head. "Ow! Yeah, I know! Jeez, both of you, stop hitting me! And don't give me that look, Nat! I know it sounds like a very bad idea but chasing her and dragging her to the back of the bus… it felt so real…"

"How real?" Stiles asked.

"Like it actually happened."

Natalie let out a sigh and slightly turned her head. But she quickly snapped her head back to the front of the school. With wide brown eyes, Natalie patted Scott and Stiles's arms and pointed to the doors. The trio walked out the doors and stopped like deer in headlights when they saw the sight in front of them. There was a school bus with the back door busted up and blood splattered everywhere. Scott, Stiles, and Natalie looked at each other in fear.

"I think it actually did…" Stiles said in disbelief.

"Holy shit." Natalie bit her knuckle. Scott whipped out his phone to try to contact Allison and dashed back into the school. "Whoa, Scott, wait!" The redhead grabbed Stiles's hand and ran after Scott.

"She's probably fine," Stiles assured Scott.

"She's not answering any of my texts!" Scott panicked.

"You know, it could just be a coincidence."

"A seriously amazing coincidence…" Stiles flicked Natalie's forehead and she smacked his in response. "Well, am I wrong?!"

Scott starts to breathe heavily as his pulse starts to rise from frustration. "Just help me find her, okay?!"

Just then, he started to lose it. Scott's anger got the best of him and he punched the nearest locker. All Stiles and Natalie could do was watch their best friend recollect himself so he wouldn't lash out on them. Scott took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and not shift in front of his peers. He started to enter another corridor when he bumped into someone. To everyone's relief, the person he bumped into was Allison, who was completely unharmed. A huge weight was lifted off of Scott's shoulders, as well as Stiles and Natalie's as they watched their friend relax.

"Looks like Scott's gotten everything under control now," Stiles spoke up.

Natalie nodded her head. "It seems like it."

Right then a voice was heard over the intercom. _"Students, this is your principal. I know you're all wondering about the accident of last night in one of our busses. While the police tries to determine what happened, classes will proceed as usual."_

"Oh, come on!" Natalie exclaimed to no one in particular, "I swear, one day this school with catch fire and we would still have to go to class. Damn, that means I have to take that history test today." She nudged Stiles with her elbow. "Come with me to my locker really quick."

She led him to her locker, which was only just a few corridors away. Stiles leaned against the locker next to Natalie's as she dialed the combination. He took this time that the redhead was focused on what she was doing to look her over. Red curls cascaded down to the middle of her back under a tan colored beanie. She was also wearing a white tank top, distressed skinny jeans, and mint colored Converse. An All Time Low rubber bracelet encircled her wrist and the feather necklace Stiles randomly bought for her was hanging around her neck.

God, Stiles could just stare at Natalie all day and not be bored. How could she not know how gorgeous she was? It didn't even matter what she was wearing. Natalie could be wearing a trash bag for all he cared. It was her natural beauty that captivated him. Like how her nose scrunched up whenever she was thinking about something deeply and how her big eyes made her look innocent even though Stiles knew how much of a badass Natalie really is. Hell, he has the bruises to prove it! He couldn't help but slightly chuckle to himself the more he thought about it.

Hearing Stiles's laughter caused Natalie to look up at her best friend. "What are you laughing at?"

Stiles shook his head. "It's nothing. Just something that happened the other day that popped into my head."

Natalie chuckled at his goofy behavior and continued searching through her locker. She paused when she felt Stiles's eyes on her. When she looked back at him, he didn't even bother to look away. She placed her hands on her hips.

"What's going on in that crazy head of yours, Stiles Stilinski?"

"Let's go on a date tomorrow night."

There's no way that Natalie heard that correctly. "What?"

"Yeah. Why not?" The more Stiles talked about it, the more confident he felt about asking Natalie out. "Why should Scott have all the fun? We can just have our own date night?"

Leaning against her locker, Natalie raised an eyebrow. "You honestly wanna go on a date with me?" Stiles nodded his head with no hesitation. The corners of her mouth lifted up into a smile as she pulled her books out of her locker and shut the door. "Okay. Let's do it."

Stiles's eyes widened. "Wait, are you serious?"

"Of course," Natalie said, "Like you said, why not have some fun ourselves? I'll definitely go on a date with you."

Then Stiles started stuttering since he wasn't expecting Natalie to be so on board with the idea. "Wow… Uh, okay. Y-yeah, great. Definitely."

Natalie chuckled and together they started walking to class. Neither of them could contain their excitement for their soon-to-be date. "So, do you have any ideas on what we're gonna do?"

Stiles casually slung his arm around Natalie's shoulders. "You just leave all the details up to me. I'll take care of everything."

"As long as it's not the zoo again, I'll be happy with wherever you pick."

"Hey, that was not my fault!" Stiles argued, "I did not know that that bird was gonna fly out of its cage and start chasing us!"

"They have those 'Don't Feed the Animals' signs for a reason, Stiles!"

"But they don't explain why!"

"Do they even need to?"

"Yes, so people can avoid situations like a bird chasing them out of the zoo!"

* * *

During chemistry, Scott couldn't even pay attention to what Mr. Harris was writing on the board. He was still trying to remember what he had done in the bus. It was making him very paranoid and jittery- almost equivalent to Stiles's jitteriness- to the point where he couldn't focus on the lesson. He turned to Stiles and Natalie.

"Maybe it was my blood," Scott whispered to them.

"Or maybe animal blood," Stiles suggested.

Natalie shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe you caught something. You know, like a rabbit or a squirrel."

"And did what?" Scott asked.

"Eat it," Stiles said nonchalantly. Natalie snorted in amusement.

"Raw?"

"No, you stopped to bake it in a werewolf oven."

"Oh my god," Natalie groaned as she buried her face in her hands, "Is that even important right now? We don't know, Scott. You're the one who can't remember anything!"

"Miss Henderson," Mr. Harris spoke, making Natalie cringe, "If that's your idea of a hushed whisper, you might wanna pull out the earphones every once in a while."

Natalie scoffed. "My earphones aren't even…" She stopped when she felt around her ear. Turns out that she did have one of her Skull Candy earbuds in. "Oh… Well, what do you know?"

Mr. Harris rolled his eyes. "I think you, Mr. McCall, and Mr. Stilinski would all benefit from a better distance, yes?"

"No!" the trio protested.

But Mr. Harris wasn't going to back down on his word. Finally the trio rolled their eyes and moved so they were completely out of reach from each other. At least Natalie got to sit next to someone she actually liked, which was Danny.

"Let me know if the separation anxiety becomes too much," Mr. Harris said sarcastically.

The redhead crossed her arms and rested her head on Danny's shoulder. "I think I'll be okay. I like Danny better anyways."

"Hurtful!" Stiles pouted.

"Both of you, shut it," Mr. Harris said before turning back to the board.

Danny leaned in towards Natalie. "It's alright. Everybody likes me better."

The redhead laughed and patted her friend's cheek. "That they do, Danny Boy!"

One of the girls who sat by the windows looked out and shrieked, "Hey, I think they found something!"

Right away, everyone scrambled out of their seats and rushed over to the windows. The trio reunited with each other as they looked outside. There were now a couple of police cars and an ambulance in front of the damaged bus. Paramedics were pushing someone that was laid out on a gurney with a cover over it towards the ambulance.

"That's not a rabbit," Stiles announced.

"Or a squirrel," Natalie added.

All of a sudden, the man on the gurney snapped up and started screaming, which made the class scream and jump away from the window.

"Holy fuck!" Natalie exclaimed as she accidentally backed up into Stiles. He caught her before she could fall and wrapped his arms around her.

"Language, Miss Henderson!" Mr. Harris scolded.

"There is a guy on a gurney out there that just popped up and started screaming like a maniac!" Natalie pointed, "Do you really think my language is the main concern here? I didn't think so!"

"Alright, relax, turbo," Stiles said as he held onto Natalie. He turned to Scott. "This is good, this is good. He got up. He's not dead. Dead guys can't do that."

"Stiles, Natalie," Scott said as his eyes widened, "_I_ did that."

* * *

It was now lunchtime and everyone was scattered around the cafeteria. They were either waiting in line to buy their food or sitting at the tables. In Natalie's case, she was scurrying around the cafeteria to get away from Greenberg. She kept glancing over her shoulder to see if he was right behind her. Finally she found Scott and Stiles and quickly walked over to their table. She plopped down next to Stiles, catching him off guard and making him jump and yelp.

"Hide me. Now." Natalie grabbed Stiles's jacket and used it to cover her head.

Scott gave Stiles a questioning look and in return Stiles shrugged his shoulders. "And who are we hiding you from?" Scott asked.

"Greenberg," Natalie answered from underneath the jacket, making her voice sound muffled, "Let me know when he's gone."

Both boys' eyes scanned around the cafeteria. When there was no sign of Greenberg, Stiles pulled his jacket off of Natalie's head. "The coast is clear. You can come out now."

Natalie let out a sigh of relief and flailed her arms. "Thank you, baby Jesus!"

"May I ask why you're in hiding?" Stiles asked.

"Well one, it's Greenberg," Natalie said, pulling her lunch out of her backpack, "That should be reason enough. But if you must know, he keeps asking me if I wanna see his scar that he got over break."

"What is it from?" Scott asked, sort of curious.

Natalie scoffed. "Like hell if I know! And do I really care? No. So I dodge that bullet every time I see him coming." She bit into her peanut butter sandwich.

Stiles gave her a one-armed hug. "You are a smooth soul, Natalie Henderson."

"I know," Natalie sighed, "It's a gift."

"Well, now that's out of the way," Scott said, "let's get back to the bigger problem. Something happened last night, but I don't know what."

"And we'll figure it out," Natalie told him, "And we can do it without the big bad wolf. Meaning Derek."

"Yeah, we got that," Stiles said. Natalie rolled her eyes as she took another bite of her lunch. He turned to Scott. "And what makes you so sure that Derek even has all the answers?"

"Because during the full moon he wasn't changed," Scott explained, "He was in total control. While I was running around in the middle of the night attacking some totally innocent guy."

"Well, you don't really know that."

"I don't not know that." Scott hung his head in disappointment and let out a sad sigh. "I can't go out with Allison. I have to cancel."

Natalie flicked Scott's forehead and he cringed. When he gave her a look that said 'what the hell', she pointed at him. "No! You are not canceling! You can't cancel your whole life because of little… or not so little side effects. You're a teenager. Go on dates, party hard- well not too hard- and make dumb choices that won't get you killed or ruin your life! Don't let the wolf man get you down! Be a teenager!"

Scott's eyes widened and he slightly scooted away from Natalie. "Damn. That was the most aggressive pep talk I've ever gotten."

"I think Finstock's starting to rub off on me…" Natalie said to herself, "Damn it…"

As she placed her face in her hands, Stiles rubbed her back in circular motions. "Just take it easy there. And Scott, don't worry. We'll figure it out."

"Figure what out?"

The trio snapped their heads up as Lydia sat down at their table. She looked at them expectantly as she waited for an answer. The best friends looked at each other, trying to come up with something to say.

"Uh, homework," Scott finally spat out.

"Yeah," Natalie played along, "It's about the one guy who did the… thing…" Lydia raised an eyebrow. "I know. It's confusing."

"Why is she sitting with us?" Stiles whispered in Natalie's ear, causing the redhead to slightly shiver. She just played it off as a twitch and she shrugged her shoulders.

One by one, new people sat down at the trio's table. Allison sat in between Scott and Lydia and she shot Scott a smile. Danny sat next to Natalie. He smirked at her but gave Stiles a funny look. Then a random guy sat at the end when Jackson walked up to the table. Natalie rolled her eyes when Jackson told the guy to move.

"How come you never ask Danny to get up?" the guy complained as he moved.

"Because I don't stare at his girlfriend's coin slot," Danny responded. Natalie snorted and gave him a high-five. "So I hear that they're saying that it's some type of animal that did it." The trio knew that right away that he was talking about the bus incident. "Probably a cougar."

"I heard a mountain," Jackson said.

Lydia rolled her eyes. "A cougar _is_ a mountain lion." Then she saw that everyone was looking at her and she cocked her head to the side. "Isn't it?"

Natalie sighed in disappointment. Why must Lydia dumb herself down for a douchebag like Jackson? It just gave Natalie all the more reason to hate him.

"Who cares?" Jackson said, "The guy was probably was just a homeless tweaker who's going to die anyway."

"Way to be sensitive, you prick," Natalie murmured. Jackson shot her a glare and she stuck her tongue out at him.

Sometime during the discussion, Stiles had pulled out his phone and done some research on what happened. "Actually," he said, "they just found out who it was. Check it out." He handed the phone to Natalie and she read what the article said out loud.

"_The sheriff's department won't speculate on details of the incident, but confirmed the victim, Garrison Myers, did survive the attack. Myers was taken to the local hospital, where he remains in critical condition._"

Scott looked over at the picture the article showed of the man. He pointed at it. "I know this guy!"

"You do?" Allison asked.

"Yeah," Scott nodded, "When I used to take the bus back when I lived with my dad. He was the driver."

It got silent at the table for a few moments. Well, that completely brought the mood down. That was until Lydia spoke up.

"Can we talk about something slightly more fun, please? Like where are we going tomorrow night?" Allison gave her a confused look. "You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night, right?"

"Uh…" Allison trailed off, "Yeah, we were thinking of what we were going to do."

"Well, I am not sitting at home again watching lacrosse videos." Lydia was looking directly at Jackson when she said this. "So if the four of us are hanging out, we are doing something fun."

"The four of us?"

"Yes, four. You and Scott, me and Jackson." Lydia turned to Natalie. "Nat, are you in?"

Stiles felt his heart clench in fear. He really hoped that Natalie wouldn't agree to go hang out with them. This date was something he had been looking forward to for ages. He just really wanted one-on-one time with his crush.

"As tempting as that does not sound," Natalie chuckled as she set her sandwich down, "I can't. Stiles and I already have plans." She smiled up at Stiles, who gratefully returned the smile.

"And what sort of plans do you have?" Danny smirked.

Natalie was about to answer when Stiles spoke up. "We're going to the batting cages then I'm taking her out to dinner. I still need to figure out where though."

"We are?" Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Stiles said, "Why? Does that sound bad?"

"No, not at all," Natalie said, "It's just that you hate the batting cages."

"But _you_ love the batting cages. I just figured that was something you'd want to do since you haven't been there in a while."

Natalie's heart melted. If she wasn't surrounded by her friends, she would be squealing and jumping up and down as if she had won the lottery. She blushed and looked down at her lunch, but she wasn't able to hide her smile. Danny wiggled his eyebrows and Natalie kicked him under the table.

Scott turned to Allison. "Do you wanna hang out like… us and…" He gestured to Lydia and Jackson, "them?"

"Yeah, I guess," Allison nodded hesitantly, "Sounds fun." By the look on Scott's face, his best friends could tell that wasn't the response he wanted to hear. Poor boy.

"You know what else sounds fun?" Jackson held up his fork. "Stabbing myself in the face with this fork."

Natalie reached over and pulled his fork out of his hand. "Well, here, Jackson. Allow me to help you out with that." But Lydia took the fork out of Natalie's grasp before she could do anything. "Aw, you're no fun."

Lydia rolled her eyes but gasped when she thought of something. "How about bowling?" she asked Jackson, "You love to bowl!"

Jackson snorted. "Yeah, with actual competition."

"How do you know we're not actual competition?" Allison smirked. She then turned to Scott. "You can bowl, right?"

Scott hesitated to answer. "Sort of…"

"What the hell is he doing?" Natalie whispered harshly to Stiles.

Said boy shrugged. "I don't know, but he is digging himself in way too deep here."

"Is it 'sort of' or 'yes'?" Jackson challenged, leaning in towards Scott.

"Yes," Scott said with confidence, "In fact, I'm a _great_ bowler."

"Oh, no, Scotty…" Natalie groaned as she rest her forehead on Stiles's bicep.

* * *

"You're a _terrible_ bowler!" Stiles exclaimed to Scott as the trio walked through the hallway.

"I know!" Scott cried out, "I'm such an idiot…"

Natalie adjusted the strap of her backpack. "That was seriously painful to watch from start to finish. The whole conversation went downhill so fast."

Scott glared at the redhead. "You're not being very helpful here, Nat!"

"I'm not trying to be. You got yourself into this mess. You brought it all on yourself."

"God, it was like watching a car wreck," Stiles said, "First it turned into a group date thing and then out of nowhere comes that phrase."

"Hanging out…" Scott said like it was the worst thing in the world. He shook his head in disappointment.

"You don't hang out with hot girls," Stiles continued, "Okay, it's like death." He pointed to Natalie. "Natalie doesn't count because I consider her more beautiful than hot." It completely took Natalie off guard that Stiles had said that it was a normal thing for him. But he must have not noticed his slip-up and continued his rant. "But Scott, once it's hanging out, you might as well be her gay best friend. You and Danny can start hanging out."

"How is this happening?" Scott groaned, "I either killed a guy or didn't."

"I don't think Danny likes me very much."

"I asked Allison on a date and now we're 'hanging out'."

"Am I not attractive to gay guys?"

Natalie just stood in the middle of the two boys as they talked to themselves, even though they thought they were talking to each other. The constant babbling was actually giving Natalie a headache and she rubbed her forehead to soothe the throbbing.

"Oh god, just make the yapping stop!" she cried out.

"I make first line and the team captain wants to destroy me." Scott pulled out his phone and his eyes widened when he checked the time. "And now I'm going to be late for work!" He ran off to the front doors.

Stiles turned around and called after his best friend. "Wait, Scott, you didn't answer my question! Am I attractive to gay guys?" He sighed when Scott exited out of the school. He looked down at Natalie and gave her a hopeful look.

One of her eyebrows rose and she crossed her arms. "What are you looking at _me_ for? Last time I checked, I'm not a gay guy."

Unintentionally, Stiles's eyes trailed down Natalie's body and landed on her chest. When Natalie had crossed her arms, her breasts pushed together, showing a bit of cleavage. Natalie followed Stiles's gaze and realized that he was staring at her chest. She rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers in his face, which immediately took Stiles out of his trance.

"My eyes are up here, buddy," she chuckled as she pointed to her face.

"Right. Sorry."

"So… did you really mean it when you said that I was beautiful?"

Stiles's jaw dropped. Crap. He really did say that. He was so focused on his conversation with Scott that he didn't even realize that that had slipped out of his mouth. That was embarrassing. But his nerves vanished when he saw Natalie smiling.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did mean that." Where was all of his self-confidence coming from? Damn, he was on a roll today!

Natalie bit her bottom lip. "Well, that's really sweet of you." She patted his chest. "Keep up the compliments and maybe I'll let you do a little more than staring after the date tomorrow." She gave him a little wink before she started to walk away to her locker.

"What does that mean?" Stiles asked, baffled. Then he saw Natalie walking away from him and he chased after her. "Wait, Natalie! What does that mean?"

* * *

Later that night, Natalie was in the backyard with her brother after dinner. Zach was planning on trying out for the lacrosse team next year as a freshman so he was doing anything he could to be good enough. Including practicing with his sister whenever they were both available. Scott and Stiles had taught the siblings everything they needed to know about the sport so Natalie could help her brother train. And the redhead had to admit that he was getting pretty good. She thinks that he might even make first line next year.

"Yes!" Zach pumped both of his fists up in the air after he shot the ball in the goal. "And the crowd goes wild for the one, the only Zach Henderson!" He then pretended to cheer like a crowd would.

"Alright, let's not get cocky here, dude," Natalie asked, "You don't wanna end up like Jackass."

"You mean Jackson?"

"No, I meant what I said." Zach scoffed as his sister scooped the ball up with her lacrosse stick. "Stay as humble as you can. You'll get more chicks that way." She tossed the ball to Zach and he caught it.

Zach raised an eyebrow. "But Jackson's dating Lydia. And isn't she one of the hottest girls in the school?"

"True," Natalie agreed, "But have you seen the new girl that's interested in Scott? She's pretty attractive, isn't she?"

The thirteen year old thought more about this and nodded his head. "Okay, you make a good point."

"Of course I do. I'm your sister." Zach rolled his eyes and threw the ball back at Natalie. As soon as she caught it, her phone started vibrating in her back pocket. She held up her finger to tell Zach to wait and she answered her phone. "Yo!"

"Scott and I are outside of your house," Stiles said on the other end.

"Wow, way to cut to the chase, Stiles," Natalie heard Scott grumble.

Natalie rested her lacrosse stick against the metal of the goal. "Okay, why are you guys here?"

"I went over to Derek's house to talk to him about the bus and Garrison Myers," Scott explained, "He told me that if I wanna remember what happened last night, I have to go back to the school and retrace my steps with my senses. So Stiles is driving me over there-"

"And you want me to go with you, do you?" She heard her best friends sheepishly reply 'yes' and she groaned. "Seriously? I wanna help you get through this, Scotty, I really do. But it's late and I promised Zach that I would help him practice since this is the only time we're both available. And Stiles is already with you. So why do you need me to go?"

"Please, Nat!" Stiles begged, "I need at least one normal person with right now! And also because you're my best friend in the entire world and I love you oh so much!"

"And if Zach really wants to learn more about lacrosse, tell him that he can come over to the school and he can watch us practice," Scott compromised, "I'll even buy you Kit-Kats on the way to the school right now. Come on, Nat."

Wow, he really had to bribe her with candy, didn't he? Using one of Natalie's weaknesses to his advantage. Smart move, Scott McCall. Natalie placed her hand on her hip as she thought more about this. Man, she really hated her boys right now! She let out an annoyed sigh as she finally made her decision.

"Alright, fine! But I'm only going for the Kit-Kats."

"Good enough for me," Scott said, "See you in a few!"

When Scott hung up, Natalie put her phone back in her pocket and looked over at Zach. "Sorry, dude. Scott and Stiles are requesting my presence for God knows what. But Scott said that you can go to their next lacrosse practice so you can learn a few things up close."

"That's fine with me," Zach said, "I need to finish up on some homework anyway."

"By homework, do you mean playing Call of Duty to the point where your eyes feel like they're about to burn out of their sockets?"

Zach snorted and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I mean, if you wanna get technical."

Natalie laughed as she slid on her black hoodie. "That's what I thought. If Mom asks, tell her that I'm studying with Scott and Stiles, okay?"

"No problem, Nat."

After the siblings did their secret handshake, Natalie jogged inside their house then out the door. The blue jeep was parked next to the curb. Natalie opened the passenger door and climbed over Scott to get to the backseat.

"Ow!" Scott exclaimed when Natalie accidentally kicked his head, "Watch what you're doing, man!"

"It'd be much easier to move around if the car space wasn't so damn tight!"

"Hey, don't judge my baby!" Stiles pouted, "She's the one who's taking you guys wherever you want so I'd be a little more grateful."

"Whatever," Natalie rolled her eyes, "Now let's go! I want those Kit-Kats!"

As promised, the trio stopped by a gas station so Stiles could fill up his tank with gas and Scott could buy Natalie her beloved candy. Once the car was filled up and the redhead was satisfied, they finally headed to the school. Stiles parked in front of the fence and the three of them got out of the car and walked up to it.

"Alright," Natalie said, clapping her hands together, "Let's get this shit over with." She was about to grab onto the fence to climb over but Scott pulled her back.

"No," he told Stiles and Natalie, "Just me. Someone needs to keep watch."

"Why are we always the ones keeping watch?" Stiles complained.

"Because with two people keeping watch, you're more alert and we'll get out of here faster," Scott answered.

"Okay, why do I start to feel like you're Batman and I'm Robin? I don't wanna be Robin all the time!"

Natalie crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Wait. If Scott is Batman and Stiles is Robin, then who am I?"

"Harley Quinn," Stiles answered right away. The redhead gasped and smacked his stomach. He groaned in pain and doubled over. "And that's why!"

"You little-"

"Both of you shut up!" Scott cut them off, "And no one is Batman, Robin, or Harley Quinn any of the time."

"Not even some of the time?" Stiles asked.

"Just stay here!"

Stiles groaned and rolled his eyes. "Oh my god!"

Natalie grabbed Stiles's hand. "Come on, Robin." She dragged him back to the jeep.

The pair sat in the car as Scott went to go check out the bus to remember what had happened. They were both getting bored so Natalie suggested they play "Hot Hands" to pass some time up. Stiles reluctantly agreed since he hated the game because he always lost- and ended up with very sore hands later- but he couldn't think of anything better to do. Natalie held up her hands with her palms facing upward as Stiles hovered his hands above hers. Her middle finger on her right hand lightly stroked Stiles's left palm. Then all of a sudden, her left hand smacked his right hand.

"What the hell!" Stiles yelped as he rubbed his hand, "What was _that_?!"

"What are you talking about? I slapped you so that means I won. Plain and simple."

"I understand that, but what was with that whole tickling thing? That was weird."

Natalie explained, "It was a distraction. Since I tickled your left hand, I made you think that that was the hand I was going to hit, so it made you mentally prepare yourself to move that hand out of the way. Since you never suspected me to hit your right hand, it gave me the opportunity to do so. My dad taught me that trick."

"But that's cheating!"

"No, it's not! If anything, that's strategy."

"Well, that's a dumb strategy!"

"And who lost in the end?" Natalie smirked when Stiles looked down and grumbled. "Exactly. You're just mad because you never thought of it."

Stiles was about to argue when he looked out of Natalie's side of the car. Headlights were beaming brightly towards the school. Stiles's eyes grew wide.

"Uh, Natalie?"

The redhead turned to what Stiles was looking at and her own brown eyes widened. "Shit! It's the fuzz!" She reached over Stiles and honked the horn a few times. Then she climbed over the seats so she could get in the back.

Only a few moments later, Scott ran towards the jeep and hopped in. Stiles put the car in gear and his tires screeched as he sped away from the school.

"So did it work?" he asked Scott, "Do you remember?"

"Yeah," Scott nodded, "I was there last night. But the blood… none of it was mine."

"So you did attack him?"

"No, I saw red eyes on the bus. But they weren't mine. It was Derek."

Natalie threw her hands up and leaned back in her seat. "Of course it was. Who else saw that coming?" Both she and Stiles rose their hands up. "So what about the driver?"

"I was trying to protect him."

"Wait," Stiles said, "why would Derek help you remember that he attacked the driver?"

"That's what I don't get."

"Other than the fact that Derek's a freakin' weirdo," Natalie butted in, "maybe it's a pack thing. Two werewolves killing someone together could be some kind of initiation." She played with the strings on her hoodie. "Some weird, fucked up initiation."

"Because ripping someone's throat out is a real bonding experience," Scott scoffed.

"Well, you know," Natalie shrugged, "Werewolves. What are you gonna do, right?"

"But you didn't do it!" Stiles said to Scott, "Which means you're not a killer. And it also means that-"

Scott grinned happily as he said, "That I can go out with Allison!"

Stiles and Natalie both rolled their eyes. "I was gonna say that means that you won't kill either me or Natalie," Stiles said.

"Oh, yeah," Scott said sheepishly, "That too…"

The redhead chuckled and rolled her head back. "Nice to know where your priorities lie, Scotty."

* * *

**I know that there's not a lot going on in this chapter, but I hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless. I was going to include the date in this chapter but I felt like it would've been way too long so that will be in the next chapter. I have most of it written out already so if I get at least 10 reviews this chapter, I will post the next chapter in a few days! So PLEASE review and let me know what you think! Also I wanna start Q and A session for every chapter so send me some questions in regards of Awake and Alive, Scars, No One Else (starts in Season 2), and Nirvana (starts in Season 4) and I will answer them in the next chapter.  
**

**I had just updated Scars, which is the IsaacxOC I'm working on so if you haven't, please read and review! **

**On my profile, I have the cast list to my Teen Wolf stories, including the people already on the show. **It took me a while to think of who I could picture as Anabelle, but I'm very happy with who I picked.** Check that out so you can now put a face to the characters other than the ones you already know. Also, if any of you are good at graphics, covers, banners, or any of that cool stuff, would any of you be interested in making some for these Teen Wolf stories? I think it'd be awesome to have those, and since I don't know how to do those, having people who do know how to do those would be a lot better. So if you're interested, PM me your creations and I'll post them on my profile and I will be sure to give you the credit. I can't wait to see what you guys create! **

**I hope to update soon! I love you all! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**I asked for at least 10 reviews, and I got 11 REVIEWS! Can I just say how much I freakin' love you guys?! I hope you guys like this chapter. I think you will!**

* * *

This was the night. The night that both Stiles and Natalie have been looking forward to for a long time. It was their first date night. Both of them were filled with nerves and excitement prior to this. For Stiles, he was more anxious than usual, without any Adderall in his system. He wanted nothing more than this night to run smoothly. With the batting cages and the pizza parlor he finally decided to take Natalie to, Stiles felt like that nothing could possibly go wrong. And if Stiles was lucky enough, maybe he would end up with his very first girlfriend by the end of the night.

It was about 7:30 when he pulled up to Natalie's house. She had texted him that she would be out in just a few minutes as she was finishing up getting ready. Stiles drummed his fingers on the steering wheel along with the rock song playing on the radio. He looked around the neighborhood surrounding him a bit until Natalie stepped out of her house.

She looked gorgeous as always. Since she and Stiles were going to be hanging out at the batting cages, Natalie made sure that she was dressed comfortably, but still cute enough for Stiles. She wore a black floral romper with a white cardigan over it. On her feet was her worn pair of black Converse, which she could never throw away no matter how dirty or torn up they were. The 'I Am Brave' dog tag her father had given her after her battle with cancer was hanging around her neck and to top it all off, she wore a black bandana that was tied at the top of her red curls. And of course in her hand was Tina, which made Stiles chuckle to himself.

"You look really pretty, Nat," he told her as soon as she sat in the passenger seat.

The redhead smiled as she set her purse and Tina in the backseat. "Thank you. You look pretty nice yourself."

Stiles thanked her as he started the car and drove away from her house. "I'm actually really excited for tonight," he told her.

"Me too," Natalie agreed, "Not only do I get to go to the batting cages with you, but I also got out of the awkward "hangout" with Scott, Allison, Lydia, and Jackson. Is it bad that I actually don't feel sorry for Scott?"

"Nope," Stiles said, "I still can't believe he actually lied about being great at bowling just so he can impress Allison. It's kinda pathetic."

"I know." Natalie patted her best friend's knee. "Do me a favor, Stiles. Never lie to impress a girl. Stay true to yourself."

Stiles glanced over at Natalie and smirked. "I don't think I'll have that problem."

Natalie smiled back at him and squeezed his hand. They continued to make small talk until they pulled up to the batting cages. Being the gentleman Stiles was hoping to be, he jogged over to Natalie's side after he got out and opened the door for her. She blushed when he took her hand as he led her inside the building. Stiles quickly paid for a bat to use and tokens before the pair went out to the batting cages. The redhead picked a cage where the baseballs would be pitched at 50 miles per hour. It made Stiles nervous since he sucked at baseball, but it made Natalie happy and that's all that really mattered to him.

She was up first to bat so she stepped in the cage with Tina and placed a token in the slot. As soon as Natalie prepped in her batting stance, Stiles channeled his inner Cameron from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and began to chant.

"AYYYYYY BATTER BATTER BATTER BATTER BATTER BATTER SUH-WING BATTER!"

It threw off Natalie's concentration to say the least. She lowered her bat and turned to Stiles, who was sitting on a bench on the other side of the cage. With one hand on her hip, Natalie leaned against her bat.

"You done?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, sorry." Natalie turned back around and Stiles couldn't help himself. "Suh-wing batter." The redhead whipped her head back to glare at Stiles. All he did was smile cheekily at her. She rolled her eyes and stood back in her original position.

The first baseball was shot out of the chute at Natalie's direction. At perfect timing, her bat made contact with the ball. As it did with the next ten or so.

Stiles would be lying if he said that this wasn't turning him on a little. He had always thought that Natalie was incredibly hot when she was playing baseball. Maybe it was the look of determination and focus etched out on her face whenever she was up to bat or pitching. Maybe it was her white and maroon baseball uniform that framed her body perfectly (baseball players really do have the best asses- Stiles will be the first one to vouch for that). Or maybe it was just the fact that Natalie played any sort of sport in general. Unlike Lydia and most likely Allison, Natalie wasn't afraid to get down and dirty. It was pretty damn sexy. She was a beast with a baseball bat.

When she was done, the machine winded down and Natalie walked out of the cage.

"And _that_, my friend," she smiled, "is how it's done."

"WHOO!" Stiles whistled as he gave Natalie a double high-five, "That's my girl!"

'_I wish.' _The comment made Natalie's heart pound. She was beyond thankful that Stiles wasn't a werewolf like Scott and couldn't hear it.

"Alright, now it's your turn."

That's when Stiles's stomach started doing flips. "Well, actually… You see, I actually pulled something on my quads so I probably shouldn't-"

"Oh, no." Natalie grabbed his hand and pulled him to the cage. "You're the one who brought me here, so you have no choice but to participate."

"But I suck!"

"You'll be fine," she assured him, "I'm pretty sure you're better at this than Scott is at bowling. Now suck it up and get in there!" She pushed him in the cage and shut the gate behind him.

Stiles licked his lips nervously as he placed a token in the slot. He copied Natalie's stance as earlier, however he didn't look so confident. The first ball flew at him but by the time he swung the bat, the ball had already hit the fence behind him. Natalie had to cover her mouth with her hand so she could hide her laughter but she accidently snorted. Stiles made the mistake of turning around to see where the ball had landed. Another ball shot out and hit his back. He yelped out in pain as Natalie cringed. The harsh blow caught him off guard and he continued to be pelted by baseballs. Not once did he hit a baseball with his bat. The machine finally stopped and Stiles couldn't wait to get the hell out of that cage.

"Damn," Natalie sucked in a breath, "Those are gonna leave some gnarly bruises in the morning."

"That's it!" Stiles threw his hands up, "I'm done with this shit!"

"Nope," Natalie said, "You are going back in there and you are going to hit at least one ball."

With his mouth gaped open, he pointed to the cage. "Did you not see what just happened to me in there?"

The redhead nodded. "I did. And that's why I'm going in there with you to help you out. Come on."

Natalie pulled him into the cage and she told him to stand like he was getting ready to bat. He stood with his legs shoulder width apart and he rose his baseball bat up.

"Okay, your posture isn't bad," Natalie started, "but you need to bend your legs. It makes it easier to swing. And…" She inspected his hands, which she thought were too far apart. She pushed them closer together. "That's better." Her best friend was looking stiff so she squeezed his shoulders. "And relax! This is just for fun. You're not training for the World Series."

She then put in another token and backed away so Stiles can bat. Out came the first ball. Like before, he swung too late and the ball hit the gate.

"Okay, your timing is way off. Here, let me help you."

Natalie stood behind Stiles so her chest collided with his back. She placed her hands right on top of his. Red hues appeared on his cheeks and he became flustered when he felt her arms around him and her breasts pressed up against his back. But he quickly covered up his awkwardness with a joke.

"Isn't this supposed to be the other way around?" Stiles smirked, "Aren't I supposed to be the one holding you?"

"In normal situations, yes," Natalie chuckled, "but since you suck- your choice of words, not mine- you're just gonna have to settle for this."

Stiles looked back at her. "Well, I guess I'm okay with that." Then he winked.

Natalie rolled her eyes but laughed. "Shut up and keep your eyes on the ball."

He chuckled along with her and waited for the ball to come at them. When it was a few feet away, Natalie helped Stiles swing the bat and together they hit the baseball. They continued to hit every single ball until Natalie stepped away. Now Stiles had noticed the lack of warmth on his back and his eyes widened.

"Nat!" he exclaimed, "Why'd you leave me? Come back!"

"There's one more ball!" she said, "I wanna see you hit this by yourself. You got this, Stiles! Just know that I believe in you!"

"At least someone does," Stiles mumbled.

As he waited for the ball, he took a few deep breaths to prepare himself. To keep himself more focused, he just thought about Natalie still holding him from behind and helping him swing. He thought about the stance she was in and her timing. He just put himself in Natalie's mindset and prayed that it would work.

And it did.

He had hit the ball. He was neither too late nor too early. It was perfect timing. Stiles's jaw dropped in disbelief and he dropped his baseball bat. Pumping both of his fists in the air, he turned to Natalie, who had the biggest smile on her face.

"I did it," Stiles grinned, "Holy shit, I actually did it!"

The redhead squealed in excitement and launched herself onto Stiles. He caught her and steadied themselves so neither of them would fall. Red hair felt soft against his cheek when she buried her face in the crook of his neck and he enjoyed every second of it. And her hair smelled like strawberries! It was mouth-watering! After a few more minutes of them holding on to each other, Natalie got off of Stiles. She was still smiling up at him.

"See?" She poked his chest. "I told you that you could do it. You just needed to have more confidence in yourself."

Stiles shook his head. "Nah. I just had a really awesome coach to support me."

Natalie blushed at the compliment and lightly shoved Stiles's shoulder. "Shut up." But she couldn't hold back the giggle in her throat. She could be such a girl sometimes!

"How about we play a few more rounds then we bounce and get some food?" Stiles suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Natalie agreed.

They each played three more rounds. Stiles was actually getting better and had more coordination. He wasn't great, but he was hitting more balls than missing, so that was a huge improvement for him. Natalie sometimes had to step in and help him. She had a feeling that he kept messing up on purpose so that she would go in the cage with him and hold onto him again. But even if he wasn't, she just used this as an excuse to be close to him.

Even though Stiles hated the batting cages, he couldn't have been any happier that he brought Natalie here for their first date. He knew how much Natalie loved baseball and how heartbroken she was when her cancer was getting worse so she had to drop out of it. This was her comfort zone, the place where she can release all of her anger and stress. But seeing the joy in her doe eyes and pearly white smile plastered on her face when she had her baseball bat in her hand always left Stiles in awe. And the fact that Natalie was more than happy to share this very important part of her life with him just made Stiles feel so special and even more connected with her.

When the two finally grew tired of playing, they called it quits and decided to go get some dinner. Stiles gave his bat back to the guy behind the counter then he took Natalie's hand. Then they walked over to Stiles's jeep and they drove off to the new pizza parlor that had just opened up a few weeks ago. Stiles remembered how Natalie was talking about it one day and how badly she wanted to go there but wasn't able to since the place was always packed. Luckily he was able to make a reservation- which involved a whole lot of bribing and annoying the crap out of the host and manager. Plus, being the sheriff's son had its advantages.

"Dude, I can't believe that you actually managed to get a reservation here," Natalie said as the pair walked inside the restaurant, "This place has been crazy busy ever since they opened."

"Well, you know me," Stiles said as he draped his arm around Natalie's shoulders, "It's all about that Stilinski charm." They walked up to the host's podium and the man's head was lowered as he was writing something down. "Hi. I have a reservation under Stiles Stilinski."

The host's head snapped up when he heard the name. One look at Stiles was all it took for the man to start scowling.

"Oh, crap," the host sneered, "It's _you_."

Stiles smiled sheepishly and Natalie pinched the bridge of her nose. "You must be Emilio," Stiles said, remembering talking to the host over the phone when he made the reservation. "How's it going, dude?"

"Don't call me 'dude'," Emilio glared as he picked up two menus, "Right this way." He led them around the restaurant.

Natalie made sure that they stayed a good few feet behind Emilio. "Do I even want to know what you did to piss him off so much?" she whispered to Stiles.

"Uh…" Stiles rubbed the back of his neck, "Let's just say that my dad may have gotten involved."

"Oh my god," Natalie rolled her eyes, "Only you would pull off some shit like that."

"Hey, it worked, didn't it? Let's not question my antics and enjoy the food."

Emilio finally stopped at an empty booth and Stiles and Natalie sat across from each other. They slightly jumped when Emilio slammed down the menus on their table.

"Your server Artie will arrive shortly to take your order," Emilio grumbled, "I hope you enjoy your evening." Then he stomped away.

Natalie looked over at Stiles and started laughing. "Yeah, that 'Stilinski charm' worked out _so_ well for you, didn't it?"

"Shut up! It's not funny!" Stiles whined.

"Uh, yeah it is. How much do you wanna bet that he's gonna tell the waiter to spit in your food?"

Stiles's eyes grew wide. "You don't think he'll actually do that, do you?"

"You better hope for your sake that he doesn't."

That made Stiles more paranoid. But he shook it off and picked up the menu in front of him. The food looked amazing here! No wonder why Natalie wanted to come here so badly. Also, what teenager doesn't love pizza? Stiles then saw something that really caught his eye.

"Hey, Nat," he said, "check this out." He reached over the table and pointed to the bottom of Natalie's menu. It showed a picture of chicken wings. "They're supposed to be the hottest wings in all of California. I read online that they even burnt a guy's taste buds off his tongue."

The redhead cocked up an eyebrow. "Can your taste buds actually burn off from touching something too hot?"

Stiles shrugged. "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out." He gave Natalie a sly look. "You down?"

With a look of determination, Natalie nodded her head. "Let's do this, Stilinski."

After a few more minutes, their waiter Artie came by to take their order. He was shocked to say the least that the pair wanted to try the chicken wings, otherwise known as Diablo Wings. But the older man didn't bother to question it as he jotted down their order of wings, pizza, and drinks. He then took their menus.

"Your food should be out shortly," Artie told them before walking away.

"So," Natalie started, "How do you think Scott's doing right now?"

"I don't know," Stiles responded, "I honestly think it could go either way. He could act all dorky and Allison could either find that weird or cute. You girls seem to find awkwardness attractive for some reason."

"True. Why else do you think I'm here with you?" She laughed as Stiles threw a salt packet at her. "But seriously, it's because awkward guys are usually nicer than others," Natalie explained, "And they're more genuine. So I think Allison will appreciate that. Besides, by the way she talks about him, she seems to like him a lot. It's pretty sweet, actually."

"Aw, there is a soft spot in you!" Stiles cooed jokingly as he pinched Natalie's cheek. She rolled her eyes and swatted his hand away.

"Yeah, yeah, I have a romantic side. Sue me."

"Hey, it's not a bad thing," Stiles said, "Besides, I know you. I know that underneath that badass exterior, there's a huge romantic in there." He poked her chest. "Remember that one time we were watching YouTube videos and you cried when we came across that proposal video?"

Natalie placed her hand over her heart. "Hey, don't make fun of my guilty pleasure! Those videos are beautiful. If my future did something like that for me, I would probably be the happiest girl on earth."

Well Stiles was going to definitely keep that in mind. "I think that could happen to you one day."

His best friend smiled lightly. "Well, a girl could only hope."

Not too long after that, Artie came back to their table with a tray full of food in his hands. He first sat down their Cokes. Then he laid down the large, cheesy, pepperoni pizza which immediately made both Stiles and Natalie's mouths water. Red hot chicken wings were next, followed by two large glasses of milk much to the pair's confusion.

One of Stiles's eyebrows rose up. "Uh, we didn't order any milk."

"Trust me," Artie said, "You're gonna need it." With that, he walked away from the table.

The two teens gave each other weird looks and then shrugged their shoulders. Deciding to just go for it, they each picked up a wing and inspected the red saucy exterior.

"Oh boy," Natalie sighed, "You ready for this, Stiles?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." He tapped his chicken wing with hers. "Here's to our first date night."

"Cheers!"

Simultaneously, they bit into their chicken wings. They chewed cautiously to test how hot the wings were going to be. Stiles looked up at Natalie.

"I don't really feel anything," he told her.

Natalie nodded. "Me neither. I mean, it's a little spicy, but it's not like-"

All of a sudden the redhead's brown eyes grew wide, almost like they were about to pop out of her skull. She dropped her chicken wing on her plate.

"Oh my god," she panted, "I… I can't feel my tongue."

Now Stiles was starting to feel the warmth in his mouth. He fanned himself as his forehead started to sweat.

"Is it starting to feel warm in here or is it just me?" he said.

Then they both looked at each other with bugged-out eyes. A wave of the most intense heat had finally hit them. They then started to yell, causing most of the restaurant to stop what they were doing and turn to the teens.

"Holy shit!" Natalie shrieked, "These are wings from hell! They're Satan's wings!"

"How did these things not put anyone in the hospital?!" Stiles cried out, "Or even kill someone!"

Brown eyes started tearing up and Natalie's mascara started smearing a bit. Some of it got in her eyes and it stung, but not as bad as the spicy wing sauce. Stiles pounded his chest with his fist as he coughed harshly. Now they were both getting weird stares from the people around them but neither Stiles nor Natalie cared. They were just too engrossed with the heat.

"I can't take this anymore!" Stiles panted, "It feels like my tongue's gonna fall off!"

Natalie pushed one of the glasses of milk towards Stiles. "Drink this. Dairy helps soothe the burn."

They picked up their glasses and began to chug. They didn't even pause once to catch their breath. All they cared about was cooling down their tongues and throats. At the same time they finished drinking the milk and they slammed down their glasses.

"WHOO!" Stiles breathed out, "Now I've come across some spicy things in my life. But that is freakin' hot!"

"You're telling me," Natalie agreed as she wiped the beads of sweat gathered on her forehead, "Holy crap…" She turned around and saw the people that were staring at them. She chuckled nervously and waved at them. "Sorry about that. We just weren't really expecting the wings to be as hot as they were."

"But we're good now!" Stiles reassured everyone, even though they most likely didn't care, "You can carry on now."

He faced Natalie again and they looked back down at the evil chicken wings. Natalie pushed the basket to the end of the table.

"I think it would be safer if they just stay far away from us," she suggested.

Stiles nodded his head in agreement. "I think so, too."

Now that their mouths had finally cooled down, Stiles and Natalie decided to dig into their pizza. They ate in silence for a while. But it was comfortable so they didn't mind. Plus the pizza was just way too good to really say anything at the moment.

As he ate, Stiles kept glancing up at Natalie. He watched as she bit into her slice of pizza. A string of cheese stretched from the pizza to between her teeth. Natalie ripped the cheese off the pizza and ate it. The whole time she didn't even notice Stiles gazing at her. He sat his slice back onto his plate. There was something on the back of his mind that was bugging him that he figured he might as well ask.

"Hey, Nat," he said, "I have a question for you."

"Okay. What is it?"

He sighed then asked, "How come you don't date?"

Natalie looked up at Stiles with her pizza still in her mouth. She just stared at him for a bit until she realized that she must've looked stupid at the moment. Swallowing down her food, she set down her pizza.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, it's just that Scott and I have never really seen you hanging out with a lot of other guys and you don't really go out on dates. Which I don't really understand because it's not like guys don't ask you out."

That was true. Even though she wasn't as popular or extravagantly gorgeous as Lydia, Natalie was still really beautiful. It was no wonder a handful of guys wanted to date her, especially Greenberg. He had been chasing after Natalie since the eighth grade, despite that she would turn him down every single time. And it wasn't just Greenberg. Quite a few guys from the lacrosse team have occasionally asked Natalie out. They were pretty good looking guys and not all of them were jerks like Jackson. It was quite flattering.

But they weren't Stiles Stilinski.

"None of them have really caught my eye," Natalie answered truthfully as she wiped her mouth with her napkin, "I mean, some of them are nice guys but I just never saw myself with them."

"So you're basically waiting for the right guy?" he asked.

The redhead thought about it for a bit. "You could say that. Of course there are some guys I find attractive and nice. But at the end of the day, there is always that one person on my mind that I can't get out."

She looked down at her plate, afraid to look Stiles in the eye. A breath of air left her lips. Natalie didn't want to say too much, especially when she didn't know how Stiles truly felt about her. Yeah, they flirt all the time, but that may mean nothing to him like it did to Natalie. And they may be out on a date right now, but maybe it was just based on friendly intentions. Natalie didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

"How about you?" Natalie said, wanting to change topics.

"What about me?"

"How come you don't ask any girls out?"

Stiles shrugged. "Pretty much the same reason as you. There are not really a lot of girls at Beacon Hills that I find that interesting. Some of them are actually pretty boring."

"Even girls like Lydia?" Natalie joked.

"What do you mean, girls like Lydia?" Stiles scrunched his face in confusion.

Natalie played with a strand of her red velvet hair. "You know… smart, popular…" Then she brought out the playful side that Stiles loved and tossed her hair over her shoulder dramatically. "Drop dead gorgeous."

Chuckling, Stiles shook his head. "Yeah, she's popular and pretty. But there's nothing about her that really stands out to me." He sipped on his Coke. "I like a girl who isn't labeled by her looks or social status. As corny as it sounds, it's all about the personality and attitude for me. My girl shouldn't be afraid to hold out on her own but wouldn't mind allowing me to be protective over her every once in a while and let me be there for her. Let me be her Batman."

Natalie giggled. Always with the superhero references. But it was very sweet and she couldn't help but swoon. Any girl would be lucky to have Stiles as a boyfriend.

"So you do like someone?" Natalie asked.

Stiles nodded hesitantly. "Yes. Yeah, I do."

Here comes that pang of jealousy again. "Does she know?"

"I doubt it."

"Well why don't you tell her?"

The boy let out a sad sigh and ran his hand over his buzz-cut. He shook his head. "It's not that easy. She's so amazing and perfect and out of my league. She would never go out with a guy like me."

"You never know, Stiles," Natalie told him, "There's nothing about you that a girl wouldn't like. You're witty, intelligent, funny, sarcastic… the list goes on and on. Any girl who can't see those awesome qualities you have aren't even worth your time."

"If only it were so simple…" Stiles trailed off.

"But it is! I think you should tell her. Who knows? She could feel the same way as you do. And if she doesn't, I could always kick her ass for you."

Stiles couldn't help but laugh. "Have I told you lately how awesome you are, Nat?"

Before Natalie could respond, her phone beeped in her pocket. She apologized to Stiles and pulled out her phone so she could turn it off. But she paused when she saw the message her dad sent her.

"What's wrong?" Stiles asked when he saw the worried look on Natalie's face.

She didn't answer him verbally. Instead, she handed Stiles her phone so he could read the text. His brown eyes scanned the phone, growing slightly wide as he read on.

"Oh, crap…"

As soon as Stiles finished reading the text on Natalie's phone, he slammed down thirty dollars on the table. The two ran as fast as they could to the jeep and Stiles booked it as soon as they got in. It didn't take too long for them to end up at Scott's house. They walked up to the front door, only to find out that it was locked.

"Damn it!" Stiles groaned after jiggling the door handle.

He placed his hands on his hips as he tried to come up with an idea. Then a light bulb went off in his head. With a sly smirk, he turned to Natalie, who had her arms crossed as she kicked a rock on the ground. She looked up and saw Stiles grinning at her. She looked up at Scott's window and her facial expression dropped.

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yes." Stiles bent his knees and locked his fingers together. Natalie gave him a glare and he sighed in annoyance. "Come on, Nat. Would you rather have me give you a boost or the other way around?"

"You know," Natalie said, "with all the ideas you come up with, I'm surprised that we've never been put in jail once."

"Stop sassing me and just hurry up," Stiles said, "This position is making my knees cramp up."

Natalie grumbled before throwing her arms up in defeat. "Fine! Let's just make this quick."

She placed her hands on Stiles's shoulders and stepped up on his interlocked hands. His hands pushed her up to Scott's window, being careful to not drop her. Natalie grabbed onto the windowsill and swung herself up. Once she landed safely on Scott's bed, Natalie popped her head out of the window and gestured Stiles to come up.

"Just get on top of the railings and I'll pull you up," Natalie guided.

Stiles did just that. When he balanced himself on the railings on the McCall's porch, Natalie reached down for Stiles's hand. He grabbed it and with all of the strength that she had, she pulled her best friend up. He landed with a thud on Scott's bed ungracefully, making Natalie roll her eyes.

The lights were on but Scott wasn't there, which probably meant that he was still with Allison. Stiles and Natalie were about to leave and decide to tell Scott what had happened another time. But all of a sudden, Melissa barged into the room with a baseball bat in her hands. She screamed when she saw her son's best friends, making them scream as well and hold onto each other.

Melissa let out an annoyed sigh when she realized it was just them. "Stiles, Natalie, what the hell are you two doing?!"

"What are _we_ doing?!" Stiles shrieked. He gestured to the baseball bat in Melissa's hands. "God, do any of you besides Natalie even play baseball?!"

Speaking of the redhead, she had her hand placed over her erratically beating heart and breathed heavily. "Holy crap, you almost gave me a freakin' heart attack!"

Just then, Scott ran into the room to see Natalie practically in Stiles's lap and his mom holding a baseball bat.

"What happened?" he asked.

Melissa sighed and said, "Can you please tell your friends to use the front door?"

"But we lock the front door," Scott said, "They wouldn't be able to get in."

"Yeah, exactly. And by the way, do any of you care that there's a police-enforced curfew?"

The trio looked at each other and shook their heads in unison. "No."

"No." Melissa shook her head in disbelief. She was way too tired to handle these three so late at night. "Well, alright then, that's enough parenting for me tonight." She handed the baseball bat to Natalie, who just took it with a confused expression. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Mama McCall," Natalie called after her after she walked out of Scott's room. The redhead set down the baseball bat behind her on the bed and got off of Stiles's lap.

Stiles let out a sigh, which immediately grabbed Scott's attention. "What?"

"Natalie got a call from her dad fifteen minutes ago…" Stiles told him, "The bus driver. They said he succumbed to his wounds."

"Succumbed?"

Natalie rolled her eyes once again. "God, I really need to buy you a dictionary…" she mumbled before saying, "Scott, he's dead."

That's all it took for Scott's face to drop and jump out of his window. Neither Stiles nor Natalie knew where he was going, but if the redhead had to guess, it was to go see Derek. Since they finished what they came there to do, Stiles decided it was time to take Natalie home. Instead of exiting how they entered, the pair just walked out the front door.

The ride to Natalie's house was silent because they were both still recovering from the shock of the bus driver's death. They just couldn't believe how Scott's becoming a werewolf was making all three of their lives more confusing, complicated, and even terrifying. It was just too much for them to deal with at the moment, especially when being a teenager and going through big changes was overwhelming enough. How they were going to get through it, they had no clue. But all they knew was that they were going to tackle it together, whether they were all supernatural or not.

"I'm sorry we had to end our date a bit early," Stiles apologized as he pulled up in front of Natalie's house, "I was really having a good time, too."

"Don't worry about it," Natalie smiled lightly, "There are going to be plenty of opportunities to have more date nights. Besides, I had a lot of fun, too." This made Stiles smile also.

She grabbed her purse and Tina and hopped out of the car. Then she walked around it over to Stiles's side. He rolled down his window so he could talk to Natalie. She rested her elbows on his car and leaned in a little towards him.

"Thank you for tonight," she said to him, "It was nice to get away from school and all of this supernatural stuff. Even though we kinda had to deal with it at the end anyway."

Stiles chuckled along with Natalie. "It's okay. I'm glad that we finally got to do something together. And thank you, too."

"For what?"

"For actually saying 'yes' when I asked you out."

Red hues gradually appeared on Natalie's fair cheeks, matching her bright hair. She stepped away from the jeep. "I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Absolutely," Stiles said.

Natalie waved goodbye and walked to her front porch. Stiles watched her a bit before sighing sadly. Another day wasted of not telling Natalie how he really felt about her. However, it wasn't a complete lose. After all, he did just spend an incredible night with her, even though it was cut a bit short due to the bus driver incident. Maybe tonight wasn't the best night to tell her. It had to be saved for another day. Stiles looked down as he stuck his key in the ignition.

"Stiles?"

Said boy turned at the sound of his name being called. Natalie was jogging back over to the jeep. He was about to ask what she was doing until the unthinkable happened.

She grabbed his chin and pressed her lips against his.

His eyes grew double in size at the unexpected action. It completely took Stiles by surprise. Natalie Henderson, his best friend for sixteen years and the girl he's had a huge crush on, was kissing him! She had actually kissed him first! A part of him didn't believe that this was really happening, but when he looked down at their lips connected, he was the happiest guy on the planet.

His own eyes shut as he melted into the kiss. He placed one hand on the side of Natalie's neck and threaded the other through her long red velvet curls. Soon enough their tongues came into play as the kiss deepened. Natalie moaned and it drove Stiles absolutely crazy. It took everything in him not to just pull her back in the car and ravish her. If Natalie was embarrassed by the sound she had made, she certainly didn't do anything to show it. She just rested her hands on his pale cheeks and brought his face even closer to hers.

They both ached for more. Kissing didn't feel quite enough for them, no matter how much they enjoyed it- they wanted their bodies to come together to be closer than ever before. But the more they thought about it, they were grateful for the car door separating them. This was something Stiles and Natalie were longing for for years. There was simply no need to rush. They wanted to ease into this and cherish every moment together as much as they can. And judging by the intensity of this kiss, Stiles and Natalie knew that this was definitely not the last time they would be together like this.

When the kiss finally ended- much to their dismay- they kept their faces close to each other. Lips were red and swollen and their breathing grew heavy. Stiles looked into Natalie's eyes and they seemed to sparkle, especially when she smiled up at him. Of course Stiles always thought she was beautiful, but with the gleam in her eyes and bright smile, she looked absolutely radiant, and it was like he fell in love all over again. She lightly stroked his cheek with her fingertips, causing his whole body to shudder.

"Goodnight, Batman."

She placed one last kiss on his cheek before leaving his car once again. Stiles was too stunned to even respond, so he just gazed after her. His daze finally disappeared when he heard her front door shut. He touched his tingling lips with his fingers. The corners of his lips turned up into the biggest smile he had ever displayed. He ran his hand over his short hair as he started to laugh out of pure happiness.

"I just made out with Natalie Henderson!"

* * *

**Aww, what a couple of cuties! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! PLEASE review and let me know what you think! And also, I wanna do Q and A sessions at the end of every chapter so please send in some questions you have about Awake and Alive, Scars, No One Else, and Nirvana! If you haven't yet, check out my profile to see the cast of these stories. I hope you liked who I picked out. I hope to update soon! I love you guys! xoxo, Maddie :)  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, everyone! I don't have much to say right now but make sure to stay tuned at the end for a Q and A session and some announcements! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Scott and Stiles's history teacher was now passing back their tests they took last week. History was the one class they didn't have with Natalie. Usually Stiles hated it since the redhead always made his classes more entertaining. But today he wasn't really sure how to act around her. He still had normal conversations with her throughout the day that involved the usual joking around and sarcastic comments.

The only thing that was different about today was the humongous urge to hold Natalie's hand and kiss her in front of everyone. Especially after their make-out session a couple of nights ago.

Stiles tried his best to shove that memory to the back of his head (only to prevent the embarrassing event of receiving a hard-on in the middle of class… again) and leaned in towards Scott, who was fidgeting in the seat in front of him.

"If Derek's not the alpha…" he started, "if he's not the one who bit you, then who did?"

Scott shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

"Did the alpha kill the bus driver?"

"I don't know."

With a sigh, Stiles leaned in a little closer. "Does Allison's dad know about-"

"I don't know!" Scott exclaimed.

That caused pretty much the entire class to turn their heads and look at Scott for a bit before going back to what they were doing. Feeling slightly embarrassed and very frustrated, Scott slumped in his seat. Their teacher came over to their desks to hand back their test results. While Stiles pumped his fist in celebration of his A+, the werewolf frowned and sulked over his D-.

His best friend looked over his shoulder and winced when he saw his grade. "Dude, you need to study more." Scott just set his paper down on his desk without saying a word. "That was a joke. Scott, it's one test. You're gonna make it up. Do you want help studying?"

"No, I'm studying with Allison after school today."

Stiles chuckled in approval. "That's my boy!"

"We're just studying," Scott said.

"Uh, no you're not."

One of Scott's eyebrows rose. "I'm not?"

"Not if I'm forced to live vicariously through you," Stiles told him, "If you go to her house today and squander that colossal opportunity, I swear to god I will have you de-balled!"

"Okay!" Scott cut Stiles off before he could continue, "Just stop with the questions, man…"

"Done." Stiles raised his hands in surrender and leaned back in his seat. "No more questions. No more talk about the alpha and Derek. Especially Derek… who still scares me…"

Scott turned around so he was fully facing Stiles. "And I don't think you should be harassing me about my lack of sexual activity when you have your own girl to worry about. You never did tell me how your date with Natalie went."

A happy sigh left Stiles's mouth and a dreamy expression was smacked on his face. Scott smirked at his reaction.

"I'm guessing it went well then?"

Stiles locked his fingers behind his head. "It was amazing! Even though my body's still sore and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to taste anything for the next few days…"

"Uh…" Scott was at a loss for words, "Do I want to know?"

"I just got pelted with baseballs and ate the hottest chicken wings. You know, the usual," Stiles explained, "But when I dropped her off at home, she kissed me!"

Scott's eyes widened. "Wait, _she_ kissed _you_?!"

The twitchy boy nodded his head in pride. "Yep! And it was beyond hot! Best make-out session of my life!"

"That was the only make-out session you've ever had," Scott chuckled.

"That's beside the point, Scott," Stiles said, waving his hand in dismissal, "I swear, that girl is such a great kisser."

"Well, good for you, dude. So does this mean you're finally boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Realization dawned on Stiles. He never did ask Natalie to be his girlfriend that night. The boy couldn't even get one word out after their kiss. He had wasted the perfect opportunity!

"Oh, fuck."

Laughter erupted from Scott when he saw the horrified look on Stiles's face. He was clutching onto his stomach and he had to keep himself from falling out of his chair. Tears peeked out of the corners of his eyes and he wiped them away.

"And you say _I'm_ bad with girls?"

Stiles shot his best friend the most threatening glare he could muster, which wasn't very effective. "Shut up, Wolf Boy."

* * *

A few minutes before the final bell, Natalie walked out of the girl's locker room with her baseball bag slung over her shoulder. Since she had a free period, she figured that she might as well change into her clothes for baseball practice after school. She was now wearing a grey tank top, black sports bra, black capri leggings, and her baseball cleats. Of course, she still had her black bandana on her head.

She headed over to her locker to grab her jacket since it was going to be a little chilly during practice. Once she opened her locker, she pulled out a black track jacket. As Natalie shrugged it on then zipped it up, her ears perked up at the sound of two familiar males just around the corner.

"Where's Scott McCall?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because I asked you politely. And I only do that once."

A groan left Natalie's mouth. Derek would show up to the school unannounced and uninvited. It's like he could give two shits about sticking out like a sore thumb and causing a scene. And of course he had to approach Jackson, who from what Scott had told Natalie was already suspicious about the wolf's sudden change in behavior and lacrosse skills. This would probably make Jackson even more curious and possibly confirm his suspicions.

Stupid werewolf.

But Natalie couldn't help but press her back against the wall and poke her head out of the corner. Hey, she was just as curious about what Derek was looking for Scott for. Don't judge her.

"Hmm," Jackson hummed, "Okay, tough guy. You know, how about I help you find him if you tell me what you're selling him? What is it? Is it, uh, Dianbol? Hmm? HGH?"

"Steroids," Derek deadpanned.

Jackson scoffed. "No, Girl Scout cookies. What the hell do you think I'm taking about? Oh, and, uh, by the way, whatever it is you're out selling, I'd probably stop sampling the merchandise. You look wrecked."

Natalie snorted in amusement. "Oh, Jackson. You clueless little shit." It was a good thing that she was far from the two so they wouldn't hear her. Well, Jackson couldn't, but Derek probably could with his excessive wolf hearing.

But when the redhead narrowed her eyes, she now saw why Jackson thought Derek was hopped up on medication. The wolf was paler than usual and he had broken out in a cold sweat. He looked very weak, which was such a huge contrast compared to the dangerous and broody man she was used to seeing. Even if he did creep her out on occasion.

Either way, Derek was looking horrible. Natalie had to find Scott and find him fast.

The werewolf glared at Jackson then shook his head. "I'll find him myself." He started to walk away.

"No, we're not done!"

Jackson grabbed his shoulder but Derek was quick to react. He grabbed the jock by the neck and slammed him into the lockers. Fear was in Jackson's eyes and Natalie could see that Derek's claws had sunk into his neck.

"Alright, time to break this up," she said to himself. She walked over to Derek and Jackson casually. "Hey, Derek. What are you doing here? Didn't Scott tell you that he didn't need your help with his homework today?"

Derek's eyebrows rose. "What?"

"Yeah," Natalie continued, "Allison offered to study with Scott after school today. He said that he was going to let you know earlier but I guess he forgot."

Jackson looked over at Natalie with his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "You know him?"

Natalie nodded her head a little too quickly. "Yeah. He's Scott's… uh, tutor. Finstock said that if he wants to stay on the team, he's gotta get his grades up. So our old friend here offered to help him out."

The look on Derek's face was almost laughable. It was the sassiest expression that Natalie had ever seen, the one where it looked like he wanted to say, "You've gotta be kidding me." but Natalie shot him a glare that told him to just play along.

"And speaking of Scott," she said, pulling Derek away from Jackson, "I should just take you to him so you can plan for a different day to study. Peace out, Jackass!"

She didn't bother to wait for Jackson to respond to that last comment as she grabbed onto Derek's leather jacket and dragged him away.

"Phew!" she chuckled, "Good thing we got outta that one, huh?"

"His _tutor_?" Derek growled, "_That_ was the best thing you could've come up with?"

"Hey, I suck at making shit up on the spot!" Natalie said, flailing the arm that wasn't grabbing onto Derek's jacket, "I'm actually surprised I was able to come up with that as quickly as I did. And what did you expect? Would you have rather had me tell him the truth?"

"I rather you come up with a more believable lie than that," Derek snapped, "Do I look like someone who would tutor a high school kid?" He winced when pain shot up his arm and he clutched onto it.

"Well, it got us away from Jackson, didn't it? So instead of questioning my lies, you should be thanking me. Now, can you tell me what you're doing here and why you look like you should be on 'The Walking Dead'?"

Derek began to pant heavily as the pain grew worse. "I need to… find Scott… now."

Natalie noticed Derek holding onto his arm and she looked over at it. Her eyes widened when she saw a hole in his sleeve with blood seeping out of it. "Holy shit, dude! What happened to you?"

"Someone… shot me."

"With a silver bullet?"

The wolf glared at Natalie. "No!" he barked.

"Okay, okay!" Natalie held her hands up in defense, "It was just a question! No need to bite my head off."

Derek leaned against the wall for support. Right then, the bell rang. The sound made Derek squeeze his eyes shut and cover his ears with his hands.

"Take me to Scott right now!" he seethed.

"Okay! Uh…" Natalie wrapped his good arm around her shoulders and she wrapped her arm around his waist. As soon as she started to walk, she grunted. "Oh my god, you're freakin' heavy! What do you eat?"

"Just shut up and walk."

"Gladly."

The redhead pulled Derek along as she walked through the hallway. People stared at her when they saw her with someone who looked like he was about to pass out. But she paid it no attention. Natalie dragged him out of the school where people were heading home. She looked around for Scott but she couldn't find him anywhere. Then to her relief, she spotted Stiles in his jeep in the parking lot and decided to go to him instead.

When Stiles saw Natalie stop in front of his car while holding onto Derek, Stiles skidded to a halt. Natalie waved to her best friend and accidentally dropped Derek.

"Whoops."

Natalie bent down to pull Derek up off the pavement. When he wouldn't budge, Natalie looked at Stiles and motioned him to come help her. He got out of his car and rushed over to them. Then Scott was suddenly hovering over them.

"What are you doing here?" Scott asked Derek.

"I was shot," he groaned.

Stiles grimaced. "He's not looking so good, dude."

"More like terrible," Natalie added, "He looks like he came back from the dead."

"Why aren't you healing?" Scott asked.

"I can't," Derek wheezed, "It was… it was a different kind of bullet."

"A silver bullet?" Stiles asked curiously.

"No, you idiot!"

"It's a legitimate question, you ass!" Natalie defended both Stiles and herself. Stiles looked at her with appreciation. "I got you, dude."

"Wait, wait," Scott said, "That's what she meant when she said you had forty-eight hours…"

Derek's eyes snapped up at Scott. "What? Who… who said forty-eight hours?"

"The one who shot you."

At this point, the people who were behind Stiles's jeep kept looking over at the four and honking their horns. All of a sudden, Derek's eyes kept flashing from his normal green eyes to his wolf's electric blue eyes. The trio began to freak out.

"What are you doing?" Scott exclaimed, "Stop that!"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you!" Derek groaned, "I can't!"

Natalie rolled her eyes before grabbing his good arm to pull him up. "Alright, up and at 'em, big guy. Scotty, a little assistance here?"

Scott looked around before helping Natalie get Derek up. "Let's put him in Stiles's jeep."

She opened the passenger door of the car and threw her baseball bag and backpack in the back before climbing over the seats. Scott and Stiles helped Derek get in. After he shut the door, Stiles ran over to the driver's side and hopped in himself.

"I need you to find out what kind of bullet they used," Derek told Scott.

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Scott asked.

"'Cause she's an Argent. She's with them."

"Why should I help you?"

Derek stared at the younger wolf coldly. "Because you need me."

Scott looked torn, but he knew Derek was right. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Scott needed his help with learning how to control his shift if he wanted to play lacrosse and be with Allison. He let out a sigh.

"Fine," he said, "I'll try." He turned to Stiles. "Get him out of here."

Stiles rolled his eyes as he put his car into gear. "I hate you for this so much." Then he drove out of the parking lot.

* * *

They were on the road for a whole. As Stiles kept his eyes on the road and Derek was shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Natalie was looking down at her twiddling thumbs. She was looking a little distracted and Stiles picked up on it right away.

"You alright back there, Nat?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine. It's just that I probably should've told my coach that I wasn't going to be at practice today."

"Oh, crap." Stiles's eyes widened. "I forgot you had baseball practice. Do you need me to take you back to the school?"

"No, no, it's alright," Natalie assured him, "Missing one practice isn't gonna kill me."

"Are you sure? Shouldn't the co-captain be there?"

"Yeah, but I think that this is a bit more important right now. Also, Coach Samson loves me. She'll let it slide. The only thing I have to worry about it the 'wrath' of Megan."

As soon as she said that, the theme song from 'Jaws' started playing. Derek was looking around him in confusion and Stiles raised an eyebrow.

"Speaking of the devil…" Natalie pulled her phone out of her bag and answered the call. "Hey, Megan…"

"_Natalie, where the hell are you?!"_ Megan yelled, making Natalie pull her phone away from her ear, _"Practice started a half hour ago! Everyone is here except for the CO-CAPTAIN!"_

"I know, I know," Natalie groaned, rubbing her forehead, "but something really important came up and I have to go take care of it."

"_What could be more important than practice right now?"_ the co-captain asked, _"We have a game this weekend! Someone better be dying!"_

"Oh believe me, you have no idea," the redhead mumbled, "Look, I gotta go. I'll be at practice tomorrow, okay?"

"_Natalie, don't you dare hang up on me-"_

She ended the call and tossed her phone on her bag. Stiles saw her annoyed face through his rearview mirror and chuckled.

"I'm guessing that went well," he laughed.

"Shut up." Natalie looked over at Derek, who was looking worse by the second. She pulled out her water bottle and held it out to him. "Here, drink this. You look like you need it."

Derek looked at it suspiciously. "What is it?"

"Gasoline," Natalie deadpanned, "It's water, dumbass. What else would it be? Just drink it."

Rolling his eyes, Derek took the bottle. He set it between his thighs as he slowly and carefully pulled off his leather jacket. Once he finally got it off, he threw it to the backseat, hitting Natalie in the face in the process.

With a glare, Natalie tossed the jacket away from her. The picture of Derek's long lost friend fell out of the pocket. It was now folded and slightly wrinkled, but still in somewhat good condition. Derek was too focused on his arm to pay attention to what Natalie was doing so she tucked the photo in her pocket.

"Hey, Nat," Stiles said, "Can you check my phone and see if Scott texted me back?"

The redhead reached in between Stiles and Derek's seat and grabbed the phone in the cup holder. Scott had sent a message and Natalie opened it up to read it. She let out a sigh when she was finished.

"He said that he needs more time," she said as she handed the phone back to Stiles.

"Of course," he grumbled. He looked over at Derek, who had his eyes closed and head lolled back. "Hey, try not to bleed out on my seats, okay? We're almost there."

"Almost where?" Derek asked.

"Your house."

Derek's eyes widened. "What?" He shook his head. "No, you can't take me there."

Stiles raised an eyebrow. "I can't take you to your own house?"

"Not when I can't protect myself."

Then all of a sudden, Stiles slammed down on his brakes. The movement made Natalie jolt forward and hit her forehead on the back of Derek's seat.

"Ow!" she cried out as she rubbed her forehead, "Are you fucking kidding me, Stiles? Son of a bitch…"

"Alright, what happens if Scott doesn't find your little magic bullet?" Stiles asked Derek, completely ignoring Natalie, "Hmm? Are you dying?"

"Not yet," Derek said, "I have a last resort."

"What the hell does that mean?" Natalie asked, poking her head in between the two males' seats.

"What last resort?" Stiles also asked.

Derek didn't answer. Instead, he rolled up his sleeve to reveal an ugly sight. The bullet hold in his arm had very dark red- close to black- blood oozing out of it. Black veins were creeping around the wound. It was sickening.

"Oh my god, what is that?" Stiles exclaimed, looking away, "Oh, is that contagious?"

"Ugh, it's pulsing!" Natalie gagged, "Oh, that's so gross!"

"You know what," Stiles said, "you should probably just get out."

"Start the car," Derek demanded, "Now."

Stiles turned to Derek, obviously fed up with his snarky and bossy attitude. "I don't think you should be barking orders with the way you look, okay? In fact, I think if I wanted to, I could probably drag your little werewolf ass into the middle of the road and leave you for dead."

The wolf gave Stiles a deadly glare. Even while on the brink of dying, Derek can be very intimidating. Looks like Stiles isn't the only one who is extremely agitated.

"Start the car, or I'm gonna rip your throat out… with my teeth."

Staring Derek down, Stiles detected his face to see if he was bluffing. But he just kept glaring. Stiles looked back at Natalie and she raised her hands up in defense.

"I don't know about you, but I would like to keep my throat."

Her best friend shifted his whiskey colored eyes from Natalie to Derek. With a roll of his eyes, he started his car again and drove off.

About an hour later, Stiles had pulled up to the side of the road again to call Scott. Derek was getting paler and his breath was coming out in short pants. He wound looked the same, but it was slowly killing him. Meanwhile, Natalie was texting her mom to tell her that she was going home with Stiles and not to worry about picking her up at the school.

"What are we supposed to do with him?" Stiles asked Scott over the phone.

_"Take him somewhere,"_ Scott told him, _"Anywhere!"_

"And by the way, he's starting to smell." For what seemed to be the hundredth time that day, Derek shot Stiles another glare.

_"Like what?"_ Scott asked.

"Like _death_," Stiles emphasized.

Natalie chuckled and Derek turned to scowl at her. "Don't give me that look," she sassed, "I've been in this car with you for about two hours now. It's safe to say that you freakin' reek, dude. You should've figured that one out on your own."

_"Okay,"_ Scott said to Stiles, _"Take him to the animal clinic."_

"What about your boss?" Stiles asked.

_"He's gone by now. There's a spare key in a box behind the dumpster."_

Stiles let out a sigh, shook his head, and held his phone out to Derek. "You're not gonna believe where he's telling me to take you."

"Where did he say to go?" Natalie asked.

"You'll find out," Stiles sighed.

Derek grabbed Stiles's phone and held it up to his ear. "Did you find it?"

_"How am I supposed to find it?"_ Scott exclaimed, _"They have a million! This house is like the freakin' Walmart of guns!"_

"If you don't find it, then I'm dead, alright?"

_"I'm starting to think that wouldn't be such a bad thing."_

"Then think about this-" Derek was now gripping onto the phone tightly and Stiles was a bit worried that he was going to break it. "The alpha called you out against your will. Next time, you either kill with him or be killed. So if you wanna stay alive, you need me. Find the bullet."

He then hung up the phone and threw it back at Stiles, who caught it clumsily. Natalie crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"The least you could do is be a little nicer," she said to Derek, "You know, we don't have to be helping you. Would it kill you if you actually said 'please' and 'thank you'?"

"Well considering that I'm dying already," Derek said sarcastically, "I'd rather not take my chances."

Natalie was so tempted to slap him but decided against it the more she thought about it. Derek may be injured but he was still a werewolf. He could easily tear the redhead apart if he wanted to. And she wasn't stupid enough to even bother to aggravate him more. So she just leaned back in her seat and looked outside the window.

Not long after that did Stiles pull up behind the animal clinic that Scott worked at. When Natalie saw where they were, she couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Oh, this couldn't be any more perfect."

The best friends got out of the car and helped Derek out. They wrapped his arms around their shoulders and walked to the back door of the clinic. Stiles let go of Derek to look for the box Scott told him about. He grabbed the key and unlocked the door.

When they walked in, Natalie accidentally dropped Derek for the second time that day on bags of dog food. He landed on his injured arm, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Would you stop dropping me!" he snapped at Natalie.

"It's not like I'm doing it on purpose!" she defended herself, "I didn't expect you to feel like dead weight!"

As Natalie helped Derek stand back up, Stiles's phone beeped. He pulled it out of his pocket and read the text Scott had sent him.

"Does Nordic Blue Monkshood mean anything to you?" Stiles asked Derek.

"It's a rare form of wolfsbane," he explained, "He has to bring me the bullet."

"Why?"

Derek looked up at both Stiles and Natalie. "Because I'm gonna die without it."

"Well, shit," Natalie said as she rubbed the back of her neck with the hand that wasn't holding Derek, "Uh, let's take him to one of the operating tables."

The three of them entered another room. Stiles turned on the light as Natalie had Derek lean against the table. He peeled off his shirt, revealing the black veins spreading on his arm. Then he placed his arm on top of the table.

"You know, that really doesn't look like anything Echinacea and a good night's sleep couldn't take care of," Stiles said as he looked at Derek's arm.

"When the infection reaches my heart," Derek panted as he searched through different cabinets and drawers, "it'll kill me."

"Positivity just isn't in your vocabulary, isn't it?"

Natalie snorted, making Derek stop what he was doing to glare at her before resuming his search.

"If he doesn't get here with the bullet in time, last resort…"

"Which would be…" Natalie trailed off.

Derek finally found what he was looking for in one of the drawers- a hand saw. "You're gonna cut off my arm." He set it down on the table and pushed it over to Stiles and Natalie.

The redhead was the first to react. She stepped away from the table and threw her hands up. "Uh uh. No. No, no, no, no, no. There is absolutely no way in hell I am amputating someone!" She pointed to Stiles. "You're on your own, dude!"

Stiles's mouth gaped open when Natalie walked to the other side of the room. When he realized that she wasn't kidding around, Stiles picked up the saw and turned it on. He freaked out when it started buzzing and immediately switched it off.

"Oh my god!" He placed the saw back on the table. "What if you bleed to death?"

Derek was now tying a blue rubber band around his arm as a tourniquet with his teeth. "It'll heal if it works."

"Ugh… look, I don't know if I can do this."

The wolf looked up at Stiles. "Why not?"

"Well, because of the cutting through the flesh, the sawing of the bone, and especially the blood!"

"You faint at the sight of blood?"

"No, but I might at the sight of a chopped off arm!"

Natalie raised her hand. "I second that!"

"Alright, fine," Derek sighed, "How about this? Either you cut off my arm, or I cut off your head."

"Okay, you know, I'm so not buying your threats anymore-" All of a sudden, Derek grabbed the collar of Stiles's shirt and pulled his upper body over the table. "Oh my god! Okay. Alright, bought, sold, totally. I'll do it. I'll do it."

Then Derek began to heave heavily. He turned his body and threw up what looked like black ooze. Just the sight made Natalie want to throw up herself.

"Holy shit, what is that?!" she exclaimed, pointing to the black mess on the floor.

"It's my body…" Derek answered, "trying to heal itself."

"Well, it's not doing a very good job of it," Stiles said.

Derek looked up at Stiles. "Now. You gotta do it now!"

"Look, honestly, I don't think I can-"

"Just do it!"

"Oh my god. Okay." Stiles picked up the saw again. Derek looked like he was struggling to keep still, which was very odd. Stiles looked up at his best friend. "Nat, I may need your help."

"With what?" she asked.

"Hold him down or something," Stiles told her, "Keep him grounded. Make him think happy thoughts."

Natalie flailed her arms. "Do I look like fucking Peter Pan? How am I supposed to make Mr. Grumpy Gills out of all people think about something happy?"

"There's gotta be at least one thing about his life that doesn't suck!"

That's when Natalie remembered the picture in her pocket. She immediately pulled it out and unfolded it. Standing next to Derek and placing a hand on his shoulder, she held out the picture in front of his face.

"Derek, listen to me," Natalie said as comforting as possible, "Just think about Anabelle. Think of your favorite memories with her."

Just hearing Anabelle's name was enough to get Derek to snap his head up. With sorrowful eyes, Derek gazed at the picture of the girl he used to call his best friend. The more he thought about her when they were younger, the less he fought against Natalie.

"_Derek!" a teenage girl with long curly dark brown hair and light brown eyes giggled, "Can you please just tell me where we're going?"_

"_Nope," Derek smirked as he pulled Anabelle behind him, "I told you, it's a surprise."_

"_You know I hate surprises."_

"_Trust me, you're gonna love this one."_

_Even though Anabelle was rolling her eyes, she couldn't stop the smile from forming on her face. Derek had been dragging her along the woods for about a half hour because he claimed that he had something to show her. It was her fifteenth birthday and Derek wanted to spend some alone time with his best friend. They spent most of the day celebrating with their families and Anabelle's boyfriend took her out for the evening so Derek didn't get a lot of one on one time with her._

_So he waited until everybody in their house was asleep to sneak in her room and tell her to come with him. Anabelle protested, saying that it was late and that he could just show her the next day. But Derek told her that it absolutely couldn't wait. Finally, Anabelle allowed Derek to take her out in the woods after putting on her shoes and one of his hoodies. Derek held onto her hand as they walked in the woods. It was very late and dark outside so he made sure their fingers were intertwined tightly so they wouldn't separate. _

_After a while, they came across the pond they always used to play at when they were kids. But when they grew up, they became too busy with school, extracurricular activities, and learning to control their shifts to come by here. Derek one day decided to take her there when the light of the moon reflected off the water beautifully. Beside the pond was a blanket with a Tupperware filled with a dozen cupcakes on top of it._

_Anabelle's eyes lit up at the sight. "Oh my gosh. You did this for me?"_

"_Yeah," Derek said, "Do you like it? I know it's not as extravagant as the dinner Chase did for you, but I really wanted to bring you here so it would be just the two of us."_

"_Are you kidding me? Derek, I love this. But aren't we going to get in trouble for being out here so late?"_

_Derek shook his head. "We'll be fine. Actually, my mom helped me set this up. Now sit down so we can have some cupcakes."_

_With an eyebrow raised, Anabelle asked, "Let me guess- your mom made them?"_

"_No…" Anabelle gave him a knowing look. "Okay, she may have taken over when the batter started flying out of the bowl while I was mixing it."_

_The brunette shook her head as she laughed. Then they sat down on the blanket and dug into the cupcakes. At one point, Derek stuck his finger in the frosting and swiped it on Anabelle's nose. She gasped and smeared frosting on his cheek. Their war went for about a few minutes until they had to stop when their stomachs started to hurt from laughing so much. Derek pulled out some napkins that were underneath the container and they helped each other clean the frosting off their faces. _

"_I have one more thing for you," Derek told Anabelle._

"_Oh my god," she sighed, "Derek, no more. What else could there be?"_

"_I haven't given you your present yet," he told her, "Close your eyes and lift up your hair."_

_Anabelle rolled her eyes but did as she was told. Derek reached in his pocket and pulled out a necklace. He walked behind her and clasped the chain around her neck. Then he instructed Anabelle to open her eyes. When she did, she looked down on the charm against her chest. It was the outline of a wolf that looked like it was howling at the moon. The outline was bedazzled with black and white jewels. _

"_Derek…"_

"_I saw this when Laura dragged me into that antique shop and the first thing I thought about was you."_

_She looked up at Derek, who was now kneeling in front of her. Anabelle fingered the pendent and smiled. _

"_This is so beautiful," Anabelle gushed, "I think this is my favorite present that I've gotten today. Because it's from my favorite person in the world- my best friend." She placed a kiss on his cheek and hugged him. "Thank you, Derek."_

_Said boy's cheek rested on the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her. "Anything for you, Anabelle. Happy birthday."_

"Stiles? Natalie?"

The two of them including Derek- breaking him out of his memory- looked up and saw Scott standing in the doorway. Both Stiles and Natalie sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank god you're here!" Natalie said.

Scott noticed Stiles holding the saw against Derek's arm. "What the hell are you doing?"

Stiles put the saw down and laughed breathlessly. "Oh, you just prevented a lifetime of nightmares."

"Did you get it?" Derek asked Scott.

The younger wolf reached into his pocket and pulled out the bullet. He then placed it in Derek's hand.

"What are you gonna do with it?" Scott asked.

"I'm gonna…" Derek panted, "I'm gonna…" Then he suddenly collapsed onto the floor, dropping the bullet.

"No, don't! No, no, no!" Scott exclaimed, but the bullet had already rolled into a vent in the floor.

Natalie crouched down next to Derek. "Come on, dude." She smacked his cheek a couple of times to wake him up. But nothing was working. "Shit! Scott, what do I do?"

"I don't know!" Scott said as he tried to grab the bullet out of the vent, "I can't reach it!"

"I think he's dying, Scott! He won't wake up!"

"Just hold on!" Scott let his claws out and finally got a hold of the bullet. "I got it! I got it!"

Stiles placed a hand on Natalie's. "Here, let me try something, Nat." She nodded her head and moved over so Stiles was kneeling next to her. "Please don't kill me for this." He drew his arm back and punched Derek in the face as hard as he could. He cried out in pain and cradled his now throbbing hand.

But it seemed to have done the trick because Derek's eyes opened up right away. Natalie helped Derek up and he asked Scott for the bullet. Once he had it, he bit the cap off and dumped out of its contents on the table. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and lit the powder on fire.

When the fire had died down and there was smoke rising from the gunpowder, Derek scooped it up and pressed it into his wound. He screamed out at the intense pain and landed on the floor. As he writhed around, Stiles pulled Natalie back and wrapped his arms around her. She gripped onto his biceps as she looked down at Derek.

Finally, Derek stopped screaming and was now trying to catch his breath.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Stiles exclaimed as he pumped his fist in the air, "Yes!"

Natalie laughed along with him. "That was so much better than any action movie I've seen this year!" She continued to laugh until she saw Derek glaring up at her. She cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry."

"Are you okay?" Scott asked as Derek stood up.

"Except for the agonizing pain," Derek seethed.

"I'm guessing the ability to use sarcasm is a sign of health," Stiles said. Natalie held out her fist and he bumped it with his.

"Okay, we saved your life," Scott told Derek, "which means you're gonna leave us alone. You got that? And if you don't, I'm gonna go back to Allison's dad and I'm gonna tell him everything."

"You're gonna trust them?" Derek asked, "You think they can help you?"

"Why not? They're a lot freakin' nicer than you are!"

"Yeah, I can show you exactly how nice they are."

"… What do you mean?"

Derek sighed as he picked up his shirt. "There's something I think you need to see. Maybe that'll show you the kind of people the Argents really are. Come with me." Then he turned to Stiles and Natalie. "You two. Go home."

Stiles grabbed Natalie's hand and they were about to walk out the door until Derek cleared his throat. They turned around to see the man with his palm out. Natalie rolled her eyes and placed the photo of Anabelle in his hand before Stiles pulled her out of the clinic.

"Well, that was eventful," Natalie said as they walked out to Stiles's jeep.

"Yeah, you're telling me," Stiles agreed. He walked over to the passenger side and opened the door for Natalie. As she got in, Stiles went over to his side and climbed in. Once they were buckled in, they sat in silence for a few minutes. "I'm hungry. You?"

"Starving," Natalie said, "I could go for a burger right now."

"Burgers it is then."

* * *

Ten minutes later, the pair ended up at the local diner, Jane's Spot. When they found a booth inside, Stiles was the first to sit down. Natalie was about to sit across from him, but Stiles grabbed her hand before she could. She looked at him and he nodded his head to the empty spot next to him. With a smile, Natalie sat down next to him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

A while after they ordered their food, the waitress brought out their burgers, onion rings, and soda. As they ate, they talked about the whole situation with Derek at the animal clinic.

"You impressed me in there," Stiles told Natalie, "With the photo and everything… How'd you know that would work?"

Natalie shrugged her shoulders. "To be honest, I didn't. I just thought about how Derek is extremely protective about the photo. And I remember him telling me that they were so close before the fire. I figured that the thought of her would help calm him down."

"And it did."

"Yeah… yeah, it did. I've never seen him look as vulnerable as he did before. It kinda makes me think that she wasn't just his friend."

"I think I know what you mean," Stiles agreed, "There's definitely more about that girl than we know. I wonder if she is still alive."

"Derek said that he's been looking for her for years but he hasn't found anything," Natalie told him, "I kinda wanna find out more about her, but I don't think Derek will tell me any more than he already has."

Stiles nodded and ate an onion ring. "I definitely think we should look more into it."

As they ate their food, Natalie nestled closer to Stiles's side and rested her head on his shoulder. He smiled down at her as he rubbed her arm. Then he rested his chin on the top of her red hair.

"Nat?" She hummed in response. "You know there's something we should talk about."

With scrunched eyebrows, she looked up at Stiles. "What?"

"Well, the other night, I never got the chance to ask you about…" he gestured to her then himself, "us."

"What about us?"

Stiles struggled to find his words. "Like… are we just friends, casually dating, or… I don't know…"

The redhead couldn't hide the smirk on her face. She couldn't help it- Stiles was absolutely adorable when he was flustered. Especially when he started blushing. He would probably kill her if she ever told him that though. It would take away his 'masculinity'.

"What do you want us to be, Stiles?" she asked him.

"Uh…" Stiles scratched his neck, "Well, I would like to be… I mean, I was hoping I could be your… boyfriend?"

Natalie's doe brown eyes widened at his response. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said, "I've actually had the biggest crush on you ever since we were kids. I understand if you don't feel the same way about me since you're extremely hot and awesome but I hope that we would still be-"

He was cut off when Natalie grabbed the collar of his shirt and tilted her head up to kiss him. This time he didn't even hesitate to kiss her back. It wasn't as hot and heavy as when they first kissed after their date, but they enjoyed it just the same.

When Natalie pulled away from Stiles, she bit down on her bottom lip. "Okay."

He looked down at the redhead in bewilderment. "Okay?"

"You can be my boyfriend," she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist, "Mostly because I really wanna be your girlfriend."

Stiles smirked and caressed Natalie's cheek. "I think we can find a way to make that work."

Their lips connected again and Natalie began laughing. "Why do I have a feeling that we're gonna be _that_ couple?"

"What couple?"

"The dorky couple that bickers all the time and tease each other. We're already weird together as it is. Add affection into the equation and it's most likely gonna double up."

This made Stiles laugh because it was most likely true. But thinking about it made him very excited about the future. Now Stiles was allowed to hold Natalie's hand in the hallways and kiss her in public. They can do all of the lovey dovey crap that they always made fun of couples for. It was going to be awesome.

"Natalie, we're gonna be the best couple ever."

* * *

**Q and A Session**

**Are Stiles and Natalie going to admit how they feel about each other any time soon? **In this chapter, they finally do! This was actually a lot earlier than I was planning to have them get together. I was going to originally do it during "Night School", but I didn't really know how to have them react in the chapters before that. But I hope you like this just fine!

**This has to do with the future DerekxOC story- Will there be any chapter(s) with the OC before the actual plot line or will she not appear until everything starts to go crazy? **For the most part, she will be featured right before season 2 starts. There will be a couple of brief appearances, but no one will really know it's her with how she presents herself. You'll understand why in future chapters of "Awake and Alive".

**Also has to do with the future DerekxOC story- Will we see any of their past relationship moments in flashbacks or just the present time? **Yes, I've added a flashback in this chapter to help keep Derek grounded because, well, getting your arm chopped off isn't an easy thing to go through- werewolf or not. I will add another one when Derek gets captured by Kate.

**I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It was really fun for me to write. Probably one of my favorites so far. PLEASE review, let me know what you think, and send me questions about my Teen Wolf stories or even about the show in general! Also if you haven't, PLEASE read my IsaacxOC story "Scars". I just updated it last week and I think it needs more love so go check it out! Also, I updated my profile and I changed the face claims for Anabelle and Harvey Wells. I think this person fits Anabelle much more perfectly and I think this change for Harvey is appropriate since he will become important in "No One Else". I've also added more images for the stories including posters, tattoos, and other important images. There will be more to come. Ahh, it makes me so excited!**

**I hope to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm super sorry for taking so long to update! I've just been completely stressed out about school and getting this done, but I finally did it! Stay tuned for a Q and A session. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Yes, Mom, I told you that we'll be fine on our own," Natalie said into the phone. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. "… I made sure to lock all of the doors and windows… including Rocky's doggy door… Alright, I'll see you later… Alright, love you too, Mom… Bye."

After her mom hung up, Natalie set her phone on the counter and leaned against it. She twisted the cap of the bottle off before chugging all of the water. When it was all gone, she dropped the bottle on the ground, stomped her foot on it, and then threw it away. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and headed up to Zach's room.

The first thing Natalie saw was her brother playing on his computer with his headphones on. Natalie called Zach's name a couple of times but he couldn't hear her. He just kept focusing on his game. With a roll of her eyes, she walked over to Zach. She pulled on side of his headphones and let go so it snapped against his ear.

"Ow!" he yelped. He quickly pulled off his headphones and rubbed his ear. "What was that for?"

"Well, you didn't answer me the first few times I said your name," Natalie shrugged, "Anyway, I'm going to the video store to rent some movies. You wanna come?"

"Can't," Zach said as he continued to play his game, "I'm about ten points away from unlocking the Diamond Sword. But I can't get past this stupid dragon!"

Natalie pinched the bridge of her nose and let out an annoyed sigh. "I'm gonna kill Stiles for even telling you about that game. Okay then, do you have any recommendations on what I should get?"

"Yeah, get 'Step Brothers'," Zach told her, "I haven't seen that one in a while."

"Sure thing, little bro. I'll be back in a little bit. And while I'm gone, get some snacks together."

"I'll get right on it."

Which in other words meant that Zach was going to put it off until he won his 'bejeweled knife' or whatever it was he was trying to win. Natalie shook her head and exited out of her brother's room. Then she went back down the stairs to grab her purse and phone before heading out the door.

Because Terri was working late that night and had the car, Natalie had to walk to the video store. Normally she wouldn't mind walking at night since she always thought Beacon Hills was so peaceful at this time. But now that a rabid werewolf- an alpha werewolf, which wasn't any more comforting- was running around town tearing people to pieces, Natalie felt this eerie chill crawling up her spine. She just kept her head down and walked really fast to the store, which thankfully was just a couple of blocks away.

Business looked dead at the store, but the lights were on so there was no question on whether it was closed or not. The bell above the door rang when Natalie walked in, but she wasn't greeted, which was odd. There was always a clerk that said 'hello' to the guests that came in, but Natalie saw no one. She shrugged it off and headed over to the comedy section.

"Looks like it's gonna be a Will Ferrell kind of night," Natalie said to herself as she plucked 'Step Brothers' off the shelf.

As the redhead continued her search for movies, she heard another customer come in. She was too busy debating on whether she wanted to get 'Anchorman' or 'Old School' to look up.

"Can someone help me find 'The Notebook'?"

Natalie knew that voice. She looked up to find Jackson looking around the store. All of a sudden, Natalie started cracking up and she tilted her head back. Jackson's head whipped around and when he saw Natalie, he groaned.

"Ugh, great," he whined, "Of course you're here right now."

"Oh my god," Natalie laughed, "Boy, Lydia has you whipped!" To add to her entertainment, she made a whipping sound with her mouth. She laughed even harder at the face Jackson was making.

"Yeah, laugh it up, Charmander," Jackson grumbled, "Do you know where any of the workers are?"

"Okay, first of all," Natalie said, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, "don't think that I'm going to forget that you know Pokémon. And also, no. I don't know where anyone is. It's been empty since I got here."

"So much for great customer service." Jackson called out. "Hello? You've gotta be kidding me…"

As Jackson continued to search for anyone to help him, Natalie decided to go back to her movie hunt. She didn't find any other good Will Ferrell movies so she moved on to the next aisle. The place was getting creepier by the minute. Lights were flickering above her and the phone would not stop ringing.

But what Natalie saw in that aisle made her drop everything in her hands.

One of the workers was lying dead on the floor. His throat was literally ripped out and blood was pooling around his body. What was even creepier were his open lifeless eyes fixed in Natalie's direction.

Jackson came up next Natalie and snorted when he saw the movies on the floor. "Having trouble holding onto your belongings, Henderson?"

He shut up when he saw what Natalie was shakily pointing at.

"I think I found the worker," Natalie said.

"Thank you for pointing that out, smartass." Before anyone of them could say anything else, they heard a low growl. "What the fuck was that?"

Slowly, they turned around and their hearts stopped. A large, black, and dog-like creature was on all fours, snarling at the two teenagers. Drool was dripping from the corner of its mouth and landed on the floor. Its eyes were blood red and that screamed one thing to Natalie.

Alpha.

"We have to get out of here," Natalie told Jackson, grabbing his arm. They walked backwards and Jackson bumped into a ladder. The ladder fell down, breaking the lights and making the store dark.

"Natalie, run!"

But before she could move, the alpha knocked down the shelves. They toppled down one another like dominos. Natalie and Jackson tried to move out of the way but it was too late. One of the shelves fell on them, trapping their legs so they couldn't move. Natalie cried out in pain when something heavy landed on her foot.

"Can you move?" Jackson asked the redhead.

She shook her head. "My ankle… I think it's broken!"

"Just stay still," Jackson told her, "I promise I'll get you out of here as soon as possible."

Natalie wanted to say something about how impossible that would be since they were both stuck. But the pain was unbearable and this wasn't really the time to be sarcastic. They had to focus on not getting themselves killed.

The alpha stalked up to Natalie and Jackson. It went straight to the jock and paid no attention to the redhead. His breath hitched when the werewolf pulled down the collar of his shirt to get a better look at the scratches Derek left him.

When it was done with Jackson, the alpha then went over to Natalie. Tears were pouring out of her eyes due to her foot and the fear of possibly dying. She didn't even try to hide it- she was absolutely terrified. Scott and Derek was nothing compared to this werewolf.

All of a sudden, they heard another growl. But it wasn't the alpha. Oh, no. The sound was smaller but still powerful. Natalie and Jackson looked behind the alpha as it turned around to see what it was.

A white wolf with a black front paw had its teeth bared as it growled at the alpha. Natalie's eyes widened. She knew about werewolves like Scott, Derek, and the alpha, but she never thought she would see an actual wolf in Beacon Hills. There was definitely more research that needed to be done when she got home.

Then it let out the most the ferocious bark that made the whole building shake. It must've had some effect on the alpha because it crashed through the window and took off. Once it was gone, the wolf ran over to Natalie and Jackson and pushed the shelf off of them. Jackson immediately ran out to his car to check on Lydia, who had been sitting in there this whole time.

Natalie was struggling to sit up so the wolf helped her by pressing its head against her back and pushing her up. She gave the wolf a small smile and hesitantly scratched behind its ear. The wolf surprisingly let her do so and even licked Natalie's tears away.

"Thank you," Natalie said softly.

The wolf let out a whine and then ran out of the store, probably to find the alpha.

Jackson had called 911 and it only took about seven minutes for the police and paramedics to show up. They had covered the dead clerk's body and placed it on a gurney. Sheriff Stilinski was questioning Jackson and Lydia on what happened in the video store by an ambulance. Meanwhile, Natalie was sitting on the hood of her dad's police car as he iced her swollen foot. The paramedics had taken a look at it and it turned out that she had not broken but sprained her ankle. Either way, it hurt like a bitch.

"So you have no idea what you saw?" Kurt questioned his daughter.

She shook her head. "No," Natalie lied, "If anything, it kinda looked like a mountain lion. Those are common in California, right?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Those are common here."

"Just checking," she chuckled nervously. Kurt just shook his head as he began to wrap some gauze around her foot.

"Why the hell can't I just go home?" they heard Jackson yell at Sheriff Stilinski, "I'm fine!"

"I hear ya," the sheriff told him, "but the EMT says that you hit your head pretty hard. They just wanna make sure that you don't have a concussion."

"What part of 'I'm fine' are you having a problem grasping? Okay, I wanna go home."

"And I understand that."

"No, you don't understand," Jackson continued, "which kind of blows my mind, since it should be a pretty basic concept to grasp for a minimum-wage Rent-A-Cop like you! Okay, now, I wanna go home!"

Once again, Kurt shook his head in disappointment. "I usually won't say this about someone your age, but that kid is a little shit."

Natalie laughed and nodded her head. "I know, right? God, there are days where I wanna just punch him in the head. I'm pretty sure if Lydia and I weren't friends, we would've killed each other by now."

"I bet." As Kurt finished bandaging his daughter's foot, his face grew serious. "You know, you scared me tonight, kid. When they told me that you were in that store, I immediately thought the worst. I thought you were a goner for sure."

Hearing how worried her dad was for her life made Natalie's shoulders slump. She didn't blame him. Having almost lost your child to cancer can really traumatize a parent. And Natalie felt guilty for putting Kurt through that same thing even though it was for a different reason.

"I'm sorry."

Kurt smiled sadly and pulled Natalie in a hug. "It's not your fault, kiddo. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm just glad you're safe."

"Oh, whoa, is that a dead body?"

The father and daughter pulled away from each other and saw Stiles pointing at the body on the gurney. Kurt walked away to help Sheriff Stilinski get the bystanders to back up from the scene. Stiles saw Natalie sitting on top of the police car and he immediately ran over to her. He grabbed her face and gave her a kiss before hugging her tightly.

"Holy crap, are you okay?" he asked as he pulled away and looked over her body, "What happened to your foot?"

"I'm fine," Natalie assured him, "One of the shelves landed on my ankle and now it's sprained. It's not too serious though."

"But you got hurt! That's pretty serious, Nat!"

Natalie sighed and placed her hands on both sides of her boyfriend's face. "Stiles, I'm fine. I'm still breathing. My heart's still beating. I'm okay."

Stiles grabbed Natalie's hands and kissed her forehead. "And thank god for that. What happened in there?"

"It was the alpha," she told him.

"What? Are you sure?"

"Well considering the fact that it had fangs, claws, and it looked like a dog on steroids, I'm pretty sure it was the alpha. It killed that clerk in the store and I think it wanted to kill me and Jackson. Luckily it didn't but that fucker still sprained my ankle."

There was a look on Natalie's face that made her look sort of suspicious. Like she was hiding something. Stiles picked up on it and he tilted her head so she was looking at him.

"Something else happened in there," he said, "Something you're not telling me."

Natalie sighed and pushed her red hair out of her face. "There was another wolf in there. But it was mutant like Scott, Derek, or the alpha. It was an actual wolf with white fur and blue eyes."

Stiles's eyes grew wide. "How is that possible? I know that Scott and Derek are werewolves, but I still don't think regular wolves roam around California."

"Yeah, you would think, but I think it's pretty clear that this town isn't as normal as it seems," Natalie said.

"True," Stiles agreed, "So, what happened with this wolf? Did it try to kill you, too?"

"Actually," Natalie said, "no. I think it was trying to save us if anything. When it barked, the alpha took off as fast as it could. Then it lifted the shelf off of me and Jackson. And it actually let me pet it. I never knew that wolves could actually be nice…"

"Because they usually aren't."

Now Natalie's eyes grew wide. "Do you think it's actually a human?"

Stiles shrugged his shoulders. "It could be. But I think I have an idea on who would know."

He pointed up and Natalie followed that direction. Standing on top of a building were Scott and Derek, looking over the whole scene. Natalie noticed the confused look on Derek's face and she knew he had heard their entire conversation. And he didn't know what the hell was going on either.

* * *

The next morning, Terri was making breakfast for her family. As she poured the batter in the waffle-maker, she let out a loud sigh. Kurt looked up from his newspaper.

"You're sighing again," he said to his wife.

Terri turned to Kurt. "Are you sure Natalie should be going to school today? I don't think she should be walking around on her foot and she looked pretty shaken up when Stiles brought her home last night."

"She insisted on going," Kurt shrugged, "If it was up to me, Natalie would still be in bed. But you know how stubborn she can be." He walked over to Terri and cupped her face in his hands. "Hey. Natalie is a strong girl. She can pull through anything. She'll be fine today."

His wife nodded her head hesitantly and kissed his cheek before going back to cooking. As Terri put a plate of waffles in front of Zach, Natalie slowly descended down the stairs wearing a black sweater with a rainbow skeleton, jean shorts, and a black beanie. Because of the gauze around her foot, she had to wear sandals. Natalie smiled at her family.

"Morning," she said, taking a seat next to Zach.

Her family greeted her back and Terri handed Natalie her breakfast. She thanked her mom and began to eat.

"Nat, you know you don't have to go to school today if you don't want to," Terri said, "Just say the word and you can stay home."

"Mom, I'll be fine," Natalie reassured her, "I should go to school. I have a math test that I have to take anyway."

Terri sighed. "Fine. But if your foot's bothering you, call me and I'll come pick you up."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Kurt put down his newspaper and looked at his daughter. "So… you and Stiles…"

"Oh, dear god!" Natalie buried her face in her hands. "Someone come save me now!"

"Are you two actually… you know…"

"Yes, Dad," the redhead groaned, "Stiles and I are now boyfriend and girlfriend. And I don't wanna hear the whole 'if he hurts my daughter, I'll shoot him with my gun' bit, okay? He's my best friend so you have absolutely nothing to worry about."

Instead of lecturing like Natalie thought he was going to do, Kurt smiled to himself. He chuckled as he cut up his waffle and shoved a piece in his mouth.

"John owes me twenty bucks now."

Natalie's jaw dropped in disbelief as Zach and Terri laughed behind their hands. "Did you and Stiles's dad seriously bet on us dating?!"

"Yep," Kurt said, "He thought that Stiles wouldn't ask you out until after high school and I thought that he would ask you out earlier. So we bet twenty dollars on it."

"What kind of parent does that?!"

"An awesome one. So thank you for making me twenty dollars richer. Now trust me when I say that this is as uncomfortable for me as it is for you, but we probably need to have the sex talk-"

"Dad! Seriously! For the love of god, please stop!"

* * *

In chemistry later that day, Natalie was staring down at her text book and tapping her pencil against her chin. Next to her, Stiles was crazily highlighting his own book. Natalie snorted when she saw the yellow mess he made and shook her head. She pulled out her phone and texted Scott for the tenth time.

"Still no word on Scott?" Stiles asked.

"Not one," Natalie sighed, tucking her phone back in her pocket, "I even tried texting Allison but her phone's off too."

"Where the hell could he be?"

Natalie shrugged. "Lydia told me that today was Allison's birthday and Scott probably found out so they ditched. They probably wanted some alone time with each other, if you know what I mean."

Stiles's face turned into one of disgust. "Yeah, because I really needed the image of my best friend getting it on etched into my brain," he mumbled before turning back to his textbook.

Soon, Mr. Harris walked down the aisle between the desks. "Just a friendly reminder, parent/teacher conferences are tonight," he said, "Students below a C average are required to attend. I won't name you, because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment. Has anyone seen Scott McCall?"

He looked down at Stiles and Natalie. The redhead saw Mr. Harris was looking at them and she smacked Stiles's arm. When he looked up, the cap of his highlighter was in between his teeth, making Natalie shake her head.

The door opened and Jackson walked in with an emotionless expression on his face. Mr. Harris went over to him and spoke lowly, but Stiles and Natalie could hear him.

"Jackson, if you need to leave early for anything, let me know," he told the jock before walking back up to the front of the classroom.

"Yeah, because it's not like I'm the one who's fucking injured over here," Natalie grumbled sarcastically, pointing to her sprained foot that she had elevated on an extra stool.

But her teach ignored her. "Everyone start reading chapter nine. Mr. Stilinski." Stiles's head snapped up at his name. "Try putting the highlighter down between paragraphs. It's chemistry, not a coloring book."

Tilting his head back, Stiles spit the cap up in the air and caught it.

"Ten points for Hufflepuff," Natalie joked.

"Are you kidding me?" Stiles complained, "No one likes Hufflepuff!"

"Exactly my point."

"You suck."

"You wish."

Stiles stuttered as Natalie gave him a triumphant grin, obviously proud of her comeback. "Shut up." Then he leaned forward and tapped on Danny's shoulder. "Hey, Danny, can I ask you a question?"

"No," he answered.

"Well I'm going to anyway." Danny rolled his eyes. "Um, did Lydia show up in your homeroom today?"

"No," Danny sighed.

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Answer's still no."

Natalie leaned forward and smiled at her friend. "Can _I_ ask a question?"

Danny smiled back at the redhead. "Of course you can."

She smirked smugly at Stiles and he rolled his eyes. "Did Jackson tell you about what happened to us last night?"

"He wouldn't tell me," Danny said sadly.

"But you guys are best friends," Natalie said, "Aren't you supposed to tell each other everything?"

"Apparently not in this case."

Natalie sat back and looked at her boyfriend. He shrugged his shoulders and turned back to Danny. "One more question."

"What?"

"Do you find me attractive?"

Raising an eyebrow, Natalie stared at Stiles like a horn grew on his forehead. With the foot that wasn't hurt, she pushed him off of his stool. He fell on the floor with a yelp and people turned around at the nose.

"Don't make me regret becoming your girlfriend now," Natalie said.

"Wait, you two are together now?" Danny asked, gesturing to the couple. When Natalie nodded her head, he snapped his fingers in disappointment. "Damn it. Now I owe Lydia ten bucks."

Natalie flailed her arms around. "Why is everyone betting on me dating Stiles?!"

Said boy looked up from the floor. "Wait. Who else was betting on us?"

"Our dads."

Stiles's eyebrows furrowed as he thought about it. "Huh. That explains why my dad was pissed about owing your dad money."

* * *

After class, Stiles and Natalie were walking down the hallway hand in hand. Well in Natalie's case, limping down the hallway seemed more accurate. Stiles frustratingly dialed Scott's number for the billionth time that day and held the phone up to his ear. He was about to give up hope when the phone rang about four times but then Scott finally answered.

"_What?"_

Stiles let out a sigh of relief. "Finally! Have you been getting any of Natalie and my texts?"

"_Yeah, like all nine million of them,"_ Scott said annoyed.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Stiles continued, "Natalie's limping everywhere she goes, Lydia is totally M.I.A., Jackson looks like he's got a time bomb inserted into his face, another random guy's dead, there's another mysterious wolf running around town, and you have to do something about it."

"_Like what?"_

"Something."

"_Okay. I'll deal with it later."_ Then Scott hung up his phone.

Stiles growled at his phone before shoving it back into his pocket. "Sometimes I just really wanna punch Scott in the face."

"Don't we all?" Natalie said as she patted her boyfriend on the back. Then she started tugging on his arm. "Come on. I wanna make one stop before we go to your house."

"Where are we going?"

"We're checking up on Lydia."

A groan rumbled through Stiles and he lolled his head back. "Do we have to?"

"Yes," Natalie said, "Lydia's my friend too, and I wanna make sure she's doing okay. Please?"

"Oh no," Stiles said, shaking his head and pointing his finger at the redhead, "I know what you're thinking. You think that you can get me to crack by using those puppy dog eyes to your advantage. Well that's not gonna work this time, missy. So you can just forget about- oh my god."

To add on to her begging eyes, Natalie pouted her lips for a bigger effect. It seemed to be working on Stiles. "You were saying?"

Stiles bit down on his knuckle as he tried not to give in. "Ugh, damn it, you do those eyes so well…" He let out a groan and flailed his arms. "Alright, you win! We'll go! Happy?"

Natalie smiled and pecked Stiles's lips. "Very. Now let's go. It won't take long, I promise."

He let his girlfriend drag her to his jeep and mess with the radio once they got in. They blasted her favorite band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, through the speakers as Natalie gave Stiles the directions to Lydia's house. Once they were there, Stiles helped Natalie out of the jeep and then they walked up to the front door. The redhead knocked on the door and waited for someone to open.

"Hi, Mrs. Martin," Natalie smiled at Lydia's mom when she opened the door.

"Hello, Natalie," the older woman smiled back, "Long time no see." She noticed Stiles standing behind Natalie. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is my boyfriend, Stiles," Natalie answered, taking his hand and locking their fingers together, "We just came by to see how Lydia was doing since we didn't see her at school."

"She's in her room. Come with me."

The couple followed Lydia's mother upstairs to the strawberry blonde's room. When she opened the door, Lydia was lying on her stomach with her legs swinging back and forth. One of her fingers twirled a lock of her hair as she stared off into space.

"Honey, Natalie and her boyfriend Stiles are here to see you," Mrs. Martin said to her daughter.

"What the hell is a 'Stiles'?" Lydia asked. Natalie snorted, making Stiles glare at her.

"She took a little something to ease her nerves," Mrs. Martin told them, "You can go in."

"Thanks," Natalie said before Mrs. Martin left Lydia's room. She looked over at Lydia who was now staring up at the pair.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"We just wanted to see how you were doing," Natalie said, sitting down next to her friend.

"Hmm… why?"

"Because we were worried about you."

Stiles shrugged his shoulders. "_She_ was worried about you. I'm just her chauffeur."

Natalie smacked his stomach then turned back to Lydia. "Ignore him. How are you feeling?"

Then Lydia started giggling. "I feel fantastic!" She rested her head on Natalie's shoulders.

While that was happening, Stiles was reading the label on the pill bottle on Lydia's nightstand. He then shook his head when he realized that he couldn't even understand what it said.

"I bet you can't say, 'I saw Suzy sitting in the shoeshine shop' ten times fast," Stiles challenged.

"Really?" Natalie raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you dragged me here," Stiles shrugged, "I might as well get some entertainment out of it."

"I saw Shuzy…" Lydia started, "Uh… I shaw…" Then Lydia gazed off distantly with a strange look, "I saw…"

"What?" Natalie asked, turning so she was facing Lydia more, "What did you see, Lyds?"

"Something…"

The redhead rubbed her friend's back. "Like what? Tell us what you saw."

"A mountain lion."

Stiles looked at Natalie and she rubbed the back of her neck. "I may have told my dad that it was a mountain lion in the store." She flailed her arms when Stiles gave her a weird look. "Well I wasn't gonna tell him what I really saw!"

"A mountain lion," Lydia repeated.

Stiles grabbed the stuffed giraffe Natalie had given Lydia for her birthday a few years ago and held it in front of Lydia's face. "What's this?"

"A mountain lion."

"Okay," Stiles said, putting the giraffe back, "You are so drunk."

All of a sudden, Lydia's body flopped onto Natalie's lap, making the sober girl tense. She looked up at Stiles, who just shrugged his shoulders and looked around the room. Natalie awkwardly patted Lydia's head.

"So, you and that twitchy kid you like are finally together?" Lydia asked Natalie.

"Yes, Lydia," Natalie answered, ignoring Stiles's squeak when Lydia called him 'twitchy', "Yes we are."

Lydia giggled again as she closed her eyes. "Danny owes me ten bucks now."

"So I've been told." Then Lydia's phone went off. "Want me to answer that?"

"Yes, please," Lydia smiled.

Natalie reached over Lydia's head and grabbed her phone. She meant to go into her messages but accidently selected Videos. What Natalie saw made her doe eyes grow wide. It was a video of the night before, showcasing the alpha and even a little bit of the white wolf.

"Stiles, I think you might wanna see this."

He sat next to Natalie and looked over her shoulder at the phone. Like Natalie, Stiles's eyes widened as he watched the video. "Oh my god."

* * *

When the couple got to Stiles's house after visiting Lydia, Stiles called Scott right away. But once again, he was met with Scott's voicemail. Stiles sighed in annoyance before speaking.

"Hey, it's me again," he said, "Look, Natalie and I found something, and we don't know what to do, okay? So if you could turn your phone on right now, that would be great. Or else I'll kill you."

Natalie looked up from the magazine in her hands and raised an eyebrow when she heard Stiles's threat.

"Do you understand me?" Stiles continued, "I'm gonna kill you. And I'm too upset to come up with a witty description about how I'm gonna kill you, but I'm just gonna do it, okay? I'm gonna…" He let out a groan. "Ugh! Goodbye." He threw his phone on the bed just by Natalie's feet and flopped on his desk chair. "God."

Stiles ran his hands over his buzzcut as the bedroom door opened and Sheriff Stilinski stepped in.

"Please tell me I'm gonna hear good news at this parent/teacher thing tonight," he said.

"Depends on how you define 'good news'," Stiles said.

"I define it as you getting straight A's with no behavioral issues."

'Well, he was going to be severely disappointed,' Natalie thought, chuckling as Stiles grimaced.

"You might wanna rethink that definition."

Sheriff Stilinski sighed and nodded his head. "'Nuff said." He looked at Natalie. "What about you, Nat? Are you doing well in school?"

The redhead beamed as she gave her boyfriend's dad a thumbs-up. "You bet. There's nothing to worry about over this girl."

Smiling, the sheriff pointed at Natalie. "And that's why you're my favorite. Maybe your good habits will rub off on my son over here."

"That hurts, Dad!" Stiles called out to his dad as he walked out of the room. He placed a hand over his heart. "That hurts right here!" He walked over to his bed and sat down. Then he picked up his phone and watched the video he got from Lydia's phone again. "Come on, Scott. Where the hell are you?"

Seeing her boyfriend so worried and stressed out made Natalie frown. She hated to see him overwhelm himself with situations neither one of the two could handle. With a sigh, she tossed the magazine on Stiles's nightstand and adjusted herself so she was sitting next to him. Her arms wrapped around his torso and his arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"It's gonna be okay, Stiles," Natalie assured him, "We'll get this whole thing figured out."

"How are you so calm about this?" Stiles asked his girlfriend.

"Oh trust me, I wanna kill Scott, too," Natalie said. Stiles laughed. "But I'm also trying to be realistic here. Do you honestly expect him to do everything? Deal with school, play lacrosse, get along with Derek, and figure out who the alpha and the white wolf are?"

Stiles looked down at Natalie and sighed. He ran his fingers through her red hair. "I guess not."

"Exactly. Don't stress out so much about it. The three of us will figure it out together, okay?"

"Okay," Stiles sighed.

"Good." Natalie kissed him and got up. She pulled Stiles up along with her. "Let's just forget about this for a bit and have some dinner. I'll make us something."

He snorted as he let Natalie drag him downstairs. "Yeah, good luck finding anything."

When they entered the kitchen, Stiles sat at the dinner table and watched Natalie look through the refrigerator. So far, Natalie was severely disappointed with the lack of food in there. How the hell were the Stilinski men still alive? Empty take out boxes and cartons were littered all over the place. It was pretty gross.

"Having trouble there, Nat?" Stiles teased. The redhead just flipped him off as she continued to search for food.

She had better luck looking in the pantry. There she found an unopened box of pasta and she also remembered seeing some tomato sauce in the refrigerator.

"You can't go wrong with spaghetti," Natalie shrugged as she pulled the box out of the pantry.

Stiles continued to watch his girlfriend as she cooked dinner. The whole time he watched, there was a small smile etched out on his face. He was lucky. At least, he felt lucky. How he actually managed to score Natalie was beyond him. Even though they've been together for a very short amount of time, he already loved every second of it.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when Natalie said his name.

"You mind helping me out here?" she asked, nodding her head towards the cooking food.

"I would get up," Stiles said, "but I prefer the view over here so much better."

A noodle hit him in the face. Laughing, Stiles got up and walked over to Natalie, who was glaring at him playfully.

"Alright, alright," he laughed, "What do you need me to do?"

"Um, I saw some garlic bread in your freezer," Natalie told him, "You can get that out and put it in the oven."

"Yes, dear," Stiles joked, kissing her cheek before doing what he was told. Natalie rolled her eyes but smiled as she went back to work.

After about ten minutes, dinner was ready. Stiles and Natalie fixed their plates and sat across from each other at the table. As they ate, they kept their conversation casual. That was the one thing they both loved about their relationship. It was like nothing had changed at all from before. Minus the whole holding hands and making out part, of course. But they were still cracking jokes and teasing each other, just like they were used to and liked.

"So," Stiles said after swallowing down a bite of spaghetti, "what do you think is going on at the conference?"

Natalie shrugged. "Who knows? I'm just hoping as long as Harris doesn't bring up that time I put a thumbtack on his chair and called him an 'egghead' to my parents, everything will be fine."

* * *

"She did what?!" Terri exclaimed.

"I'm serious," said Mr. Harris, who sat at his desk across from Natalie's parents, "Because of her, I had to stand in class for the rest of the day. It was very unpleasant."

Terri pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I'm gonna regret asking this, but may I ask why Natalie put a thumbtack on your chair?"

"According to your daughter, I was being an 'egghead' for giving Scott and Stiles detention for breaking one of my beakers, which they claimed was an accident."

Next to Terri, Kurt had his face buried in his hands. At first she thought it was because he was disappointed. But then he threw his head back and started laughing as hard as possible. Tears peeked from the corners of his eyes the more he laughed.

"Man, that is priceless!" Kurt bellowed, "No offense, Mr. Harris, but I can't help but feel like a proud father right now!"

He continued to laugh until Terri smacked his arm. The deputy looked up at Mr. Harris, who looked unimpressed. Kurt immediately shut up and cleared his throat.

"Sorry. Please continue."

* * *

After they ate and cleaned everything up in the kitchen, Stiles suggested they watch a movie. Natalie agreed as long as she got to pick what to watch. Stiles whined a little before giving in and going back into the kitchen to grab some drinks.

"Hey, Stiles," Natalie called out, "what you in the mood for? A scary movie or a comedy?"

"Comedy," he answered immediately, "After dealing with all of this werewolf crap, I think we both deserve a good laugh. What do you think?"

"I couldn't agree with you more." Natalie searched in the case the Stilinski's kept all of their movies in. Then she smiled when she saw 'Without a Paddle'. "Ooh! Haven't seen this one in a while."

She popped the movie in the DVD player and then sprawled herself on the couch. Stiles walked in the living room with two cans of Sprite as Natalie pressed the Play button on the remote.

"Wow, 'Without a Paddle'," Stiles chuckled, "I can't even remember the last time I've seen this."

"Which is exactly why I picked it," Natalie said.

Stiles set the sodas down on the coffee and told Natalie to sit. Frowning a little, she did so. But she quickly smiled again when Stiles sat down and placed her head on his lap. Natalie looked up at her boyfriend.

"You know," she said, "for a lanky guy, you're actually pretty comfortable."

One of Stiles's eyebrows rose up. "Uh, do I take that as a compliment or…"

"Yes, dumbass," Natalie laughed, "Take it as a compliment. And expect me to use you as my personal teddy bear from now on."

"Hmm…" Stiles hummed, "let's see… Having a hot redhead hang onto me all the time… Yeah, I think I can handle that."

Natalie shook her head as she chuckled. Grabbing onto the front of Stiles's shirt, the redhead brought him down so his lips planted on hers. This time, there was no hesitation from him. In fact, the way he kissed Natalie actually took _her_ by surprise. The way Stiles cupped her face in his hands and slid his tongue into her mouth turned her on to no end.

The only guy Natalie had kissed in her life besides her boyfriend was unfortunately Greenberg. In her defense though, it was at Lydia's first coed party in the eighth grade when they played spin-the-bottle. After Greenberg pecked her lips, Natalie immediately withdrew from the game. Let's just say that she brushed her teeth ten times when she got home that night.

Now back to the present. The movie was long forgotten as their kisses grew heated. Stiles had adjusted himself so his legs were on both sides of Natalie and his body was hovering over her. His lips traveled from her lips to her cheek, jaw, and down her neck. Moans escaped from her mouth and her eyes closed as she enjoyed the feeling of Stiles sucking at the spot where her neck met her shoulder. Then all of a sudden, he bit her.

"Oh my god!"

Stiles's head shot up and he panicked. "Shit, did I hurt you? I'm so-"

"No, no! You didn't hurt me," Natalie assured him, "That actually felt a lot better than I expected."

"Well well well," Stiles smirked, "Does someone have a biting kink? Are you sure you're not into the whole werewolf thing?"

"Shut up, Stiles," Natalie said as she pulled him back so they were making out again. Not even ten seconds later, her phone rang. "Ugh!"

"Don't answer it," her boyfriend told her as he kissed her neck.

"I have to," Natalie said, "It's my dad." She let Stiles to continue to attack her neck as she answered the call. "Dad, whatever Mr. Harris told you was a lie-"

But her dad had cut her off before she could go on. As Kurt talked, Natalie's eyes gradually grew wide. She gently pushed Stiles up so she could sit properly.

"Wait, what?" Stiles watched his girlfriend worriedly as she talked to her dad. "Oh my god, is he okay?" She glanced over at Stiles. "Yeah, he's sitting right next to me… Okay, I'll tell him… I'll see you later. Bye."

"Nat, what happened?" Stiles asked.

"There was a mountain lion attack at the school."

Stiles's eyes widened. "An actual mountain lion?"

"Yep. But Allison's father shot it before it could hurt anyone."

"What else happened?"

Natalie sighed as she ran her hand through her hair. But before Natalie could say anything, Stiles's phone beeped. He picked it up and read the text Scott had sent him. His jaw clenched as he read the message.

"Fuck!"

He threw his down, stood up, and started to pace. Natalie picked up the phone and read the text on the screen. It explained how a car backed up and hit Stiles's dad at the conference but Scott couldn't get to him in time because he was with Allison. What a dick move.

"Stiles…"

"I can't believe him!" Stiles seethed, "He's so hung up on Allison that he let my dad get hurt. Now I'm really gonna kill him."

The redhead got up and placed her hands on Stiles's shoulders to stop him from pacing. "Stiles, calm down. My dad said that your dad just a bit of bruising on his hip. He's okay."

"But that's not the point, Nat!" Stiles exclaimed, "That's my dad! He's the only parent I have left. What if it was just a bruise? What if the alpha or even that mountain lion got him? I don't know what I would do but I know that I would never forgive myself…"

With a sigh, Stiles sat down on the couch and rubbed his face. Natalie had no idea what to say or do to help him feel better, but she felt as terrible as he did. All that she could imagine was either one of her parents in the same situation as Stiles's dad. She sat next to him and wrapped her arms around him. Stiles immediately wrapped his own arms around her shoulders and rested his cheek on top of her head. He just let his girlfriend's embrace ease him. Like an anchor.

* * *

**Q and A Sesh!**

**Is Natalie going to end up being supernatural or will she stay just human? **As of right now, I am planning on keeping Natalie human. I like the idea of Stiles of being with someone who is also human instead of supernatural. It gives them both at least one thing that is normal in their lives.

**Have you given any thought about what you're going to do for season 3B and 4 when Malia shows up? **Oh boy... I'm gonna be completely honest and I hope you guys don't kill me... but I honestly can't stand Malia. I really wanted to like her but she just bugs the crap outta me. As of what I'm gonna do for when she shows up, I have no clue. I don't want Stiles to end up with Malia but if I do keep Stiles and Natalie together, I'm gonna be changing a lot of what goes on during season 4. I was considering bringing a male OC to either be Malia's love interest or to make a love triangle... or square... between Stiles, Natalie, and Malia. Let me know what you think I should do!

**Well there you guys go! I hope you guys enjoyed it! PLEASE review and let me know what you think! Plus send in some questions about Awake and Alive, Scars, No One Else, and Nirvana and/or my opinions on the show. I hope to receive at least TEN reviews!  
**

**Can we talk about the finale for a second? Holy crap! Derek evolving into an actual wolf left me in tears! And I called it right from the beginning that he was going to turn into a wolf, too! Plus, it fits in PERFECTLY with what I'm going to do with No One Else! And let me just say that the Stilinski family are the biggest badasses on the planet!**

**I hope to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, guys! I don't really have anything to say right now, but stay tuned at the end for a couple of announcements! I hope you enjoy chapter 10!**

* * *

As soon as Scott came into view, Stiles took off as fast as he could to his locker. He was still pissed off at his werewolf best friend for letting his dad get hit by a car while he was too busy worrying about Allison. Since then, Stiles hadn't responded to any of Scott's texts or calls. It had been a few days since the accident and Stiles wasn't planning on forgiving Scott anytime soon.

He sighed in relief when he managed to get to his locker without actually running into Scott. But as Stiles grabbed his books, he didn't notice the redhead come up to him.

"You're still avoiding Scott?"

Stiles yelped and accidentally hit his head on the top of his locker. "Ow!" He turned and glared at his girlfriend. "I think you've been hanging out with one too many werewolves."

"I know," Natalie grimaced, "I'm even starting to creep myself out. But anyway, Scott's been texting me nonstop asking me if you're still mad at him."

"And what did you tell him?"

Natalie pulled out her phone and read the last message she sent to Scott. "_If you bug me one more time about Stiles, I will spike your drink with wolfsbane._"

One of Stiles's eyebrows rose up. "Uh… why?"

"He texted me at two in the morning and I was cranky," the redhead explained as she shoved her phone back in her pocket, "At least it made him shut up. But you should seriously talk to him."

"Nope," he immediately said, "If Scott wasn't so busy worrying about his precious Allison, my dad wouldn't have gotten hurt. He was being selfish. Selfish people don't deserve forgiveness."

Snorting and shaking her head, Natalie started to walk to class. "You're so gonna cave in."

Stiles stared after the girl with his mouth agape. After sputtering incoherent words for a bit, he shut his locker and caught up to his girlfriend.

"Whoa, wait," he said, going in front of her and walking backwards, "What makes you think I'm gonna cave in?"

"Because you always do," Natalie said as she stopped walking, "Remember in the seventh grade when you accidentally broke my mom's fruit bowl? All it took was one candy bar for you to confess to her that you did it, even when I told you that she wouldn't notice."

"I panic under pressure, that's why!" Stiles exclaimed, "But this isn't about some fruit bow. This is about my dad. That's pretty unforgivable."

"True, but I know you too well to know that you forgive pretty easily."

"Ten buck says I won't."

"Alright," Natalie agreed, nodding her head, "I'll take you up on that bet. You're on."

She then brought her hand up to her face and spit on it. Stiles scrunched his face in disgust when Natalie held her hand out to him. But she just raised her eyebrows and waited for Stiles to do the same. With a sigh, he spit in his hand and shook Natalie's. He grimaced when he felt the saliva squish together.

"You know, when I pictured swapping spit with you," he said as he wiped his hand on his jeans, "this isn't what I had in mind."

After Natalie cleaned her own hand, she grabbed the back of Stiles's head and crashed their lips together. Stiles gripped onto her waist and backed her up against the lockers. Their bodies were pressed together as they made out, not really caring if they got in trouble for PDA. Stiles gently bit down on Natalie's bottom lip. When her lips parted, he took the opportunity to slip his tongue in her mouth, making Natalie moan.

They eventually needed to catch their breath so they broke off the kiss. Natalie looked up at her boyfriend and bit her bottom lip.

"Was that more what you had in mind?"

Stiles nodded his head and smiled dreamily. "Hell yeah, it is."

"That's what I thought." Natalie kissed him one last time and grabbed his hand. "We should get going now."

Together they walked to class where Scott was already in his seat. Stiles just stood in the doorway, not wanting to move towards the werewolf. Natalie rolled her eyes and pushed Stiles. He stumbled into the classroom and he accidentally hit one of the desks. When the class turned around at the noise, Stiles glared at Natalie. She just shrugged nonchalantly and sat in her seat. Her boyfriend sat in the seat next to her, which was in front of Scott.

"Is he still not talking to me?" Scott asked Natalie, leaning in closer to her.

"No," Natalie whispered back, "I tried to reason with him, but he's being a stubborn butthead."

"You know that I can hear you, right?" Stiles asked, annoyed at the redhead. She raised her hands in defense and leaned back in her seat.

Scott sighed. "Okay, can you at least tell me if your dad's okay? It's just a bruise, right? Some soft tissue damage? Nothing that big… You know I feel bad about it, right?"

Still no response from Stiles.

"Okay. What if I told you that I'm trying to figure this whole thing out and… that I went to Derek for help."

"You actually asked Derek for help?" Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was more like he forced me into asking him to help me," Scott explained, "He even went as far as chasing around the parking lot at night and breaking my phone."

Stiles spoke up. "If I was talking to you, I'd say that you're an idiot for trusting him. But obviously, I'm not talking to you."

It was silent for a few moments between the trio. Scott looked at Natalie. She counted down from three with her fingers and when she reached one, Stiles turned around to face Scott on cue.

"What did he say?"

"Yes!" Natalie cheered, pumping her fist up in the air. She held her hand out to Stiles. "Pay up."

"Damn it," he grumbled, pulling a ten dollar bill out of his wallet and slapping it onto her palm. He sulked in his chair as Scott looked at the couple weirdly.

* * *

After class, the trio walked together down the hallway. Scott had just finished explaining what Derek told him what he wanted him to do.

"So let me get this straight," Natalie said, "Derek told you that you should tap into your animal side and get angry. Did I hear that right?"

"Yeah," Scott nodded.

"Alright, well, correct me if I'm wrong," Stiles started, "but every time you do that, you try to kill someone, and that someone's usually either me or Natalie."

"I know," Scott said, "That's what he means when he says he doesn't know if he can teach me. I have to be able to control it."

"Well, how's he gonna teach you to do that?"

"I don't know. I don't think he does either."

Natalie threw her hands up in exasperation. "I swear, Derek is like the most unhelpful person ever! Okay, well, when are you seeing him again?"

"He told me not to talk about it," Scott said, "Just act normal and get through the day."

"When?" Stiles asked.

"He's picking me up at the animal clinic after work."

Stiles then got a look of determination on his face. It was a look Natalie knew all too well and she immediately grew suspicious.

"After work…" Stiles trailed off, "Alright, well, that gives me to the end of the school day then."

One of Scott's eyebrows rose up. "To do what?"

"To teach you myself."

The redhead groaned. "Yeah, because that'll end so well."

* * *

During lunch, Allison and Lydia were sitting together in the cafeteria. The brunette was engrossed with the book she was reading while Lydia looked like she could care any less. On the other side of the room, Scott was blocking his face with a book so Allison wouldn't see him.

Sitting across from him and next to Stiles, Natalie took a bite of her sandwich while texting her cousin. She looked up from her phone and saw Scott hiding from Allison.

"Dude, you know that hiding behind a book just makes it even more obvious," Natalie said, "Besides, Allison's not even looking over here. She's too busy reading her book."

Scott looked over the book at his best friends. "So did you come up with a plan yet?"

"I think so," Stiles answered.

"Does that mean you don't hate me now?"

"No. but your crap has infiltrated my life, so now I have to do something about it. Plus, Natalie and I are definitely better Yoda's than Derek."

Natalie sighed dramatically and placed her hand over her heart. "Oh, I love how you talk nerdy to me." Stiles grinned and kissed her cheek.

"Okay, no smooching in front of me," Scott complained, "And okay, yeah, you two teach me."

"Yeah, we'll be your Yoda's," Stiles said.

"Yeah, you be my Yoda's."

Taking the 'Star Wars' reference even further, Stiles deepened his voice and said, "Your Yoda's we will be." He then chuckled to himself, but Scott and Natalie just stared at him. "I said it backwards."

"And you just killed it," Natalie said, shaking her head in disappointment.

Stiles scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, you know what? I hate you both now. Uh huh. Oh yeah." He grabbed Natalie's hand and pulled him up with him. "You're coming with me."

She didn't even have a chance to protest as Stiles began to drag her out of the cafeteria. But before they could get too far, Natalie ripped the book out of Scott's hand, blowing his cover and causing Allison to look over at him. Scott's eyes widened when they met with hers and he scrambled out of the cafeteria, ignoring Allison's calls.

* * *

"Okay," Stiles said, pulling a device with a strap attached to it out of his lacrosse bag. He handed it to Scott, who was sitting on the bench on the field. "Now put this on."

Scott looked at the device in his hand. "Isn't this one of the heart rate monitors for the track team?"

"Yeah, I borrowed it."

"Stole it," Natalie fake-coughed beside Stiles.

Her boyfriend glared at her. "Temporarily misappropriated." He then pulled out a phone from the bag. "Coach uses it to monitor his heart rate with his phone while he jogs, and you're gonna wear it for the rest of the day."

"Isn't that the coach's phone?" Scott asked as he pointed to said phone.

Stiles grinned and nodded his head. "_That_ I stole."

"Why?"

"Think about it," Natalie said, "You know when you shift into a werewolf, your heart rate goes up? It could be either when you're playing lacrosse, when you're with Allison, or when you get angry." Scott nodded. "Well maybe learning how to control that and learning to control your heart rate is tied together in some way."

"Like the Incredible Hulk."

"Kind of like the Incredible Hulk, yeah," Stiles shrugged.

Scott smiled brightly to himself as he thought about it. "No, I'm like the Incredible Hulk."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, Scott. Just shut up and put the strap on."

After he did that, Natalie pulled Scott up and dragged him to the middle of the lacrosse field. Stiles stood about ten feet away with a lacrosse stick in his hands. Natalie began to tie Scott's hands together behind his back with duct tape.

As she bound his hands together, Scott noticed his best friend's flushed cheeks. They were almost the same color as her hair. And then he noticed a reddish-purple mark on the spot where Natalie's neck met with her shoulder.

"Is that a hickey?" he asked her.

The redhead's eyes grew as wide as saucers as she clamped her hand over the mark. She picked up the lacrosse ball by her feet and threw it as hard as she could at Stiles. It hit him on the arm and he cried out in pain.

"Ow! What the hell, Nat?!"

"You told me you couldn't see it when I put makeup on it, you little shit!" Natalie exclaimed, pointing to her hickey.

"Is it so wrong that I take pride in my girlfriend?" Stiles said, flailing his arms.

"Oh my god… whatever. Let's just get this over with." She walked over to Stiles and put on her baseball glove. "You ready for this, Scotty?"

"No," he said.

Stiles gestured for Natalie to step up and go first in their experiment. "Remember," he told Scott, "don't get angry."

"I'm starting to think this was a really bad idea."

But Natalie ignored his comment as she got into her pitching stance. She drew her arm back and threw the softball with force. It hit Scott's shoulder and he winced.

"Hey, you're lucky I'm not using actual baseballs right now," Natalie said.

Scott grumbled to himself. "Yeah, lucky me. You had to be a freakin' pitcher, didn't you…?"

Natalie continued to pelt her best friend with softballs for a while before she let Stiles have a turn. He scooped up a lacrosse ball with his stick and hurled it at Scott, hitting him in the stomach.

He cringed. "Oh, man. Okay, that one… kind of hurt."

"Quiet," Stiles told him, "Remember, you're supposed to be thing about your heart rate, alright? About staying calm."

"Stay calm," Scott chanted to himself like a mantra, "Staying calm… staying totally calm… there's no balls flying at my face-" Then all of a sudden, a ball hit him in the crotch, making Scott double over in pain. "Ah! Son of a bitch!"

"You know what?" Stiles smirked, "I think my aim is actually improving."

"Wonder why…"

As Stiles continued to throw balls at Scott, Natalie joined in. a few shots later was when Scott's heart rate started to rise rapidly and his eyes were flashing. Natalie stopped when he collapsed on the ground. She tugged on Stiles's sleeve and he also noticed their best friend. They dropped their equipment to get Scott and sit him up. His breathing and heart rate began to slow down as Natalie tore the tape off his hands.

"Scott, what happened?" she asked, "You started shifting…"

"From anger," Scott told her, "But it was more than that. It was like… the angrier I got, the stronger I got."

"So it is anger then," Stiles realized, "Derek's right."

"I can't be around Allison."

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows. "Why? Because she makes you happy?"

The werewolf shook his head. "No. Because she makes me weak."

* * *

When they got to Econ, Scott told Stiles to sit behind him so Allison couldn't. But the brunette beat him to it and sat down. Natalie cringed when she watched the two talk, Scott clearly feeling uncomfortable already.

"This is not gonna end well, is it?" Natalie said to Stiles, who took the seat behind his girlfriend.

"I doubt it," he admitted, "We just gotta hope that Coach won't do something to make Scott lose his shit."

The redhead scoffed. "Dude, it's Coach Finstock. Scott would have better luck with Derek than him."

"You really don't like him, do you?"

"Not one bit."

Right on cue, Coach Finstock's voice boomed. "Let's settle down. Let's start with a quick summary of last night's reading."

Greenberg shot his hand up.

"Greenberg, put your hand down. Everybody knows you did the reading." His eyes scanned around the classroom. "How about, uh… McCall."

Scott's eyes widened as his head snapped up. "What?"

"The reading," Coach Finstock repeated.

"Last night's reading?"

"How about, uh, the reading of the Gettysburg Address?"

"What?" Scott asked dumbly.

"That's sarcasm," Coach Finstock told him, "You familiar with the term 'sarcasm', McCall?"

Glaring at his two best friends, Scott answered, "Very." Stiles and Natalie bumped each other's fists in pride.

Coach Finstock rolled his eyes. "Did you do the reading or not?"

"Uh… I think I forgot," Scott admitted.

Then that was where the taunting began. "Nice work, McCall. It's not like you're averaging a D in this class." He bent down towards Scott so only he could hear. "Come on, buddy. You know I can't keep you on the team if you have a D." He stood back up. "How about you summarize, uh, the previous night's reading? No? How about the, uh, night before that? How about you summarize anything you've ever read in your entire life?"

Scott was utterly speechless. Not to also mention humiliated. He was even starting to get angry. Natalie heard light beeping so she pulled out Coach Finstock's phone from her pocket. She showed the phone to Stiles and his eyes grew large. It showed that Scott's heart rate was rising as Coach Finstock continued to taunt him. They were worried that Scott was going to shift right then and there. During class!

But just when his heart rate reached its highest point, it gradually lowered to its normal tempo. They couple looked at each other in confusion until Natalie noticed something in the corner of her eye. Scott was holding Allison's hand throughout the entire time Coach Finstock was interrogating him.

That's when Natalie realized that Allison didn't make Scott weak. She made him… human.

"It's her…"

* * *

"What do you mean?" Scott asked after class when Natalie told him what she had discovered.

"Allison," she clarified, "Remember how you said that during the night of the full moon, you were thinking about her? You wanted to protect her."

The werewolf furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Okay…"

Stiles nodded his head. "That actually makes sense. Remember the night of the first lacrosse game? You said you could hear her voice out on the field?"

"Yeah, I did," Scott remembered.

"Well that's what brought you back so you could score. And then after the game in the locker room, you didn't kill her. At least not like how you were trying to kill Natalie and me."

"What we're trying to say," Natalie said, "is that she brings you back."

Scott shook his head. "No, no, no. But it's not always true, because literally every time I'm kissing her or- or touching her-"

Stiles interrupted. "No, that's not the same. When you're doing that, you're just another hormonal teenager thinking about sex, you know?"

"That seems pretty accurate," Natalie agree. She noticed the dazed look on Scott's face and she rolled her eyes. "And you're thinking about sex right now, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Scott admitted sheepishly, "Sorry."

"It's alright," Natalie said, "A little weird, but it's alright. Anyway, it was different when Allison was holding your hand when Coach was yelling at you. Instead of making you weak, Allison actually gives you control. Like an anchor."

"You mean because I love her." Scott's eyes widened when he came to that realization. "Did I just say that?"

"Yes," Stiles nodded, "you just said that."

The biggest smile broke out on the werewolf's face the more he thought about it. "I love her."

"That's great. No, moving on-"

"No, no, no, really. I think I'm totally in love with her."

Pulling away from her boyfriend, Natalie wrapped her arms around Scott dramatically. "My baby's growing up!" He rolled eyes and shrugged the redhead off.

"Yeah, that's beautiful," Stiles said, "Now before you go off and write sonnet, can we figure this out, please? Because you obviously can't around her all time."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Scott said, "Sorry. So what do I do?"

"I don't know." Then Stiles began grinning like the Cheshire cat when he thought of something. "Yet."

Scott grew nervous. "Oh, no. You're getting an idea, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Is this idea gonna get me in trouble?"

"Maybe."

"Is this idea gonna cause me physical pain?"

Stiles nodded his head. "Yeah, definitely. Come on."

"As much as I wanna see what plan you have in your head unravel," Natalie said sarcastically, "I gotta go pick Zach up from school. Plus there's something I need to take care of at home. But I'll see you later, Stiles." She kissed her boyfriend before walking away to the parking lot.

The two boys watched their best friend leave the building. Scott turned to Stiles, who was still smiling. "You know, I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing my two best friends kissing each other all the time."

"Me neither," Stiles sighed. Then he grabbed Scott's arm. "Now let's go put this baby into action."

* * *

Ever since Natalie had gotten home from school- she didn't even want to bother sticking around to see what Stiles had planned- her eyes were glued to her computer. What had happened during Econ class with Allison helping Scott staying in control had interested Natalie for some reason. It reminded her of when the picture of Anabelle helped Derek relax when he was dying from wolfsbane. She wondered if those two situations were somehow related to each other.

So she decided to do some research. As soon as Natalie got home, she changed out of her clothes into a hoodie and lounge shorts and got to work. She looked up 'lycanthrope' to see what information would come up. After a while, Natalie learned about mates, which really sparked her interest. Mates for werewolves were basically soul mates, meaning that each werewolf was destined to be with a certain person. Natalie wondered if either Scott or Derek knew about this. Either way, it made her a lot more curious.

A lot of time had passed when Stiles finally arrived at Natalie's house. When he entered her room, Natalie was still sitting on her bed and staring at the computer screen. Stiles knocked on the door, making her slightly jump.

"Holy crap!" she gasped. She set her laptop in front of her. "Did you just get here?"

"Yep. You're mom let me in," Stiles said, flopping on the bed and resting his head on Natalie's lap. "Stupid Harris gave Scott and me detention."

"Oh, god," Natalie sighed, "What did you two do?"

Stiles groaned. "I keyed some guy's car and framed Scott. The guy and his friends beat Scott up and I told him to just think about Allison so his heart rate wouldn't rise and he wouldn't shift. All it did was get us detention with Harris for two hours."

"I see." Natalie began running her hand over Stiles's buzz-cut. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say having Scott get his ass kicked was your idea of punishment for not doing something about your dad."

"Maybe…"

Natalie laughed and shook her head. "See? I told you that I knew you too well."

"Yeah, yeah." Stiles looked at what was on his girlfriend's computer screen. His eyebrows furrowed. "Werewolf mates? What's that all about?"

"Remember when Derek got shot by a wolfsbane laced bullet and we almost cut off his arm?"

The memory made Stiles shudder. "How could I forget?"

"Well, when he was struggling to stay still, all I had to do was put his picture of Anabelle in front of his face and he calmed down. It was like the same thing with Scott and Allison."

"Okay… So what does that have to do with this whole… 'mate' thing?" Stiles asked, gesturing to the laptop.

"I wanted to see if the two scenarios had a deeper meaning than what I saw," Natalie explained. She clicked on one of the pages she had saved up and pointed to an article. "Look at his. It says that when a werewolf senses its mate near them, it is easier for them to control their shift and stay human. Like Scott and Derek."

As Stiles sat up, he positioned himself so he leaned his back against the headboard and Natalie was sitting in between his legs. He then grabbed the laptop, rested it on Natalie's lap, and read through the article out loud.

"Hmm… _Short for 'soul mate', a werewolf's mate is their one true love and the one they are destined to be with until the moment they die. Their mate could either be another werewolf, any other supernatural creature, or even human. They can sense their mate by touch, sight, smell, and/or emotional pull, which make the wolf want to be closer by the one they love. When a werewolf discovers its mate, they will be willing to sacrifice themselves for them and do anything to protect them from any sort of danger. They will provide for their mate and love them unconditionally. There is only one mate for every werewolf. If their mate perishes, the werewolf will also pass away slowly from a broken heart._"

Stiles's eyes widened when he read the last sentence. "Wow. That's pretty hardcore. So Allison could be Scott's mate."

"She could be," the redhead shrugged, "And I'm pretty sure that Anabelle is Derek's. It makes sense with his weird behavior whenever her name comes up."

"Derek having a mate… damn. That explains why he's so angry all the time. She could literally be anywhere around the world. Not knowing where she could be must drive the guy crazy."

"Yeah, well, he said that he's been looking for her ever since the fire," Natalie told Stiles, "But he's found nothing."

She shut her laptop and stood up to go put it back on her desk. When she turned back to Stiles, she covered her mouth to hide her yawn.

"Tired?" Stiles asked.

Natalie nodded. "A little. Throwing baseballs at a werewolf wears you out. Also, my foot still hurts from the video store." She the laid down next to Stiles and faced her body towards him.

He followed suit and positioned himself so he and Natalie were face to face. Stiles frowned when he saw the dark circles under her eyes.

"Have you not been getting enough sleep?" he asked her. Hesitantly, Natalie shook her head. "Does it have to do with what happened with the alpha?"

"Yeah…"

Stiles sighed. "Why haven't you said anything to me about it?"

"I didn't wanna bother you," Natalie said, "You were already going through a bunch of stuff with your dad and helping Scott and I didn't wanna give you one more thing to stress out about. I've been so close to death so many times already that just thinking about death tires me out."

Now Stiles felt like a terrible boyfriend. He was so focused on being mad at Scott for his father's accident that he had completely neglected Natalie's situation. Not once had he asked her if she was emotionally okay from being trapped by the alpha. Natalie could've died that night, for crying out loud! But like Natalie said, Stiles didn't wanna think about her dying either. Not when she had been through so much trauma all her childhood. His mom's already gone from getting too sick. He didn't want that to happen to one of his favorite people.

"I'm sorry."

Natalie had a confused look on her face. "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I should've known that you've been overwhelmed with a lot of things, too," Stiles said, "I was so worried about my dad that I haven't been paying attention to your health also."

"Stiles, I'm fine," Natalie assured him, "You don't need to worry about me. And I understand that you were worried about your dad. As you can tell, we're all clearly going through a lot of shit. But we can't take care of everyone."

Wrapping his arms around his girlfriend, Stiles let out a sigh. "Fine." He crooked his finger under her chin and tilted her head up. "But next time you have trouble sleeping or you're feeling stressed, talk to me. Okay?"

"Okay," Natalie yawned again.

Stiles kissed her forehead. "Let's get some sleep. Lord knows we need it."

Nodding her head in agreement, Natalie closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep. Her arm was draped around Stiles's waist and her head rested on his chest. A strand of her red hair fell out of her bun so Stiles tucked it behind her ear. After kissing her head, he grew tired also and shut his eyes.

An hour or so later, Stiles and Natalie were still sleeping in the same position. Then Stiles's phone vibrated in his pocket, waking him up. Groggily, he pulled his phone out and answered it.

"Hello? Scott, what's up?"

Furrowing his eyebrows, he carefully sat up so he wouldn't disturb his sleeping girlfriend. But Natalie was slowing becoming conscious. She rubbed her eyes and listened to Stiles talk on the phone.

"Yeah, I'll come pick you up right now," Stiles told Scott, "I'll see you then. Bye."

"What did Scott want?" Natalie asked.

"Apparently Derek thinks that Scott's boss is the alpha," Stiles explained, making the redhead's eyes grow wide, "So Scott's gonna try to prove to him that it's not Deaton. He wants me to pick him up from work and take him to the school."

Natalie got out of the bed and grabbed her sandals. "Alright. Let's go."

"Are you sure?" Stiles asked, "I know you're exhausted still so-"

"I'm fine. Scott's bullshit is my bullshit, too. Besides, I wanna make sure that Derek doesn't kill you."

Rolling his eyes, Stiles followed Natalie out of her room "Thanks for having faith in me, Nat."

After Stiles and Natalie picked Scott up from the animal clinic, they headed to the school. It was nighttime so the parking lot was completely empty. Stiles parked the car and the trio got out. Natalie rubbed her hands on her thighs when the cool air hit her. She was starting to regret not changing out of her shorts at the house.

"This is a terrible idea," Stiles told Scott.

"Yeah, I know," Scott said.

"But we're still gonna do it?"

"Can you think of anything better?"

Stiles shrugged. "Well, personally I'm a fan of ignoring a problem until eventually it goes away."

"And how well does that work out for you?" Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't need your sass, Nat!" Stiles quipped. She stuck her tongue out at him.

Scott rolled his eyes. "Just make sure we can get inside."

Then a familiar black Camaro pulled into the parking lot. "We've got company," Natalie pointed out.

"Where's my boss?" Scott asked as Derek walked up to the trio.

"He's in the back."

The best friends looked inside the car. In the backseat, Deaton had duct tape over his mouth, his hands and feet were tied up, and he was knocked out cold.

"Oh, he looks comfortable," Stiles said sarcastically. Scott then nodded his head towards the school and the trio walked away from Derek.

"Wait. Hey," Derek called after them, "What are you doing?"

"You said I was linked to the alpha," Scott said, "I'm gonna see if you're right."

As they walked towards the building, Natalie turned around, flipped Derek off with both fingers, and mouthed 'fuck you'. Derek snarled at the gesture but Natalie just continued to follow her best friend and boyfriend.

They broke into the school and then entered the main office. Natalie started messing around with the PA system as Scott and Stiles watched from the side.

"Okay, one question," Stiles spoke up, "What are you gonna do if the alpha doesn't show up?"

"I don't know," Scott answered.

"And if he does?" Natalie asked.

"I don't know."

The redhead snorted as she continued to work. "Wow. You really need to learn how to think things out ahead of time."

"I'll put that on my never-ending list," Scott mumbled, "Alright. You guys said that a wolf howls to signal his position to the rest of the pack, right?"

"Right," Stiles confirmed, "but if you bring him here, does that make you part of his pack?"

"I hope not," the werewolf sighed.

"Me too."

"We all don't want that to happen," Natalie said. She finished messing with the PA system and placed the microphone on the desk in front of Scott. "Alright. It's all you, Scotty."

It was obvious that Scott was nervous. But he tried to keep his nerves balanced as he cleared his throat and turned the microphone on. Then he howled. Actually, it was more like some sort of animal being strangled against its will. It was nowhere what a werewolf was supposed to sound like. But that didn't stop Natalie from collapsing on the floor and laughing as hard as possible.

Scott looked up at Stiles expectantly. "Was that okay? I mean, that was a howl, right?"

"Yeah, technically…" Stiles grimaced.

"Well, what did it sound like to you?"

Stiles deadpanned. "Like a cat being choked to death, Scott."

Rolling on the floor, Natalie was still cracking up. "Holy shit! That was the funniest thing I have ever witnessed in my entire life! Oh god, my stomach hurts…"

Scott felt discouraged. "What do I do?" he wondered, "How do I do this?"

"Hey, hey," Stiles said, placing his hands on Scott's shoulders, "Listen to me. You're calling the alpha. Alright? Be a man. Be a werewolf, not a teen wolf. Be a werewolf." He pushed the microphone back to Scott. "Do it."

"Okay…"

Scott took a couple of deep breaths before clicking the PA system back on. All of a sudden, he let out a deep, loud, and the most ferocious howl he could muster up. Stiles and Natalie stared at their best friend in amusement. Who knew the boy had it in him all along? When Scott finished howling, Natalie's face broke out in a huge grin.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!"

* * *

"I'm gonna kill all three of you!" Derek seethed as the trio walked back out to the parking lot.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Gee, Derek. Tell us how you really feel."

"What the hell was that?" he continued, ignoring the redhead's comment, "What are you trying to do, attract the entire state to the school?"

Scott smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't know it would be that loud."

Stiles nodded his head enthusiastically. "Yeah, it was loud. And it was _awesome_!" he sing-songed.

"Shut up," Derek told Stiles.

"Don't be such a sourwolf."

Nudging his arm with her elbow, Natalie winked at her boyfriend. "Good one."

"Thanks."

The younger werewolf looked back at Derek's Camaro. His best friends followed his gaze and noticed that Deaton was gone. "What'd you do with him?"

Derek looked confused. "What?" He turned to his empty car then back to the teens. He clearly had no idea what had happened. "I didn't do anything."

Right before anyone could say anything else, claws stuck out through Derek's abdomen. The trio backed away in fear when the saw Derek bleeding from his mouth. As if he was weightless, he was then lifted up in the air and tossed to the side. The alpha was then revealed, growling at the teens and ready to kill.

Screaming in horror, the trio ran towards the school with the alpha in tow. As soon as they were inside the building, they held the doors closed. The alpha then started banging on the doors, making them wobble slightly. Natalie looked at Scott and Stiles with panicked eyes.

"In the words of Stu from 'The Hangover'," she said, "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!"

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! At the part where Natalie researches about werewolf mates, I totally made that up. I tried searching it up myself but nothing came up so I improvised :P And if you're a Kevin Hart fan, I added a little reference in there because why not :P PLEASE review and let me know what you think! Reviews are my motivation because it lets me know that people actually like this story and I love seeing what you guys have to say.  
**

**So last chapter when I said that I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with Malia when she comes in during the show, everyone said to NOT break up Stiles and Natalie. Well, be happy because Stiles and Natalie are here to stay! And I was think of making a male OC in place of Malia. I think that would be a lot of fun to write and I just really don't want her in this series. So let me know what you think of that idea!**

**I had just updated 'Scars' a couple of days ago so if you haven't yet, be sure to check it out! I haven't gotten a lot of reviews yet so please send me some feedback!**

***BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!* In case you guys don't know yet, I have started a new DerekxOC story called You Raise Me Up. It is NOT the DerekxOC that coincides with Awake and Alive and Scars! This takes place after season 3B but does not follow the plot after that. It is part of a new series/saga that I am starting that you can learn more about on my profile. Please please PLEASE go check it out and favorite, follow, and leave reviews! I haven't gotten much feedback so far but I really love what I have planned out for this so please go show it some love! I know that I'm already lacking on updates with the stories I'm currently working on, but I'm gonna make it work. Have faith in me, muchachos!**

**I'll be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Wow, this chapter was a bitch to write! There's just so much going on! But I finally got it done so enjoy chapter 11! Please stay tuned for a couple of announcements.**

**WARNING: Brief mentions of suicide at the end, but nothing major**

* * *

The trio was still pressed up against the school doors, trying their best to keep them shut so the alpha couldn't get in. Each of them was panicking greatly as they tried to hide.

"Lock it, lock it!" Scott said to Stiles.

He looked at the werewolf in disbelief. "Do I look like I have a key?"

"Grab something!"

"What?"

"Anything!"

Stiles looked outside of the school and saw the bolt-cutter he used to get them in the building earlier. When Natalie saw what her boyfriend was looking at, her eyes grew wide. She knew right away what Stiles was cooking up in his mind.

"Don't you fucking do it, Stiles," she warned him, shaking her head.

"Too late." He handed his flashlight to Scott and ran out of the building.

Both Scott and Natalie called out to Stiles to come back, but he didn't listen. As he bent down to grab the bolt-cutter, he was spotted by the alpha. Scott noticed the larger wolf and hollered at Stiles again. This time after he grabbed the bolt-cutter, Stiles ran back into the school with the alpha hot on his tail. When he was back in the building, he slid the bolt-cutter in between the door handles. Natalie smacked the back of Stiles's head.

"Why the hell did you do that?!" Stiles whined, rubbing the back of his head.

"Because that was one of the dumbest things you could've ever done!" Natalie scolded, "The alpha could've killed you!"

"It didn't though!" Stiles gripped onto Natalie's shoulders. "But I promise I won't do it again, okay?"

"Yeah, you better not."

As the couple bickered, Scott was looking out the windows. "Where is it?" he asked, "Where'd it go?"

"Are you freakin' kidding me?" Natalie took the flashlight from Scott and shined it through the window. "Only we would lose a giant mutant wolf!"

The trio backed away from the doors when they started giggling, most likely caused by the alpha. Natalie immediately gripped onto Stiles's hand.

"That won't hold, will it?" Scott asked.

"Probably not," Stiles responded.

As soon as they heard the alpha howling, they took off down the very dark hallways of the school. They then ran into a random classroom and Natalie shut the door behind them. Scott was about to push the teacher's desk to block the door until Stiles stopped him from doing so.

"The door's not gonna keep it out," he told Scott.

Scott sighed. "I know."

"It's your boss."

"What?" Natalie questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Deaton, the alpha?" Stiles said, "Your boss."

"No," Scott argued.

"Yes. Murdering psycho werewolf."

"That can't be."

Stiles flailed his arms. "Oh, come on. He disappears, and that thing shows up ten seconds later to toss Derek twenty feet through the air? _That's_ not convenient timing?"

"Oddly enough, that makes sense," Natalie thought out loud. Scott glared at his best friend. "Well, it is! I know that Deaton seems like a nice guy, but it's always the nice ones you gotta watch out for."

"It's not him," Scott said defensively.

"He killed Derek," Stiles said.

The werewolf shook his head and continued to deny it. "No. Derek's not dead. He can't be dead."

"Oh my god, Scott!" Natalie sighed exasperatedly, "Did you not see the way blood spurted out of his mouth? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't really qualify as a minor injury. That alpha killed Derek, and we're the next ones on his list!"

"Okay, just… what do we do?"

"We go to my jeep, we get out of here-" Stiles pointed to Scott, "you seriously think about quitting your job. Good?"

They went over to the windows and Natalie pushed on them to see if they would open. "Do they not-"

"No, they don't open," Stiles answered, "The school's climate controlled."

"Then we break it," Scott suggested.

"Which will make a lot of noise."

"Then, uh… then we run really fast."

Natalie narrowed her eyes as she looked out the window. "Hey, Stiles? You might wanna come over here. There's something wrong with the hood of your jeep."

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked, "Nothing's wrong."

"It's bent."

"What, like dented?"

Stepping up next to the redhead, Scott looked out at Stiles's jeep. His eyes widened. "No, she means bent."

"What the hell-"

All of a sudden, a large object was soaring at the window. The trio ducked down to the floor and Stiles made sure that he was shielding his girlfriend. Crashing through the window, a car battery flew over their heads and landed on the ground.

"That's my battery!" Stiles cried out. He was about to get up when Natalie grabbed his wrist.

She begged, "Stiles, don't."

"We have to move."

"He could be right outside," Scott said.

"He _is_ right outside!"

"Just let me take a look." Scott went over to the broken window to peek outside. His eyes searched for the alpha but the parking lot was empty.

Natalie looked up at Scott. "Do you see anything?"

"No." He looked down at his best friends.

"Move now?" Stiles asked.

"Move now."

Locking his fingers with Natalie's, Stiles pulled her up with him and the trio ran back out into the empty hallways. Scott pointed to one direction and was about to move that way but once again, Stiles stopped him.

"What?" Scott asked.

"Somewhere without windows," Stiles said.

"Every single room in this building has windows, Stiles," Natalie pointed out.

"Or somewhere with less windows."

A light bulb went off in Scott's head. "The locker room."

The last thing Natalie wanted to do was hide out in a smelly locker room, but if it meant being safe from a psycho killer, then she could suck it up. Tightening her hold on her boyfriend's hand, she ran after Scott and Stiles. Natalie's sprained foot was throbbing from putting a lot of pressure on it, but she preferred a little pain over being slaughtered.

Right as they entered the locker room, the strong sweaty stench hit Natalie's nostrils like a freight train. She gagged and covered her nose. The boys rolled their eyes.

"God, the smell gets worse every freakin' time! Does this room ever get cleaned?!"

Scott just ignored her comment. "One of you guys call your dads," Scott told his best friends.

"And tell them what?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know. Anything. Gas leak, a fire, whatever. If that thing sees the parking lot filled with cop cars, it'll take off."

"What if it doesn't?" Stiles worried, "What if it goes completely Terminator and kills every cop in sight, including mine and Natalie's dads?"

"They have guns," Scott tried to reason.

Natalie snorted. "Umm, are you forgetting about the time when Derek was shot by a bullet laced with wolfsbane? Even that hardly slowed him down. And I think I speak for the both of us when I say that I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea of sending out dads out there to face that thing."

Running a hand through his curly hair, Scott let out a frustrated sigh. "Then we… we have to… we have to find a way out and just run for it."

"There's nothing near the school for at least a mile," Stiles said.

"We could always take Derek's car," Natalie suggested.

Stiles snapped his fingers and pointed at his girlfriend. "That could work. We go outside, we get the keys off his body, and then we take his car."

"And him," Scott added.

It was obvious that Stiles was totally against taking a possibly dead Derek with them. But when Natalie nudged him with her elbow, Stiles sighed in defeat. "Fine. Whatever." He went to go open the door but Scott held him back. "What?"

"I think I heard something."

"Like what?"

Scott hushed him so he could listen better. He heard someone approaching them so he instructed Stiles and Natalie to hide. As he went into one locker, Stiles pulled Natalie into another with him. The redhead immediately clutched onto the front of Stiles's shirt as he wrapped his arms around her. He looked down at her.

"Am I the only one who finds this situation very intimate?"

She flicked his forehead. "Now's not the time, Stiles!"

"You're right. Sorry."

He then felt Natalie shaking in his arms. When he heard her sniffle lightly, he knew that she was crying. It broke Stiles's heart to hear his girlfriend cry like this. Natalie was the strongest person he had ever met. But to see her in such a vulnerable state brought out the worst gut-wrenching feeling in him. Cupping her face in his hands, Stiles brought Natalie's head up so she was looking at him. Tears stained her paling cheeks so Stiles wiped them off.

"Hey," he said softly, "We're gonna get through this, okay? We're gonna make it out of here alive. I promise I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

Chuckling lowly, Natalie rubbed her eyes. "Man, this is so not how I pictured spending the night with you."

"I'll make it up to you," Stiles promised before pressing a light kiss on her lips.

Then their locker door was yanked open along with Scott's, making them scream. A janitor jumped when he saw the teenagers. "Son of a bitch!"

"Quiet!" Stiles hushed as they stepped out of the lockers.

"Quiet, my ass!" the janitor exclaimed, "What the hell are you trying to do, kill me?! All three of you, get out!" He then started to push them out of the locker room.

"Wait!" Natalie begged, "Could you please just listen to us for half a second?"

"No!" The janitor continued to shove them towards the door, "Get the hell out of here right now!"

"God, just one second to explain!" Stiles said.

"Just shut up and go!"

As soon as the trio was out of the locker room, the alpha grabbed the janitor and pulled him back in. through the closed doors, they could hear his screams. Then his blood was splattered all over the door as the alpha killed him. Stiles grabbed Natalie's hand and Scott's arm.

"Go!" he yelled, "Go!"

They ran back out into the hallways and to the front doors. When they tried to push them open, they wouldn't budge. Natalie pounded on them with her fists. She then looked out the window.

"Is that a fucking dumpster?!"

"He pushed it in front of the door to block us in," Stiles said. He started pushing on the door harder. "Come on, help me."

"Stop!" Scott said.

"I'm not dying here," Stiles told him, "I'm not dying at school."

"We're not going to die."

Natalie started banging on the doors again. Only this time, she put so much force into it that her fists started bleeding. Her best friends' eyes grew wide at the sight. When Natalie began kicking the doors, Scott and Stiles dragged her away. She slumped against the wall and placed her head in her trembling hands. Stiles knelt down beside her and put his arms around her.

"Why is he doing this to us?" she exclaimed, "What the fuck does he want?"

"Me," Scott answered, "Derek says it's stronger with a pack."

"Oh, great," Stiles said sarcastically, "A psychotic werewolf who's into teamwork. That's… that's beautiful."

When the trio peered out the window, they saw the alpha staring back at them. Scott looked down the hallway and told the couple to get up. After Stiles pulled up Natalie, Scott gestured them to follow him. They ran down the hallway as the alpha crashed through the window and started chasing after them.

They hid behind some old lockers for a bit until Scott was sure that they had lost the alpha. He led them down the hallway again. They had reached the basement when they heard the alpha growling.

"Okay, we seriously have to get rid of that thing," Natalie said, flailing her arms.

Stiles nodded. "We have to do something."

"Like what?" Scott asked.

"I don't know. Kill it, hurt it, inflict mental anguish on it… something."

Glass shattered, making the three of them jump and yelp. The alpha started growling again and they looked at each other. Stiles pulled out his keys. When Scott started to refuse, Stiles shushed him and threw them into a room. They ran as fast as they could out of there as the alpha went in. Stiles then quickly shut the door.

"The desk!" he said, "Come on, the desk!"

The trio pushed the desk in front of the door and then Stiles instructed them to hop over it. Natalie was the first to slide across it, followed by Scott. She then gestured Stiles to go next but he was leaning towards the door.

"Stiles, what the hell are you doing?" Natalie whisper-yelled.

"I just wanna get a good look at it," he told her.

"Are you freakin' stupid?!"

He turned to Natalie. "Look, it's trapped, okay? It's not gonna get out." The alpha started growling again. Stiles climbed on top of the desk, grabbed the flashlight out of Natalie's hands- which she was surprised she still had- and shined it through the window. "Yeah, that's right. We got you."

"Will you shut up?" Scott hissed.

"You seriously think taunting it is the smartest thing to do right now?" Natalie added.

"I'm not scared of this thing," Stiles said.

All of a sudden, the alpha banged against the window harshly. Stiles fell off the desk and backed away. But he didn't stop teasing the larger creature.

"I'm not scared of you. Right, 'cause you're in there and we're out here. You're not going any-"

_CRASH!_

In the other room, the ceiling began to collapse as debris fell down. The trio booked it out of there to nowhere in particular. Scott then heard a bell-like sound and stopped his friends.

"Wait," he said, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Stiles asked.

"It sounds like a phone ringing."

Natalie looked down at her phone. "It's not mine." She nodded to Stiles. "You?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

"I know that ring," Scott said, "It's Allison's phone."

The redhead's eyes widened. "Why would Allison be here?"

Scott shrugged. "I don't know. Nat, can I borrow your phone so I can call her?"

She nodded and handed Scott her phone. He dialed Allison's number then pressed the phone to his ear and waited for Allison to pick up.

"_Natalie?"_

"No, it's me," Scott told Allison, "Where are you?"

"_I'm in the school looking of for you. Why weren't you at my place?"_

"Where are you right now?" Scott asked, ignoring her question.

"_On the first floor."_

"Where? Where are you exactly?"

"_The swimming pools."_

"Go to the lobby," Scott told her, "Go now."

Allison sighed. _"Okay, okay. I'm coming."_

After she hung up, Scott handed Natalie her phone back and then they went to meet Allison at the school lobby. When they found her, Allison had a worried look on her face.

"Why did you come?" Scott asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Because you asked me to," Allison answered simply.

One of Scott's eyebrows rose up in confusion. "I asked you to?"

Nodding her head, Allison pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through it for a moment. She then held her phone in front of Scott's face. The text that was apparently sent from Scott's phone told Allison to come to the school and that it was urgent. When Scott's face scrunched up in confusion, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Why do I get the feeling you didn't send this message?" she asked.

"Because I didn't," Scott told her.

"Did you drive here?" Stiles asked.

"Jackson did."

Natalie groaned and threw her hands up. "Great, now Jackass is here?"

"And Lydia," Allison said. She turned to Scott. "Who sent this text?" Before he could say anything else, her phone began ringing again. She accepted the call. "Where are you?"

Just then, the door opened and Jackson and Lydia walked up to them. The strawberry-blonde sighed in both annoyance and relief. "Finally! Can we go now?"

A loud bang was heard from above them, making them all jump. Scott yelled out for them to run and they took off down the hallway just as the alpha dropped through the ceiling. The teenagers soon ended up in the cafeteria and Scott locked the doors. He then began moving the tables and chairs in front of the doors to block out the alpha.

"Scott," Stiles said, "not here."

"What was that?" Allison panicked, "Scott, what was that?"

Then Lydia started crying. "What came out of the ceiling?"

"Will you just help me?" Scott told them as he continued to move, "The chairs. Stack the chairs."

Aside from Stiles and Natalie, they all went to work. "Guys, can you just wait a second?" Stiles called out to them, "You guys, listen to me. Can we wait a second? Guys? Stiles talking! Can we hang on a second, please? Hello!"

But they ignored him and continued to stack up the chairs. Rolling her eyes, Natalie placed her index finger and thumb in her mouth and let out a loud whistle. It immediately gained all of their attention.

"Thank you, Nat," Stiles said to his girlfriend, making her beam proudly. He turned back to the group. "Okay, nice work. Really beautiful job, everyone. Now, what should we do about the twenty-foot wall of windows?"

"Can someone please explain to me what's going on," Allison demanded, "because I am really freaking out right now. And I would really like to know why." She turned to the teen wolf. "Scott?"

However, Scott didn't know what to tell her without giving away his secret. He began to pace as he tried to come up with an explanation.

"Well, for starters, someone killed the janitor," Natalie told them.

"What?" Lydia cried.

Stiles nodded. "Yeah, the janitor's dead."

"What's he talking about?" Allison continued to freak out, "Is this a joke?"

"What?" Jackson said, speaking up for the first time since he got there, "Who killed him?"

"No, no, no, no." Lydia shook her head. "This was supposed to be over. The mountain lion killed…"

"No!" Jackson said, "Don't you get it? There wasn't a mountain lion."

Allison was now infuriated. She continued to get Scott to talk. "Who was it?! What does he want?! What's happening?! Scott!"

"I… I don't know," Scott stuttered, "I… I just… if we go out there, he's gonna kill us."

"Us?!" Lydia shrieked, "He's gonna kill us?!"

"Who?" Allison asked, "Who is it?"

Hesitantly, Scott said, "It's Derek. Derek Hale."

Sucking in her breath, Natalie covered her mouth. She shook her head, knowing that was probably one of the worst things Scott could've done, blame murders on a dead guy. Only if Derek wasn't dead, he would have Scott's head on a silver platter.

"Oh god, Scotty, what have you done?" Natalie said quietly.

"Derek killed the janitor?" Jackson asked.

"Are you sure?" Allison also asked.

Scott nodded his head. "I saw him."

"The mountain lion-" Lydia started to say before Scott interrupted her.

"No. Derek killed them."

"All of them?" Allison asked.

"Yeah, starting with his own sister."

Now that was an extremely harsh blow to involve Derek's sister like that. Natalie pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. While Natalie still didn't like Derek that much, she couldn't help but feel more sympathetic towards him now that she knew about his desperate search for Anabelle. She just imagined herself being in that situation. If she lost Stiles, she would lose her mind.

"The bus driver?" Allison continued.

"And the guy in the video store," Scott added, "It's been Derek the whole time. He's in here with us. And if we don't get out now, he's gonna kill us, too."

Jackson looked at Stiles and Natalie. "Call the cops."

"Fuck no," Natalie immediately said, glaring at the jock.

"What do you mean no?"

"I mean, no. Pick a language- Spanish, French, Italian. I can say it again in any one of those if English wasn't clear enough for you."

"Look, Derek killed three people, okay?" Stiles spoke up, lacing his fingers with Natalie's, "We don't know what he's armed with."

"Both of your dads are armed with an entire sheriff's department," Jackson said, "Call them."

Lydia rolled her eyes and pulled her phone out. "I'm calling."

"Wait, Lydia-" Natalie tried to stop her friend, but she had already dialed nine one one.

"Yes, we're at Beacon Hills High School," Lydia told the police over the phone, "We're trapped, and we need you to… But-" The dial tone went dead. Lydia's jaw dropped. "She hung up on me."

"The police hung up on you?" Allison asked in shock.

"She said they got a tip warning them that there are gonna be prank calls about a break-in at the high school. She said if I called again that they're gonna trace it and have me arrested."

"Okay, then call again."

Stiles shook his head. "No, they won't trace a cell and they'll send a car to your house before they send anyone here."

"What the…" Allison stammered, "What… What is this? Why does Derek wanna kill us? Why is he killing anyone?"

The room grew quiet and they all turned their head towards Scott, who had yet to say anything during all of this.

"Why's everyone looking at me?"

"Is he the one that sent her the text?" Lydia asked.

"No," Scott answered, "I mean, I don't know."

"Is he the one that called the police?" Allison asked.

"I don't know!"

Before Scott could lose his cool, Stiles grabbed his shoulders. "Alright, why don't we ease back on the throttle here, yeah?" Then he, along with Natalie, pulled Scott away from the other three. "Okay, first off, throwing Derek under the bus, nicely done."

"I didn't know what to say!" Scott told them, "I had to say something. And if he's dead then it doesn't matter, right? Except if he's not…" He groaned and ran his hand through his hair. "Oh, god, I totally just bit her head off…"

Natalie smacked his shoulder. "Have you lost your goddamn mind? Dude, Allison will get over it. But we have a bigger problem we have to deal with right now. Like how the fuck are we supposed to get out of here alive?"

"But we are alive," Scott pointed out, "It could've killed us already. It's like it's cornering us or something."

"So what, he wants to eat us all at the same time?" Stiles asked.

"No. Derek said it wants revenge."

"Against who?"

"Allison's family."

"That's why she got that text," Natalie realized, "But who sent it to her?"

"Okay, assheads, new plan," Jackson said, making the trio's heads turn, "Stiles and Natalie call their useless dads and tell them to send someone with a gun and decent aim. Are we good with that?"

Scott sighed. "He's right. Tell them the truth if you have to. Just… just call them."

"There is no way in hell I am watching either of our dads be eaten alive by that thing," Natalie said.

"Alright, give me the phone."

Right as Jackson grabbed Natalie's arm, Stiles stepped up and punched him in the face. It left everyone in shock, especially Natalie. As Allison went to see if Jackson was okay, Stiles pulled his phone out and called his dad.

"Dad, hey, it's me. And it's your voicemail. Look, I need you to call me back now. Like, right now. We're at the school, okay? We're at the school." As Stiles hung up, the alpha started shaking the doors, which caused the tables and chairs to shake as well. Lydia and Allison shrieked. "The kitchen! The door out of the kitchen leads to the stairwell."

"Which only goes up," Scott pointed.

"Anywhere else is better than here, Scotty," Natalie said, grabbing Stiles's hand.

All of them ran through the kitchen and up the staircase. When they reached the second floor of the building, they ran straight in Mr. Harris's classroom. After Scott shut the door, he placed a chair in front of it.

"Great," Natalie grumbled, "You know, my first choice of place I wanna die is in Harris's room. Because he lessons already bore me to death."

"We're not gonna die, Nat," Scott assured her, "Jackson, how many people can you fit into your car?"

"Five," the jock answered, "if someone squeezes on someone's lap."

"Five? I barely fit in the back!" Allison said incredulously.

"It doesn't matter," Stiles said, "There's no getting out without drawing attention."

Natalie looked around the room and saw a side door. She jogged over to it. "Here. It leads up to the roof of the school. We can go down the fire escape and out to the parking lot just like that." She snapped her fingers for emphasis.

"But that's a deadbolt, Nat."

"The janitor has a key," Scott remembered.

"You mean his body has it."

"I can get it," Scott told his best friend, "I can find him by scent. By blood."

"Well, gee, that sounds like an incredibly terrible idea," Stiles said with sarcasm lacing his voice, "What else you got?"

"I'm getting the key," Scott said with determination.

Allison's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of her head. "Are you serious?"

"Well, it's the best plan. Someone has to get the key if we wanna get out of here."

"You can't go out there unarmed."

Scott's eyes searched the room for any type of weapon to fight the alpha off with. He found a pointer stick and picked it up. Natalie looked unimpressed.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Well, it's better than nothing."

"There is," Lydia spoke up as she stared at the cabinet filled with all different sorts of chemicals.

Everyone also looked at the cabinet. Snorting, Stiles asked, "What are we gonna do? Throw acid on him?"

"No," Lydia said, "Like a fire bomb. In there is everything you need to make a self-igniting Molotov cocktail."

Stiles looked at her as if she had grown another head. "A self-igniting…"

"Molotov cocktail." Now everybody was looking at the strawberry-blonde strangely. However, Natalie was actually pretty impressed by her friend. "What? I read it somewhere."

"Brilliant," Natalie said, clapping her still bleeding hands together, "Except there's a slight problem. We don't have a key for that either." Rolling his eyes, Jackson broke the glass on the cabinet with his elbow. Natalie scoffed. "Well, I could've done that…"

Lydia gathered a bunch of chemicals that Natalie could not name and went to work on her fire bomb. She ended up making two batches for Scott. Better to be safe than sorry. When she was done, Lydia handed Scott the beakers but Allison stopped him before he could leave.

"No," the brunette said, shaking her head, "No, this is insane. You can't do this. You cannot go out there."

"We can't just sit here waiting for either Stiles or Natalie's dad to check their messages," Scott told her.

"You could die. Don't you get that? He's killed three people."

"And we're next. Somebody has to do something."

By this point, Allison began to tear up. "Scott, just stop. Do you remember… do you remember when you told me you knew whether or not I was lying? That I had a tell? Well, so do you. You're a horrible liar. And you've been lying all night." Tears fell down her cheeks. "Just… just please… don't go. Please don't leave us. Please."

Although seeing Allison cry for him was heartbreaking, Scott would not cave in. he had to go out there. He had to go fight off the alpha so his best friends, Jackson, Lydia, and of course, Allison, can walk out of the school alive.

"Lock it behind me," he instructed her.

Before he left, Allison grabbed his head and kissed him with as much passion as she could give him. When Scott pulled away from Allison, he looked at her sadly before leaving the room.

About a half hour had passed since Scott left to face the alpha. Allison, Jackson, and Lydia were on one side of the room while Stiles was pacing back and forth. Natalie was sitting on top of a table and bit on her nails as she watched her boyfriend.

"You're making me really nervous right now, Stiles," she said.

"I can't help it," Stiles said, "What the fire bombs don't work? What if the alpha completely slaughters Scott and we don't get out of here? There's a really high possibility that we could all die."

"We won't," Natalie assured him, "Remember when you said that you won't let anything happen to me? Well that goes for you, too. I'd rather let the alpha rip my head off before letting you get hurt."

Stiles was about to respond until he noticed Natalie's hands. They were still bleeding pretty badly from when she hit the doors earlier. He rushed over to the sink in the back of the room and grabbed a bunch of paper towels before returning to Natalie.

"Give me your hands." Natalie placed her hands in his and he wrapped the paper towels around them. "Do they hurt?"

The redhead shrugged. "Not a lot. I think the adrenaline in me overpowered everything else so I wasn't thinking about the pain."

"I don't think I've ever seen you so…"

"Crazy?"

"I was actually gonna say riled up, but I guess crazy works, too." Natalie lightly kicked Stiles's leg with her good foot, making him chuckle. "But I was seriously scared for you. I thought you were going to lose it."

"Well, I didn't know what else to do," Natalie said, "I was scared out of my mind." She winced when pain shot through her hand. "Okay, now I'm starting to feel it."

"Yeah, I bet. You went to town on that thing."

Natalie nodded her head. She then saw that Stiles's own hand was starting to bruise. "It looks like you got your own battle wound. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Stiles nodded, "I guess the adrenaline got to me, too." They both chuckled.

When Stiles was done tending to Natalie's wounds, she took his sore hand and pressed a light kiss to it. She shook her head. "I still can't believe you decked Jackson in the face like that. You really didn't have to do that for me."

"Yes, I did."

Shock was written all over Natalie's face at Stiles's words. She looked up at her boyfriend. His face had grown serious.

"No guy should ever lay a hand on you like that," Stiles said, "You are way too good of a person to be treated that way. If you are in a situation like that ever again, I'll always be there to fight for you. I may not have supernatural strength like Scott or Derek, but I would do anything to keep you safe."

Wrapping her arms around Stiles's lanky waist, Natalie smiled softly. "You don't have to have super powers to be my superhero. Being you is enough for me. Don't forget that, Batman."

Placing a hand on Natalie's cheek, Stiles pressed his lips against hers. Their kiss was filled with so much love that it warmed both of the teenagers' bodies pleasantly. It was something they both needed during this very scary time when both of their lives were on the line. What was keeping the both of them calm and sane was each other's presence, which was more than enough for them.

Their kiss was broken off when a low growl ripped through the air. All of a sudden, Jackson gripped onto the back of his neck and screamed in pain. He fell onto the floor and writhed around as the others stared at him with wide eyes. After a minute or so, Allison and Lydia helped him stand back up.

"No, I'm fine," Jackson said, shrugging the girls off of him, "Like, seriously, I'm okay."

"That didn't sound okay at all," Allison said.

Natalie's eyes fell on the scratches Derek left him the other day when he was looking for Scott at the school. Her eyes grew wide. "Your neck…" She was about to touch it but Jackson pulled away before she could.

"I said, I'm fine," he repeated.

"It's been there for days," Lydia said, "He won't tell me what happened."

"As if you actually care," Jackson snapped.

"Alright, can we not argue for half a second here?" Stiles spoke up.

Running a hand through her hair, Allison sighed shakily. "Where's Scott?"

"I don't know, Allison," Natalie shrugged, "He should've been back by now though…"

They suddenly heard the lock on the door click. Allison moved the chair out of the way and jiggled the handle but the door wouldn't open. Someone had locked them in.

"Scott!" Allison called out, pounding on the door, "Scott! Scott!" She stopped when a powerful and loud bark filled the air. She slowly turned her head and looked at the rest of the group. "What the hell was that?"

No one was able to answer her, but Natalie knew exactly who it was. She could pinpoint that familiar sound right away. Facing Stiles, she whispered so only he could hear here.

"The white wolf."

"Stop!" Lydia said, "Do you hear that? Listen."

Police sirens were heard, making them all sigh in relief. When they looked out in the parking lot, police cars filled up the space. Natalie wrapped her arms around Stiles's waist as he pulled her to his side.

They were going to make it out of there alive. They were going to be okay.

* * *

As the trio was escorted out of the school by Sheriff Stilinski and Deputy Henderson, Stiles held Natalie close to his side. They were being questioned about everything that had happened and they decided to stick with their story about Derek locking them in the school.

"You sure it was Derek Hale?" John asked.

"Yes," Scott said.

"I saw him, too," Stiles agreed.

Kurt looked at his daughter, who was still a little shaken up. "Natalie?"

She nodded her head slowly. "It was him. I swear, Dad." He noticed her hesitance, but he let it go for now.

"What about the janitor?" Scott asked.

"We're still looking," Kurt told him.

"Did you look under the bleachers? _Under_ them?"

"Yeah, Scott, we looked," John assured him, "We pulled them out just like you asked. There's nothing."

"I'm not making this up."

"We know, son," Kurt sighed, "We believe you."

Scott shook his head. "No you don't," he accused, "You both have this look like you feel bad for me. Like you want to believe me, but I know you don't."

John placed a hand on the teen wolf's shoulder. "Listen to me. We're gonna search this whole school. We're gonna find him, okay? I promise."

One of the other officers called for John and Kurt. Kurt turned to the teenagers and pointed at them. "Stay. All three of you." Then they walked away.

Stiles let out a huff of air. "Well, we survived, dude," he said, "You know? We outlasted the alpha. It's still good, right? Being alive?"

"When we were in the chemistry room, he walked right by us," Scott said to them, "You don't think that it heard us? You don't think it knew exactly where we were?"

"But don't you think it would've killed us if he did?" Natalie pointed out, "How the hell are we still alive then?"

"It wants me in his pack," Scott explained, "But I think first… He wants me to get rid of my old pack."

One of Natalie's eyebrows rose. "What do you mean by old pack?"

"Allison. Jackson. Lydia. You and Stiles."

Stiles and Natalie looked at each other with wide eyes. "The alpha doesn't want to kill us."

Their best friend turned away to look out into the woods. "He wants me to do it. And that's not even the worst of it."

"How in the holy hell is that not the worst part, Scott?"

"Because when he made me shift…" He turned back to his friends, "I wanted to do it. I wanted to kill you. All of you."

Natalie's eyebrows furrowed. "That's why you locked us in the chemistry room, isn't it? So you wouldn't attack us."

"What?" Scott's face scrunched up in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"Some time after you left us, the door locked and we couldn't get out."

Scott shook his head. "Nat, that wasn't me."

"Then who was it?"

As if right on cue, Scott heard a whimper. He turned his head back towards the woods along with Stiles and Natalie. Staring back at them was the white wolf, looking very majestic. Natalie remembered that the boys had never seen it before since they weren't in the video store with her. The beautiful creature left them in awe.

"Wow," Scott gasped.

"It must've known that you wanted to kill us," Stiles realized, "That's why it locked the chemistry room door. It was trying to protect us."

"That bark from earlier came from _that_?"

"Yep," Natalie said, "I remember at the video store when it barked, the alpha just took off. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen."

The wolf seemed to have bowed its head down slightly, like it was giving the trio its respect. Well, the wolf definitely had theirs after tonight. It then ran off into the woods, letting out a distant howl that only Scott could hear.

After the wolf left, Scott turned his head and was surprised to see his boss in the back of an ambulance. Scott walked over to him, followed by Stiles and Natalie.

"There you are," Deaton said.

"How…" Scott stammered, "How did you…"

"Get out?" Deaton finished for him, "Not easily. And from what they tell me, I'm alive because of you." He smiled at Scott. "I think I owe you a raise."

Before anyone could say anything else, John came up to them and lightly pushed the trio back. "Guys, come on. Let's let the EMTs do their job. You can talk to him later." He turned to the redhead. "Natalie, you dad's over there. He wants to talk to you."

Letting out a sigh, Natalie nodded and went over to her dad, who was standing next to his police car. Kurt had just finished talking to Jackson and Lydia. When he saw his daughter, he grabbed his first-aid kit. They were both silent as Kurt cleaned the blood off her hands and put disinfectant on them. But Natalie couldn't handle the silence anymore as he put Band-Aids on her cuts.

"You're mad at me," Natalie said.

"No, I'm not mad at you, Natalie," Kurt told her, "I'm just… I'm really concerned. Why wouldn't I be? This is the second time in, what, two weeks that I've had to wrap you up because you were in some sort of an accident."

She scratched her chin. "Yeah, that probably doesn't look good, does it?"

Kurt shook his head. "It makes me think that you have some sort of death wish or something. I mean, I've noticed that you've been taking more of your pills lately and you aren't getting as much sleep-"

"Whoa, wait a minute," Natalie cut her dad off, "I don't really understand what you're getting at."

"Your mom told me that you've been feeling more tired lately and that your muscles are weakening a bit. She also said that you've been worried about your cancer coming back. We've even talked about therapy a couple of times and if you need it or not."

Then it dawned on Natalie. "Do you think I wanna commit suicide?"

The deputy ran his hand through his slightly greying hair as he sighed. "I don't know, Natalie. When you had cancer, I had never seen you so depressed. I'm just worried that you're gonna go through that again."

"Dad," the redhead said sternly, "I promise you that I'm fine. Like we talked about before, I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. But I'm happy. I'm doing well in school, I'm co-captain of the varsity baseball team, I have amazing friends and family, and I have a boyfriend who I care about so much. I'm happy. I swear I am."

By the look on her dad's face, Natalie could tell that he fully didn't believe her. In all honesty, she understood why. Natalie had to lie to her own dad. Not necessarily about being depressed (and she wasn't- she's just been stressed about the whole werewolf fiasco), but about Scott's secret. Who the hell would ever believe her if she said that her best friend grew fangs and claws and had insatiable bloodlust? If she hadn't seen it firsthand, she wouldn't have believed it either.

"Alright," Kurt said, "I trust you. But if there is anything wrong, you'd tell me, right?"

"Of course," Natalie lied.

"Good. I'm gonna take care of a couple more things. Get Stiles and Scott. I'm taking you guys home."

After he walked away, Natalie headed over to Stiles. He saw her and met her halfway. "What's wrong?" he asked when he saw the frown on her face.

She stuttered a bit as she tried to process the conversation she had with Kurt. "My dad. He… he thinks I'm suicidal."

"What?" Stiles asked in disbelief, "Why would he think that?"

"Because I've been a part of a lot of incidents that could've killed me."

"But those attacks were way out of your control!" Stiles said, "It's not like you planned for them to happen."

"I know!" Natalie said, "Also, he knows that I've been having trouble sleeping lately and doubling up on my medication."

"You've never told me about that," Stiles said, "Why?"

"I needed something to keep me awake during class and baseball practice."

Stiles stepped closer to his girlfriend so only she could hear him. "You know you can overdose on that stuff, right? That medication is really strong."

"I know, Stiles! I know!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up, "But I have to stay awake! There's a psycho killer on the loose and if I'm not quick on my feet, it could kill me, you, or Scott, or anyone for that matter!"

People were looking over at the couple due to Natalie's outburst. Stiles gripped onto her shoulders. "Nat, you need to calm down. You're going to be okay. It's all going to be okay."

Then Natalie began to cry. "I'm just so tired. I'm tired, stressed, and I feel so damn helpless. And I hate lying to my dad. He knows that I'm not telling him anything. But I can't risk his life. I just don't know what to do anymore…"

Instead of saying anything, Stiles pulled Natalie into his chest and just let her cry it out. Her sobs wracked her body as she gripped onto his shirt. He rested his chin on the top of her head as he looked over at Scott, who was staring at them with sorry eyes.

The teen wolf felt incredibly scummy. Not only did he most likely lose Allison, he caused his best friend who could conquer anything break down. Scott never realized the pain and emotional stress Natalie was going through. He knew that Natalie and her dad had that relationship where they literally told each other everything. Because of him, she was being forced to lie. She was losing sleep and almost died twice because of his secret. Scott was officially the worst best friend ever.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! PLEASE review and let me know what you think! And leave me some questions you have about any of my stories. I love to hear what you guys have to say!**

**By popular demand, Malia will not be a part of this series. Instead, she will be replaced with my OC named Michael Tate/Hale, who will have the same story line minus the love interest with Stiles. I think it will be a lot more fun to write later on and I can't wait to see how it'll play out. I update my profile and posted Michael's face claim, who I think you'll be pretty happy with.**

**So... I've been noticing that the reviews on all of my stories have been decreasing every time I update. I know that I'm very bad at staying consistent when it comes to posting new chapters, but I'm trying my hardest because I'm so passionate about writing and I love making people excited to read my stories. But it's hard to stay motivated when I don't get a lot of feedback. Reviews are my motivation because they let me know that you guys are enjoying what I write. I hate being that person threatens to take their stories down and begging for reviews, but if you guys really do enjoy my stories, please let me know. Like I said, I love hearing what you have to say!**

**I had just updated Scars a few days ago so if you haven't yet, please go check it out and leave some feedback! I've only gotten a few reviews so far so I'd really appreciate it if you left your thoughts.**

**One more thing- if any of you are interested, if you could make some kinds of graphics for any of my stories (posters, collages, maybe even videos), that would be extremely awesome, especially since I have no idea how to do any of that stuff :P If you decide to make some sort of graphic, send in your creations through PM and I'll post it on my profile and be sure to give you credit. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with!**

**Thank you so much for all of your love and support! You guys are the best! And I'll be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**I got nothing to say right now so... enjoy! :P**

* * *

A few nights later after the lock-in at the school, Scott was still feeling down in the dumps from his 'break' with Allison. He had tried calling and texting her multiple times, but she would not pick up her phone. If Scott was not busy trying to get a response from the brunette, he would mope around his house. Whenever Stiles and Natalie would visit him, he would be lying on his stomach in bed. It was pretty pathetic.

Deciding to take matters into his own hands like the most amazing friend he was, Stiles stole some liquor from his dad's cabinet and dragged Natalie and Scott out into the woods. Of course Scott was completely against this, but he didn't really have a choice since Natalie grabbed his ear and painfully pulled him out to Stiles's jeep, saying if she had to go through with whatever idea Stiles planned, he had to also. Even as they trudged through the woods, Scott complained as the couple led him.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"You'll see," Stiles told him.

"'Cause we really shouldn't be out here," Scott continued, "My mom is in a constant state of freak-out from what happened at the school."

"Well you're mom isn't either the sheriff or deputy, okay? There's no comparison, trust me."

"Can you at least tell me what we're doing out here?"

"Yes. When your best friend gets dumped-"

Scott was quick to defend himself. "I didn't get dumped. We're taking a break."

Natalie snorted. "Yeah. A 'break'."

"What?" Scott said incredulously, "We really are!"

"Sometimes I think you guys forget that I'm a female," Natalie said, "Believe me, when a girl says that you're taking a break, she's really breaking up with you."

"Alright," Stiles said before his best friends could start a debate, "Well, when your best friend gets told by his girlfriend that they're taking a break…" He pulled a bottle of Jack Daniels out of his jacket. "You get your best friend drunk."

Letting out an excited laugh, Natalie clapped her hands together. "Hells yeah! Please tell me that you brought Mike's Hard Lemonade."

"Way ahead of you, babe," Stiles said as he pulled out said drink. Natalie beamed before kissing her boyfriend's cheek.

She placed the top of the bottle in between her teeth and bit the cap off. Like Stiles did the other day with the highlighter cap, Natalie spit the cap up in the air and caught it. Stiles cringed and decided to just use the bottle opener connected to his keys.

"I still don't understand how you can do that without breaking your teeth," he said, shaking his head.

"Lots of practice, darlin'," Natalie smirked.

"Guys, are you sure that we should be doing this?" Scott asked, looking around them, "What if your dads find us out here? We could get in so much trouble for this."

Stiles clasped his shoulder. "Relax, man. We've been chased around by a psycho werewolf way too much these past couple of weeks, Derek's still missing, we have yet to determine who the white wolf is, and to top it all off, we have a test in Harris's class tomorrow that I'm pretty sure we're gonna bomb."

"Speak for yourself," Natalie scoffed. Her boyfriend rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. We deserve to let loose for one night." He raised the bottle of Jack Daniels. "Here's to still being alive!"

"Cheers!"

They clinked their bottles together and tipped their heads back as they chugged their drinks. Natalie grimaced when she felt the burn from the alcohol but then she let out a happy holler.

"We're fucking shit up tonight!"

It only took the couple ten minutes for them to get completely trashed. Scott was sitting on a rock next to a bin filled with fire, still sober. Meanwhile, Stiles was lying down at his best friend's feet, drunkenly rambling about only God knows what since Scott had stopped paying attention a minute ago.

"Dude, you know…" Stiles said, "she's just one… one girl. You know, there are so many… there are so many other girls in the sea."

"Fish in the sea," Scott corrected.

Stiles furrowed his eyebrows. "Fish? Why you talking about fish? I'm talking about girls." He sighed dreamily, "I love girls. I love 'em. I love especially ones with long red velvet hair, big brown eyes, 5'3", bubble butts…"

"Like Natalie?"

Smiling at the thought of his girlfriend, Stiles said, "Yeah, exactly. Hey, how did you know I was talking about… about…" He paused as he tried to regain his train of thought. "What was I talking about?"

Scott raised an eyebrow. "Natalie."

"Oh yeah!" Frowning, Stiles looked down at his side. "Where is she anyway?"

"Over there," Scott said, pointing to the redhead who was squatting next to a tree, "She's been trying to get that squirrel to sing for the past five minutes."

"Come on, Alvin!" Natalie yelled exasperatedly in front of her, "Why won't you just cooperate with me? It's not that hard!" The squirrel continued to look around and Natalie pouted. "You know, if Simon and Theodore were here, I wouldn't be having this problem right now."

The whole time, Stiles was watching her with a fond smile stretched across his face. "Isn't she just the best, Scott? God, I love her so much. Let me… let me tell you something, Scotty. That girl… she is the most incredible person I have ever met. She has faced death too many times in her life. More times than anyone ever should. But she still walks around with her head held high and a bright smile on her face. That, my friend… that is a warrior… an angel… an angelic warrior."

As Scott looked at his best friend with raised eyebrows, Natalie clumsily stood up and made her way over to the boys. She had her third Mike's Hard Lemonade in her hand and Scott was surprised that she could even walk. Then Natalie started singing. More like rapping.

"Boats and hoes! Boats and hoes! I gotta have me and my boats and hoes!" She mumbled a bit before taking another drink. When she noticed Scott frowning, she pointed her finger at him. "Hey, you're not happy. Why aren't you happy?"

"Here," Stiles said, holding the bottle up to Scott, "Take a drink."

"I don't want anymore," Scott told him.

"You're not drunk?"

The werewolf shook his head. "I'm not anything."

Stiles sat up. "Hey, maybe it's like… maybe it's like not needing your inhaler anymore, you know? Maybe you can't get drunk as a werewolf." His eyebrows crinkled. "Am I drunk?"

"You're wasted." Scott nodded towards Natalie. "Both of you are."

Natalie pumped her fist up. "Fuck yeah!" She bumped knuckles with Stiles but when she tried to get Scott to do the same, he didn't do anything.

"Come on, dude," Stiles said, "I know it feels bad. I know it hurts." He thought to himself a bit. "Well, I don't know. But I know this. I know as much as being broken up hurts, being alone is way worse." Then he chuckled as he shook his head. "That didn't make any sense. I need a drink."

But before he could take another swig of the alcohol, a large hand took it away. The trio looked up and saw two burly men standing above them with creepy grins on their faces.

"Well look at the three little bitches getting their drink on," the first guy said.

"That was rude," Natalie pouted.

"Give it back," Scott told them.

The first man smirked. "What was that, little man?" he teased.

"I think he wants a drink," the second man said.

Scott didn't falter. "I want the bottle."

"Scott, maybe we should just go," Stiles said to him.

"You and Natalie brought me here to get drunk, Stiles. I'm not drunk yet." As the first man took a drink, the werewolf hopped off the rock and walked up to them. "Give me the bottle." The man just shook his head. Using his abilities to his advantage, Scott flashed his golden-yellow eyes and deepened his voice. Even his claws came out. "Give me the bottle of jack."

Both men's eyes widened at the strange sight. The man finally handed Scott the bottle back. Scott then threw the bottle at a tree and it shattered to bits and pieces. Startled, the men walked away. But of course, drunken Natalie had to have to final word.

"Yeah, that's right, bitches!" she called out after them, "You better walk away! 'Cause my boy Scotty will beat your asses like the boss he is!"

"Alright, you are way out of it," Scott mumbled. He walked over to Natalie, placed her arm around his neck, and pulled her up. "Stiles, help me out here."

Stiles wobbled as he stood up but he was able to walk while helping Natalie get to his jeep.

"Wow, you guys are really strong," Natalie said, "Do you work out?"

Smirking, Stiles said, "Well, now that you mention it-"

"Shut up, Stiles," Scott rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Okay, please tell me what happened back there was because of the breakup. Or 'cause tomorrow's the full moon." The boys laid Natalie down in the backseat. Since Scott was the only sober, he took Stiles's keys and opened the passenger door. "Going home now, yeah?" Scott nodded his head and Stiles slipped into his seat.

Then Scott drove to Natalie's house. After he parked in her driveway, he and Stiles grabbed the redhead and walked her to the front door. Scott knocked on the door and prayed that Natalie's mother wouldn't answer. Much to his relief, Zach opened the door. He raised an eyebrow when he saw his intoxicated sister.

"What the hell…"

Scott pulled a ten dollar bill out of his back pocket and held it up. "We won't tell if you won't."

Zach looked at the dollar and shrugged his shoulders. "Deal." He plucked the money out of Scott's hand then took Natalie from them. "Come on, sis."

"Aw, look, it's my baby brother!" She pinched Zach's cheek. "Isn't he so cute? And you got taller, too!"

"Wow, you're so hammered," Zach said. He turned to Scott and Stiles. "Thanks for bringing her home on time, boys. I got it from here."

"Whatever you say, man," Stiles said. He gave Zach a two-finger salute. "See you guys tomorrow." When he turned around, he missed the top step of the porch and face-planted on the concrete. "Ow…"

Raising his eyebrows, Zach looked at Scott. "Do I wanna know?"

"Not really."

* * *

"_Beautiful Monday morning! Beacon Hills High School is back open after being closed Thursday and Friday. Police search continues for alleged killer Derek Hale-_"

Groaning, Natalie smacked her hand down on her alarm clock. She pulled her blanket over her head and tried to go back to sleep. But then Stiles walked in with a glass of water and two pills.

"Morning, star shine!" Stiles chirped, "The earth says hello!"

"Get the fuck out of here," Natalie grumbled.

Stiles set the water and pills on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed. He pulled the covers off of Natalie, who whined in protest.

He patted her bare thigh. "Come on. Up and at 'em, babe."

"You know," Natalie said, sitting up and rubbing her forehead, "for it being a Monday morning, you're awfully chipper." She took the water and pills from Stiles and swallowed them with a wince.

"Well I'm just hoping that it'll be a good day," Stiles said, "Who knows? Maybe the alpha won't try to murder us this week."

"But isn't tonight the full moon?" Natalie asked, "There's a pretty good chance that Scotty's gonna try to attack us. We have to worry about that on top of the alpha."

A sly smile appeared on Stiles's face as he shrugged off his backpack. "That's why we're coming prepared." He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and held them up, making Natalie's eyebrows raise.

"Wow. You got a little kink there that I don't know about?"

"Ha, you're so funny." Stiles got up and went over to her closet. He started to look through her clothes and picked out a black off-the-shoulder sweater and ripped skinny jeans. "Here. Get dressed."

He handed Natalie the clothes and she inspected them. "Not bad, Stilinski. Who knew that you actually had some sort of fashion sense?"

"Don't you dare diss the flannels!" Stiles gasped, pointing accusingly, "Just you wait. One day they'll come back in style."

"Yeah, and on that same day, I'll go skinny-dipping at the beach."

"Will you really?" Stiles asked with hopeful wide eyes.

"No, you fuckin' weirdo! Now turn around so I can change."

Rolling his eyes, Stiles faced the wall. Natalie pulled a black bra with blue lace out of her drawer and pulled her t-shirt off. She clasped her bra on before shedding her lounge shorts. Then she slipped her jeans on first and then the sweater.

"You can look now," Natalie told Stiles.

"You do know that I've seen you naked before, right?" Stiles said as he turned around.

"When we were little kids and I wasn't fully-developed yet,"" Natalie said as she tied her Converse. She then decided to leave her hair up in a messy bun and to just tie a paint-splattered bandana on the top of her head.

Stiles scratched his chin. "Well…"

The redhead's jaw dropped. "Seriously? When did you see me naked recently?"

"Uh… remember during the summer when we all went to your lake house and we went to go change in your room?"

"But you were changing in the bathroom!"

"Yeah, but I might have peeked…" Stiles cringed when Natalie's eyes narrowed angrily. "Sorry? Ow!" She had thrown a half-empty water bottle at him and it hit his chest. "What the hell did you expect? There was a very hot naked girl standing only a few feet away from me putting on a bikini! That's like every guy's dream!"

Grumbling to herself, Natalie slid one of her rubber bracelets on her wrist. "Why the hell do I still put up with you?"

"Because you love me," Stiles smiled cheekily as he hugged her from behind.

"Is that what you tell yourself to make you feel better?" Natalie smirked.

Instead of answering, Stiles began pressing light kisses to her neck, making her sigh. Reaching behind her, Natalie placed her hand on Stiles's cheek as he looked up at her. He met her halfway into a deep kiss. The redhead melted into it, instantly forgiving Stiles for peeping at her. How could she stay mad at a face like his? Especially with those damn whiskey-colored eyes. They continued to make-out in that same position and Stiles hugged her tighter. They didn't even notice Zach standing under the doorway.

"You know, I'd hate to ruin a perfectly romantic moment between you and my sister," he said sarcastically, making the couple jump and pull away from each other, "but some of us have an earlier schedule and would like to not be late for class."

Stiles pulled his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to the youngest Henderson. "Go start the car. We'll be right out."

"Sweet!" Then Zach dashed down the stairs.

"Hey, and you better not drive around the block again," Stiles called after him.

"That only happened one time!"

"Yeah, one time too many!"

It was moments like this when Natalie wondered if it was Stiles and Zach who should've been brothers. They argued more than the actual siblings did. But Natalie knew that Stiles was very protective of her brother like he was his own. It made her feel grateful that two of the most important men in her life besides her dad and Scott actually got along.

She patted Stiles's chest. "Way to take charge, buddy." Then she grabbed her backpack and slipped her arms through the straps. "Let's go. We don't wanna keep Zach waiting for too long."

"Hold on one second."

Unexpectedly, Stiles grabbed her face to kiss her again, only this time with more passion. But Natalie enjoyed it nonetheless. She gripped onto her shoulders when he broke the kiss but kept his face just centimeters from hers.

"Someone's a little hands-on today," Natalie smiled.

"I guess the full moon doesn't only affect werewolves," Stiles joked. He let out a little howl. Natalie pushed him away but even she couldn't hide her laughter.

* * *

Allison and Lydia were walking towards Harris's class as they talked about Scott and what had happened the other night at the school. When they walked by Natalie's locker, they noticed that her head was buried in her locker, but it didn't seem like she was looking for anything. The two girls walked over to Natalie and they heard her lightly snoring. Rolling her eyes, Lydia tapped the redhead's shoulder as she jolted awake.

"I'm up, I'm up!" she mumbled, turning around to face them. She had on a pair of black bug-eyed sunglasses on her face.

Lydia pointed at Natalie. "What's with the, uh…"

Before she could finish her question, Natalie pulled her sunglasses off. Their eyes widened when they saw the very dark circles under her eyes. She looked awful!"

"Whoa…" Allison said.

"Yeah, I know, I look like a panda," Natalie said, "I didn't really have any time to put makeup on because Zach was rushing Stiles and me out of the house."

That was when Lydia started rummaging through her purse. "And that's where I come in. Good thing we're the same shade." She pulled out a foundation compact and reached out to Natalie's face to apply the makeup.

"No! Get that out of my- Lydia, stop it!" Natalie tried to dodge from her friend's hands but the strawberry-blonde wasn't having it.

"Just hold still! This won't take long!"

Finally getting a hold of the makeup, Natalie yanked it out of Lydia's hand and threw it in her locker. She quickly shut the door and fastened the lock so Lydia couldn't get it.

"I'm fine," Natalie assured her, "I don't need you caking my face with ten pounds of makeup."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Allison asked, "I remember you fell asleep in English at one point."

Natalie sighed. "Yeah. Stiles thought it'd be a brilliant idea to take us out into the middle of the woods last night and do a little…" She stuck out her pinkie and thumb and made a drinking motion as she clicked her tongue. Then she gestured to her face. "This is what happens when you drink too much, kids. Let this be a lesson to you."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to remember that," Lydia said. One of her other friends called her over. "See you two in class." She gave them a little wave before walking off.

"Was Scott with you?" Allison asked, catching Natalie a little off guard.

"Uh… Yeah. Yeah, he was with us."

The brunette nodded slightly. Then they both started walking to class. "Can I ask you something, Nat?"

"Sure."

"Well, I asked Lydia this earlier, but… should I have broken things off with Scott?"

When Natalie looked at Allison, she looked a little lost. Like she might've made a huge mistake by ending their relationship. And Natalie felt bad for both of them. She really did. For the short time they've known each other, their feeling developed quickly. It was obvious to those around them that Allison and Scott really love each other. Natalie sighed.

"Look, Allison, I'm not gonna lie, but Scott's absolutely devastated about the breakup. And because I'm his best friend, I can say that seeing him mope around is one of the saddest and most pathetic things I've ever seen. But I understand why you did it. I mean, if Stiles was lying to me about something and left me defenseless, I'd be pretty pissed too."

"I just don't know how to feel about this whole thing. Of course I still love Scott, but I don't know if what he did is forgivable or not and…" Allison groaned and ran her hand through her hair. "I don't know what I should do!"

"Hey, it'll be fine," Natalie assured her, wrapping an arm around Allison's shoulders, "Maybe this break will be good for the both of you. Absence does make the heart grow fonder."

Allison looked expectedly at the redhead. "Do you really believe that?"

"Well, um, I mean, I don't have a lot of personal experience," Natalie sputtered, "But we can sure as well hope so, right?"

Chuckling, Allison let her friend lead her to their chemistry class. When Allison went over to her seat, Natalie put her sunglasses back on, slumped next to Stiles, and rested her head on his shoulder. He patted her hair and laughed at her tired face.

"Aw, my poor baby," he teased.

"Fuck you," Natalie groaned, "This is all your doing."

"I never said you had to drink with us."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Oh please, you were tempting me with Mike's Hard Lemonade. How the hell are you not hungover?"

"It's like I'm immune to it," Stiles shrugged, "Maybe that's my supernatural strength. Drink one night and not have a killer headache when I wake up the next day."

"Aw, man, that would be an awesome power to have!"

Soon Mr. Harris began passing out the test. When he got to Stiles and Natalie's table, he told the redhead to lose the sunglasses. She grumbled but took them off anyway. Then after he finished handing the test out to everyone, Mr. Harris walked up to the front of the classroom.

"You have forty-five minutes to complete the test," he told the class, "Twenty-five percent of your grade can be earned right now simply by writing your name on the cover of the blue book." Stiles and Natalie looked at each other with wide eyes and quickly scribbled their name on the test. "However, as happens every year, one of you will inexplicably fail to put your name on the cover, and I'll be left yet again questioning my decision to ever become a teacher. So let's get the disappointment over with. Begin."

Everyone opened their test booklet and began to work. So far, Natalie seemed to know most of the answers. But she was trying so hard to not doze off. She just felt so exhausted! As soon as her eyes began to flutter shut, they would snap back open, which was happening a lot more than necessary. Stiles noticed Natalie's chin in her hand and her eyelids starting to close. He nudged her lightly with his elbow, waking her up right away.

"You okay?" he mouthed.

She just nodded her head and went back to taking her test. Her boyfriend couldn't help but worry as she struggled to stay awake. It couldn't have been any more obvious that Natalie was still not getting as much sleep as she should be. The dark circles under her eyes were more than enough proof. He made a mental note to himself to talk to her about it later.

Then all of a sudden, Scott had jumped out of his seat and everyone turned around at the commotion. With both hands on his head and no explanation, he ran out of the classroom.

"Mr. McCall!" Mr. Harris called after him. But Scott was already out of the room. Stiles then followed after him. "Mr. Stilinski!"

Shrugging her shoulders, Natalie said, "Fuck it." She threw down her pencil and pushed her chair back.

"Miss Henderson, you better-"

"Too late!" she yelled back as she raced out the door. She caught up with Stiles. "Where'd he go?"

Then they heard a shower turn on. It was coming from the boys' locker room. Stiles took Natalie's hand and the couple ran off. When they entered the back of the locker room, Scott was standing under one of the shower heads with his shirt off. His hands were on his knees and he was breathing heavily. He looked up at his best friends.

"Stiles, Natalie, I can't…"

"Wait, what's going on?" Natalie asked, "Are you shifting?"

"No," Scott panted, "No, I can't breathe."

Stiles dug into his backpack and pulled out Scott's inhaler. "Here, use this," he told the werewolf. Scott looked at him suspiciously. "Come on, do it."

Scott took the inhaler and shook it. The he brought it up to his lips and inhaled some of the air. After a few moments of holding his breath, Scott exhaled slowly. Natalie turned the shower off and Scott leaned against the wall as he tried to calm down.

"I was having an asthma attack?" he asked.

"No, you were having a panic attack," Stiles told him, "But thinking you were having an asthma attack actually stopped the panic attack. Irony."

The werewolf looked at his best friend in awe. "How did you know to do that?"

"I used to get them after my mom died and Natalie was sick. Not fun, huh?" Natalie squeezed her boyfriend's hand comfortingly, which Stiles really appreciated.

"I looked at her," Scott said, "and it was like someone hit me in the ribs with a hammer."

"That, Scotty, is called heartbreak," Natalie said, "Taylor Swift has written many songs about it. And I still can't get them out of my head…"

"I can't stop thinking about her."

"Well, you could think about this," Stiles said, "Her dad's a werewolf hunter, and you're a werewolf, so it was bound to become an issue."

Both of his friends turned to look at him in disbelief. Natalie slapped the back of his head, making him cringe in pain. He rubbed the sore spot.

"That wasn't helpful," he realized.

"No, it was not!" Natalie told him. She turned to Scott. "Scott, heartbreak sucks. That's just a part of life."

"No, that's not it," Scott said, "It was like I could feel everything in the room… everyone else's emotions."

"It's gotta be the full moon," Stiles said, "So we'll lock you up in your room later just like we planned. That way the alpha- who is your boss- can't get to you either."

Shaking his head, Scott said, "I think we need to do more than lock me in my room."

"Why?" Natalie asked, "Do you think the hunters will catch you if you get out?"

"No. Because if I get out… I think I might kill someone."

* * *

"Alright, geniuses, listen up!" Coach Finstock bellowed, catching his lacrosse team's attention, "Due to the recent pinkeye epidemic-"

Natalie pretended to cough into her hand. "Greenberg!" she coughed, and said boy threw his hands up in bewilderment.

"What the hell are you even here, Henderson?" Jackson asked, glaring at the redhead.

"Baseball practice was cancelled," Natalie shrugged, "Coach Samson got a bad case of food poisoning so she told us to go home. Since my boyfriend here is my ride… here I am!" She flashed him a smug grin.

The coach rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll let you stay if you keep your mouth shut." Natalie pretended to zip her lips, lock them, and throw away the key. "As I was saying, the following people have made first line on a probationary basis, emphasis on the word 'probationary'." He looked down at his clipboard. "Rodriguez. Welcome to first line. Taylor, and uh… oh, for the love of crap, I can't even read my own writing. What is that? An 's'?"

Stiles looked up with hopeful eyes. He glanced at his girlfriend, who gave him an encouraging smile and slipped her hand in his.

"No, no, that's not an 's'," Coach Finstock said, deflating Stiles's hopes, "That's a… that's a… that's a 'b'. It's definitely a 'b'. Uh, Rodriguez, Taylor, and uh… Bilinksi."

Eyes growing large, Stiles's head snapped up. Bilinski may not have been his actual name, but that was beside the point- he made it on first line! Leaping off the bench, Stiles whooped and hollered in excitement. Natalie jumped on her boyfriend as they both cheered. Everyone gave the couple strange looks, but neither one of them could care less. They just continued to celebrate.

"Bilinski! Henderson!"

With huge smiles still plastered on their faces, Stiles and Natalie stopped and turned to the coach. "Yes?"

"Shut up!"

"Yes, sir," Stiles said as they sat down next to Scott.

"Stiles," the werewolf said.

"It's Biles," Stiles told him, "Call me Biles or I swear to god, I'll kill you."

"Another thing," Coach Finstock continued, "From here on out, immediately, we're switching to co-captains. Congratulations, McCall."

The announcement took both Scott and Jackson aback. While Scott's eyes in shock and fear, Jackson's narrowed in anger. "What?"

"What do you mean what?" Coach Finstock said, "Jackson, this takes nothing away from you. This is about combining separate strengths into one unit. This is about taking your unit, McCall's unit, we're making one big unit. McCall, it's you and Jackson now."

"Aw, how cute!" Natalie cooed jokingly, "It's like one big family. I'm guessing Jackson's the mom since he spends the most time doing his hair." Jackson flipped her off to which she responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

"Henderson, shut it," Coach Finstock snapped, "Everybody else- asses on the field! Asses on the field!"

As everyone exited out of the locker room, Natalie wrapped her arms around Scott and Stiles's shoulders, still beaming with pride.

"God, this is so awesome!" Natalie said, "My boyfriend made first line and my best friend is co-captain. I'm so excited for you two!"

"Thanks, Nat," Stiles smiled, wrapping his arm around Natalie's waist and kissing her cheek.

"Oh, crap," the redhead said, "I forgot my backpack in the locker room. I'll catch you guys on the field."

Stiles nodded and gave her a quick kiss before walking away. He grinned widely. "Are you not freaking out?" he asked Scott, "I'm freaking out."

"What's the point?" Scott said, "It's just a stupid title. And I could practically smell the jealousy in there."

"Wait, you smell jealousy?"

"Yeah, it's like the full moon's turned everything up to ten."

A thought popped up in Stiles's head and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Can you pick up on stuff like… I don't know, desire?"

"What do you mean desire?" Scott asked.

"Like sexual desire…"

Scott raised an eyebrow. "Sexual desire?"

"Yeah, sexual desire," Stiles said, "Lust, passion, arousal."

"From Nat?"

"What?" Stiles scoffed, "No, in a general, broad sense, can you determine sexual desire?"

"From Natalie to you?"

The lanky teen let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine! Yes, from me to Natalie. Look, I've been thinking for a while about taking the next step in my relationship with her. Our make-out sessions have been getting very intense lately but we always get interrupted before we can get any further. I really love her and I just wanna know if she's ready to go all the way with me."

Scrunching up his face, Scott asked, "Why don't you just ask her yourself? She's your girlfriend."

"Because it's embarrassing to just straight up ask her if she wants to have sex."

"And you don't think it'll be embarrassing for me? You two are my best friends and just the thought of you having sex is uncomfortable for me."

"Please, can you just go up and ask her if she's ready?" Stiles begged, "See if her heartbeat rises, pheromones come out."

Scott rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine."

Pumping his fist up in the air, Stiles let out a cheer. "I love you. I love you. You're my best friend in the whole world." Then he ran off to the lacrosse field.

When Scott went back into the boys' locker room, he saw Natalie crouching by Stiles's locker and zipping up her backpack. She was completely oblivious to him walking up behind her. After a few moments, she stood up and bumped into Scott's chest.

"Oh, shit!" she gasped, jumping slightly. She let out a breath of relief when she saw that it was only her best friend. "Jesus, Scotty! I really hate this sneaky thing you werewolves got going on."

"Sorry," Scott said, "I just needed to ask you something." He ran a hand through his hair. "Do you, uh… do you know if Allison still likes me?"

Natalie slung her backpack over her shoulders. "Well, yeah, of course she does."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Natalie said, "She really does still like you."

"Well, should I go up and talk to her? Try to patch things up?" Scott asked.

"Scotty," Natalie sighed, "I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told Allison. Maybe what you both need right now is space from each other. She's still pretty pissed about the whole school thing and you still have the alpha and the white wolf to worry about. Now's not the best time to try to fix a relationship." Then Scott began to chuckle, making Natalie furrow her eyebrows. "What's so funny?"

"I think I know what's really going on here," Scott said.

"What are you talking about?"

"You have feelings for me, don't you?" Scott smirked, stepping closer to Natalie, "You're jealous that I'm in love with Allison and that all of my attention has been on her."

The redhead's eyes have grown large. "Wait, what? No. That is not it at all. You're my best friend."

"Don't lie to me, Natalie," Scott said, "Admit it. You're attracted to me. You've always been attracted to me."

"Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you? I'm in love with Stiles, who is also your best friend. Did you forget about that?"

At this point, Natalie's back was pressed up against one of the lockers. Scott was so close to her that their chests were now touching. Natalie felt scared, disturbed, and very violated. Her stomach coiled as Scott's eyes flashed golden-yellow.

He started playing with a loose strand of her red velvet hair. "I think you and I would've been good together, Nat. You're co-captain of the baseball team and I'm now co-captain of the lacrosse team. That's like a match made in heaven, don't you think?"

"Okay, you know what? I really hope that this is the full moon talking because I am seriously this close to-"

Cutting her off mid-sentence, Scott grabbed Natalie's face and planted his lips on hers forcefully. Her shrieks were muffled and she pounded her fists on his chest, but he wouldn't move. Finally, with all the strength she had, Natalie was able to push the werewolf off of her. Scott was breathing heavily and his eyes were still that golden-yellow color. Natalie looked up at her best friend in shock. She wasn't the only one who was taken aback by the action. Scott had just kissed his best friend! Not to mention that she was also his other best friend's girlfriend. What the fuck did he just do?

"Natalie, I am so-"

Said girl drew her arm back and punched Scott square in the jaw. Of course he felt the impact, but he was able to heal from the punch quickly. Natalie, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky. She cried out as she cradled her now throbbing hand.

"Aw, bitches!" she seethed, shaking out her hand, "Fuck, that hurt!"

"I am so sorry, Nat," Scott tried to apologize, "I don't know what came over me."

The redhead put a finger up. "Don't. I can't believe you…" She was at a complete loss of words. So she just shook her head and ran out of the room. How in the world was she ever going to explain this to Stiles?

As she ran down the hallway, Natalie was trying her best not to have a panic attack. She looked behind her for one second to see if Scott was following her when all of a sudden she ran into a hard wall of muscle. If a hand hadn't grabbed her wrist, she would have fallen on her rear. Natalie looked up and saw to her surprise, Derek Hale.

"Hey, you're alive!" she said, "See, I knew that you weren't dead. No puppy dog could defeat the big bad wolf."

"Shut up," he snapped, letting go of her wrist, "What do you know about the white wolf?"

"Wow, you're just quick to start asking questions, aren't you?" Natalie quipped. Derek growled and she raised her hands up in defense. "Okay! Damn, you really need to work on your socializing skills."

"What do you know about the white wolf?" Derek repeated, only this time more slow.

Natalie shrugged. "Nothing, really. It locked us in the chemistry room that night at the school. It was protecting us from Scott. The alpha wanted him to kill us."

Derek's eyebrows furrowed. "It was protecting you?" Natalie nodded her head. "And you said that it was there in the video store, right?"

"Yeah." She crossed her arms when Derek turned away to think to himself. "Why? Do you know who it is?"

"Yes…" Then he shook his head. "No…"

"Well, which is it?"

"I don't know," Derek admitted, "Last night, it stopped by my house. It was lying by the porch for at least an hour. That was the first time I've ever seen it since I came back to Beacon Hills. Not once did it move. It just sat there. I was about to approach it until a twig snapped. Then it took off. But… it looked and smelled familiar."

"God, that must suck to be able to smell everything," Natalie said, scrunching her nose.

The older werewolf shook his head. "But it wasn't like it was foul. It actually smelled… sweet. Kind of like vanilla." He sighed in frustration. "I feel like I should know who it is. I don't know why I can't remember."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't really help you much," Natalie said apologetically, "I've only seen this thing twice. I don't know anything about it."

"Let me know when you see it again," Derek ordered, "Because as soon as we catch the alpha, I'm gonna find out who that wolf is."

Then it was like Derek had disappeared into thin air. Natalie didn't even get a chance to ask him anything, like why he was so eager to get to the white wolf. Was it enchanted or something? Natalie looked around the halls, but she didn't see where Derek went. Rolling her eyes, she gripped onto the handles of her backpack.

"God, I really hate werewolves," she grumbled as she stomped to the lacrosse field.

When she got there, Danny was lying on the ground with Coach Finstock and all of the other lacrosse players other than Scott and Stiles surrounding him. He was clutching onto his bloody nose and cringed in pain. Natalie looked over at her best friends. Stiles was flailing his arms as he talked to Scott, and then Scott rolled his eyes and walked away. The redhead jogged over to her boyfriend.

"Hey, where were you?" Stiles asked her.

"I kinda bumped into someone," Natalie told him. She pointed to her friend lying on the field. "What happened to Danny?"

"Scott couldn't keep his cool and he got too aggressive." He gestured to Danny. "And this was the result."

Natalie groaned. "Really? He couldn't go for Jackson instead? Everybody likes Danny!"

"Frankly, Scott doesn't care." Stiles then noticed something from the corner of his eye and looked down at Natalie's hand. "What the hell happened?"

"What?"

Stiles grabbed Natalie's injured hand and inspected the bruises starting to form. He lightly stroked it with his thumb but Natalie still winced. "Why's your hand swollen?"

"I punched a werewolf," Natalie said. Stiles raised an eyebrow. "Scott was being a dickhead so I decked him."

"What did he say?"

Here comes the hard part. Natalie looked down at her Converse like they were the most interesting thing she had ever seen. As she rubbed the back of her neck, she let out a sigh.

"He kissed me."

Stiles swore that he felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. "He _what_?"

"I know that it was the full moon getting to him," Natalie said, "He was making some stupid comments and then all of a sudden he grabbed me and kissed me. So I punched him in the face."

"That son of a…" Stiles bit his knuckle as he took in the information. It was easy to say that he was pissed. How dare Scott go off and kiss the girl he was in love with, especially when he was supposed to ask if she was ready for the next step in their relationship. Stiles looked down at Natalie, who was still staring at her shoes. "You didn't… you didn't kiss him back, did you?"

"What? No, of course not!" Cupping his face in her hands, Natalie brought his face down so he could look at her. "I like _you_, Stiles. Not Scott. And I would never deceive you like that." She kissed him reassuringly. Stiles wrapped his arms around her as he kissed her back. When their lips parted, he rested his forehead on hers.

"I trust you, Nat," he told her. He sighed and shook his head. "I'm gonna kill Scott."

"No you're not," Natalie said, "Let's just focus on making sure he doesn't get out of his room and attack people tonight. Hopefully by tomorrow, he will have forgotten everything that had happened and we can move on."

"Fine. Can we at least get something to eat first? I'm getting kinda hungry." Natalie laughed as she hugged her boyfriend tightly.

"Bilinski!" Coach Finstock yelled, "Stop canoodling with Henderson and get your ass back on the field!"

Natalie smirked. "You better get going, Bilinski," she teased. Stiles rolled his eyes and started to walk back to the field. But he stopped and turned around when he felt someone smack his rear. Natalie just whistled to herself as she walked over to the bleachers, making Stiles chuckle as he ran back to his teammates.

* * *

After practice, Stiles and Natalie drove over to the local Mexican restaurant to grab something to eat while they watched over Scott. Then Stiles had to make a quick stop to his house to grab a duffel bag full of chains. Why did he have chains in the first place? Natalie didn't want to know. They finally got to Scott's house and Stiles shut the door behind them.

"Scott?" they heard Melissa call out. She appeared from the hallway in her scrubs and the couple waved.

"Stiles." Said boy gestured to the redhead. "Natalie."

Melissa pointed to Stiles's hand. "Key!"

"Yeah, we both had one made," Natalie said, lifting up her own key, "Just in case, you know."

"That doesn't surprise me. It scares me, but it doesn't surprise me." The older McCall noticed Stiles's duffle bag. "What is that?"

The couple looked at each other. "Uh, school project," Stiles answered. Natalie nodded in agreement.

"Mmm," Melissa hummed, nodding her head. As they were about to go up to Scott's room, she stopped them. "Stiles, Natalie. He's okay, right?"

"Who, Scotty?" Natalie asked, "Yeah, of course he is. Why wouldn't he be?"

"He just doesn't talk to me that much anymore," Melissa replied sadly, "Not like he used to…"

Just like how Natalie was with her dad, and the thought made her frown. With his free hand, Stiles held onto hers. "Well, he's had a bit of a rough week," he told Melissa.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Yeah, um…" She grabbed her purse and keys. "Okay, uh… be careful tonight."

"You too." The couple began to walk up the stairs.

"Full moon."

Both Stiles and Natalie's heads whipped around. Their eyes widened as they looked at Melissa. "What?"

"There's a full moon tonight," Melissa said, "You should see how the E.R. gets. Brings out all the nut jobs."

"Oh."

Yeah."

"Right."

"You know, it's, um, actually where they came up with the word 'lunatic'." She waved to the two and then walked out the door.

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Huh. You learn something new every day."

Stiles shrugged his shoulders before leading Natalie up to Scott's room. The lights were off but the werewolf was sitting on his chair in the corner of the room with a dark look on his face. Both Stiles and Natalie yelped.

"Oh my god!" Stiles gasped, "Dude, you scared the hell outta me."

"I thought your mom said that you weren't home yet," Natalie said.

"I came in through the window," Scott told them.

"Okay," Stiles said, "Uh, well, let's get this set up." He dropped the duffel bag on the floor and started to unzip it. "I want you to see what I brought."

"I'm fine," Scott assured him, "I'm just gonna lock the door and go to bed early tonight."

"You sure about that? 'Cause you got this kind of serial killer look going on in your eyes, and I'm hoping it's the full moon taking effect, 'cause it's really starting to freak me out."

"I'm fine. You should go now. Both of you."

Sighing, Natalie dropped to her knees and pulled the duffel bag closer to her. "At least just look at what we brought. You don't have to use it, but it's just an idea." She pulled out the chains.

The werewolf scoffed as he took the chains out of Natalie's hands. "You think I'm gonna let you put these on and chain me up like a dog?"

"Well, not exactly."

Before he knew it, Scott was being handcuffed to the radiator. His eyes widened in horror and anger as he tried to yank his hand away.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled.

"Protecting you from yourself and giving you some payback-" Stiles looked up with a glare, "for kissing Natalie."

* * *

In the kitchen, Natalie was writing on a yellow dog bowl with a sharpie while Stiles searched through the refrigerator. They had been watching over Scott for at least an hour so they finally decided to sit down and eat their food. Stiles grabbed a water bottle for Scott.

"Should we feel bad for doing this?" Natalie asked, "Don't get me wrong. I find this very amusing, but he can't really help what's happening to him right now."

"He deserves it," Stiles said, "I understand that he has no control, but I'm still pretty pissed about him kissing you like that. Any guy would be pissed if their best friend kissed their girlfriend."

"True, but is this part really necessary?" Natalie held up the dog bowl to show that she had written Scott's name on the side.

"Yes, because it's hilarious."

"Could you be more mature about this?"

"I could, but where's the fun in that?" Natalie rolled her eyes. Stiles picked up the dog bowl and kissed Natalie's cheek. "I'll be right back."

"I'll be right here!"

Stiles walked up to Scott's room, where the werewolf was still struggling against the handcuffs. "I brought you some water." The lanky teen uncapped the water bottle and poured it into the dog bowl. He set it in front of Scott.

"I'm gonna kill you!" he growled.

"You kissed her, Scott, okay?" Stiles said, "You kissed Natalie. That's my girlfriend and, like, the only girl I've ever loved." He sighed and shook his head. "And, you know, the past three hours, I've been think it's probably just the full moon, you know. He doesn't even know what he's doing, and tomorrow, he'll be totally back to normal. He probably won't even remember what a complete dumbass he's been. A son of a bitch. A freaking unbelievable piece of crap friend."

"She wanted me."

"What?"

"I could just tell she wanted me, too," Scott said sinisterly, "You should have seen the way she had her hands all over me." Without saying another word, Stiles walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. "She would have done anything I wanted. Anything!"

The lanky boy leaned against the door and slid down to the floor. He ran his hand over his buzz-cut as he let out a deep breath. Natalie came up the stairs and looked at her boyfriend worriedly.

"I heard Scott yelling," she said, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Stiles said, "He was just being an asshole." But he wouldn't look back at her.

Natalie knelt in front of Stiles and placed her hands on his knees. That got him to finally make eye contact with her. "Stiles… talk to me."

After sighing, Stiles said, "While I know that Scott didn't mean it when he said that you wanted him, I couldn't… I couldn't help but feel insecure. I know it sounds stupid, but I still have to pinch myself every once in a while because it feels like you liking me back is too good to be true. You could do so much better than me. Why you decided to stick with me for all these years is well beyond me. But I couldn't be any happier and luckier that you did. I just… I love you, Nat."

For a few moments, Natalie remained silent, and it scared Stiles. This was when she was going to tell him that she didn't love him back. And he couldn't tell what she was thinking at all, which made it a lot worse.

"Do you really?" the redhead asked softly. When Stiles nodded, Natalie's lips curved up into a smile. "I love you, too."

She cupped his face and kissed him. Stiles hugged her body closer to his as she wrapped her arms around her neck. But even as the couple embraced each other, what was supposed to be a sweet moment was ruined when they heard Scott's cries in his bedroom.

"Stiles, Natalie, please let me out," he begged, "It's the full moon, I swear. You know I wouldn't do any of this on purpose. Please, you guys, let me out. It's starting to hurt. It's not like the first time. It's the full moon. It's Allison breaking up with me. I know… that it's not just taking a break. She broke up with me. And it's killing me. I feel completely hopeless. Just, please, let me out."

"I can't…" Stiles said softly, but he knew that Scott could hear him.

Then Scott started to scream. Hearing her best friend cry out like he was being tortured was too much for Natalie to bear. She buried her face in Stiles's neck and he just held her tightly when he felt her hot tears on his skin. It was painful for him too, but for the safety of others and Scott himself, Stiles couldn't do anything about it.

All of a sudden, the screaming stopped. Stiles and Natalie looked at each other in confusion.

"Scott, are you okay?" Stiles asked, "Scott?"

No response. The couple got up and went into Scott's room. Their hearts dropped when they saw the broken handcuffs and open window.

"Oh my god…" Natalie gasped. She grabbed Stiles's arm. "We're leaving. Like, right now."

They got into Stiles's jeep and he drove off as fast as he could. A half hour had passed but there was still no sign of Scott. When they drove by the preserve, they noticed an ambulance and police cars. Natalie started feeling sick to her stomach when she noticed that someone was lying on the gurney. Even though the person was covered, an officer's arm was dangling on the side.

"Stiles, pull over," Natalie said, "Pull over now!"

He noticed what she was looking at and his skidded to the side of the road. Natalie didn't even wait until the car was fully parked when she jumped out and ran over to the scene. Stiles followed behind her as he called out for his dad.

"Dad? Dad? Has anyone seen my- has anyone seen my dad?"

"I can't find mine either," Natalie said as she started to tear up, "Dad? Dad, where are you?"

"Stiles." Both teenagers turned around and saw John walking up to them. Stiles sighed in relief. "What are you two doing here?"

His son didn't answer. Instead he pulled him into a large hug. John was confused, but he hugged Stiles back and didn't bother to question him. They were just glad that the other was okay. The redhead didn't want to intrude their father/son moment so she continued to search for Kurt. But she couldn't find him anywhere and she was freaking out.

"Where are you?" she cried.

"Nat?" Said girl looked up to see Kurt step out of his police car. "Natalie, what's wrong? And do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be out here at night- oh!"

Natalie ran to her father and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry, Dad," she sobbed, "I promise I'll be a better daughter. I promise."

Kurt hushed her as he hugged his daughter. "Hey, it's okay. I'm just happy that you're safe. That's all I really care about."

* * *

**So I really hope you guys enjoyed it! PLEASE review and let me know what you think! It'd be really awesome if I could finally reach 100 reviews, even though it's kind of a long stretch, but it's not impossible! So send some feedback so I can update sooner and we can finally get into season 2, which is when 'No One Else' starts! I'm super excited!  
**

**Also if you haven't, PLEASE go check out my IsaacxOC story 'Scars' and leave some feedback! So I know that Daniel Sharman (Isaac) is now in the show The Originals and so is Danielle Campbell, who is Delilah's face claim. I've never seen the show, but the other day I looked up Daniel in The Originals on YouTube, and holy shit! Daniel and Danielle are, like, kind of a thing on that show! I got so freakin' excited. It was seriously meant to be! So yeah... Isaac and Delilah for the win :P**

**I decided to change Anabelle's face claim one last time because I figured Nikki Reed would be a perfect fit for the character, so I update my profile and some of the other chapters in the story that describe Anabelle. I hope you guys like this switch because I really do!**

**I'll be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey, guys! Sorry it took a little while to update, but my first semester of college is over so expect faster updates. I hope you enjoy chapter 13!**

* * *

Derek ran through the iron works as he was being chased by Chris Argent. While that was happening, Kate was speeding after Derek's black Camaro, thinking that the werewolf was the one driving. But she had no idea that it was actually Scott who was behind the wheel with Stiles in the passenger seat and Natalie in the back. Kate was only about a couple of feet behind them, hot on their tail.

"Oh my god, Scott," Natalie groaned, "You're seriously driving like an old lady! That bitch is gonna hit us at any second, and this car is too beautiful to be damaged!"

"Faster?" Scott asked.

Stiles nodded. "Much faster."

The teen wolf pressed his foot down on the gas pedal and revved the engine. Since Natalie didn't have her seat belt on, she flew back in her seat, cursing her best friend as she did so. Rubbing the back of her head, she looked out through the window and saw Kate driving closer.

"Um, you guys, she's catching up to us," Natalie warned.

"Scott, I don't think you're grasping the concept of the car chase here," Stiles said.

"If I go faster, I'll kill us," Scott argued.

"Well if you don't go faster, they're gonna kill us!"

When Scott pressed on the gas pedal once more, Natalie hit her head again. "Ow! God damn it!"

"There's a reason why seat belts were invented, Nat," Scott said.

Natalie sat up straight and rested her elbows on both Scott and Stiles's seats. "I still don't understand why I couldn't drive. You clearly don't know what you're doing."

"Because if you were the one driving, we would most definitely die."

"That is not true!" Natalie faced her boyfriend. "Stiles, a little help here?" When he looked the other way and remained quiet, Natalie gasped. "You know what, fuck you guys. I'm a great driver!"

"Nat, you failed, like, three driving tests," Stiles pointed out, "I think that alone says something."

"Um, I only failed twice, Stiles! Get your facts straight!"

"It doesn't matter," Scott said, "Derek said I was the only one allowed to drive. Natalie, check if they're still behind us."

"Nope," Natalie said as she looked out the window again, "They're gone."

They finally found Derek in the iron works with Chris Argent still shooting at him. Scott rolled down the window and yelled for Derek to get in. stiles quickly hopped into the backseat and fell on top of Natalie.

"Stiles, seriously?" she yelled from under him.

"Well, I'm not complaining," Stiles said nonchalantly. Rolling her eyes, Natalie pushed her boyfriend off but scooted closer to him.

As soon as Derek got in the car, Scott drove off. "What part of laying low don't you understand?" Scott said.

"Damn it, I had him!" Derek growled, smacking his hand on the dashboard.

"Who, the alpha?" Stiles asked.

"Yes! He was right in front of me, and the friggin' police showed up!"

"Can you at least not be a dick about it?" Natalie snapped, "They're just doing their jobs!"

Derek glared over at the younger beta. "Yeah, thanks to someone who decided to make me the most wanted fugitive in the entire state."

"Can we seriously get past that?" Scott groaned in annoyance, "I made a dumbass mistake. I get it."

"Alright," Stiles said before the two werewolves could go at it, "How did you find him?"

All the trio received was silence. Scott rolled his eyes. "Can you try to trust us for at least half a second?"

"Yeah, all of us," Stiles said. Derek turned around and glared at the couple, making them shrink back in their seats. "Or just him. We'll be back here." Stiles wrapped his arm around Natalie's waist and pulled her closer to him.

Sighing, Derek said, "Look, the last time I talked to my sister, she was close to figuring something out. She found two things. The first was a guy named Harris."

"Wait, did you say Harris?" Natalie asked with wide eyes, "Our chemistry teacher? I knew that there was something freaky about him. I mean, have you seen his eyes? They're so beady and just pierce through your soul. But why him, exactly?"

"I don't know yet."

"What's the second?" Scott asked.

Reaching into his pocket, Derek pulled out a picture and unfolded it. "Some kind of symbol." He showed it to Scott and his eyes immediately widened. "What? You know what this is?"

"I've seen it on a necklace," Scott said, "Allison's necklace."

"Of course," Natalie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "God, is it sad that I'm not really surprised?"

"No," all three males answered in unison.

"Alright. Good to know we're all on the same page."

* * *

"This is gonna be impossible, you know," Scott said as the trio walked down the hallways at school the next day.

"Why don't you just ask her if you can borrow it?" Stiles suggested.

"How?"

"It's easy," Stiles said, "You just say, 'Hey Allison, can I borrow your necklace to see if there's anything on it or in it that can lead me to an alpha werewolf that I need to kill in order to get back together with you?'"

Natalie face-palmed as Scott glared at his best friend. "Stiles, you know I love you," Natalie said, "but there are times where you shouldn't say anything at all." She turned to Scott. "Why don't you just go up and talk to her? She probably won't mind."

"She won't talk to me," Scott said, "What if she, like, only takes it off in the shower or something?"

"You gotta ease yourself back into it, Scotty. You know, get on her good side and make her think of the better memories you had together. Once you get her smiling again, you can ask for the necklace."

The look on Scott's face was distracted as naughty images of Allison naked filled his head. His friends noticed this and Natalie smacked his chest lightly, bringing him back to reality.

"You're thinking about her in the shower, aren't you?" Stiles asked.

Scott smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."

"Alright, Scotty, you need to focus here, okay?" Natalie said, "You gotta get the necklace, find the alpha and the white wolf, get cured, and then win back Allison. You think you can do that?" Scott nodded. "Good." The redhead patted his cheek. "Now if you boys excuse me, I'm gonna go get my work-out on."

"You're not coming to class?" Stiles asked.

"Nah. Now that my foot's healed up from the video store accident, I can finally get myself back into shape. Besides, I already turned in my homework so I can miss class for a day. I'll see you two later, alright?" She kissed her boyfriend on the lips and waved goodbye before walking away.

After Natalie changed into a black and peach sports bra, black running shorts, and a pair of Nikes, she entered the weight room. Since everyone else was in class, she had the room to herself, which she was pretty grateful for. There was a lot of stress built up in her body that she really needed to let out. On top of the whole alpha and white wolf situation, Natalie's sleeping pattern was totally screwed up, which has been causing her grades to start slipping. She even had to sit out a few times during baseball practice because she was so out of it. A sixteen year old girl was supposed to stress out over boys and acne, not werewolves trying to kill people. It was too much to put on her shoulders.

Natalie hooked her phone up to an auxiliary cord and played Red Hot Chili Peppers. She adjusted her gloves as she walked over to one of the punching bags. She wasted no time and started swinging her fists. There was nothing more therapeutic than beating the shit out of an inanimate object for some reason. It wasn't long before Natalie started kicking it. Sweat started to drip down her face and back as the beating grew more intense. If anyone else had been in the room with her, they would be giving her strange looks and wondering what the hell was wrong with her. But all Natalie would be focused on was letting all of her frustration out.

When she was done hitting the punching bag after about fifteen minutes, Natalie switched to weights to tone her arms. Then she did about ten sets of push-ups and sit-ups, alternating between the two. Thirty minutes later, since the bell was going to ring soon, Natalie decided to hit the showers. She entered the girls' locker room and stripped out of her sweaty clothes. Then she turned on one of the showers and stepped underneath it. A content sigh escaped from her mouth once the warm water cascaded down her bare body. If she didn't have any other classes to attend to that day, Natalie probably would have stayed in that spot for a while. Her fingers tangled in her red velvet hair as she washed it. After that, she scrubbed her body with strawberries and cream body wash, making her feel fresh and clean.

She then turned the shower off and wrapped a fluffy white towel around her torso. She waited until her body had dried off before she pulled her regular clothes out of her locker. First, Natalie put on her undergarments. Then she pulled on a pair of ripped skinny jeans, a white tank top, and her grey Red Hot Chili Peppers hoodie. She slid her feet through her black sandals as she towel-dried her hair. All of a sudden, she heard a loud bang of a locker. Natalie stopped what she was doing and looked around with furrowed eyebrows.

"Hello?" she called out, "Is there someone in here?"

No one answered. In fact, the room was way too quiet for Natalie's liking. All she could hear were her sandals slapping against the tile floor as she walked around the room.

"Anyone?" she said again, "I am not in the mood for this shit right now. I have pepper spray with me and my dad's a deputy. You really don't wanna mess with me."

Again, she was met with silence. Then Natalie heard a whooshing sound and when she spun around, all she saw was a flash of darkness.

"What the-"

The next thing she knew, Natalie was pushed up against the lockers with a hand over her mouth. Her screams were muffled and her eyes were squeezed shut. The person hushed her.

"I'm gonna take my hand away," the person- who Natalie then realized was a woman- told her, "and when I do, don't scream. Okay?"

It took Natalie aback how calm and gentle the woman sounded. But she nodded her head and they let go. When Natalie's eyes fluttered open, standing in front of her was a woman who only looked a few years older than her wearing a hooded black coat, a black shirt, blue jeans, black stiletto boots, and a white scarf. Her hair was long, curly, and a caramel-brown color with black dyed underneath. She had the brightest brown eyes with specks of green that Natalie could detect if she looked close enough. There was also a beauty mark above her upper lip that added to her breathtaking features. The woman was stunning!

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Natalie asked, "You look kinda familiar…"

"Are you Natalie Henderson?" the woman asked, ignoring the question. The redhead nodded. "I remember you. You were at the video store when the alpha attacked."

"Yeah…" Natalie said hesitantly, "Wait. What did you just say?"

"The alpha," the woman repeated, "The one who destroyed the store and chased you around the school the other night. He's the one who bit your friend Scott." Natalie's jaw dropped. "I know you know what I'm talking about."

"How do you know about that?" Natalie asked, "And who the hell are you?"

"I'm the reason why you're still alive."

That just confused Natalie even more. Her head tilted to the side like a puppy. With a sigh, the woman closed her eyes. When she opened them back up, her sweet brown eyes were replaced with electric blue ones. Natalie's eyes grew wide and she dropped the towel she was using to dry her hair.

"Holy shit," she breathed, "It's you, isn't it? You're the-"

"That's not important right now," the woman said, waving it off, "But what is important right now is getting rid of that alpha."

Natalie pushed her still wet hair back. "Okay… so why did you come looking for me instead of Scott?"

"Because I know that the alpha isn't the first thing on his mind right now. He's way too distracted by that Allison girl to realize what's really important here. I figured that his best friends are the only people he'll listen to. Since the twitchy kid is in class and you were alone, I thought it was best that I came to you."

"Well, he won't listen to us," Natalie said, "Believe me, we've tried many times. Hell, Derek has tried to beat some sense into him but he still-"

"Hold on a second," the woman interrupted, "Did you just say Derek? As in Derek Hale?"

"Yeah, he's the one trying to help Scott adjust to this whole werewolf life."

The woman's eyes narrowed. "Derek Hale is in Beacon Hills?"

"Uh, yeah…" Natalie watched as the darker-haired woman curse to herself and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm guessing you know him."

"You listen to me, Natalie," the woman said, placing a hand on the redhead's shoulder, "Derek may seem like he has all of the answers, but most of the time, he has no idea what the hell he's doing. Be very careful if he tells you to do something. If you're not more cautious around him, you and your friends could get really hurt. Or even worse, you'll end up dead. Do you understand?"

"I do, but why exactly are you telling me this? How do you know Derek?"

"I know him enough to tell you that he can be an inconsiderate asshole who thinks he's doing the right thing when he's really not. Just trust me on this." Before Natalie could respond, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. "I'll let you go now, but remember what I said. And do not tell anyone that you saw me."

She then left without another word. Natalie stared absently at the wall in front of her as she slid down the locker to the floor. Taking a deep breath, she placed her head in her hands.

"God, could this day get any weirder?" she said to herself. Then her phone rang. She pulled it out of her backpack and answered the call. "Hello?"

"_Jackson knows about Scott!"_ Stiles hissed over the phone.

"Of course he does," Natalie grumbled, "But how did he find out?"

"_We have no idea. Fuck, this is really bad…"_

"No shit," Natalie snorted, "He could let that information out whenever Scott pisses him off, and eventually, Allison's dad and aunt will find out."

"_I know!"_ Stiles exclaimed, and Natalie could picture her boyfriend flailing his arms around.

"So what do we do?"

She heard Stiles sigh. _"Scott still hasn't gotten the necklace from Allison so that's the first thing on the agenda. And I may have another plan in mind, but we'll talk about it later though. So how was your work-out?"_

"Very… interesting," Natalie said slowly.

"_Why'd you say it like that?"_ Stiles asked.

Natalie then remembered what the woman (she never did learn her name) told her about not letting anyone know about her. "Never mind. I'll see you at lunch though, okay? Love you, Stiles. Bye!"

"_Wait, Nat-"_

She hung up the phone and slipped it into her pocket. Blowing her red locks out of her paling face, Natalie lolled her head back against the locker.

"I am so fuckin' done with this shit."

* * *

"So, Scotty," Natalie said as she sat across from her best friend and next to Stiles in the cafeteria, "did you get the necklace?"

Scott shook his head. "Not exactly."

"No? Why not?"

"She told me not to talk to her," Scott said, "At all."

His other best friend sucked in his breath. "So, she's not giving you…"

"She's not giving me the necklace!" Scott snapped.

"Well, did you find anything else out?" Stiles asked.

"Just that I know nothing about girls and that they're totally psychotic."

The redhead raised an eyebrow as she looked up at the werewolf. "You know, I should probably take offense to that. But since all of the girls I do hang out with can be a bit cuckoo, I find that pretty accurate." She took a bite out of her sandwich.

"Okay, I came up with a plan 'B' just in case anything like this happened," Stiles said.

"What's plan 'B'?" Scott asked.

"Just steal the stupid thing."

Shaking her head, Natalie clapped slowly, making Stiles glare at her. "Wow. Why the hell didn't we think of that before? Oh yeah. Because it wouldn't work!"

"Do _you_ have a better idea?" Stiles shot back, "Because I don't see you coming up with anything."

"Couldn't we at least try getting to Harris?" Scott asked.

"We can't," Natalie said, "Our dads put him on a twenty-four hour protective detail."

The necklace is all we got," Stiles added, "Steal it. Thank you." He leaned back in his chair.

When Scott turned his head, he made eye contact with Jackson, who was sitting at a table with Allison and Lydia. The way he was looking at Scott made the werewolf feel uneasy.

"Stiles, Natalie," he said, "he's watching us."

"Scott," Jackson said, stilling sitting on the other side of the cafeteria, "You can hear me? You can, can't you?"

"What's wrong?" Stiles asked.

"Jackson's talking to me," Scott said, "He knows I can hear him." Jackson bit into his apple and Scott cringed. He turned back to his best friends. "Just talk to me. Act normal. Pretend that nothing's happening."

"Are you trying to pretend not to hear me?" he heard Jackson say.

Now Scott was panicking. "Say something," he told Stiles and Natalie, "Talk to me!"

"I can't think of anything," Stiles said, "My mind's a complete blank."

"Your mind's blank? You can't think of something to say?"

"Not under this kind of pressure!"

Natalie took a deep breath before spitting out random words. "Cat. Dog. Chicken. Fish. Parakeet. Bear-"

"What the hell are you doing?" Scott asked.

"You said to say anything!" Natalie shrugged.

"Out of all the things to say, you choose to name off animals?" Stiles said with raised eyebrows.

"At least I'm trying, Stiles!"

Stiles looked over at the other group's table. "FYI, he's not even sitting with them anymore."

Scott looked around the cafeteria. "Where the hell is he?"

"Looking for me, McCall?" he heard, "I'm right here." He whipped his head and saw Jackson standing next to a vending machine with a smirk on his face. "So what else can you do? Huh? Can you see better? Are you stronger, more powerful? No, I know there was no way you suddenly got that good at lacrosse. Which means you're actually a cheater, aren't you? I mean, can you even play lacrosse?"

"Yes," Scott seethed.

"I'll bet my new co-captain's gonna score a bunch of shots tonight, aren't you? And while you're pretending you're not a lying cheat, I'm gonna ruin your life if you don't give me what I want. And you know what I'm gonna start with? Her." Scott looked over at Allison, who was still talking to Lydia. "I'm gonna destroy every chance you have with her. And when I'm done with that, I'm gonna get her all alone, and I'm gonna get my hands all over that tight little body."

The couple noticed Scott's teeth grinding and his knuckles whitening as he gripped his lunch tray tightly. "Scott, come on, you can't let him do this," Stiles said, "You can't let him have this kind of power over you. Okay?"

"Just remember that you're stronger than him, Scotty," Natalie added, "Don't let whatever crap he says get to you."

"I'm gonna do everything you never got the chance to do," Jackson continued, "And, Scott, she's gonna beg for more. I'll bet she likes to get loud. Maybe she's even a screamer." The jock's lips were now formed into a sinister grin. "How are you gonna feel, Scott, when she's screaming my name?"

SNAP!

The lunch tray in Scott's hands broke in half, creating a loud noise. A bunch of people, including Allison and Lydia, turned their heads towards the trio's table. Jackson smirked in victory as Scott hung his head in humiliation. Natalie picked up one of the broken lunch tray pieces and inspected it.

"Damn," she said, "That's quite the grip you got there, dude." Scott slowly lifted his head up and glared at Natalie. She cleared her throat and dropped the broken plastic on the table. "Sorry."

* * *

As soon as the couple entered Stiles's room, Natalie dropped her backpack by the door and flopped onto her boyfriend's bed. She was on the phone with Lydia, who was crying over her recent breakup with Jackson. Even though Lydia wasn't on speaker, Stiles could hear the strawberry-blonde from the other side of the room, which was sort of amusing. Natalie, on the other hand, wasn't so entertained.

"Lydia, I know that you're upset and everything," Natalie said, "but I really have to go work on a project with Stiles before the game tonight… No, that is not what I mean when I say 'project'… I promise I'll call you later, okay? Alright, bye." After she hung up, Natalie tossed her phone to the side and groaned.

"You alright there, drama mama?" Stiles chuckled.

The redhead looked at her boyfriend. "I love Lydia, but every time I talk to her, I remember why I'm friends with more guys than girls."

"It's because we're awesomer," Stiles said.

"Is 'awesomer' even a word?" Natalie asked.

Stiles shrugged. "I don't know, but if it's not, I'm calling the dictionary people." He then got on the bed and landed on Natalie. Ignoring her little grunt, Stiles wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her chest.

"What's with you and always laying on top of me?" Natalie said, lightly scratching the back of his head.

"I can't help it," Stiles smiled, snuggling more into his girlfriend's breasts, "Your boobs are just so comfortable."

"Nice to know you only like me because of my boobs," Natalie said sarcastically.

"That's not true," Stiles said as he looked up at his girlfriend, "I also like your lips."

One of Natalie's eyebrows rose as she smirked. "How much do you like my lips exactly?"

"Well, let me show you."

He snaked his body up so his forehead was resting on Natalie's. Holding himself up on his elbows, Stiles lowered his head and planted his lips onto hers. Natalie's hands crept up to the back of his head as the kiss grew heated. Because of the whole werewolf ordeal, the couple rarely had any alone time, and they really hated it. They always snuck in make-out sessions whenever they could, but they were constantly interrupted, which prevented them from going farther in their relationship. So whenever they did get the chance to have their privacy, they made sure to kiss each other like it would be their last time.

Natalie felt one of Stiles's hands slip underneath her hoodie, his warm skin contacting hers. When that hand slid up to cup her C-sized breast, she mentally cursed him for not having longer hair to grab onto. But she quickly got over it when Stiles started sucking on her neck and massaging her breast, making her moan. The sound got Stiles excited and he was pretty sure his girlfriend could feel it. Natalie was actually impressed since this has been the farthest they've ever gotten, which was sort of sad since they've been going out for about a month now.

Just as Stiles was about to unclasp her bra, they heard a loud thud. They pulled away from each other as they looked around the room.

"You heard that, right?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah," Natalie nodded. She pushed Stiles off the bed. "Go see what it was."

The boy flailed his arms. "Why me?"

"Because you're the guy. Be the noble knight you were meant to be!"

Stiles rolled his eyes but walked over to his bathroom to check where the sound came from. While Stiles busy doing that, Natalie fixed herself so she wasn't looking like a complete hot mess. All of a sudden, she spotted Derek standing in the corner of the room. It definitely took Natalie by surprise, but Derek gave her a look that told her not to say anything.

"Hey, Stiles!" John called out from the hallway.

"Yo, D-Derek." Stiles's eyes grew wide when he saw the brooding werewolf for the first time. Derek pressed a finger to his lips to signal the teenager to be quiet and then pointed at the door. "I, um…" Derek made sure to stay out of sight as Stiles slightly opened the door to greet his dad.

"What'd you say?" John asked.

"What?" Stiles responded nervously, "I said, 'Yo... D-Dad'…"

John opened his mouth to question his son, but then he shook his head and decided against it. "Listen, I've got something I've got to take care of, but I'm gonna be there tonight. I mean, for your first game."

"My first game," Stiles stuttered, "Uh, it's great. Awesome. Uh… good."

"I'm very happy for you," John smiled, "And I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks. Me too. I'm happy and proud… of myself."

Popping up next to Stiles, Natalie wrapped her arms around his waist. "We're all proud of him," she beamed, "I know that he's gonna kick ass tonight." She placed a kiss on Stiles's cheek.

"I bet," John chuckled, "So, they're really gonna let you play, right?"

"Yeah, Dad," Stiles said, "I'm first line. Believe that?"

Still smiling, John said, "I'm very proud."

"Oh, me too. Again, I'm-" His dad engulfed him in a huge hug. Stiles patted his back awkwardly. "Huggie. Huggie, huggie…"

Natalie stifled a chuckle as she watched the two Stilinski men. After a few more moments, John pulled away.

"See you both there," he said before walking away.

"Take it easy," Stiles called after him. The couple went back inside the room and Stiles shut the door. "I'm sor- oh!"

Derek pushed Stiles against the door and Natalie backed away. "If you say one word-"

"Oh, what, you mean, like, 'Hey, Dad, Derek Hale's in my room- bring your gun'?" Derek remained silent. "Yeah, that's right. If I'm harboring your fugitive ass, it's my house, my rules, buddy."

He shoved Derek's shoulder as if to emphasize the point that he had the power. The werewolf looked down at his shoulder then back up at Stiles. Based off his cold glare, Natalie thought that he was going to kill her boyfriend. Instead, he fixed Stiles's shirt. It took the boy aback, but he returned the gesture. As he started to walk to Natalie, Derek lunged at Stiles like he was going to attack.

"Oh my god!" Stiles yelped, jumping slightly. He continued his way towards Natalie. "Thanks for backing me up."

"It was much funnier this way," Natalie chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm sure it was…"

"Did Scott get the necklace?" Derek asked.

"No," Stiles said, "He's still working on it. But there's something else we can try. The night we were trapped at the school, Scott sent a text to Allison asking her to meet him there."

"So?"

"So the thing is, is that someone else had sent the text," Natalie said, "It wasn't Scott."

"Well, can you find out who sent it?"

"No, not me or Natalie," Stiles said. Then a grin crept up his face. "But I think we know someone who can."

When he turned to Natalie, the redhead immediately knew who he was talking about. She shook her head. "Oh, hell no."

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Danny questioned the lanky teen when he came over to his house later.

"Trace a text," Stiles repeated.

"I came here to do lab work," Danny told him, "That's what lab partners do."

"And we will," Stiles said, "once you trace the text."

"And what makes you think I know how?"

Both boys looked over at Natalie, who was sitting on Stiles's bed and playing on her phone. She felt their eyes on her so she looked up at them. Her hands rose in defense.

"Don't look at me," she said, "I was completely against this whole thing from the start."

Stiles rolled his eyes and faced Danny again. "I… I looked up your arrest report, so…"

"I…" Danny's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, unsure how to respond, "I was thirteen. They dropped the charges."

"Whatever."

Danny shook his head. "No. We're doing lab work." He grabbed a chair and pulled it up to Stiles's desk. Stiles groaned in annoyance but sat next to the Hawaiian anyways. Danny finally noticed Derek, who was sitting on a chair next to Stiles's bed and reading a random book. "Who's he again?"

"Umm, my cousin…" Stiles answered slowly, "Miguel."

Natalie snorted and Derek shot her a nasty glare.

"Is that blood on his shirt?" Danny asked, gesturing to the red stain.

"Yeah," Stiles said, "Yes."

"He gets these horrible nosebleeds," Natalie added, "The poor thing." She patted Derek's shoulder and he immediately slapped her hand away.

"Hey, Miguel," Stiles said, making the werewolf look up, "I thought I told you you could borrow one of my shirts."

With one last death stare, Derek slammed the book shut and tossed it next to Natalie. It hit her leg and she flipped Derek off, but he ignored her. He got up, stripped his shirt off, and started rummaging through the drawers. Stiles began talking to Danny again.

"So, anyway," he started, "I mean, we both know you have the skills to trace that text, so we should probably-"

"Uh, Stiles?" Derek interrupted.

The boys looked at him. "Yes?"

"This-" Derek held up a shirt. "No fit."

"Then try something else on." Stiles apologized to Danny, but then he noticed the way Natalie's friend was ogling over Derek's abs. a light bulb went off in his head. Why not use this to his advantage? He nudged Danny with his elbow. "Hey, that one looks pretty good, huh? What do you think, Danny?" Said boy looked up. Stiles gestured to Derek. "The shirt."

Just one look at Derek was all it took for Natalie to lose it. Not only was the man wearing the most hideous orange and blue striped t-shirt (Natalie had no idea what would even possess Stiles to buy it), but the look on Derek's face made it clear that he was absolutely miserable. Especially since a gay teenage boy was eyeing him like he was the most mouth-watering cut of steak.

But Danny played it off really well. "It's… it's not really his color."

Derek pulled the shirt over his head and threw it at Natalie. She immediately stopped laughing when it hit her in the face.

"You swing for a different team, but you still play ball, don't you, Danny boy?" Stiles said.

"You're a horrible person," Danny told him.

"I know. It keeps me awake at night. Anyway, about that text."

"Stiles!" Derek held up another shirt. "None of these fit."

When Stiles gave Danny a knowing look, the Hawaiian rolled his eyes and turned to the computer. "I'll need the ISP, the phone number, and the exact time of the text."

As he was busy doing that, Natalie got up from the bed and motioned Derek to follow her. "Come on, big guy. I'll go grab you a shirt." She led him to Stiles's dad's room and she searched through the drawers.

"I'm a little disturbed that you know where Stiles's dad's clothes are," Derek said.

"I spent the night here once when Stiles was out of clean clothes so he told me that I could borrow one of his dad's shirts," Natalie explained, "He showed me where everything was just in case it happened again." She pulled out a black t-shirt and handed it to Derek. "Here."

Derek pulled the shirt on. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Hey, you touch one hair on my boyfriend's hair, I will call Argent myself to shoot your brooding ass," Natalie threatened.

"Because of him, that kid's been staring at me like he wants to jump me or something."

"You have a hot body. Take pride in it." Derek glared at her. "And stop trying to burn a hold in my head with your death stares and get that stick out of your ass. You may be good looking, but that attitude will prevent your from getting dates."

"How will I ever go on?" Derek replied sarcastically.

"Alright, crack your jokes, wise guy. But when the time does come when you like a girl, don't go crying when she pushes you away."

Pushing past him, Natalie led him back to Stiles's room, where he was watching Danny trace the text. All of a sudden, a familiar scent hit Derek hard. He grabbed Natalie's hood, halting her movements and harshly pulling her back.

"What the fuck, dude?" Natalie said. But all Derek did was sniff the air and then her hood. "Uh, can I help you?"

"Why do you smell like it?" Derek asked sternly.

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're-"

"The white wolf," Derek said, "It has a very distinct vanilla scent and I can smell it all over you." His eyes narrowed. "You saw it today, didn't you?"

"What? No, I didn't."

"You're lying. You know who it is, don't you? Who's the white wolf?"

"I don't know. She never told me her name." Natalie's eyes widened and she slapped her hand over her mouth.

"_She_?"

"There," Danny said before Derek could interrogate Natalie any further, "The text was sent from a computer. This one."

Grateful for the interruption, Natalie walked to Stiles's side. He wrapped an arm around her legs as she wrapped her own arm around his shoulder. Derek stood on the other side of them.

"Registered to that account name?" he asked, pointing to the computer screen.

Stiles shook his head. "No, no, no, no. That can't be right." The couple and Derek were all taken aback when they saw the name on the screen.

_Melissa McCall_.

* * *

After Danny had left, Stiles, Natalie, and Derek got into the jeep. They headed over to the hospital and parked in the parking lot. Stiles called Scott, who was at the lacrosse game at the school. He put it on speaker so all three of them could hear.

_"Did you get the picture?"_ Scott asked over the phone, referring to the picture he sent of Allison's necklace.

"Yeah, I did," Stiles said, "and it looks just like the drawing."

Derek grabbed the phone from Stiles. "Hey, is there something on the back of it?" he asked Scott, "There's gotta be something. An inscription, an opening, something."

_"No, no, no,"_ Scott said, _"the thing's flat. And, no, it doesn't open. There's nothing in it, on it, around it, nothing. And where are you? You're supposed to be here. You're first line."_

_"Where the hell is Bilinski!"_ they heard Coach Finstock yell distantly through the phone.

_"Man, you're not gonna play if you're not here to start,"_ Scott continued.

His best friend let out a sad sigh. "I know. Look, if you see my dad, can you tell him… tell him I'll be there. I'll just be a little late, okay? Alright, thanks." Stiles hung up and ran a hand over his buzz cut.

"You're not gonna make it," Derek said.

"I know," Stiles said sadly. Natalie took his hand in hers and squeezed it affectionately. It broke her heart to see her boyfriend like this. She knew how badly Stiles wanted to play in the game tonight. He really wanted to make his dad proud.

"And you didn't tell him about his mom either," Derek pointed out.

"We can't," Natalie said, "At least not until we know the truth. Come on, Stiles. Let's go inside."

"By the way," the werewolf stopped the couple, "one more thing."

"Yeah?"

Grabbing the back of Stiles's head, Derek slammed his forehead down on the steering wheel. Stiles cried out and placed a hand on the sore spot.

"Oh, god!" he exclaimed, "What the hell was-"

"You know what that was for," Derek said, "Go." Neither of the teenagers moved. "Go!" They finally got out of the car.

"God, you seriously need to get laid," Natalie grumbled before shutting the door.

"Son of a bitch, that hurt," Stiles whined as he and Natalie walked hand in hand inside the hospital, "I swear that guy needs to take anger management classes."

Natalie looked at Stiles's forehead. "Yeah, that's gonna leave a mark." She poked the forming bruise.

"Ow! Really, Nat?"

"Sorry." The redhead noticed how quiet it was in the hospital and she looked around. No one else was in sight, including Melissa. "Shouldn't there be more people in a hospital? You know, like doctors and nurses? Why is it so empty in here?"

"I don't know, but it's weird… too weird." He pulled out his phone and he called Derek. He told him that they didn't see Melissa. "Yeah, I said we can't find her."

_"Look, ask for Jennifer,"_ Derek told him, _"She's been looking after my uncle."_

The couple continued to walk around the hospital until they found a plaque that said Peter Hale. But when they went inside, Peter's bed was bare. No one was in the room.

"Umm, Derek?" Natalie said, "He's not in here."

_"What?"_ Derek said in disbelief.

"He's not here," Stiles told him, "He's gone, Derek."

That was when everything was starting to come together. _"Stiles, Natalie, both of you get out of there right now! It's him! He's the alpha! Get out!"_

Both of the teenagers quickly backed out of the room but they stopped in their tracks when they saw a man standing at the end of the hallway. One side of his face was badly burned, but he was still very handsome. He was dressed in all dark clothing and he had a creepy smirk on his face.

It was Peter Hale, Derek's uncle who was supposed to still be in a coma.

"You must be Stiles and Natalie."

Stiles reached for his girlfriend's hand. They turned around to leave but stopped when they saw a redheaded nurse blocking the other end.

"What are you doing here?" she sneered, "Visiting hours are over."

"You… and him…" Stiles stuttered in fear, "You're the one who… oh my- and he's…"

"Holy fucking shit, we're gonna die," Natalie hyperventilated, "I'm gonna die a virgin with my boyfriend."

Suddenly, Derek enters and punches Jennifer in the face, knocking her out cold.

"That's not nice," Peter said, "She's my nurse."

"She's a psychotic bitch helping you kill people." Derek looked at the couple. "Get out of the way."

"Aw, damn." Stiles ducked down to the floor, pulling Natalie along with him. They crawled over to a nearby desk and watched as Derek and Peter faced off.

"You think I killed Laura on purpose?" Peter said, "My own family?"

Growling, Derek charged at Peter and raised his claws to strike. But Peter was slightly faster and threw Derek. He hit the wall and fell by where Stiles and Natalie were hiding.

The couple continued to watch Peter beat the shit out of his nephew. "Shouldn't we help him?" Natalie asked.

"What good will that do?" Stiles whispered, "If Derek's losing against him, what makes you think he won't be able to toss us around like rag dolls?"

"But I know of feel bad right now," Natalie said, "He's getting the crap kick out of him while we're doing nothing."

"He'll be fine," Stiles assured her, "but right now, we gotta find a way to make it out of her alive."

Peter started dragging Derek by the neck across the floor. "My mind, my personality were literally burned out of me. I was being driven by pure instinct." When he dropped Derek to grab a key out of Jennifer's pocket, the beta stood back up.

"You want forgiveness?" Derek growled before punching Peter in the face. The alpha kicked Derek back to the ground.

"I want understanding," Peter said, "Do you have any idea… what it was like for me during those years? Slowly healing, cell by cell. Even more slowly coming back to consciousness. Yes, becoming an alpha… taking that from Laura pushed me over a plateau in the healing process. I can't help that." The couple heard Derek groan in pain as Peter slowly walked over to him. "I tried to tell you what was happening. I tried to warn you."

He grabbed Derek by the shirt and threw him at a desk, breaking glass. Derek was able to crawl into another room, but he was very weak. Cuts covered his body and he was bleeding a lot. Peter was following his nephew into the room and watched as he struggled to sit up against a wall. Derek breathed heavily and his eyes grew wide in fear as he watched the burns on his uncle's face vanish.

"I was going to wait for dramatic flair," Peter said, "But when you look this good, why wait?" He smirked. "Derek, you have to give me a chance to explain. After all-" he held his hand out, "we're family."

"I don't care," Derek seethed, "That obviously didn't stop you from killing your own niece. Why the fuck would I ever help you?"

"Because I know where Anabelle is."

All of the anger washed away from Derek's body when he heard his best friend's name and sadness and desperation took over. His heart hurt as he thought about her soft curly brown hair, bright brown eyes, and dazzling dimpled smile. Reaching into his pocket shakily, Derek pulled her picture out and stared longingly at it. Of course Peter would use his weakness to lure him in.

Chuckling, Peter said, "I knew that would spark your interest. You always followed that girl around like a puppy. You were willing to do anything and everything for her. It still kills you to this day to remember how much pain you put the poor girl through. But I know where to find her and how you can get her back. All you have to do is help me get what I want." He held out his hand once more. "What do you say, Derek? Do it for Anabelle."

Derek looked at his uncle's hand suspiciously then back down at Anabelle's picture. While the offer did seem sleazy, he would do whatever it takes to reunite with the most important person in his life. To be able to say he was sorry for all the damage he had caused and rekindle their relationship would mean the world to him. Peter was right- Derek was willing to do anything for Anabelle.

So he grabbed Peter's hand and allowed him to pull him off the floor.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked the chapter! Sorry if you felt it was too Derek centric. It just all fit perfectly for me in this episode. And I apologize for the lack of Statalie (yay for ship names :P) in this chapter, but expect a lot more next chapter. PLEASE review if you like this story and want me to keep going! We're almost at 100 reviews so keep it up! Also, check out my IsaacxOC story, Scars!**

**I'll be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello again! I promised you guys that this chapter will contain plenty more Statalie, so here you go! I hope you enjoy!**

**WARNING: Sexy times ensue... Oh, boy...**

* * *

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my fucking god!" Natalie chanted as soon as she and Stiles hopped into the blue jeep. While Peter was busy persuading Derek to join him in helping to seek revenge on those who put him in a coma, the teenagers had managed to sneak out of the hospital without Peter noticing. "Seriously, what the fuck just happened?!"

"I have no idea," Stiles said, shaking his head, "I mean, who in the hell expected _that_ to happen? A comatose uncle wakes up and murders his own niece just to become the alpha. This is some messed up shit."

Rubbing her temple with her fingertips, Natalie chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, tell me about it. Crap, so, what do we do now?"

"Hell, that beats me," Stiles scoffed, running his hand over his buzz-cut.

He pulled out his phone and let out a sad sigh when he looked at the time. The lacrosse game was pretty much over, so Stiles never got to play in first line like he had hoped he would. It was his first big game and he couldn't believe that he actually missed it. He couldn't help but feel like that he had let everyone, especially his dad, down. To make his dad disappointed in him was one of the worst feelings ever.

Natalie frowned at the defeated look on her boyfriend's face. She knew how much this game meant to Stiles. If she was in the same situation where her she couldn't make it to a game because she was too busy handling the supernatural, she would feel awful that she wouldn't be able to make her dad proud. Reaching over, Natalie stroked Stiles's cheek.

"This really sucks," Stiles mumbled.

"Don't beat yourself over it, Stiles," Natalie said, "It's not your fault."

"I should've been there," Stiles said, "I let my dad down tonight. He was there to watch me play in first line. What if I never get that chance again?"

"You will," Natalie assured him, "There will be many opportunities for you to play. And don't think that your dad isn't already proud of you. Once stupid game isn't gonna change anything."

Stiles sighed. "Tonight was the night to prove to everyone that I don't suck at lacrosse." He looked out the window. "I thought maybe I could be the hero for once, not just Jackson or even Scott. That I could be good enough for everyone."

Cupping his face in her hands, Natalie brought Stiles's head up so he was looking into her doe eyes. Those eyes traveled up and down from his own whiskey-colored orbs to his cupid-bow shaped lips. As Natalie rubbed her thumb on her boyfriend's cheek, he hummed in content at her touch. She leaned in closer to where their lips brushed against each other.

"You're more than good enough for me. Don't ever forget that."

Then she gave Stiles a tender kiss on the lips. He melted from the softness that his girlfriend's lips provided him. His hands slid down to her hips and he gave them a light squeeze. As much as he loved those hot moments with Natalie where their hands were all over each other, Stiles adored the times where they could be so gentle even more. He could feel how much love Natalie put into this kiss. And it was enough to make him forget that he was feeling upset in the first place.

When the kiss was broken off, Stiles tucked her red velvet hair behind her ear. "I know I don't tell you this enough, but I really do love you, Natalie. So much."

"Aw," Natalie smiled softly, "I love you too."

They kissed each other once more. Stiles then noticed what looked like small claw marks on the hood of Natalie's sweatshirt. He lifted the hood to get a better inspection.

"Whoa," he whistled, "What happened here?"

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows and groaned when she saw the tears. "Fuckin' Derek! He had to ruin my favorite sweatshirt! I swear I'm gonna murder his ass and turn him into a fur coat."

"Is that from when he grabbed you earlier?"

"You saw that?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah," Stiles said, "I was gonna say something earlier but Danny had found where the text came from before I could. What was that about?"

"He said that I smelled like the white wolf."

"Why would he say that?" Then Stiles's brown eyes widened. "Wait, he doesn't think it's you, does he?"

His girlfriend raised an eyebrow. "What? No. But he figured out that I saw her today." Realizing her mistake once again, Natalie smacked her forehead. "And I keep forgetting that I'm not supposed to say anything about it."

"Hold on, back up a second," Stiles said, waving his hands around wildly, "When did you see the white wolf? I was with you all day."

At this point, Natalie figured that she had already said too much so there was no turning back. "It was after I was working out in the weight room," she explained, "She cornered me in the locker room and basically told me that Scott needs to get his shit together."

"Can't really argue with that," Stiles shrugged.

Again, his eyes widened when he finally processed everything his girlfriend had said.

"You saw it in its human form?! And it's a woman?!" His lips parted in an 'O' shape. "Oh, so that's why you were acting all weird over the phone earlier…"

"Yeah. But she wasn't mean to me or anything like that. She just seems like she doesn't take shit from anyone, and I respect that. Apparently, she knows Derek and does not like him at all. Shocker."

"I don't blame her," Stiles snorted, "Do you know who she was?"

"No, she never gave me her name," Natalie told him, "But I feel like that I've seen her before. I can't really point out where though."

Stiles checked the time on his phone once again. "I don't know, but we should really go find Scott right now and tell him what's up."

They buckled their seat belts and Stiles sped out of the hospital parking lot. The rubber on his tires burned as he raced over to the school. Natalie even had to hold onto the door handle because her boyfriend was going so fast. When they finally reached the school, Stiles took Natalie's hand and they ran off into the building.

As they went into the locker room, they found Scott sitting on the bench. He was looking down at his hands but Natalie could detect the disturbed expression he had on his face.

"Dude," Stiles said, "we have a huge problem."

Scott looked up at his best friends. "Trust me. I know."

* * *

After the trio caught each other up in what was going on, they got into Stiles's car so he could take them home. Since Natalie's house was the closest to the school, she was the first to be dropped off. She kissed Stiles quickly before going up the porch steps. The aroma of the spices of her mom's home-cooked fried chicken filled her nose, making her mouth water. Just then, Natalie heard her stomach rumble. She hadn't even realized how hungry she actually was until that moment.

She walked into the kitchen to see her parents sitting at the dinner table, talking sort of secretly. They immediately stopped their conversation when they saw their oldest child come in.

"Hi, honey," Terri greeted, smiling nervously, "How was the game?"

"It was good," Natalie said. Thank god that Scott gave her the statistics of the game tonight. "We won. I'm pretty sure we're gonna be going to state."

"That's great," Terri said, "I don't know if you've eaten with the boys or not afterwards, but I made some dinner earlier if you're hungry."

"Awesome, because I am starving!"

The redhead dropped her backpack by the front door before going over to the cupboard. She pulled out a plate and started piling it up with chicken, corn, and mashed potatoes. After grabbing a can of Sprite, Natalie sat down at the table across from her parents. She dug into her food right away.

Both Terri and Kurt were silent and kept glancing worriedly at each other. It was like they were nonverbally debating on something that couldn't have been any good. This didn't go unnoticed by Natalie. She didn't say anything at first because she just wanted to enjoy her meal. But after a while, the silence was killing her and her parents were so annoyingly suspicious.

Her fork landed on her plate with a clank and Natalie crossed her arms as she leaned back in her chair. "Alright, who died?"

"What?" Kurt scoffed, "Why would you ask that?"

One of Natalie's eyebrows rose up. "You're kidding me. Mom only makes fried chicken whenever you guys give me bad news so the blow won't be as harsh." She gestured between them. "Also, you two have the worst poker faces ever."

"Damn it," Terri hissed. She smacked her husband's shoulder.

"Ow!" Kurt whined, "What was that for?"

"I told you that if I cooked her favorite food she would know what something's up," Terri said, "But no, you insisted on it!"

"Like she said, I thought it would make things easier!"

"Hey!" Both adults stopped arguing at their daughter's outburst. "Can you just tell me what's going on? Did someone die?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "No, nobody died. Actually, nothing bad really happened."

"Then why are you guys acting so weird?" Natalie accused.

"You wanna tell her?" Kurt asked his wife.

She shook her head. "I already did my part. You take it from here."

With a sigh, Kurt turned back to Natalie, who was waiting patiently. "Listen, Nat. Your mom and I have been talking a lot about this lately. We think… that it would be a good idea if you went back to counseling."

Right then, Natalie felt her heart drop to the bottom of her stomach. Those were the words that the redhead had never wanted to hear again in her life. In her opinion, it was almost as bad as someone dying.

"What?" she said in shock, "Why? Is this still about what happened that night at the school?"

"It's not just that," Kurt said. He pulled an empty prescription bottle out of his pocket. "You've been going through your pills way faster than you should be. How many have you been taking a day?"

Natalie shrugged. "I don't know, maybe three… four, at the most…"

"Four?" Terri echoed, "Nat, you're only supposed to be taking two a day. You could get very sick by taking more than you're supposed to."

"I know, I know," Natalie sighed, "I've just been a bit more tired lately and I didn't wanna stay behind in any of my classes. Also, I don't wanna lose any energy for baseball. I just thought the pills would give me that extra boost of adrenaline."

"They'll work if you take the right amount," Terri told her, "You don't wanna overdose and go into shock."

"Is there something you're not telling us?" Kurt asked, "There's nothing bad going on between you and Stiles, right? Because I can use my Taser if he's being a little shithead."

"Whoa, Dad, no, no, no!" Natalie exclaimed, flailing her hands, "That is totally not necessary! Stiles and I are perfectly fine, I promise. Jeez, there's no need to go Psycho Dad on him. You've know Stiles forever. He's a good guy."

The deputy shrugged his shoulders. "Just making sure."

"But honestly, guys, I'm fine," Natalie tried to reassure her parents, "I haven't been to counseling since I was twelve and I think I turned out pretty well, right?" She flashed a big toothy grin to prove her point.

However, her parents weren't so convinced.

"We already scheduled an appointment for tomorrow afternoon," Terri told her.

"Before you say anything, just hear us out," Kurt said before Natalie could throw a fit, "Go to the appointment tomorrow and give it a chance. If you still don't think it is necessary, then we won't make you go anymore. Deal?"

There was really no sense in arguing with her parents on this one. But what good was counseling going to do in Natalie's case? It's not like she could pour out to a complete stranger that her life has been taken over by temperamental werewolves. Then they would think that she really did need help. Natalie just kept in mind that it would be the only time she would have to go if things didn't work out in the end.

She raked her red velvet hair back and let out a huff of breath. "Fine. I'll go. Do you know who I'll be talking to?"

"Umm…" Kurt scratched his chin. "Caroline Maxwell."

That made Natalie's jaw drop. "Are you serious?! You couldn't get anyone else besides her? She's the reason why I stopped going to counseling!"

"She was the only one who was available for tomorrow," Terri said apologetically, "We really tried to get someone else. Sorry…"

Natalie groaned and placed her head in her hands. "God, just kill me now…"

* * *

The building was extremely quiet. It wasn't really that surprising since it was Saturday and everyone was home for the weekend. But Natalie didn't expect it to be so empty. The only other people that were in the room with her were the desk clerk and a couple of other patients. Natalie didn't want her parents to come with her because she decided she could handle it on her own. Stiles also offered to go, but she refused and told him to pick her up after the appointment though. She now regretted not letting him come along.

After four years, the place looked exactly the same. The walls were the ugliest beige color and the ratty forest green couches didn't do the room any justice either. Paintings of nature scenes hung on the walls. It was really bland and lifeless, which actually set the atmosphere of the place altogether. You would think that they would've updated the place a little over the years. The only thing that has changed was the desk clerk, who used to be a middle-aged and overweight woman with greying brown hair and chunky glasses. She had been replaced by a younger woman who looked like she should've been on the runway instead of a depressing counseling office.

Thank god she was there though because that Sheila woman was such a bitch.

"Natalie Henderson?"

And this is where the real fun begins. Natalie looked up at the blonde and blue-eyed woman who stood above her.

Caroline Maxwell. Where do you even begin with her? Caroline had been Natalie's therapist when she was twelve years old. The redhead was going through a depression stage when she was in middle school (like most kids did). Her parents took her to counseling to see what they could do to help Natalie get better. Did they think that they could heal her completely? No, but it was worth a try. Or so they thought.

Now, Natalie wasn't a hateful person. But she absolutely despised this woman. It wasn't like Caroline had no idea what she was doing. She was actually very good at getting into people's heads, which was where the real problem lied. Somehow, she had manipulated Natalie into thinking that everyone around- meaning her friends and family- was the reason why she was unhappy. Because of that, she had shut everyone out. Her parents finally got Natalie to talk to them and tell them what Caroline had told her. They took their daughter out of counseling right away and haven't looked back until today.

"My, my, look at you!" Caroline beamed, "You've grown up so much!" She gave Natalie a tight hug. It was like an anaconda trying to squeeze her to death. "And I love your hair. It's so feisty, just like you." She bumped their hips together.

"Uh, thank you…" Natalie said awkwardly.

"Please, come on in," Caroline said, stepping aside so Natalie could enter her office.

The girl walked in and internally laughed at the overly cheesy motivational posters on the wall. Her favorite had to be the one with the cat that said "Hang in there!" Caroline told her to sit down so Natalie plopped herself on the familiar white leather couch. It squeaked underneath her, making her cringe.

"So, Natalie," Caroline said, sitting across from her in a navy blue chair, "It's been a while since we last saw each other. How have you been?"

"You want me to answer that honestly?" Natalie said as she raised an eyebrow.

But Caroline just laughed it off. "I see you still have that same sassiness you were famous for."

"That's what happens when you hang out with Stiles Stilinski every day," Natalie replied.

"Oh yes, I remember him. He was one of your best friends along with that other boy. What was his name again?"

"Scott McCall."

The therapist snapped her fingers. "That's it! Are you still friends with them?"

"Yeah," Natalie answered, "Well, actually, Stiles and I are now dating?"

"Really? Well, isn't that something. Are you two doing well?" Natalie nodded her head. Caroline then smiled cheekily as she leaned in towards the teenager. "Between us girls, how far have you two gotten in your relationship? Have you gone all the way? You know, like, sex?"

"Whoa!" Natalie exclaimed, shaking her head, "I really don't think that's any of your business. Are you even allowed to ask me that?"

"If it helps us get down to what the real issue is, then yes, I feel that it is appropriate," Caroline said.

"I'm pretty sure my sex life isn't the problem here," Natalie stated, "And if you must know, no. Stiles and I have not had sex."

She watched as Caroline wrote something down on her notepad. Natalie never did understand why therapists always had those with them. What the hell did they need to take notes for anyway?

"Alright then," the woman continued, crossing her legs, "If that's not the problem, let's talk about what it really is. Why did your parents think that it was a good idea for you to come in here today?"

Natalie brought both her legs up so she could sit Indian-style. "They think that I've been going through depression again."

"And why's that?"

"I've been taking more of my medication than I'm supposed to," Natalie explained, "But it's only because I need the energy to go to school, play baseball, and do homework." She made sure to leave out the part where she's busy chasing after werewolves. "That may not seem like it's a lot, but that kind of stuff can make a teenager more stressed out than you think."

"Believe me, kid, all teenagers I've talked to tell me that," Caroline chuckled, "So you say that you need the pills to stay energized. Why do you feel that you need more than what you were prescribed? Were you having trouble staying awake before?"

"Kind of," Natalie admitted, "It's not like I've been feeling sick or anything, but I've been a lot more tired than usual lately. But I just have too much going on right now to take some time to rest."

"Well I can imagine feeling exhausted, going through not one but two traumatic experiences. That can wear a person out."

The redhead's eyebrows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Beacon Hills is a small town, Natalie," Caroline said, "It's not hard to keep up with all of the news. You were in both attacks at the video store and the school. That's pretty scary. Especially considering the conditions you've had in the past like dealing with cancer. It's like you have a death wish."

"Funny," Natalie snorted, "My dad said the same thing. He claims that he doesn't think I'm suicidal, but we both know that I wouldn't be sitting here in front of you if he really did believe that. And it's not like I'm asking to get myself killed. I just happen to get caught in dangerous situations."

"Have you had suicidal thoughts, Natalie?"

"You mean other than right now?"

Caroline's face grew more serious. "You make jokes to hide the fact that everything's not all sunshine and rainbows. Like I said earlier, I have had many patients your age. I know how you kids are. I don't know every single detail that goes on in your life, but you've been in this room a lot of times for me to know that you put on a façade for your friends, family, and boyfriend daily. You're not as tough as you'd like to think you are, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. What is bad, however, is to keep everything all bottled up inside forever. The longer you don't say anything, the bigger the final breakdown will be. It's okay to admit that you're scared of something. That doesn't make you weak. And pill-popping doesn't make all of your problems go away. All it does is lead to addiction. In that case, we have a bigger problem in our hands here."

For some reason, Natalie was feeling even more pissed off than when she stepped foot into the room. She stood up. "Look, Ms. Maxwell-"

"You know you can call me Caroline."

"I'd rather not. You can spit all of this guru talk at me all you want, but we both know that it's complete bullshit. In case you've forgotten, I wouldn't talk to anyone for weeks because you planted it into my head that the world was my problem. Now you're telling me that _I'm_ the one who needs to clean my act up. I have no problem in taking the blame for the things I'm responsible for, but you're the professional here. You can't change your mind on how you think the patient should view the world. Make a fucking decision."

"That was four years ago, Natalie," Caroline said calmly, "People's opinions and methods change as time goes by. And if you didn't have a problem in admitting what's wrong, we would be having a different conversation right now."

"And another thing," Natalie continued, pointing her finger at the therapist, "You think because I've had a few appointments here in the past, you know everything about me. Well, you don't. I'm not that same girl I was then. I didn't know anything about the real world. The only thing you've been right about so far is that you don't know what goes on in my life. Let me tell you something: the world is fucking terrifying. When I was younger, I thought the only way you could die was if you had some kind of illness that you could get medicine for to make it go away. No way did I ever think that whatever I thought didn't exist does and that it could just rip me out of the world if I'm not watching my back 24/7. You've read the papers. I've almost died twice in the past month. Twice! How long do you think it will take for whatever thing is out there to finally come get me and or the ones I love? I can't live without feeling that any of these days could be my last. I'm almost fucking sixteen years old! I shouldn't be thinking about death when I'm this young! And on top of that, I have to make sure that my friends and family are safe from all of the dangerous things that have going on in this town. That's a lot of fucking pressure to put on someone my age! So don't you dare tell me that it's okay to be afraid when you haven't been close to death as many times as I have. I don't have time to be afraid! I have to be awake and alive!"

Wow. Out of all of the possible scenarios, this was not how Natalie predicted things were going to turn out. The outburst had left both females completely speechless. Natalie was breathing very hard. Yelling took a lot more energy than she thought.

But what happened next was not what Natalie expected. Instead of kicking the teenager out of her office, Caroline _smiled_.

"I think you just figured out what your problem is," she said, "You're scared of death. The thought of dying freaks you out so much that you take pills so that way you won't die from falling asleep, which is when you're most vulnerable. You believe that the pills are the only things keeping you alive. What you don't know is that you're actually killing yourself by letting your fears and thoughts take over your life. What a shame."

Natalie shook her head, not wanting to listen to any of this nonsense anymore. She grabbed her purse and stormed out of the room. When she walked out of the building, she called Stiles and told him that she was ready for him to come pick her up. Stiles said that he would be right there. Just hearing her boyfriend's voice was starting to put her at ease.

Only five minutes later, the jeep pulled up to the curb. Scott had already climbed into the backseat so Natalie could sit up front. Without saying anything, she got in the car. The boys began to worry as she stared out the window.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked. Natalie shook her head. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I just wanna go back to your house if that's okay," Natalie replied softly.

Her boyfriend nodded his head. "Yeah. That's perfectly fine with me." He started the car back up and drove off.

After they dropped Scott off at his house, Stiles and Natalie drove in silence. She was not in the mood to talk and Stiles respected her wishes. But he laced his fingers with hers just to let her know that he was there for her. Natalie didn't acknowledge it vocally, but she squeezed his hands to know that she appreciated the gesture.

By the time they got to Stiles's house, the sun was beginning to set. He got out of the car first after he parked in the driveway so he could open his girlfriend's door for her. Right after she got out, Stiles pulled her to his chest. Her arms went around his waist and she rested her head on his chest. His chin sat on the top of her head as he stroked her hair.

"Whatever that woman said, don't let it get to you," Stiles said as he pressed his forehead against hers, "She's just a bitch who probably lives with a bunch of cats."

Natalie laughed lightly. "Yeah, I know." She dabbed away the tears that were forming at the corner of her eyes. "God, I'm such a girl. I hate it."

"Yeah, but you're my girl." Stiles kissed her forehead and took her hand. They walked inside his house where they saw his dad sitting at the kitchen table with papers scattering everywhere. "Hey, Dad."

The sheriff lifted his head up. "Oh hey, kid. Hey, Natalie. How've you been?"

"Hi, John," Natalie greeted, "I'm doing alright. And yourself?"

"Oh, you know," John sighed, "Just busy with all of this research."

"Yeah, I can tell," she chuckled.

"We're gonna go up in my room if you need us," Stiles told his dad, pulling his girlfriend towards the stairs.

"Alright, but leave the door open," John said, "I'm not gonna have any grandkids running around this house anytime soon."

Stiles rolled his eyes as he and Natalie walked up to his room. She lied down on his bed and curled up into his blankets.

"I'm gonna go talk to my dad for a little bit," Stiles told her, "I'll be right back. You gonna be okay?"

"Sure, it's no problem," Natalie said, "I'll be waiting here." Stiles nodded before walking out of the room.

While Stiles was downstairs with his dad, Natalie just stared up at the ceiling. Her fingers were joined together on top of her stomach. Faintly, she could hear the father and son converse with each other, but she couldn't make out what it was they were talking about. A sigh slipped past her lips as the day's events replayed in her head.

Stupid Caroline Maxwell. As if Natalie didn't hate the woman with a passion before. Now she could go rot in hell for all the redhead cared. All of these words the therapist spit out at Natalie were screwing with her mind. If only Caroline really knew what was really going on in Beacon Hills. Then she would understand the pressure Natalie was going through. And she even had the nerve to tell Natalie that she was a scared and suicidal teenager! What a load of bullshit! Just because Caroline had a PhD, that didn't mean she had all the answers. She can't just tell her that breaking down will solve all of her problems and make her life dandy.

But… what if she was right? Maybe Natalie really was afraid. Yes, she got scared both those nights at the school and video store. That was normal. Anyone would've cried and screamed if there was a murderer after them. However, most people wouldn't have been so terrified to die at any given time of day to the point where they have to physically force themselves to stay awake. In Natalie's defense, fearing death isn't an abnormal thing. Who wouldn't be afraid to die? But then again, who else would be afraid to the point where the thought controlled their lifestyle? And Caroline saying that by doing this, Natalie was actually killing herself was a bit overdramatic in the redhead's opinion.

She had probably been lying there for at least twenty minutes by the time Stiles came back. Not acknowledging his girlfriend, he sat down on his desk chair and rested his elbows on his knees. When Natalie got a good look at him, she noticed how distraught he looked. His eyes were closed and his lips were curved down into a slight frown. Natalie sat up on the bed.

"Hey."

"Oh my-" Stiles fell out of his chair. When he looked up at Natalie, he let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were asleep."

Natalie shook her head. "Nope. My eyes have been open this whole time. Is something wrong?"

"What? No," Stiles said, "Everything's totally fine."

"Stiles…"

"Nat, I swear. There's nothing wrong."

"Are you really lying to me right now?" Natalie said, raising an eyebrow, "To the girl who has known you since you were in diapers?"

When he didn't respond, Natalie patted the spot next to her on the bed. With a sigh, Stiles got up to go sit down next to Natalie. He resumed his previous position.

"Umm, I may have given my dad a bit too much to drink and he got a little tipsy. You know how he gets when he's drunk. He tends to not have much of a filter. At one point he said that he missed talking to me." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And, umm… he said that he missed my mom."

Hearing that made Natalie's heart ache. Claudia's passing was extremely hard on the Stilinski men, especially Stiles. Natalie remembered those days when she would visit Stiles after school since he would be absent for a while. The loss of his mother was just way too painful for him. Neither of the males ever brought her up.

The redhead rubbed his back soothingly. "I'm sorry. I can't say that I understand how that must feel, but it must've been rough to hear that."

"It's fine," Stiles said, "It just kinda caught me off guard. And it made me think of how much I miss her, too."

"You know, she would've been proud of you and how great of a man you turned out to be."

"Yeah, you mean spastic and uncoordinated?"

"No," Natalie said, scooting closer to him, "I mean smart." She kissed Stiles's lips briefly. "Funny." Then his forehead. "Brave." Then his cheek. "Loyal." Then his jaw. "And so incredibly sexy." Finally, she reached his neck.

A breathy chuckle escaped Stiles's mouth. "Okay, now I know you're just joshing me." Then he felt Natalie suck on a sweet spot on his neck, making him moan. "God, stop tempting me, woman."

Smirking, Natalie pulled away from his neck. "And if I don't?"

"You really wanna know what will happen?"

"Enlighten me."

So Stiles pushed the redhead on her back and pinned her hands above her head. Well that was completely unexpected. But Natalie didn't have time to say anything about it before Stiles crashed their lips together. The boy wasted no time in heating things up as his tongue slipped into her mouth. Natalie moaned at the sensation. Her legs wrapped around his waist, which caused their hips to collide. Stiles began to places kisses down her face. When he reached her neck, he sucked hard on it so he would leave a hickey. He finally let go of Natalie's hands to start unbuttoning her flannel.

"Wait," Natalie breathed out, "What if your dad walks in on us?"

"He already passed out on the couch," Stiles told her, "And even if he does hear us, he'll most likely forget about it tomorrow."

"Fine, but if he catches us, I'm kicking your ass," Natalie threatened.

"That actually turns me on more than scares me, just to let you know."

Natalie rolled her eyes but let her boyfriend continue to undo the buttons on her shirt. When he finished, Stiles opened her flannel to reveal her skull-printed purple bra. It wasn't her sexiest lingerie, but Stiles still thought that it was totally hot, especially since the bra made her boobs look incredible. He immediately latched his lips onto the curve of her breast.

Grabbing the back of Stiles's head, Natalie mewled in pleasure. "Oooh... Oh!" Her hips bucked up into his when he bit down gently, leaving a dark purple bruise.

The sudden friction felt amazing for both teenagers. What really turned Natalie on was the growing bulge in Stiles's pants pressing against her jean-clad center. Loving the sound that came from his girlfriend, Stiles ground his hips down to hers. The redhead could feel her underwear dampening. It was almost uncomfortable and something needed to be done _pronto_. She whined when Stiles stopped grinding on her, missing that feeling of his erection pressing against her aching sex. But then Natalie felt Stiles pop the button of her jeans open and pull the zipper down.

Her heart pounded madly against her chest. While knowing what Stiles was going to do next made Natalie a bit nervous, a bigger part of her anticipated for him to make the next move. Whenever she was able to actually go to sleep, she would usually have dreams about similar scenarios like this. Every morning, Natalie would wake up slick with sweat and feeling unsatisfied. This was something she had been waiting for long before she and Stiles were dating. And now it was finally happening. It was so surreal.

Stiles reached down the front of Natalie's pants and rubbed her through her underwear. She let out a broken moan and rolled her hips up to create the most delicious friction she had ever experienced. It was enough to make her underwear totally soaked.

"Jesus, Natalie," Stiles said in amazement, continuing his actions, "I can't believe how wet you are."

The only response he got was a sultry moan. After rubbing for a good half a minute, Stiles pulled his hand away. Natalie's eyes snapped open at the loss of contact.

"No!" she cried, "Why'd you stop?"

Instead of answering, Stiles hooked his fingers in her jeans and tugged them down her toned legs so he could have more room. After tossing the article of clothing on the floor, he took a good look at the girl lying beneath him. The underwear Natalie wore was black, but it was easy to tell how soaked they were. It actually made Stiles feel a little proud of himself. He was nowhere near done pleasing his girlfriend so he slid his hand into her underwear, lightly grazing his fingers over her clit.

Her breath caught in the back of her throat at the touch. "Oh my god!" Natalie moaned, "Fuck..." Then she felt his fingers stroke her folds up and down, spreading her wetness. Just the gentlest touch could make her spine tingle. It was such a mind-blowing feeling.

Nothing was hotter to Stiles than seeing his girlfriend writhe in ecstasy underneath him. To know that he was the one making her feel this way made him feel like he was on top of the world. It even made him impossibly harder and it was actually kind of painful. But this wasn't about him at the moment. Deciding to kick things up a notch, Stiles slid a finger inside her. Natalie gasped at the sudden intrusion. It was a tad uncomfortable at first, but once he started moving his finger in and out of her, she was on cloud nine.

Stiles started out slow to let Natalie adjust to his finger, but once she started rolling her hips to meet with his thrusts, he pumped his finger in a slightly fast but steady rhythm. Natalie tried to hold back her moans so the sheriff wouldn't hear her, but she couldn't help herself. This just felt way too damn good! Especially when Stiles leaned back down to kiss her neck again.

"Faster," Natalie panted.

Her boyfriend's head snapped back up to look at her with wide eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Natalie nodded, "Please, just go faster. Ah! Oh, god..."

Giving in to her, Stiles fingered the girl faster. Natalie's head lolled back into his pillow and her eyes squeezed shut. Her plush bottom lip was caught in between her teeth, which had to be one of the most erotic things Stiles had ever laid eyes on. Another finger was added, doubling the pleasure. When those fingers curled up and hit her g-spot, he swore that Natalie was going to lose it. It seemed like she was about to really soon, especially with the way Stiles's palm smacked her clit as his fingers pounded into her.

"Shit, Stiles!" she whimpered, "I'm so close!"

"Cum for me, baby," Stiles urged, "God, I could watch you like this all day. You're so fuckin' beautiful. Just let yourself go and cum for me."

At Stiles's words, Natalie let out a cry as she came. He continued to move his fingers inside her through the very first orgasm she had ever experienced. It was such powerful feeling. No wonder why people liked sex so much, especially if the outcome was so blissful. Her whole body shuddered as she came down from her high. Once the euphoria finally subsided, Stiles slid his fingers out of her to see them covered in her essence. He wiped them on his jeans as he watched her chest heave up and down.

"Well, that was something," Stiles said.

"Yeah," Natalie chuckled lightly, "Wow..." Then she noticed the package her boyfriend was sporting in his jeans. "You want me to take care of that for you?"

"Huh?" Stiles looked down at himself. "Oh! Umm, you don't have to if you don't want to."

The redhead scoffed. "I am not leaving you hanging like that. Especially when you just gave me an amazing orgasm. Come here."

She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down next to her. Not giving him time to think, Natalie straddled his thighs and pushed his chest so he was fully lying down. She unbuckled his belt and pulled it out through the loops of his jeans. Then she unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. Her hand rubbed against his bulge through his boxers and he groaned. Natalie pulled down both Stiles's jeans and boxers just a little. His hard member sprung out and stood proudly in front of Natalie.

"Wow," she said, staring wide-eyed at her boyfriend's member. It wasn't huge, just probably a couple of inches above average. But Natalie was still impressed. "You've been holding back on me."

"Yeah, well, I would've showed you earlier, but you know," Stiles joked with red-tinted cheeks, "Werewolves got in the way."

Natalie chuckled as she rubbed her hands up and down Stiles's thighs. Seeing her boyfriend squirm from her teasing touch made her feel so wicked, but she loved it. Poor boy looked like he was going to explode from the lack of attention. The redhead finally decided to stop messing with him so she wrapped her hand around his shaft. She started moving her hand up and down the length slowly, which drove Stiles crazy.

"Oh, god," he gasped, "Damn, that feels good."

That actually surprised Natalie. This was her first time doing anything like this so she thought that she was going to be terrible. But Stiles seemed to be enjoying the treatment so that made her feel more confident. As Natalie continued to jerk him off, her free hand was slowly rubbing his thigh. Her fingers danced towards the inside of his thigh and it was affecting Stiles greatly. He draped his arm across his forehead and breathed heavily. Pre-cum leaked from the tip so Natalie smeared it around with her thumb.

When his girlfriend pumped her hand around his shaft faster, Stiles knew that he wasn't going to last much longer. He opened his eyes to look at Natalie. All of her focus was on his dick and the way she bit down on her bottom lip made her seem like she was concentrating hard on making sure Stiles got off. She was succeeding if you asked him. Then the hand that wasn't around his dick cradled his balls, making his face flush.

"Nat, stop, stop, stop!" he warned as he felt his orgasm near, "I think I'm gonna cum!"

But that just encouraged Natalie to pumped him even faster. Just a few more strokes was all it took for Stiles to find his release.

"Oh, fuck! Natalie!"

His thick white cum shot out in thick strands on her hand and his jeans. They were most likely going to be stained, but Stiles wasn't thinking about that as his body trembled from the intensity of his orgasm. Natalie's strokes slowed down as she watched her boyfriend tried to catch his breath. She stopped when it looked like he had enough. Reaching over him, she grabbed some tissues and wiped the cum off of his shaft, jeans, and her hand. She then threw the soiled tissues in the waste basket and tucked Stiles back in his boxers.

The goofiest smile stretched across his face. "Holy shit," he breathed, "Natalie Henderson just gave me a hand job. That was awesome! So much better than doing it myself!"

"Glad to know that I could be of service," Natalie laughed, "And for your first time pleasing a girl, you weren't so bad yourself."

"Thank you for those kind words, babe," Stiles said sarcastically.

"Anytime." Natalie propped herself on her elbows and connected their lips. One of Stiles's hands cradled her face as he returned the kiss.

Just then, his phone rang. Groaning, Stiles reached towards his nightstand to grab his phone. He pressed the Answer button and held the device up to his ear.

"Hey, Scott, now's not really a good time-" He paused to let Scott speak. As he explained what was going on, Stiles's eyes widened and he sat up. "Wait, are you serious? Right now? ... Yeah, I think I have an idea... Nat and I will go find her right now."

After Stiles hung up, he got up off the bed and searched for a new pair of jeans. "What's going on with Scott?" Natalie asked.

"Peter took his mom out on a date," Stiles told her.

"What?!"

"And now Scott's afraid that Peter's going to either bite her or kill her." Stiles picked up Natalie's jeans and tossed them to her. "Get dressed so we can go find them."

They both straightened themselves up as quickly as they could before they bolted out of the house and into Stiles's jeep. He drove around town until they found Peter's car parked alongside of the road. So far, it didn't look like Peter was going to hurt her, but they didn't want to take any chances.

"So what's the master plan here, Stiles?" Natalie asked.

A determined expression took over his face. "Watch me." He started his car back up and hit the front of his car with the back of Peter's.

The back of Natalie's head collided with her seat. "Ow!" She glared at her boyfriend. "Seriously? _That_ was your brilliant idea?!"

"Uh, sorry?" Stiles said. Natalie punched his arm and he whined in pain.

Melissa got out of Peter's car with an angry look on her face. She marched towards the jeep as the young couple got out. "Stiles! Natalie!"

"Mrs. McCall?" Stiles said as if he wasn't expecting to see her there.

"Yes!"

Natalie waved nervously. "Hey, Mama McCall..."

Said woman rolled her eyes. "Hi, Natalie."

"Wow, this is... this is just crazy," Stiles said, "What a coincidence, huh?" The older McCall faked a laugh. "I mean, I do not know what happened. You guys just came out of nowhere."

"Came out of nowhere!" Melissa exclaimed, "We were parked on the side of the road, Stiles."

"How crazy is that?" Stiles chuckled, "I mean, we should probably call the cops, you know, do like an accident report thing."

"I don't think that's necessary," Peter spoke up for the first time.

"Are you sure? I think I'm feeling a little whiplash."

"Whiplash?" Melissa scoffed, "_You_ hit _us_!"

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck like he was in pain. "I don't know. There's definitely something wrong with my neck."

"Oh, there's something wrong with _your_ neck?" Natalie yelled with her hand still on the back of her head, "Your head didn't bang on the seat like a freakin' drum!"

"Do you need me to take a look at it, Natalie?" Melissa asked, going into Mama Bear mode.

"No, it's fine," the redhead assured her, "We're sorry for the little inconvenience. We're gonna leave now." She grabbed Stiles's arm and dragged him back to the jeep. "I give you a hand job and this is how you repay me?"

"I love you," Stiles said sheepishly.

"Bite me."

"When? Ow!"

* * *

**Oh, god... yep... that really happened. Wow, I'm seriously blushing right now. I've only written anything considered smut, like, twice before so I am so sorry if it came out awful. But I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter overall. PLEASE review and let me know what you think! My reviews have been declining again and it makes me sad so PLEASE leave your thoughts if you want me to continue! Also, I updated my IsaacxOC story Scars a few days ago so if you haven't, go check it out and send it some love and feedback! Only a couple more chapters (or one, depending if I wanna combine the next two episodes or not) until season two, which means I'm gonna be posting the DerekxOC story No One Else really soon! I'm so freakin' excited! If you're excited also and want me to update faster, send some feedback to keep me motivated! **

**I will most definitely update soon! I love you guys! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Here you go, you guys! The last update of 2014! It's a bit of a long one, but I'm very happy with how it came out. So please enjoy chapter 15!**

* * *

"Call it again," Scott ordered his best friends as he frantically searched all over his room for his phone.

Rolling her eyes, Natalie dialed Scott's phone number. There was no ringing, no vibrate, no nothing. Just silence other than the werewolf throwing his stuff around the room.

"Dude, I've been calling your phone for the past half hour," Natalie said as she tossed her phone next to herself on Scott's bed, "There's nothing. Nada!"

"It's not here," Stiles said from his spot on the desk chair, "Okay, so you lost your phone. Why don't you just get a new one?"

"I can't afford a new one," Scott told him, "And I can't do this alone. We need to find Derek."

"Well, 'A', you're not alone. You have me."

Natalie shot her hand up in the air. "And me!"

"Right, and Nat," Stiles continued, "And 'B', didn't you say Derek walked into gunfire? He sounds pretty dead."

"Argent's plan was to use him to get to the alpha," Scott said, "They're not gonna kill him."

"Alright, so then just let them do what they're planning, you know? They use Derek to get to Peter- problem solved."

Scott looked back at his friends. "Not if Peter's going after Allison to find Derek! I can't protect her on my own. Which means we either find Derek first… just-" He let out a frustrated groan before continuing his search. "Just help me!"

"There's a high possibility that you lost it when you and Derek were fighting," Natalie spoke up, "You know, that one time where he was about to kill you when you interrupted him when he tried to kill Jackson." It was like her own words made her dizzy and she rubbed her temples with her fingertips. "Damn, you guys are so violent!"

"He wasn't going to kill anyone," Scott said, rolling his eyes, "And I'm not letting him die."

"Could you at least think about letting him die?" Stiles asked, "For me?" Natalie grabbed the nearest magazine and threw it at her boyfriend's head. He flailed his arms. "I'm just saying! And you think werewolves are violent…"

That was when Scott heard someone talking outside of the house. His head tilted slightly to the side as he tried to get a better listen. Stiles and Natalie both noticed the sudden change in their best friend's mood.

"What?" Stiles asked.

"My mom just got home from work," Scott said.

He stayed still as he listened to the conversation Melissa was having on the phone in her car. Actually, she was leaving a voicemail for Peter since they never did go on their date the other night. In the voicemail, Melissa was struggling and fumbling with her words as she tried to ask if he wanted to reschedule their date for another time. When she hung up the phone, she remained seated in the car.

Then Scott's heart crumbled when he heard his mother break down. No child ever wants to hear their mother cry. And the fact that Scott caused this was even more painful for him. He did this with good intentions, even though Melissa could never know what's really going on without giving away his secret. Not if he wanted to keep her safe.

Stiles grew concerned when he saw Scott frown. "Is she okay? What's she doing?"

"Crying," Scott answered. He sat on the edge of the bed next to Natalie. The redhead rubbed his back as soothingly as she could.

"You're only sixteen, Scotty," she told him, "You can't protect everyone. You know that, right?"

The teen wolf shook his head. "I have to." He rested his head on Natalie's shoulder as she continued to comfort him.

* * *

The next day at school after gym class, Coach Finstock told Scott that because of his bad grades, he was not allowed to go to the winter formal. It was either that or he was cut from the lacrosse team. Since he had to watch over Allison and make sure she was safe, Scott would rather be kicked off the team than have the girl he loved be in danger. But there was nothing that he could say to change the coach's mind.

Well, there was one thing that he could do- get Jackson to go to the dance with Allison.

Said boy was getting his stuff out of his locker when all of a sudden, Natalie slammed the door shut. The jock turned his head and saw her along with Scott and Stiles standing there. He opened his mouth to ask Natalie why she was in the boys' locker room (again), but he just waved her off.

"You want me to take her to the formal," he said to Scott.

"I don't want you to," the teen wolf said, "I need you to."

"Screw you." Jackson pointed to the couple. "You know what? Screw you, too. In fact, screw each other in some awkward threesome thing."

Shaking that disturbing thought out of her head, Natalie jabbed her finger at Jackson's chest. "Listen, Jackass. I've had it up to here with your shit, okay? Don't forget that Scott saved your life."

"He left me for dead," Jackson said, pushing Natalie's hand away from him.

"I got shot for you," Scott pointed out.

"Oh yeah? Show me the bullet wound."

"You know it healed."

The jock hummed and glared at Scott. "Convenient," he said with a snarky tone.

"Just do it for Allison, okay?" Scott pleaded, "She's in serious danger. I'm talking around-the-clock danger. She needs someone to keep an eye on her at the dance."

"Have her dad do it, okay? He's the one actually equipped to handle this."

"How am I supposed to do that and keep him from finding out about me?" Scott asked incredulously.

"Not my problem."

Jackson was about to walk away when Scott shot his arm out in front of him and smacked his hand on the locker. His eyes widened a tad bit and he looked up at Scott.

The wolf sighed. "You're her friend too. You are. All that time that you spent with her to get to me, you can't tell me that you didn't get to like her. It's Allison. It's impossible not to like her. You can't tell me that you don't care if she gets hurt."

"What if I get hurt?" Jackson asked.

"Then it's worth it," Natalie shrugged.

"Not to me." Then he pushed past the trio. They watched him as he walked away. Selfish bastard.

"Well, I shouldn't say I told you so," Stiles said, "'cause it's not strong enough. How about I am always right, and you should listen to whatever I have to say and never disagree ever, ever, for the sake of your wolflihood?"

"Stiles," Natalie said, "shut it."

"I'm not done," Scott growled out before following after Jackson, leaving the couple behind.

"You're not done," Stiles repeated, "Okay."

Natalie rolled her eyes and grabbed her boyfriend's arm. "Come on." She dragged him to catch up with Scott.

"One more thing," Scott said, making Jackson stop in his tracks.

As he turned around, Scott's eyes glowed yellow and his fangs grew out. Jackson's eyes widened in fear. Then Scott grabbed him by the shirt and threw him against the door.

* * *

Later, the trio watched behind a set of lockers as Jackson nervously talked to Allison about the dance. Scott looked like he was shooting daggers at Jackson's head.

"Hey, don't worry," Stiles told him, "Nat and I'll still be there."

"I'm still going," Scott said with determination.

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea," Natalie said, "Do you even have a date?"

"Not yet."

"Do you have a suit?" Stiles asked.

"Not yet," Scott admitted, turning around to face his best friends.

"What about a ticket?" Natalie added, "And transportation. A car, a jet plane, anything of that nature."

"No. And no."

Stiles smirked. "So you're gonna ride your bike to a dance that you're not allowed to go to without a date, a suit, or a way in with werewolves and werewolf hunters all out to kick your little werewolf ass."

"Yeah," Scott nodded, "You two gonna help me?"

"Hell yeah."

The human boy wrapped his arms around Scott and Natalie's shoulders as they walked to their next class. All of a sudden, Natalie's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and answered the call.

"Hey, Mom. What's up?" she said. The smile on her face quickly dropped. "Wait, you were serious about that? Damn it. I was supposed to go over to Stiles's house after school." She looked over at her boyfriend. "Can he at least come with us then? Alright, I'll see you later. Bye."

"Where is Stiles going after school?" Stiles asked as Natalie hung up the phone.

"The mall," Natalie grumbled, "My mom's making me go dress shopping with her for the formal."

"Why do I have to go?" Stiles whined while Scott laughed.

"Because if you're there, maybe my mom will go easy on me. And she's making Zach go with us so now he'll have company." Natalie rolled her eyes when Stiles groaned. "Don't complain. There's a ninety-five percent chance you'll get to see me naked."

That brought the biggest smile to Stiles's face. "Really?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, babe," she smirked, winking. She kissed Stiles's cheek and walked ahead of the boys.

"Wait, Nat!" Stiles shouted out, "You can't just tease me about you being naked and leave me hanging like that!" He ran after her, leaving Scott behind.

Said boy scrunched his face in disgust. "God, I could have gone my whole life without imagining my best friends naked!"

"Deal with it, Scotty!" Natalie called out from behind her.

* * *

After school, Stiles and Natalie drove over to the mall where Terri and Zach were waiting for them. The moment Zach saw the couple walk up to them, he let out a sigh of relief that there was at least one other male with them. They all immediately headed over to Macy's to look for a dress for Natalie. She knew right away that this was going to be hell on earth.

Terri went on a frenzy as soon as they entered the store. She picked up every single dress in sight and tossed them at Natalie. The redhead's arms were starting to feel heavy from the weight of the clothes. Behind them, Stiles and Zach were watching the whole thing and laughing their asses off. Natalie reminded herself to kill them later.

An hour and twenty-something dresses later, Natalie was finally trying on the last dress her mother picked out for her. Outside, Terri, Stiles, and Zach were sitting on a bench and waiting for Natalie to come out of her cubicle.

"Natalie, what's taking you so long?" Terri asked, "It doesn't take ten minutes to try on one dress."

"I am not coming out!" the redhead said.

"Why not? I wanna see what the dress looks like."

"I look stupid!"

"It can't be that bad," Stiles interjected. Natalie didn't respond. "Just get out here and show us the dress, babe."

They heard Natalie grumble to herself before she walked out of the cubicle. Her cheeks turned into the same color as her hair as they looked at her. The dress she had on was horrendous! It was the most obnoxious hot pink color with sequins all over it. The skirt was all big and frilly with ruffles. A toddler should have been wearing it rather than a teenager. All she needed were ballet slippers and a tiara to complete the look.

As Stiles and Zach cackled at the dress, Natalie's frown deepened. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at the boys. But with the frilly pink dress she was wearing, Natalie was far from intimidating.

"Oh, honey, you look precious!" Terri cooed, oblivious to her daughter's misery. She nudged Stiles's arm with her elbow. "Stiles, doesn't Natalie look precious in that dress?"

"Choose your next words carefully," Natalie warned him through grounded teeth.

Stiles immediately stopped laughing and gulped nervously. "Yeah, babe, you look… adorable," he said, stifling his laughter.

"Are you kidding?" Zach exclaimed, "With your red hair, you look like a cupcake with a cherry on top!" Both boys started cracking up again, leaning against each other and clutching onto their stomachs.

However, the redhead didn't find it so funny. "Yeah, laugh it up, jerk-off." Natalie turned to her mother. "Okay, can we go now? There's obviously nothing here for me."

"No, we cannot leave," Terri said, "This just means that we have to keep looking around until we find the right dress."

"But we've been looking for almost two hours!" Natalie groaned.

"And we will be here for two more until we find you a dress," Terri said as she stood up, "I'll be right back to find you something else. Stay here."

Natalie was about to protest but her mother had already left the fitting room. The boys were still laughing so Natalie slapped them upside the heads. Yelping out in pain, Stiles and Zach rubbed the sore spots.

"A cupcake with a cherry on top?!" Natalie hissed out, "I was expecting you to have my back, not laugh at me! You guys are assholes!"

"Hey, I didn't insult you or anything!" Stiles defended himself, "I said that you looked cute!"

"Oh, we both know that you were lying so don't give me that bullshit," Natalie told him.

"Well, you have to admit that you look pretty ridiculous," Zach said. His sister smacked him again. "Alright, I'm sorry! Jeez, has being around werewolves made you more brutal?"

"Why does everyone think that's the reason why I do anything?" Natalie exclaimed, flailing her arms around, "Can't people just accept the fact that I'm actually strong and that I-"

She stopped ranting when her brother's words really soaked in her brain. Her eyes grew wide, as did Stiles's, when they looked over at Zach. The boy's hand was slapped over his mouth as he realized the slip-up he had just made.

Stiles pointed his finger at Zach. "Did you just say what I think you just said?"

"What? No," Zach said nervously, shaking his head, "I didn't say anything."

"You just said 'werewolves'," Natalie said accusingly.

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did." Zach's head snapped back and forth between the couple before he shot up from the bench and tried to run away. But Natalie was faster and she grabbed the back of his shirt. "Not so fast, you little shit." Zach cursed to himself and slumped back down on the bench.

Pushing himself up, Stiles went to go stand next to Natalie. "Okay, what makes you think you know about werewolves and that they're real?" he asked the thirteen year old, crossing his arms.

"Are you forgetting who you're talking to?" Zach snorted, "I play a lot of online games where I battle mythical creatures. You tend to learn a bunch of history about things like centaurs, dragons, phoenixes…" He raised his eyebrows. "Werewolves."

"Those are just games though," Stiles pointed out, "They're not real."

"I'm not stupid, Stiles. You don't think I've seen Scott acting weirder than usual lately? His mood swings have been, like, through the roof. And whenever Rocky sees him or that Derek guy, he barks a lot more. He never barks at anything, not even a cat."

One of Natalie's eyebrows rose. "How do you know about Derek?"

"The walls are thin, Sis. I can hear almost everything that goes on in your room. Even if it's things that no thirteen year old boy wants to hear from their sister."

Zach shuddered in disgust when he remembered the times he could hear Stiles and Natalie doing not-so-innocent things next to his room. Both of the older teenagers blushed madly at this. From now on, their private moments of fooling around will be taking place at Stiles's house.

"Alright, Zach," Stiles said, clasping his hands together, "What will it take for you not to say anything about this to anyone?"

"Nothing much," the boy shrugged, "I just want to go to your guys' winter formal… with Lydia as my date."

"You're joking, right?" Natalie said, "You're in junior high. How the hell do you expect to get into a high school dance?"

"People get guest passes for people that aren't in high school all the time. It's not that hard. And this is my one shot for a night with Lydia since she and Jackson broke up."

Stiles snorted. "Dude, she's two years older than you."

"Age is but a number, my friend," Zach said with a serious face.

"Oh my god," Natalie chuckled, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Alright, fine, I'll get you in the dance with Lydia. Just keep your mouth shut about the whole werewolf thing. Got it?"

"Yep, got it," Zach beamed.

"Good. Now, can you please go find Mom and prevent her from picking out a dress that makes me look like a dessert?"

Her brother rolled his eyes but headed out of the fitting room. Stiles went after him after briefly kissing Natalie's lips. The redhead looked down at herself, scrunching her nose at the sight of the ugly dress. She hurried back into her cubicle so she could take it off. Before she did that, Natalie grabbed her phone and texted Allison, who she knew was dress shopping with Lydia.

**To: Allison**

**Hey, Alli! Did you still wanna get back at Lydia?**

It only took about half a minute for Allison to respond to her message.

**To: Natalie**

**Depends… what'd you have in mind?**

**To: Allison**

**Get her to take my lil bro to the formal.**

**To: Natalie**

**Isn't he in junior high?**

**To: Allison**

**According to him, age is but a number.**

**To: Natalie**

**I'm in ;)**

The redhead laughed to herself as she put down her phone. As Natalie stripped out of the dress, she heard another person walk out of their own cubicle. It was probably some random woman trying on clothes so she just minded her own business.

"Need a hand?"

Dropping the dress on the floor, Natalie's eyes widened at the unexpected voice. Unless they were going through a weird stage of puberty, that was definitely not a woman. But the voice was unpleasantly familiar. And Natalie had a very strong feeling who they were. Being careful to be super quiet, she tiptoed to the door of her cubicle and peered through the crack.

Unfortunately, her suspicions were correct. Decked out in all black wardrobe was none other than Peter Hale. Natalie wanted to laugh at his appearance- he couldn't be any more obvious with his dark clothing. That just screamed out 'mysterious' and 'dangerous'. Anyway, he was chatting up a short brunette who seemed to be Natalie's age. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but then all of a sudden, Peter walked up to the girl and pulled the zipper of the dress she was trying on up. That made Natalie shiver in discomfort. God, that man was so damn creepy! And she was pretty sure the poor girl was thinking the exact same thing.

When she turned around to face the big mirror, Natalie immediately knew who she was. That girl was Delilah Lambert. She was on the school's color guard team and one of the top twenty in academics in their class. Natalie was partners with her freshmen year for an English project. Delilah was hands down the nicest person she had ever met in her life. A little shy, but super nice. And she was dating this guy in their chemistry class. What was his name… oh! Isaac Lahey, otherwise known as 'Grave Digger' due to his job at the cemetery. He was even shyer than his girlfriend. But Natalie has seen them both together around school and had to admit that they were a really cute pair.

Natalie continued to watch as Peter continued to charm Delilah, which judging by the look on her face wasn't working out so well. The redhead grew worried that he was either going to give her classmate the bite, or even worse, kill her. Thankfully, Delilah was smart enough to tell Peter that she had to leave and he backed away. Once he left, Natalie let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the door. It was a good thing that he didn't know that she was in the room. Well, being a werewolf, he probably did, but he never said anything. What was he going to do? Maim Natalie in front of Delilah? Not if he really wanted to get his ass thrown in jail. While she was lost in her thoughts, someone knocked on her door, making Natalie jump a little.

"Oh my god!" she gasped.

"Natalie, it's me," she heard Terri from the other side of the door. The redhead cracked the door open. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Natalie said nervously, "Everything's fine. Why wouldn't they be?"

Terri searched her face for any signs that she was lying, but she shook her head. "Anyway, I think you'll really like this dress. Stiles picked it out."

She handed Natalie a white strapless dress. It had a sweetheart neckline with black trimming around the waist. While the skirt was layered like the previous dress, it was much more tamed and had an edgy vibe to it. This was definitely Natalie's style.

"Wow," she said as she inspected the dress, "And you said that Stiles picked it out?"

"Yeah," Terri laughed, "Who knew that kid had a decent taste in clothes?"

"That's exactly what I said," Natalie chuckled along, "Alright, let's get this baby on." She stepped into the dress and pulled it up so it covered her chest. Terri had her turn around so she could pull up the zipper. Then Natalie faced her mother again and placed her hands on her hips. "So, how does it look?"

"Oh my…" Terri smiled, "Why don't you take a look for yourself?"

So Natalie did just that. She walked out of the cubicle and checked herself out in the mirror. If she said so for herself, she looked pretty hot! Add some black heels and some jewelry and she would be smokin'. For fun, Natalie struck some poses and made faces at herself in the mirror. Terri laughed at her daughter.

"Having fun over there?"

"Yes, I am," Natalie said as she continued to pose like a supermodel, "Thank you, Stiles."

"You look great, honey," Terri said, "Now get dressed so we can go to the food court for something to eat. I don't know about you, but all of this shopping is making me hungry. I'll wait for you outside."

Nodding in agreement, Natalie went back inside her cubicle and took off the dress. She hung it back on the hanger neatly before grabbing her regular clothes. After putting on her baseball tee, skinny jeans, and white Converse, Natalie took the dress and walked out of the fitting room. Right away, her eyebrows rose when she saw Stiles and Zach 'sword-fighting' with hangers. People in the store were staring at them like they were idiots, and Natalie didn't blame them. The boys were running through the clothes racks and yelling like they were in a Renaissance battle. Then all of a sudden, Zach jumped on Stiles's back and they fell onto a couple of mannequins. Now they had the attention of everyone at Macy's, including Allison and Lydia. Natalie's face grew hot in embarrassment and she covered her face with her hands.

"Now look what you did!" Zach exclaimed as he and Stiles got up from the floor.

Stiles scoffed. "_Me_?! _You're_ the one who jumped me! This is all _your_ fault!" Then he turned around and his eyes grew wide when he saw his girlfriend standing there and staring at them. "Oh, hey, babe. I see you liked the dress."

Natalie opened her mouth to speak, but she was pretty much speechless. She raised her hands up in surrender. "I… I don't know. I have no words. Just fix the mannequins and let's go. Freakin' dumbasses…" She walked away to leave her boyfriend and brother to clean up their mess.

* * *

In the woods that night, the white wolf ran through the trees, the moonlight highlighting her fur beautifully. Now that she knew who the alpha was, she had been running around Beacon Hills, especially the schools, and making sure that Peter wasn't going to attack and kill anyone. It wasn't like there was anything else going on in her life so she had all the time in the world. As it grew dark outside and after she was sure that everyone was safe, the wolf decided to go to the Hale and Fierro house to see if anyone was there.

When she got there, she knew that Peter wasn't around. But when she sniffed the air, her eyes glowed in that electric blue color. More than one person was inside the house, but she couldn't tell who they were. As the wolf stepped closer to the house, the strong stench of cheap perfume clogged her nose. It was horrific and it made her stomach churn. Underneath it, she could barely make out a different scent. This one was much more satisfying, like pine needles. It reminded her of Christmas, which is always a happy memory. She crept over to the side of the house where there was a small window that looked into the basement.

Inside the basement, she saw Kate Argent sitting next to a table with some weird machines on top of it. Just looking at the evil woman made the wolf growl lowly. She hated that bitch more than anything on the planet for the cruel things she had done. But then she saw a young man with no shirt on hanging with shackles around his wrists and wired taped to his torso. Sweat covered his body and he looked very pale, almost like he was sick. The wolf couldn't help but think about how familiar he seemed to her. His face was lowered, but she could tell that the pine needle scent was coming from him. Who was he?

"Unfortunately, Derek," she heard Kate sigh like she was bored, "if you're not gonna talk… I'm just gonna have to kill you." She set the phone in her hand down on the table. "So say hi to your sister for me." Her hand hovered over the machine, threatening to turn the 'On' switch. But she didn't touch it. "You did tell her about me, didn't you? The truth about the fire?" She paused and turned to look at the werewolf. A smirk crept up on her face. "Or did you?" Kate stood up and walked over to Derek. "Did you tell anybody?"

Derek remained silent and kept his head down. Anger boiled in his blood the more the blonde hunter yapped on.

"Oh, sweetie," she said, shaking her head, "That's just a lot of guilt to keep buried. It's not all your fault. You got tricked by a pretty face." She shrugged her shoulders. "It happens. Handsome young werewolf mistakenly falls in love with a super-hot girl that kills the werewolves. Is that ironic?" She stepped closer to Derek. "Is it… ironic… that you're inadvertently helping me track down the rest of the pack… again?" A sadistic chuckle escaped past her lips. "Or just a little history repeating."

The hunter walked back over to the table and tapped her fingers on top of the machine. She thought to herself for a little bit when Derek continued to not say a word to her.

A sudden thought popped into Kate's head. "History repeating…" She went back to Derek. "It's not Jackson, is it? Oh, no, no, no. He's got a little scratch on the back of his neck, but… he's not in love with Allison. Not like Scott."

Kate's head slightly turned and she noticed something on the table. She smiled wickedly as she picked up the picture of Anabelle she took out of Derek's wallet. As she inspected the picture, Derek finally looked up and his heart ached when he saw what was in Kate's hand.

"Actually, there was one person who knew about me, wasn't there?" Kate smirked, "Little Anabelle Fierro… who I liked to call your little bitch."

It was hard to tell which of the two wolves was the angriest at the insult- the white wolf or Derek. The man growled at Kate for the bad nickname she gave his former best friend. But Kate wasn't affected by this at all. Instead, her grin stretched even wider.

"I wonder how she's doing right now," she continued, "For all we know, she could be dead in a ditch somewhere. But you'll never know, will you? God, she must hate you so much. Who could blame her? It's so sad, isn't it, Derek?" Said man glared at Kate as she chuckled. "She tried to warn you, too. She kept telling you that I was no good. But you didn't listen." One of her fingers trailed down Derek's chest. "No, you were just too hypnotized by an older and sexier woman to care what a stupid little girl had to say. Such a shame how one mistake had cost you everything you loved, especially the one girl you promised to never hurt and always protect." She leaned towards Derek and whispered in his ear, "And there's nothing you can do to bring her back."

She tore the picture in half and threw the pieces on the ground. Derek could feel his heart tear along with it as it was the only picture of Anabelle he had. After that, Kate walked out of the basement, leaving the werewolf alone. The white wolf should have left since there was a high possibility that Kate could catch her. But it was like her feet were cemented to the ground. She couldn't take her eyes off of Derek's defeated face. It was like she could feel every single emotion he had- anger, sadness, heartbreak, and the most powerful one, guilt.

_The front door creaked softly as it opened on a Sunday morning. It was about 6:14 AM so everyone in the Hale and Fierro house was still asleep. Poking her head through the opening, fifteen year old Anabelle Fierro looked around and listened carefully to make sure that no one was awake. The coast was clear. Anabelle let out a sigh of relief and quietly shut the door behind her. She tiptoed up the stairs to her bedroom, which was right next to Derek's. His door was shut so she assumed that he was also sleeping. _

_But as soon as she stepped into her room, Anabelle saw Derek sitting on the edge of her bed. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and he was staring at his best friend with a frown on his face._

"_God, Derek, what are you doing in here?" Anabelle hissed at him, "It's six in the morning. You should be in bed at this hour!"_

"_Well, you should've been in bed, period," Derek shot back, "I've been waiting for you to come home all night. Where have you been?"_

"_You're not my dad," Anabelle said as she set her bag down by her door, "It's none of your business. And besides, I'm pretty sure you weren't that worried about me since you ditched me with Kate."_

_Immediately, Derek's green eyes grew wide. "Shh! Are you serious, Anabelle? Someone could've heard you right now!" The caramel-haired girl rolled her eyes as she kicked off her shoes. "And are you really still mad about me canceling our movie plans? I told you I was sorry about that."_

"_I'm not mad, Derek. But right now, I am annoyed and exhausted. Can you just please go to bed? We can talk later when it's not so early."_

_Letting out a frustrated sigh, Derek ran his hand through his black hair. This was their third argument this week. Ever since Derek started going out with Kate, it seems like all he and Anabelle have been doing lately is fight. Anabelle was the only one who knew about their relationship. Kate was an Argent, which meant that she came from a family of werewolf hunters. Derek knew that his family would be absolutely furious if they knew about it. But he could never hide something like this from his best friend, so he told Anabelle. He didn't expect her to be happy about it, so he wasn't surprised when she slapped the back of his head and asked if he lost his 'goddamn mind'. Ever since then, they were constantly bickering and Derek kept canceling their plans to hang out with Kate. He hated to upset Anabelle like this, but he loved Kate… didn't he?_

_Just as Derek was about to leave Anabelle's room, a peculiar scent traveled to his nostrils. He sniffed around the room and looked over at Anabelle. Her arms were now crossed, but it was like she was protecting herself from something. Derek stalked towards the girl, the scent growing stronger the closer he got to her. Anabelle's heartbeat increased when he rubbed his nose against her neck and smelled her. Slowly, Derek's head rose up and he stared into Anabelle's brown eyes. His own eyes switched to electric blue._

"_What the hell did you do?" he said slowly._

"_Derek, just go to your room and get some sleep," Anabelle ordered calmly, lightly pushing on his shoulders._

_But he wasn't having it. Derek grabbed onto her wrists. "You had sex with Chase, didn't you? That's where you were last night."_

"_You're hurting me," Anabelle said through gritted teeth._

"_He took your virginity away from you last night, didn't he?"_

"_Let go of me!" Anabelle yanked her hands out of Derek's grasps and rubbed her sore wrists._

"_How could you let him do that to you?" Derek asked, trying his best not to yell, "What happened to wanting to wait until you were married? I can't believe that son of a bitch did this to you…"_

_Again, Anabelle rolled her eyes. "You're acting like he took advantage of me. It was a mutual decision."_

"_By mutual, you mean he says something and you instantly agree and do what he wants like a puppy?" Derek spat._

"_What the hell is wrong with you? I don't know what your problem is with Chase and why you hate him so much, but we've been dating for three months. You need to get over your differences already."_

"_I don't have to do anything, Anabelle. You've always told me that you were saving yourself for marriage. I know how big of a deal sex is to you. And you waste your first time with Chase? What the hell were you thinking?"_

"_Stop it," Anabelle told him, "I knew what I was doing. I wanted my first time to be with Chase because I love him."_

_Derek snorted. "You're fifteen years old. You're too young to know what love is."_

"_Oh, and you do? Did you forget that you're only a year older than me?"_

"_But Chase doesn't love you, Anabelle," Derek said harshly, "He's never loved you. He's a junior and you're a freshman. Why would he love someone as young as you? All he cares about is himself and sex."_

_At this point, Anabelle was getting very upset. She pushed on his chest so they were now in the hallway. "You're such a fucking hypocrite, you know? You think you and Kate have some sort of special thing going on? Wake up, Derek. This is all going to blow up in your face in the end. She was meant to kill people like us. That bitch could care less about you."_

"_You have no idea what you're talking about," Derek growled, his eyes still blue._

"_I'm not as dumb as you think I am," Anabelle said, "I can see that she's changed you. You're not that same caring boy I grew up with. You became a selfish prick who's too blind to see what's going on in front of you. The more time you're with Kate, the more power you give her to manipulate you."_

"_You're making me really angry right now, Anabelle."_

"_Good!" said girl exclaimed, "Get angry! I don't care! Maybe one day you'll finally understand that she's brainwashing you. Like all whores, all she needs to do is spread her legs for you to fall under her command like some stupid puppet!"_

_That was when Derek completely lost it. Without thinking, he pushed her with all the strength he had. Anabelle lost her balance and she ended up falling down the stairs. At the bottom was a full-length mirror that hung in front of the closet. When Anabelle reached the bottom of the stairs, she ended up hitting her head on the mirror hard, causing it to shatter and her to collapse. Derek immediately began to panic. He raced down the stairs to his best friend's side. He went to grab her arm but Anabelle shoved his hand away. She pushed herself up and placed her hand on the back of her head. When she took her hand away, she saw blood coating her palm._

"_Anabelle, I am so sorry," Derek apologized, his voice wavering, "I didn't mean to hurt you."_

_The she-wolf shook her head. "No," she said sternly, "You win, Derek. I'll never bother you ever again. Have a nice life with Kate. You two deserve each other." She then ran up the stairs to her room._

"_Wait, Anabelle!"_

_Derek chased after his best friend, but by the time he got to her room, Anabelle had already slammed the door shut and locked it. He placed his hands on the wood of the door and listened helplessly as the girl sobbed. Pissed off at himself, Derek let out a roar and punched the wall. What had he done? How could have he been so stupid to hurt the one girl he cared about more than life itself? Odds are that she would never forgive him for putting Kate before his and her family._

_He pressed his back against the door and slid down. A tear rolled down his cheek as he buried his face in his hands. Derek didn't even know how long he had been crying until a pair of arms wrapped around him. But he rested his head on the person's chest and accepted their embrace._

"_I fucked up really bad, Laura," he cried to his older sister._

"_Shh, it's okay," Laura said softly, "Whatever's going on with you two will blow over and before you know it, everything will be back to normal."_

But they never did. Now look where Derek was. He had a murderous uncle on the loose and had been captured and chained up by his psychotic ex-girlfriend. All he could do was imagine what would have happened if he had listened to the she-wolf and broke things off with Kate. Would his family still be alive? Would Anabelle be with him, just like she promised she would be? Derek would never know. Like Kate said, Anabelle was gone and there was nothing he could do about it.

"I'm so sorry, Anabelle," Derek said softly, swallowing down the lump forming in his throat, "I'm so fucking sorry."

Then he heard a howl. Derek looked up at the window on the other side of the basement, but there was no one and nothing there. All he could detect was that same scent that has been haunting him since he returned to Beacon Hills- vanilla.

* * *

"Lydia, you have been in there for almost forty-five minutes now!" Natalie said, knocking on her bathroom door, "What the hell are you doing? Performing an operation?"

The door opened, revealing the strawberry-blonde who had a slight pout on her face. "Beauty takes time and patience, Nat," she told her friend, "After being friends with me for seven years, you should know that this-" She gestured to her face. "-does not happen overnight."

"If you spend any more time in the bathroom, then we're actually going to be here overnight," Natalie said.

"Relax," Lydia said, rolling her eyes, "I was just finishing up anyway." She stepped out of the bathroom and looked up and down at the redhead. "Damn!"

Natalie had already finished getting ready for the winter formal. She was wearing her white dress and had accompanied it with black leather heels, a black and silver bracelet, and black and silver hoop earrings, all of which she borrowed from Lydia. Thank god that they had the same shoe size. Then Natalie had curled her red velvet hair and pinned it so it swept over one shoulder. Her makeup was dramatic but not cheesy with smoky eyes and red glossy lips. Earlier that day, Natalie and Lydia had done each other's nails so Natalie's were sparkly and black. She had wanted to go for just a matte black color, but Lydia had insisted in adding some glitter. Oh, that things Natalie would do to make her friends happy.

She held her arms out and smiled sheepishly at Lydia. "So… what do you think? Is the makeup too much?"

"Oh my god, Natalie!" Lydia gasped, "You look hot! Stiles is going to be all over you the whole night!"

"No, he won't," Natalie said with a slight blush.

"Are you kidding me? If that boy doesn't jump your bones tonight then I will."

"Shut up," Natalie laughed and shoved Lydia's shoulder. She grabbed her black leather jacket and shrugged it on. "But seriously, we gotta go. Stiles keeps texting me that we need to hurry up so we can get a good parking place. You know that we can't keep teenage boys waiting for too long."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. Let's get a move on." She grabbed her handbag and followed Natalie out of the room.

At the bottom of the staircase, Natalie's parents, the sheriff, Lydia's parents, Stiles, and Zach were waiting for the two girls. The mothers gushed at how beautiful their daughters looked while the dads complained that their dresses should be longer. But the moment Stiles and Zach laid eyes on their dates, their jaws dropped. Natalie and Lydia were bombshells!

"Holy crap," Stiles mumbled as his eyes traveled down to Natalie's toned legs.

"Eyes on her face, boy," Kurt warned him.

"Sorry," Stiles apologized before snapping his head back up.

His girlfriend suddenly became bashful as she walked up to him, her heels clacking against the wooden floor. The blush on Natalie's cheeks hid her actual red hues. She stopped in front of Stiles.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hi," he greeted back. He then remembered the box in his hands and opened it up. "I got this for you. Hold out your wrist."

When Natalie did so, Stiles tied a corsage made up of red, white, and black roses around her wrist. He made sure that it wasn't going to slip off before he let Natalie pin the boutonniere on his jacket. Luckily she was able to do it without poking him in the chest.

"There," Natalie smiled, "You ready to head on out?"

Stiles nodded. "Yep. Let's do this."

"Not until we get some pictures of you," Terri said. All four of the teenagers groaned in annoyance. "Oh, relax! I'm just gonna take a few photos and then you can go. Come on, stand in front of the fireplace."

The teenagers whined but followed Terri's instructions. As soon as they were in front of the fireplace, Terri started snapping photos of them. Most of the pictures were of all four of them. Then they broke off in pairs. First it was Stiles and Natalie, then Lydia and Zach. After that, it was just the Henderson siblings. Then it was just the girls then the boys, who were just goofing off in the pictures. Somehow, it was like they did a 360 turn and the four of them were posing together again. Finally, Natalie had enough.

"Alright, that's it," she said, grabbing Stiles's hand, "We really need to leave. Come on, let's get out of here." The teenagers rushed to the door.

"Wait!" Terri exclaimed, running after them, "I didn't get enough pictures!"

"Oh, trust me, Mom," Natalie said, "You got way more than enough." She quickly shut the door and they all hopped into Stiles's blue jeep. "Drive before my mom catches up to us," she ordered Stiles.

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Nat, I don't think she could-"

"She'll find a way, Stiles," Natalie snapped. He raised his hands in defense and started the car. As fast as he could, he pulled out of the Henderson's driveway and drove to the high school.

They reached Beacon Hills High in less than ten minutes. Stiles was lucky to be able to find a spot open in the parking lot since it was so packed. After he parked the car, they got out and started heading over to the front of the school. They bumped into Allison and Jackson, who were both looking very spiffy.

"Jackson," Lydia said, "You look handsome."

The jock snorted. "Of course. It's Hugo Boss." Then he left with Allison, who gave her friend an apologetic look.

"It's Hugo Boss," Natalie mimicked. She pretended to gag. "God, he's such an ass. You want me to beat him up, because I totally can. Just let me grab Tina from Stiles's jeep and I can bust the windows out this car."

Lydia shook her head. "No. I don't care. I don't want compliments. I will not fall prey to society's desire to turn girls into emotional, insecure neurotics who pull up their dresses at the first flattering remark."

"Well, I think you look beautiful," Zach told her.

The strawberry-blonde's eyes widened at the unexpected compliment from the thirteen year old. She looked up at him. "Really?"

Zach nodded his head and held out his elbow. With a small smile, Lydia linked her arm with his and let him lead her inside the school. Zach turned his head to look back at Natalie and Stiles. They gave him a thumbs-up and he winked at them, clearly proud of his smooth antics.

Everyone in the gym was having a blast when the four of them walked in. Most of the students were either already on the dance floor or sitting down at a table. The four teenagers found a table closer to the dance floor and took their seats. Stiles and Natalie were busy talking amongst themselves as Lydia and Zach were looking extremely bored. The youngest Henderson was drumming his fingers on the table as he looked around the gym. After a while, he let out a huff of air and turned to Lydia.

"You wanna dance?" he asked her.

"Pass," Lydia immediately said.

"Alright, let me try that again." Zach stood up from his chair, making all three of the sophomores look up at him. "Lydia Martin, get your cute little ass up and dance with me now."

His sister face-palmed. "Are you fucking kidding me, Zach?"

Lydia just looked amused. "Interesting tactic," she told him, "I'm gonna stick with no."

"For god's sake, Lydia, just get up," Zach demanded, "You're gonna dance with me right now, damn it. Look, I don't care that you're two years older than me and that you are way out of my league like Natalie is way out of Stiles's league."

Said boy gawked at him. "What the fuck-"

"I don't care about any of that," Zach continued, holding his hand out in front of Stiles's face. "Lydia, I have had the biggest crush on you ever since I was in the third grade. And I know that somewhere inside that cold, lifeless exterior, there's an actual human soul. And I'm pretty sure that besides my sister, I'm the only one who knows how smart you really are." Lydia raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah. And once you're done pretending to be a stereotypical dumb blonde- even though you're not actually blonde… you'll eventually go off and write some insane mathematical theorem that wins you the Nobel Prize."

Needless to say, all three of the older teenagers were shocked at Zach's little monologue. He even surprised himself, especially since this was the most he has ever said to Lydia in his entire life. But it felt so damn good to get all of that out.

"A Fields Medal," Lydia suddenly said.

"Huh?" Zach asked, tilting his head sideways.

She stood up. "Nobel doesn't have a prize for mathematics. The Fields Medal's the one I'll be winning." Then she grabbed his hand and led him to the dance floor. Zach pumped his hand up in victory, making Stiles and Natalie laugh.

"Damn," Natalie chuckled, "Who knew the kid could be so smooth?"

"I know, right?" Stiles agreed. He looked at his girlfriend and rubbed the back of his neck. "For the record, I don't have to break out in some big dramatic speech to get you to dance with me, do I?"

Natalie pretended to think to herself. "Hmm… as entertaining as that would be, it's not really necessary." She slipped her hand into his. "Let's go, Stilinski."

He flashed a big grin and together, they both walked to the dance floor. They were instantly reminded of the night of Lydia's party when they almost shared their first kiss. Only this time, Stiles wasn't as spastic when it came to his dancing, even though Natalie wouldn't have minded either way. Both of them were just having a good time and were even able to forget about the supernatural stuff. The night was full of smiles and laughter, especially when Coach Finstock caught Scott dancing with Danny. Just the sight of the boys with their arms around each other was amusing. Natalie swore that she could've died from laughter.

Things started mellowing down when the band finally played a slow song. Stiles wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist and pulled her closer to him. Their foreheads pressed together and they were smiling at each other as they danced.

"Have I told you tonight how beautiful you are?" Stiles asked.

Shaking her head, Natalie chuckled. "Please tell me that you're not gonna start getting corny on me."

"I'm being serious," Stiles said, "I know that I say that you're hot all the time, but I don't feel like I tell you enough that you're beautiful. You're, like, the most gorgeous girl in the building."

"Not even," Natalie said.

"Uh, yes even." Stiles crooked his finger underneath his girlfriend's chin and tilted her head up. "I'm the luckiest guy in the world just to be able to say that Natalie Henderson is my girlfriend."

Natalie smiled and touched her boyfriend's cheek. "I feel like I'm the lucky one to have you." She placed her hand on the back of his head and brought it down so his lips were brushing hers as she spoke. "And just to let you know, I am so not out of your league. We're in the same ballpark, babe."

Then she kissed his lips. She wrapped her arms around Stiles's neck so she could be even closer to him. Both of them just pretended that there weren't any teachers or students that would give them shit for PDA. After the whole Scott and Coach Finstock incident, they were pretty sure that they were fine. But then when Natalie pulled her lips away, she noticed her little brother pushing his way through the crowd to get to her.

"Have any of you guys seen Lydia?" Zach asked when he finally reached the couple.

"No, we thought that she was with you," Natalie said.

"She was," Zach panted, "but then she said that she was going to find Jackson. That was, like, twenty-five minutes ago."

Stiles looked around the gym and noticed Jackson standing in the hallway. He motioned the siblings to follow him and they headed over to the jock.

"Where the hell have you been?" Stiles asked, "Did Lydia ever find you?" But Jackson didn't say anything. He just stood there with a blank look on his face. "What? What's wrong?"

"I… I was out behind the school…" Jackson stuttered, "and I… I was… out…"

"Jackson," Natalie seethed, stepping up to the jock, "what the fuck did you do?"

* * *

As Stiles, Natalie, and Zach busted outside the school, they saw that the lights on the lacrosse field were on. They ran as fast as they could up there and the closer they were, the louder they could hear Lydia calling out for Jackson. To their horror, they saw Peter stalking up to the strawberry-blonde. Natalie started sprinting towards her friend, ignoring her boyfriend and brother's protests.

"Lydia, no!" Natalie shrieked, "Run!"

But it was too late. Peter had already shifted and attacked Lydia. Natalie would've tried to stop the alpha if only Stiles hadn't held her back. There was no way he was going to let his girlfriend get killed. Lydia's screams echoed in Natalie's head, which caused the tears to start stinging her eyes. How could she just stand there and let her friend get mauled by this psychopath? There had to be something that she could do.

Before she knew it, Lydia fell onto the grass, unconscious and bleeding profoundly. Natalie was able to wriggle out of Stiles's grasp and run over to her friend's side, but Peter hovered over her, like a predator would a prey. She shakily drew her hand back.

"Don't do this," she begged, shaking her head, "Please, don't kill my friend. Please…"

"Of course not," Peter said, "Just tell me how to find Derek."

"What?"

One of Peter's claws stroked Lydia's pale face. "Tell me how to find Derek."

"We don't know that," Stiles told him, "How would we know that?"

"Because you two are the clever ones, aren't you? And because deception has a particularly acrid scent, Stiles. Tell me the truth… or I will rip her apart."

"Look, we don't… we don't know, okay?" Natalie cried, "I swear on my life that we have no idea how to find him."

"Tell me!" Peter screamed, making Natalie flinch back into Stiles's arms.

"Okay, okay, okay," Stiles said, "Look, I think… I think he knew-"

"Knew what?" Peter asked.

"Derek," Stiles continued to explain, "I think he… I think he knew he was gonna be caught."

"By the Argents?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

Natalie lifted her head from her boyfriend's chest. "When Scott and Derek were both shot, I think he took Scott's phone from him."

"Why?" Peter asked.

"Because they all have GPS," Natalie answered, "So if Derek still has Scott's phone and it's still on… you'll be able to find him. You'll be able to find both Derek and the Argents."

* * *

**And there you have it, folks! I hope you liked the flashback with Derek and Anabelle. I'm not gonna lie, I teared up a little when I wrote it :P Anyway, PLEASE review and let me know what you think! Also if you haven't checked it out yet, I updated my IsaacxOC story Scars a few days ago so please go read it and leave me some feedback. Just one more chapter of this story until I post the first chapter of the DerekxOC story No One Else! Are you guys as excited as I am? Because I'm super pumped!  
**

**Thank you all for sticking with me this year and going through my abnormal updates! I love you all so much! I'll definitely be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey, everyone! Here's the last chapter of season one! Don't worry- this story is nowhere near over! In fact, it's just beginning ;) Please enjoy chapter 16!**

* * *

Lydia was still unconscious with Stiles, Natalie, Zach, and Peter crowded around her. As Peter wiped the blood off his mouth with a tissue he had balled up in his pocket, Natalie rested Lydia's head in her lap. Her trembling hand was smoothing her friend's hair down, trying to keep herself busy. Behind her, Zach had his arms crossed in front of his chest and his eyes were wide with worry. This was certainly not how he pictured his night ending up with his date being attacked by a werewolf with anger issues. Stiles rubbed his girlfriend's back in circles in attempt to calm her down.

"No," he said to Peter, "We're not just letting you leave her here."

"You two don't have a choice, Stiles," Peter said, "Both of you are coming with me." He looked at the youngest Henderson. "Unless if you want young Zachary to be next on my list."

"How the hell does he know my name?" Zach whispered to himself. Everyone else just ignored him.

Tears continued to pour down Natalie's cheeks as she looked up at the alpha. "Leave my brother out of this. If you're gonna kill anyone, then just kill me."

Her boyfriend shook his head. "Nat-"

"No, Stiles, I'm so fucking tired of this. I've been on the borderline of death so many times that I don't even care anymore. Kill me, but don't you dare touch Stiles, Zach, and Lydia ever again."

Peter strode over to Natalie and placed a sharp claw underneath her chin. He didn't push hard enough to puncture her, but so that she was standing up. Although her body language was failing her, Natalie tried her best to but on a brave face for her boyfriend, brother, and friend. The overwhelming scent of fear was giving herself away to Peter and it made him smirk in satisfaction.

"Call your friend," he ordered calmly, "Tell Jackson where she is. That's all you two get." He walked away from them as Stiles stood up and pulled out his phone. Natalie turned to Zach and gently grabbed his upper arm.

"Stay here with Lydia," she told Zach, "When Jackson gets here, get Danny to take you home right after the dance."

"Are you insane?" Zach hissed with wide eyes, "You can't go with him. If you say one wrong word to him, he could kill you in a heartbeat! I'm not letting that happen."

"I don't have a choice, Zach," Natalie said, "and right now, you don't either. I'm not risking your life for something that you shouldn't even be involved with. Just tell Mom and Dad that I'm with Stiles and not to wait up for me. Can you do that?" Zach remained silent. "Zach? Can you do that for me?"

Finally, he slowly nodded his head. "Yeah. I can do that."

"Let's go," Peter barked, "We don't have all night."

After kissing Zach's forehead, Natalie went over to Stiles and linked their fingers together. He squeezed her hand and then they followed after Peter to the school parking lot. They reached Stiles's jeep, where the boy let Natalie in the back as Peter sat in the front. After Stiles got settled in the driver's seat, he turned the ignition on and headed off to road.

The car ride was very quiet, which Natalie didn't really mind. For once, she was actually afraid to speak. Like her brother said, just one slip-up and she could be totally fucked. However, if it came down to it, the redhead wouldn't bother to think twice about sacrificing herself to save her friends and family. But Natalie also knew that Stiles would be very pissed if she ever even considered that option, and she was in no mood to make anyone else mad tonight. So she just rested her chin on her hand and stared out the window, watching the trees pass by.

"Don't feel bad," Peter told the couple, "If she lives, she'll become a werewolf. She'll be incredibly powerful."

"Yeah, and once a month, she'll go out of her freaking mind and try to tear us apart," Stiles spat.

Natalie snorted. "Because that's what we really need in this town- another teenage werewolf who can't control their shit."

"Well, actually," Peter said, "considering that she's a woman… twice a month." Natalie rolled her brown doe eyes and Stiles gave him a disgusted look before shifting his focus back to the road in front of him.

Eventually, Peter directed Stiles to a half-empty parking garage. As soon as they got out, the werewolf grabbed onto their arms and dragged them to a smaller but decent-looking black car. Peter took out a set of keys and unlocked it.

"Whose car is this?" Stiles asked.

"It belonged to my nurse," Peter answered as he opened the trunk.

"What happened to your- oh my god!"

Lying inside the trunk of the car was Peter's nurse. But her body was mangled up and bloody. There was no question about it that she was dead. The sight alone made Natalie gag. Add the rotting stench and her stomach churned.

"Holy fuck, that's an actual dead body!" she exclaimed. She held onto her stomach. "God, I think I'm gonna be sick…"

Peter then pulled a black case out from underneath his nurse's body and shoved it in Stiles's arms. Both of the teenagers were still gawking at the body. Peter looked back and forth from the couple to the nurse. "I got better," he said nonchalantly before slamming the truck shut. He took the case back from Stiles and placed it on top of the car.

"Good luck getting a signal down here," Stiles said sarcastically. Peter handed him a little device. "Oh, MiFi." Then Peter pulled a laptop out of the case. "And you're a Mac guy."

"Tell us, Peter," Natalie spoke up, crossing her arms, "is that a personal preference or do all werewolves go for Mac? Which is a total waste of money in my opinion."

"You, shut up," Peter told Natalie. He turned back to Stiles. "And you, turn it on. Get connected."

Stiles sighed and shook his head. "You know, you're really killing the whole werewolf mystique thing here." He turned on the computer and typed a few things. "Look, you still need Scott's username and password, and I'm sorry, but I don't know them."

"You know both of them," Peter accused.

"No, I don't."

"Even if I couldn't hear your heartbeat, I would still be able to tell that you're lying."

"Dude, I swear to god-"

All of a sudden, Peter grabbed the back of Stiles's head and slammed it down on the car. Then he wrapped his hand around Natalie's throat. Stiles looked up at his girlfriend worriedly as Peter's grip on her tightened.

"I can be very persuasive, Stiles," Peter warned as the boy struggled underneath his hold, "Don't make me persuade you."

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Natalie choked out, "I know his username and password. Let us both go and I'll get you into the laptop." Peter listened to the redhead's heartbeat to detect if she was lying. When he found out that he was being sincere, he took his hands off of her and Stiles. Natalie's hand went up to her throat. "Thank you! Damn, do constant cases of temper tantrums run in the family or something?" She walked over to the laptop and started typing. "What a minute. What's your plan after you find Derek?"

"Don't think, Natalie," Peter barked, "Type."

"You're gonna kill people, aren't you?" Stiles asked.

"Only the responsible ones."

Stiles placed his hand on top of Natalie's to halt what she was doing. She looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows and he just gave her a look that told her to wait. "Look, if Natalie does this, you have to leave Scott out of it."

"Do you know why wolves hunt in packs?" Peter asked them, "It's because their favorite prey are too large to be brought down by one wolf alone. I need Scott _and_ Derek. I need both of them."

"But why the hell would any of them be willing to help you?" Natalie asked.

"Oh, they will. Because Derek's desperate to find to his precious Anabelle and I'm the only one who knows where she is. And for Scott, it will save Allison. And both of you will, because it will save Scott. Your best friend, whom you know so well, you even have his username and password."

The teenagers looked at each other. Natalie nodded her head to reassure Stiles that everything was going to be fine. Hesitantly, he removed his hand and Natalie resumed her typing. Peter narrowed his eyes when he saw Scott's username.

"His username is 'Allison'?" he asked incredulously. Then Natalie typed in the password. "His password is also Allison?"

"And you _chose_ him to be in your pack," Natalie scoffed, "Are you starting to regret that decision, buddy?" Peter rolled his eyes.

Natalie stepped away so Stiles could now do his bit on the laptop. She gently took her boyfriend's keys from his back pocket and unlocked the jeep. After opening the trunk, Natalie hopped in and switched her black heels for her ratty Converse that she left in there. Then she slipped off the rubber band from underneath her bracelet and tied her red velvet curls up into a high messy bun. Lastly, she grabbed her leather jacket and shrugged it over her shoulders.

Hey, if Natalie was going to be murdered tonight, she might as well be comfortable when it happens.

"Wait, what the-" she heard Stiles stammer, "_That's_ where they're keeping him? At his own house?" Natalie got out of the jeep and stood next to Stiles. Surely enough, the GPS showed that Scott's phone (and Derek- who could forget about the lovely sourwolf?) at the Hale and Fierro house.

The look on Peter's face showed that he had just figured something important. "Not at it," he corrected, "Under it. I know exactly where that is." Suddenly, he heard a howl, which Peter guessed was coming from Scott. "And I'm not the only one." He shut the laptop, put it back in its case, and tossed it in the backseat of the car. That was when he heard not one, but two more distant howls. Peter held his hand out to Natalie. "Give me the keys."

"Careful," Stiles said as Natalie dropped the keys in Peter's hand, "She grinds in second."

Peter crushed the keys in his hand before giving them back to Natalie. When she held them up, she saw that they were all bent. She gulped nervously. "Well that was very nice of you."

"So you're not gonna kill us now?" Stiles said. Natalie groaned. He just _had_ to ask! Peter stepped towards the couple. "Oh god." Stiles pushed Natalie behind his back and she gripped onto the back of his shirt.

"Don't you two understand yet?" Peter asked, "I'm not the bad guy here."

"Oh really?" Natalie said, "Dude, you turn into some mutant dog that has fangs and red eyes. That description falls perfectly under the 'bad guy' category."

"I like you, Natalie," Peter said, "I like you both. Since you've helped me, I'm going to give you both something in return. Do you want the bite?"

Both of the teenagers' hearts dropped at the unexpected question. "What?"

"Do you want the bite?" Peter asked more slowly, "If it doesn't kill you- and it could- you'll become like us."

"Like you," Stiles stated.

"Yes, a werewolf. Would you like me to draw you a picture?" Peter took one step closer to the couple. "That first night in the woods, I took Scott because I needed a new pack. It could've easily been you or Natalie. Stiles, you'd be every bit as powerful as him. No more standing by his side, watching him become stronger, and quicker… more popular… watching him get the girl." He chuckled. "Even though you don't necessarily have that problem. But you'd be equals. Maybe more." He encircled Stiles's wrist and raised it up to his face. "Yes or no?"

Before Peter could bite into Stiles's wrist, the boy yanked his arm away. The alpha actually looked surprised. "I don't wanna be like you," Stiles said.

"Do you know what I heard just then? Your heart beating slightly faster over the words 'I don't want'. You may believe that you're telling me the truth, but you are lying to yourself." Peter looked over at Natalie, who was still hiding behind Stiles's back. "You're being awfully quiet over there, Natalie. What do you say? Your boyfriend may claim to not want the bite, but when it comes to health benefits, you might need it more than he does."

The redhead's hold on the back of Stiles's shirt tightened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I think you know what that means, Natalie," Peter said, "You know that it is very rare for werewolves to get sick. With the bite, you'll never have to worry about your cancer coming back. In fact, you'll be in the best shape you've ever been in your life. And you'll never have to worry about leaving your friends and family behind, especially Stiles. This is my final offer. Just say the five words- 'Peter, I want the bite'."

If she had to admit, Natalie thought long and hard about it. Did she really want to fall under the commands of a man like Peter? Absolutely not. However, everything else sounded pretty tempting. Being a werewolf would mean that for once, Natalie could actually get a good night's sleep without being afraid of not waking up the next morning. While she would be constantly on the run from hunters, she also wouldn't be as weak and tired as she had been feeling lately. She could get rid of the pills and not have to visit the doctor's office ever again. It was almost too good to be true.

But then she looked up at Stiles. He was waiting along with Peter for her to give her answer. If Natalie accepted the bite, what would Stiles think of her? Would he hate her for making such a life-changing decision like this? Natalie would honestly not be happy if he became a werewolf since he saw all of the struggles Scott had to go through. As much as Stiles wanted her to get better, he wanted it to happen the right way, not by some curse. She couldn't do this to him. She couldn't let him be the only human in a city full of supernatural creatures. He needed something normal in his life, and she wanted to be that one thing for him.

Taking a deep breath, Natalie faced Peter. "How about these five words- you can go fuck yourself."

Peter smirked. "You've got quite the lip on you, Miss Henderson. While I find it amusing, there are some people who would think differently. That could get you in some serious trouble one of these days." He nodded his head slightly. "Goodbye, Stiles and Natalie."

Then he got into the car and drove off, leaving them behind. Both Stiles and Natalie didn't say anything to each other for a while, causing the whole parking lot to be uncomfortably quiet. Stiles leaned against his jeep with his arms crossed and watched his girlfriend pace back and forth.

"You thought about it," Stiles said as soon as Peter was out of sight.

Natalie stopped moving and looked at her boyfriend. "What?"

"You were actually considering the bite, weren't you?" Stiles asked. Natalie bit her bottom lip and looked down at her feet. "I never thought that for one second that you would want it."

"Why are you saying it like it was just me who thought about it?" Natalie accused, "I could tell that you were hesitating to not let him bite you, too."

"I never accepted it though," Stiles said, pointing to himself.

"Neither did I! So stop acting like I did."

"But why would you want to be a werewolf? I mean, Peter said that the bite could either turn you or kill you. Why would you wanna take that risk? Do you hate being a human or something?"

"No, it's not that. It's just…" Natalie let out a sigh and rubbed her arm. "I thought that if I was given the bite, Scott, my parents, and you wouldn't have to worry about me being sick and tired all the time. Whenever you guys ask me if I'm okay or if I'm feeling well, it makes me feel like such a burden."

"Babe, you know that you are not a burden to any of us," Stiles told her as he walked up to her, "You are so far from that. We all love you so much."

"I know, but I can't help it. Having you guys stressing over me all the time makes me feel so helpless."

Stiles cupped Natalie's face in his hands. "Nat, look at me. You are _not_ helpless. You are the strongest, fiercest, and most badass girl I've ever met in my life. Death has snuck up at you so many times, but yet you conquer it every single time. Don't ever think that you need some super powers to stay alive. I love you as you are, human and all. Remember that, okay?"

A small smile graced Natalie's face as she wrapped her arms around Stiles's lanky torso. "Thank you. I love you just the way you are, too."

They pressed their lips together in a sweet kiss. It was very short but satisfying for the both of them. After they broke off the kiss, Natalie rested her head on Stiles's chest as he wrapped his arms around her. She closed her eyes as she let his heartbeat soothe her. But their moment ended quickly when Natalie's phone rang. Letting out a groan, she pulled her phone out of the pocket of her jacket and looked at the caller ID.

Her eyes widened. "Crap, it's my dad!" She answered the call and pressed the phone up to her ear. "Hey, Dad-"

"_Natalie, where the hell are you?"_ Kurt hissed, _"You know your brother's here at the hospital with Jackson? They called an ambulance for Lydia and they've been waiting outside her room for the past hour."_

"He's there with Jackson?" Natalie exclaimed, "That stupid little… ugh, I'm gonna kill him!"

"_Don't try to turn this on Zach,"_ Kurt scolded, _"Why aren't you and Stiles with him?"_

"I'm sorry. There was something that we had to take care of. But Stiles and I will be at the hospital as soon as we can."

"_Yeah, you better because John's here and he's not too happy with his own kid either."_

"Alright, we're on our way. We'll see you then." Natalie hung up and shoved her phone back in her pocket. "I think it's safe to say that our dads are extremely pissed right now. They want us to go over to the hospital immediately."

"Okay, but how exactly are we supposed to get there when we have a little bit of a… technical difficulty?" Stiles asked as he lifted the damaged keys.

The redhead shrugged. "Well, I guess we're just gonna have to run there." Stiles groaned. "Yeah, I don't wanna do it either, but right now, we have no other choice. Now, get moving, Stilinski!"

At least the hospital was just around the corner so they didn't have to run very far. Inside the building, doctors and nurses were running around everywhere doing their jobs. The couple busted through the doors only to be held back by Sheriff Stilinski.

"You know what?" he said, "It's good we're in a hospital, because I'm gonna kill you."

"I'm- I'm sorry," Stiles panted, "I lost the keys to my jeep. We had to run all the way here."

"Stiles, I don't care!" John yelled.

Natalie placed her hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "John, how's Lydia doing? Is she going to be okay?"

The sheriff sighed. "They don't know, partially because they don't know what happened. She lost a lot of blood, but there's something else going on with her."

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked.

"The doctors say it's like she's having an allergic reaction. Her body's been going into shock." John's eyes narrowed. "Did you two see anything? I mean, do you have any idea who or what attacked her?"

"No," Stiles lied, "No, we have no idea." Natalie shook her head in agreement.

"What about Scott?"

"What do you mean? What about him?"

"Did he see anything?"

"Did you not ask him yourself?" Natalie asked, "I thought Scott was already here. Was he not?"

"What are you talking about?" John asked, "I've been calling him on his cellphone. I've gotten no response."

When Natalie looked behind the sheriff, she saw Jackson and Zach standing outside of Lydia's room. The jock turned his head and made eye contact with Natalie. She sighed.

"Believe me, I'm pretty sure you're not gonna get anything from him, Sheriff," she told him. Then Kurt walked up to the group with a scowl on his face. "Hi, Dad. On a scale of one to ten, how mad are you?"

"At your brother? About an eleven," Kurt told her, "And you? Probably a good seven and a half. Do you want it to get higher?"

"Uh, I'd rather it not."

Kurt nodded. "Good answer. Now, why don't you just go wait with your friends?" The police officers led the teenagers out the doors and into the hallway.

"Dad, tell me," Stiles pleaded, "Look, you know it has something to do with Derek."

"What?" John looked around them to see if anyone was listening. "But I thought you three said you barely knew him."

Wincing, Natalie bit on her knuckle. "Well, to tell you the truth, we might know him a bit more than you think."

John grabbed the back of his son's neck. "You do realize that I'm elected to this job, right?"

"And if we help you figure this out," Stiles said, "you'll be re-elected. Am I right? Dad, come on."

"You know what? That girl in there has got nothing to do with a six year old arson case."

"When did you decide it was definitely arson?"

"When we got a key witness," Kurt explained as they all started walking down the hall. Natalie opened her mouth to speak but her dad pointed a finger at her. "We're not telling you who it is so don't even bother to ask. But yeah, we know for sure that it was arson. And we think it was organized by a young woman."

"A young woman?" Natalie asked, "Do you know who she is?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Natalie, if we knew who it was then her ass would've been in jail by now."

"Was she young then, or is she young now?" Stiles questioned.

"She's probably in her late twenties," John said. Then his phone started to ring. "Oh, I gotta grab this call." He walked away from the teenagers and Kurt.

"Dad, do you not know anything else about this woman?" Natalie asked, "Like, oh, I don't know, what her name is because that would be pretty useful to know."

"No, Natalie," Kurt sighed exasperatedly as he rolled his eyes, "And what the hell are you two trying to do? Interrogate us? The only other thing we know about her is that she had this very detailed pendant on her."

"What the hell is a pendant?" Stiles exclaimed.

The redhead pinched the bridge of her nose. "Dude, have I not taught you anything over the past sixteen years? A pendant is a necklace. You know that thing girls wear around their necks? It looks something like this." Natalie pulled her 'I Am Strong' dog tag from underneath her dress. All of a sudden, her eyes grew wider than usual as she realized something. "Holy fucking shit…"

"Watch it," Kurt scolded, "Now, can I go take of business?"

"Yeah," Natalie said, not looking at her dad, "God ahead." Right after Kurt walked away, Natalie placed her hand flat against the wall as if she would fall if she wasn't holding onto something. "Oh my god."

"What?" Stiles asked, suddenly freaking out, "What's going on?"

"Stiles…" Natalie said slowly, "A pendant is a necklace. Who do we know that has a very detailed necklace?"

That was when Stiles's already paled faced turned even whiter. "Allison. And Kate was the one who gave it to her as a gift, so that means…"

"We have to go find Scott. Now."

She grabbed her boyfriend's hand and they moved as quickly as they could down the hallways. Jackson and Zach were able to catch up to them. Before the thirteen year old could get a word out, Natalie pinched his arm as hard as she could.

"Ow!" Zach cried out, "What the hell was that for?"

"I told you to find Danny and have him take you home," Natalie said, "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to be with Lydia," Zach told her, "And I wanna help with what's going on."

"You can't! Zach, this is too dangerous. If something happened to you, not only will Mom and Dad have my head on a silver platter and feed my organs to Rocky, I would hate myself forever because of it."

"Nat, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

A characteristic that every Henderson family member had was that they were incredibly stubborn. So Natalie knew that no matter what she said, her brother wasn't going to back down. "Fine. But if you do something stupid like not listen to me again, I will kill you myself. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," Zach promised.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Jackson asked as they all started walking again.

"To find Scott," Stiles replied.

"You don't have a car," Jackson pointed out.

Both Stiles and Natalie rolled their eyes. "I'm aware of that," Stiles said, "Thank you."

"Here. I'll drive." The jock then grabbed Natalie's shoulder. "Come on-"

She smacked his arm away from her. "First of all, touch me again and I will set your hair on fire. And don't think that everything's fine now because all of a sudden you feel bad for what happened to Lydia. I hope you know that a lot of this happened because of you."

"Look, I have a car," Jackson said, "You don't. Do you want my help or not?"

"Alright," Stiles said, "Did you bring the Porsche?"

"Yeah," Jackson said as he took his keys out of his pocket.

"Good." Stiles snatched the keys out of the jock's hand. "I'll drive." As they turned around, they were face-to-face with Chris Argent and a couple of his… henchmen, which seemed to be the most accurate term.

"Boys," Chris said. Natalie cleared her throat, making the hunter look over at her. "And girl. I was wondering if you could tell me where Scott McCall is."

"Scott McCall?" Stiles repeated nervously, "Umm, haven't seen him since the dance. Jackson, you?"

And of course, Jackson could not play it cool and he started stuttering. "Umm… I…"

"Stiles, remember when I told you that Jackson would outlive you in a zombie apocalypse?" Natalie asked, "Well, I'm taking my answer back."

Before they knew it, all four of the teenagers were being pushed into an unoccupied room. They fell on one of the gurneys as Chris locked the door. He turned to them and smirked at their terrified expressions.

"Let's try this again," he said, "Where is Scott McCall?" When no one said anything, Chris and another hunter grabbed Stiles and Natalie and held them up against the wall. The third hunter was holding Jackson and Zach by the arms. "Let me ask you a question, Stiles. Have you ever seen a rabid dog?"

"No," Stiles said, shaking his head, "I could put it on my to-do list if you just let me and my girlfriend go."

Chris took his hands off the boy and gestured the other hunter to do the same with Natalie. "Well I have. And the only thing I've ever been able to compare it to is seeing a friend of mine turn on a full moon. Do you wanna know what happened?"

"Not really. No offense to your storytelling skills."

"He tried to kill me," Chris said with menace in his voice, "and I was forced to put a bullet in his head. The whole while that he lay there dying, he was still trying to claw his way toward me. Still trying to kill me, like it was the most important thing he could do with his last breath. Can you imagine that?"

Stiles gulped. "No. And it sounds like you need to be a little more select-" Chris slammed his hand on the other side of the boy so he was now trapped.

"Did Scott try to kill you and Natalie on the full moon? Did you two have to lock him up?"

"Yeah, we did. We had to handcuff him to a radiator. Why? Would you prefer we locked him in the basement and burned the whole house down around him?"

The hunter chuckled humorlessly and pointed at Stiles. "I hate to dispel a popular rumor, Stiles, but we never did that."

"That's right," Natalie spoke up for the first time. Everyone in the room looked at her. "I do remember that Derek said something about you guys having a code. So I'm guessing that it's never been broken?"

"Never."

"Interesting," Natalie continued, "But what happens if someone does end up breaking the code?"

"Someone like who?"

"Someone like your sister. Kate."

* * *

When Derek howled back at Scott after hearing his call, the older werewolf wasn't expecting a response back. Especially from someone other than Scott. He knew that it wasn't the other beta because this howl sounded much more feminine which really took him aback. It also sounded really close, almost like whoever it was, was right outside the house. But he didn't know any other werewolves in Beacon Hills besides Scott and Peter so he had no idea who it could have been. That was when he suddenly heard the pitter-patter of feet coming closer to the basement. Then he heard a whine. He turned his head to the entrance and his eyes grew wide at who was there.

The white wolf wasted no time and ran over to where Derek was hanging. She jumped up on her hind legs and placed her front paws on one of the poles that held him up. Taking a chain in between her teeth, she tugged on it as hard as she could until the metal broke off. Derek shook his hand to get some feeling back in it as the white wolf dropped the broken chain. After he was finally able to move his fingers and wrist, his eyes went back up to the other wolf.

Up until this moment, Derek had only heard the things Natalie told him about the creature. Not once had he actually seen it in person. Now he was actually having a stare-down with her. The white wolf had to be one of the most beautiful things Derek had ever seen in its life. She was just a little bit bigger than the average wolf. Her white fur looked so clean, so bright, and so soft! Derek wanted to know what it would feel like if he ran his fingers through it. And her black front paw really stood out to him. It struck him as familiar and he tried to think back to any time when he could have maybe seen her before.

She slowly stepped towards Derek. The closer she got, the stronger her sweet vanilla scent was for him. It was nothing like the disgusting perfume Kate always showered herself with. This wolf smelled unbelievably good. Derek was instantly reminded of the place this house used to be before the fire- warm and loving. But what really took his breath away about the white wolf were her eyes. Like his was when he shifted, her eyes were the same blue color. It made Derek wonder tragic event she had caused to earn those eyes. Even though he now knew that she had done a terrible thing, it didn't change his sudden interest in her. He wanted to know what her story was- where she was from, what things she had seen, who she has met, and the most important thing… who she was when she was human.

As soon as Derek reached out to touch her, the wolf immediately backed away. It was like his hand was made of fire and one touch could kill her. This really bothered Derek, but he didn't know why. He looked down at his hand. There wasn't any dirt or poisonous chemical on it and his claws weren't out. So why would the wolf not let him touch her? When he looked back up at her, she just rested back on her legs and her ears flattened down. She whimpered as she continued to stare at Derek. She couldn't have been scared of him. Right?

His trance was interrupted when he heard heavy footsteps come near the basement. The white wolf got up and ran over to a dark corner so she wouldn't be seen. Derek raised his free hand back up so it looked like his chain didn't break. A big and burly hunter entered the room with a wooden baseball bat in his hand. He walked up to a big light and shone it in Derek's face.

"Ready to have some more fun?" he taunted with a sickening grin, "To be honest, my knuckles are kind of hurting. So I brought some help." He raised the bat up. "But I need to warn ya. I used to play in college."

He swung at Derek, but the werewolf caught it before it could hit him. "I brought a little help, too."

The hunter turned around and saw Scott standing at the entrance. Derek took the opportunity to punch the hunter in the face and the white wolf crept behind him so he would trip over her. Once he was out cold, Scott walked over to Derek.

"Scott, help me with this," the older beta said as he tore the wires off his torso.

"No."

Derek's head snapped up. "What?"

"No until you tell me how to stop Peter," Scott said.

"You really wanna talk about this right now?" Derek growled out.

"He's going after Allison and her family," Scott told him, "He's going to kill them."

"So what?"

"So tell me how to stop him."

"You can't! Alright? Now, I don't know when Kate's coming back, so just get me out of this right now!" Derek yanked on the chain. "Get me out right now!"

But Scott wasn't giving up. "Promise you'll help me."

"You want me to risk my life for your girlfriend?" Derek yelled, "For your stupid little teenage crush that means absolutely nothing? You're not in love, Scott. You're sixteen years old. You're a _child_."

That sent the white wolf into protective mode. She stood in front of Scott like a mother would her cub and growled at Derek. Both men were surprised by this action, but Scott appreciated that at least one werewolf was looking out for him.

"Maybe you're right," Scott finally said. "But I know something you don't. Peter said he didn't know what he was doing when he killed your sister, right? He lied." He pulled a piece of paper and unfolded it. "Remember this? This is what brought your sister back to Beacon Hills, right?"

One the paper was a picture of a dead deer in the woods. In the center of the animal, there was a spiral inscribed. The spiral was the sign of vendetta, meaning revenge. The white wolf got a closer look at the picture and tilted her head as she studied it.

"Where did you get that?" Derek asked, eyes narrowing.

"My boss told me three months ago someone came into the clinic asking for a copy of this picture," Scott explained, "Do you wanna know who it was? Peter's nurse. They brought your sister here so that Peter could kill her and become the alpha, and that's why you're gonna help me." Derek didn't say anything. He just continued to stare at Scott with zero expression on his face. Scott sighed and turned away. "Just say you'll help me, and I'll help you unlock your other-"

CLANK!

Scott turned around and saw Derek rubbing his wrists. The white wolf dropped the second chain in her mouth on the floor and pushed it away with her nose.

"I'll help you," Derek said.

The other beta nodded his head and left the basement. While Derek was still rubbing his sore wrists, the white wolf grabbed Derek's shirt and jacket off the table with her teeth. She headed back over to the man and whined. One of Derek's eyebrows rose but he accepted his belongings. After putting the shirt and jacket on, he took a step towards the entrance. He was still a bit out of it from being electrocuted and beaten up so he ended up stumbling. But the white wolf pushed on his chest with the top of her head before he could fall. Derek looked into her blue eyes, a bit annoyed that he couldn't see past them. They were emotionless, kind of like his own eyes.

"Who are you?" he asked softly.

She just whimpered again and pushed on Derek's chest again to get him to stand up. When he was able to do it on his own, the wolf quickly got behind him and butted her nose on the back of his legs to help him walk. It took them a while, but when they finally got outside, Scott wrapped Derek's arm around his neck and helped him stay up. Then they all began walking through the woods with the white wolf leading them.

"Hey. Hold on," Derek said, "Hold on. Hold on." The other two wolves stopped walking. "Something doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked.

Derek looked around. "I don't know. It's… it's kind of like it's-"

"No, don't say 'too easy'," Scott quickly said, "People say 'too easy' and bad things happen. What, do you think finding you was easy? Getting away from Allison's dad? None of this has been easy."

"Fine," Derek said, "You're right."

Scott threw his head back. "Thank you!"

All of a sudden, Derek was shot by an arrow. It pierced his shoulder, causing him to fall onto the ground. The wolf turned around and growled when she saw Kate and Allison standing ten feet away from them. Scott's eyes widened when he saw that Allison had a bow and arrow in her hands.

"Now the leg," Kate instructed Allison. The younger Argent shot another arrow at Derek. "Flash bolt."

"Scott, your eyes!" Derek yelled.

"Now."

Allison shot again and the arrow went through a tree. Smoke and sparks burst out, temporarily blurring the werewolves' vision. Once the white wolf was able to see clearly again, she ran over to Derek and pulled the arrows out of his shoulder and leg, making him scream out in pain. Then she pushed him up and he grabbed Scott.

"Get up!" he ordered, "Let's go!"

"Natural talent," Kate praised Allison before they went after the werewolves.

The three tried to run, but they could still hardly see what was in front of them. Also, Derek was still very weak from the basement. He ended up collapsing to the ground.

"Scott, go!" he told the teenager, pushing him so he could run away. The white wolf stayed behind with Derek and tried to get him to move again, whimpering as she did so.

Unfortunately, Scott wasn't able to get very far. He fell in front of the Hale and Fierro house. When he looked up, he could barely make out Allison marching up to him with her bow and arrow pointing towards him.

"Allison, I can explain," Scott said.

"Stop lying," she spat out, "For once, stop lying."

"I was gonna tell you the truth at the formal," Scott told her, "I was gonna tell you everything. Because everything I said… everything I did-"

"Was to protect me," Allison finished.

"Yes."

"I don't believe you."

Kate groaned as she walked towards the teenagers. "Thank god! Now, shoot him before I shoot myself."

Her niece furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "You… you said we were just gonna catch them."

"We did that," Kate said, "Now we're gonna kill them." Then she shot Derek with her gun, making the white wolf cry out. "See? It's not that hard."

She started to walk over to the man but the white wolf blocked her from touching him. The wolf's eyes turned blue as she barked at Kate.

"Well, isn't this cute?" the hunter said sarcastically, "The little bitch is willing to take a bullet for the team. You'd make a beautiful fur coat for me to wear, too." The wolf growled lowly, making Kate smirk. "I think you'd be the most fun to kill, so I'll save you for last." She walked up to her niece, who had a scared look on her face. "Oh, no. I know that look. That's the 'you're gonna have to do it yourself' look." She cocked her gun and pointed it at Scott.

"Kate, Kate, what are you doing?" Allison asked. Her aunt just pushed her to the ground.

"I love those brown eyes."

"Kate!" Everyone turned their heads and saw Chris walk up to them. "I know what you did. Put the gun down."

"I did what I was told to do," Kate said.

"No one asked you to murder innocent people," Chris said, "There were children in that house, ones who were human. Look what you're doing now. You're holding a gun to a sixteen year old boy with no proof that he spilled human blood. We go by the code… Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent."

"We hunt those who hunt us," Allison translated softly.

As Kate slowly started to pull on the trigger, Chris pointed his own gun at her. "Put the gun down." Then he fired it, the bullet barely missing her and hitting the tree behind her. "Before I put you down." She hesitated but lowered her gun. Suddenly, the door of the Hale and Fierro house creaked open, making Chris and Kate point their guns. "Allison, get back."

Scott and Allison quickly stood up and everyone backed away from the house. "What is it?" she asked.

The beta's dark brown eyes switched to yellow. "It's the alpha."

Something then zoomed out of the door and started knocking everyone down one by one. The only one left standing was Kate, who was still gripping onto her gun and waiting to shoot whoever was out there.

"Come on!" she yelled out. She turned around. "Come on!"

Then all of a sudden, Peter grabbed Kate's hand, making her accidentally fire her gun twice into the air. He tightened his hand around hers and broke a few bones. Kate cried out in pain. Peter then circled his hand around her throat and threw her onto the porch almost effortlessly. She yelled again as she landed with a thud. The werewolf walked up to the front steps, grabbed Kate, and dragged her into the house.

"No!" Allison screamed as she watched Peter take her aunt away. She ran inside the house only to see the alpha holding Kate to his chest and his claws at her throat.

"She is beautiful, Kate," peter said, "She looks like you. Probably not as damaged." Kate gagged as he held onto her neck tighter. At this point, the tears just started to flow from Allison's as she watched her aunt stand there defenseless in the hands of a psychopathic werewolf. "So I'm going to give you a chance to save her." Peter's voice started wavering as he spoke. "Apologize. Say that you're sorry for decimating my family and the Fierros, for leaving me burned and broken for six years. Say it… and I'll let her live."

"I'm sorry," Kate choked out. Peter then pierced his claws into her neck and slit it open. The young Argent girl gasped as her aunt fell dead onto the charred wooden floor.

"I don't know about you, Allison," Peter said, "but that apology…" He looked up at her. "… didn't sound very sincere."

He took a step towards her but stopped when he heard a growl. Looking to his right, Scott stood there, already shifted in his werewolf form. Then Peter saw Derek on his left, who was shifted as well. When he looked back to the front of him, the white wolf walked around Allison and bared her sharp teeth.

"Run," Scott told Allison. She didn't bother to think twice and she ran out of the house.

All three of the betas roared as they charged at Peter. The alpha threw Scott and Derek at the walls. The white wolf threw herself at him and they fell onto the floor. She scratched at his cheek and it only pissed him off even more. Peter shoved her off and as soon as he stood back up, he kicked her face. It sent her flying and she ended up hitting her head pretty hard when she landed on the floor, knocking her unconscious. Derek saw this and went to attack Peter again, only for him to be punched and tossed at a bookcase. Jumping on his back, Scott tackled Peter to the floor. He was also thrown away next to the white wolf, who still wasn't moving. As Scott went to go fight Peter again, Derek quickly moved over to the wolf and shook her to get her to wake up. But she was out like a light. Derek knew for sure that she was still alive since he could hear her heartbeat. That didn't make him less angry at his uncle for hurting her.

When Derek looked up Scott and Peter fighting, he saw that his uncle kept switching from human to werewolf and then back to human. He threw Scott away from him before his bones began to crack and clothes shredded off his body. And then Peter looked into a nearby mirror and watched himself as he shifted into his alpha form.

* * *

Meanwhile, Stiles was driving Jackson's Porsche through the woods. It actually looked like they were in a _Fast and Furious_ movie. This time, Natalie had actually put on her seat belt since she didn't want any repeats of sliding all over the backseat. Zach was the one who was having that problem now. And since the trail was bumpier out here, he kept falling off of his seat and onto the floor.

"Hey, hey, hey," Jackson said, "This isn't exactly an all-terrain vehicle."

"Yeah," Stiles said, keeping his eyes on the path in front of him, "Did you pay for it?"

"No."

"Then shut up," Stiles said, "Where the hell are they?"

"Over there!" Natalie declared as she pointed out the front window.

Zach's eyes widened when he saw Scott and Peter fighting in front of the house. "Wait, _that's_ what werewolves look like when they shift?"

"What did you expect?" Natalie snorted, "Did you think they were gonna be like Michael J. Fox?"

"A little," Zach admitted.

His sister rolled his eyes. "If your expectations are based solely on movies, then you're gonna be so disappointed in the future."

As Stiles pulled up in front of the house, he honked on the horn to get the alpha's attention. The four teenagers got out of the car and Stiles chucked a Molotov cocktail that Natalie made earlier at Peter. But he ended up catching it with ease in one hand.

"Oh, damn," Stiles said nervously.

Scott noticed Allison's bow and arrow on the ground by his feet. He called out her name as he picked it up and tossed them to her. Allison then drew her arm back and shot the arrow at the Molotov cocktail. The glass shattered to pieces, causing Peter's arm to catch on fire. Mentally thanking her baseball skills, Natalie got into her pitching stance and threw the second beaker. It hit Peter and set his whole body to be showered in flames. He roared in pain and looked over at Allison. He was about to attack her when Scott hit him. The flames started to die down as Peter slowly shifted back into a human. His scorched body wobbled before he dropped onto the ground.

Everyone just stood there in bewilderment as they tried to process what had just happened. Allison was the first to move, running over to Scott and kissing him on the mouth. By the time they pulled apart, his werewolf features faded away. He stared at Allison.

"Why did you do that?" he asked her.

She smiled lightly. "Because I love you."

"Am I the only one that thinks Peter looks like barbecued chicken?" Zach said out loud. Natalie looked at her brother and smacked his forehead. "Ow!"

"Now's not the time to be stupid!" she hissed.

The teenagers then noticed that Derek had walked out of the house and over to Peter. He knelt over his uncle's body and glared at him. Scott knew what Derek was thinking about- he was internally debating on whether he should kill Peter or not. He up and ran to Derek.

"Wait!" he exclaimed, "You said the cure comes from the one who bit you. Derek, if you do this, I'm dead. Her father, her family… what am I supposed to do?"

"You've… decided… already," Peter wheezed out to his nephew, "I can smell it on you! Just remember that without me, you will never find Anabelle. You'll be looking for her day and night, like you've been doing for the past six years. There's no chance of you getting her back!"

"One way or another," Derek growled out, "I will find her if it is the last thing I do." He raised his claws up.

"Wait! No, no! Don't!" Scott yelled.

It was too late. The damage was already done. Derek had slashed Peter's throat, ending his life. He stood up and turned to everyone else. His eyes glowed red as he spoke these next four words, "I'm the alpha now."

A whimper was heard. Derek looked back behind him and saw the white wolf staring back at him. He didn't even know when she had waked up. She had still been knocked out before he walked out of the house. For the first time that night, Derek was able to tell what emotion her blue eyes held. To his surprise, she seemed to be disappointed. Disappointed at him specifically. It made his eyes turn back to green. The white wolf backed away from him before running off.

"Wait!" Derek called out to her, prepared to follow after her.

But she had already gone too deep into the woods. He could hear her howl far off into the distance. His eyes flashed red once more as the thought of letting her slip through his fingers made him mad.

Now Derek knew what his one of his first missions was as the alpha- find out who was really the white wolf.

* * *

"Shut the door," Scott told Stiles after they and Natalie snuck into Lydia's room in the hospital.

Stiles went to do what he was told until the door started creaking. Trying to stay quiet, he closed the door as slow as possible, which only made the noise grow louder. Once it was finally shut, he quickly locked it and slumped against it. His best friend and girlfriend stared at him with disbelief.

"What?" he asked.

"I worry about you a lot, Stiles," Natalie deadpanned, "I actually pray for you before I go to bed."

"I know when you're being sarcastic," Stiles whispered, "but truth be told, I don't find it to be all that funny."

"Oh, boohoo!"

Before they could get into it, Scott hushed them. The couple stuck their tongues out at each other as they got up to go stand by Lydia's bed. Scott looked around to see if anyone outside the room saw them before lifting up Lydia's blanket to look at the bite mark on her side.

Natalie walked over to Lydia's other side and took her hand. It felt so cold against her warm skin. Seeing her longtime friend like this was rough for Natalie. Lydia was always so full of life and smiling all the time. Now, she almost resembled a corpse with her freezing skin and pale face. Was this how her own friends and family saw Natalie when she laid on a hospital bed as she was being treated for cancer? Did she look this lifeless? If she did, she felt like going over to them and giving them the biggest hug she could give them.

"Is it completely healed?" Stiles asked, breaking Natalie out of her thoughts.

"No, not at all," Scott answered.

The redhead's eyes widened. "What do you mean, 'not at all'?"

"I mean that the bite's still there," Scott said, "It still looks fresh."

"I don't get it," Stiles said, "The doctor said she'd be fine."

"Yeah, but the bite's not healing like it did with me. Which means… she's not a werewolf."

"Then what the fuck is she?" Natalie questioned softly as she pushed Lydia's hair out of her face.

This just opened up so many questions for the trio. And they didn't even know where to start to try to look for answers.

* * *

**And that's the end of season 1! PLEASE review and let me know what you think! And I'm glad that you guys are liking Zach. And now that he knows about the supernatural, he will be showing up more frequently. **

**Speaking of Zach, I had gotten a question wondering why I don't pair Malia up with him. This is something that I actually have considered doing before. But the thing for me is that I think Zach is still too young to be with her. And I didn't care for the fact that season 4 of the show was pretty much centered around Stiles and Malia. That's just my opinion so I apologize if anyone else thinks otherwise. I just want to really focus this story on Stiles and Natalie so that's why I changed Malia into a boy. I might change my mind in the future, but in the meantime, this is what I have planned. **

**And to just clear things up, everything I put in these stories has a sole purpose. I'm not throwing random stuff in there just for the hell of it. Like if you guys also read my IsaacxOC story Scars, there may be some elements in there that people may not necessarily agree with, like the fact that Isaac and Delilah got together quicker than most people do and that Isaac doesn't really do anything to stop Delilah from hurting herself. I'll go more into detail about this the next time I update Scars, but just keep in mind that everything I put in my stories are there for a reason.**

**Before I go, either some time tonight or tomorrow, I will be posting the first chapter of the DerekxOC story No One Else so be on the lookout! Until then, I'll be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm back! Hey there, guys! I'm sooooooo sorry for not updating in so long! I'll explain why at the end of the chapter. I was gonna wait until the next chapters of Scars and No One Else to post this, but I decided to go ahead and post this anyways since it's been a while. Anyway, here's chapter 17 of Awake and Alive!**

* * *

Never in Natalie's life would she have ever thought that she would end up being jealous of Stiles. Stiles Stilinski, the twitchy and uncoordinated boy who seemed to always be bouncing off the walls even when he hadn't had any sort of sugar or caffeine that day. But here he was, sleeping away with his head on Natalie's lap like a baby. She had been sitting in the hallway at the hospital all weekend, waiting to see if her friend was making any progress in her recovery. It was baby steps, but Lydia seems like she's healing.

When Natalie said that she wanted to be with Lydia when she got better, Stiles decided to stay with her so she would have company. Half of the time though, he had been sound asleep with no problem. Natalie wished she could do the same. Not once had she been able to shut her eyes and get some rest and it was certainly showing. The whites of her eyes were red and the dark circles seemed to just keep getting darker. Every time one of Lydia's parents saw her, they begged Natalie to go home and get some sleep. But she just refused and insisted that she was fine. She was just lightly scratching Stiles's head as he slept and her other arm rested over his waist.

At one point, he subconsciously grabbed her hand and hugged it close to his chest. The one benefit that Natalie got from not falling asleep was listening to Stiles mumble, which was always entertaining.

"Ooh… just like that," he said in his sleep, "No, no, you first. Me first?"

Natalie chuckled and shook her head. Just then, Melissa walked out and saw the young couple. She sighed, making Natalie look up at her and smile weakly.

"Hi, Mama McCall," she said.

"Oh, sweetheart," Melissa sighed again, "You look awful. Why are you and Stiles still here? You should be at home and getting some sleep. Don't you have school tomorrow morning?"

"I'll be fine," Natalie assured her, "I should really be here for Lydia right now. She's one of my best friends and I wanna be there when she finally gets better."

Melissa crossed her arms in front of her chest. "And you're sure that your parents are okay with you being here?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Natalie said, "And for the sleeping situation, don't worry about it. I've been taking little naps every once in a while."

Okay, that may have been a total lie, but Natalie didn't want Melissa stressing over her anymore if she found out that the redhead was struggling with insomnia. But before Melissa could push her more about this, Lydia's father stepped into the hallway and walked up to her. He noticed the two teenagers.

"You two kids have been here all night," he pointed out.

"They've been here all weekend," Melissa corrected.

"We're fine," Natalie said once more, "I promise." She pointed to Stiles. "See? He's been knocked out for the past couple of hours. He's getting plenty of rest."

As if on cue, Stiles started smiling. "You're dirty," he chuckled. Melissa, Mr. Martin, and even the cleaning lady who was changing the garbage bags gave him a weird look. All of their eyebrows rose when Stiles started kissing the air.

"He ate a chocolate bar before he fell asleep," Natalie explained, "Sugar makes him have crazy dreams."

The adults didn't look very convinced but they just shrugged it off before walking away. Natalie looked back down at her now snoring boyfriend. Rolling her eyes, she smacked his forehead, making him wake right up.

"Ow!" Stiles yelped, rubbing his forehead and sitting up.

"Oh, good, you're up," Natalie said like she didn't do anything.

"How long have I been out?" Stiles asked her.

"Like two hours. Are you hungry? I was thinking about going down to the cafeteria to get something to eat."

Stiles groaned. "But I hate hospital food! It all tastes like it's been sitting out for months. It's nasty."

"Well that's all there is, babe. Take it or leave it." Stiles shook his head with a look of disgust on his face. "Fine. I'll be right back then. And I'll try to find you something that you would deem edible." Natalie swiftly kissed her boyfriend's lips before getting up and walking downstairs to the cafeteria.

There weren't a lot of people in there since it was late at night and most visitors went home. Natalie shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she looked at the food on display. Her nose scrunched up. No wonder why Stiles wouldn't eat this crap. Some of the food looked like someone had taken road kill, boiled it, and laid it out on the counter. This is probably the reason why a lot of people were put into the hospital in the first place. What was claimed to be chicken looked to be rotting the longer Natalie stared at it.

"Just pick something, kid," the older lady behind the counter told her, "It's not going anywhere if you keep staring at it."

"Alright then," Natalie sighed, "Um, I guess I'll take a cup of the tomato soup." It was the only thing out that looked like it wouldn't kill her so that was promising.

Debra, the lady behind the counter, grabbed a small Styrofoam cup and filled it to the brim with soup. Then she sloppily placed a lid on it and shoved it towards Natalie. "That'll be three twenty-five," she said bitterly.

"You know," Natalie said as she pulled the money out of her wallet, "I would think that working in a hospital surrounded by people who are ill would make someone more humble and less grouchy."

"Try working here for thirty years," Debra told her, "Then you'd understand what it's like serving people who always complain that the food is garbage."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Natalie said reluctantly. She grabbed her soup along with a plastic spoon and walked away. Then she noticed Zach sitting at a table in the corner of the room and playing on his phone so she went over to him. "Hey, little bro."

He looked up from his phone. "Hey. Where's lover boy at?"

"He's still upstairs," Natalie answered as she sat across from him, "He wanted to go nowhere near the cafeteria."

"Who can blame him?" Zach snorted, "I just bought a ham and cheese sandwich a little while ago and it tasted like monkey butt."

"That's lovely." The redhead pulled the lid off the cup and dipped her spoon in the soup. Her tongue stuck out and poked at it to get a tiny taste. She let it sit in for a few seconds and looked down at the cup. "Well, it doesn't taste like I'm gonna die from it so that's good."

Zach chuckled and took a sip of his hot chocolate. "So what's going on with Lydia? Have you had any updates?"

"She should be released in a couple of days. It looks like she's making good progress so far."

"I meant about what supernatural being she might be."

Sighing, Natalie set her spoon down. "We don't know what's going on. But nothing really seems out of the ordinary. Lydia's not growing any claws or changing eye colors."

"But that's a good thing, right?" Zach wondered.

"It should be, but something still doesn't add up. I mean, come on. Lydia gets bit by a werewolf and nothing happens? That just seems very strange, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess that's true. What about Derek? What's going on with that guy? Because if I'm gonna be honest, those red eyes scare the crap outta me."

"Who knows?" Natalie said, "He's probably either hunting rabbits or chasing around that white wolf still. I don't know why but he's so obsessed with her that it's on the borderline of creepy. Almost like you with Lydia."

The youngest Henderson shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, you're right." Then he realized what his sister said. "Hey!"

"Come on, you little stalker," Natalie said as she stood up, "Stiles is probably waiting for me. And if I eat any more of this soup, I might spontaneously combust."

After throwing their trash away, the Henderson siblings headed back upstairs to Lydia's floor. The first thing they saw was Stiles frantically pushing the buttons on a vending machine and grumbling to himself. When he started banging on it with his fists, Natalie couldn't help but laugh at how frustrated he looked.

"Um, Stiles?" she spoke up, "I'm pretty sure that if you keep hitting the machine like that, you're gonna break it and not actually fix it."

Stiles turned his head. "Oh, I'm gonna make it work, Nat. Just watch me." He then grabbed onto the machine and pursued to lift it up off the floor. "Just- gah! It's not gonna work!"

"What the hell are you trying to do? Hulk-smash it?" Natalie exclaimed, "You can't even lift _me_ up without struggling."

"Only when I'm having a bad day!" Stiles yelled back. Then he started shaking the machine roughly until it tipped over. It fell over and the glass broke into tiny pieces. "Damn it."

"Nice!" Natalie said sarcastically. Just as Stiles was about to argue back, they heard a girl screaming. Their heads snapped towards Lydia's room. Natalie could feel her heart drop down to the pit of her stomach. "Lydia?" she called out. She ran to her friend's room with Stiles and Zach following after. "Lydia!"

Melissa and Lydia's father also heard the screams and ran to the room with the teenagers. "What the hell was that?" she asked.

When they all entered the room, they immediately noticed that the bed was empty with bundled up sheets. Natalie continued to call out for Lydia as Zach ran to the bathroom to look in there. He drew back the shower curtains. No sign of Lydia in there, either.

"Where could she have gone?" Zach asked as he walked over to Stiles.

"Uh, I don't know where she went, but I think I have an idea how she got out," Natalie said with wide eyes. She pointed to the open window.

Stiles gulped nervously. "Okay, well, that's not good."

"Oh, you think?!" the redhead exclaimed incredulously, flailing her arms around.

* * *

Not too long afterwards, Melissa had called Kurt and John to come down to the hospital. She along with Mr. Martin informed the sheriff and deputy what had happened with Lydia. As for Stiles, Natalie, and Zach, they sat on the chairs in the hallway and listened to the adults' conversation.

"Naked?" John asked, raising an eyebrow, "As in… nude?"

Melissa sighed. "I'm pretty sure they mean the same thing," she said, "but, yes, as far as we know, she left here clothing-optional."

"Alright," Kurt said, rubbing the back of his neck, "And did you guys check everywhere around the hospital to make sure that she wasn't around?"

"Every last corner," Melissa confirmed.

"Nothing suspicious?" John asked.

"Nothing. She just took off."

Sighing, John looked over at Kurt and said, "Alright, let's get an APB out on a sixteen year old redhead. Any other descriptors?"

"Well, to be specific," Zach said as he, Stiles, and Natalie walked over to the adults, "Lydia's five foot three and has green eyes and fair skin." He snapped his fingers as he remembered something else. "Oh! And technically, she's strawberry-blonde."

Everyone looked at the thirteen year old like he had two heads. "Huh," Kurt said, "Is that so?" Zach nodded enthusiastically.

"Wow, that does not make you sound less stalker-ish at all," Natalie snorted.

"Oh, like Stiles doesn't know every single detail about you?" Zach asked.

"Not as accurate as that."

Red tinted Stiles's cheeks as he looked down at his shoes. "Five foot three, chocolate brown eyes, Snow White skin, and straight red velvet hair that's naturally dark brown."

Natalie stared at her boyfriend with raised eyebrows. "I don't know whether I should be impressed or suspicious that you know all of that so specifically."

"You tend to notice every single thing about someone when you've known them all your life," Stiles said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Come here," John told his son, grabbing the back of his neck and dragging him away. Kurt held onto his own children by the arms and followed after the Stilinski's. "What the hell are you three still doing here?"

"Um, being the most amazing friends ever and providing moral support," Natalie chuckled nervously.

"What she said," Stiles added, pointing his finger at his girlfriend.

"Uh huh," John said, not sounding very convinced, "How 'bout you provide your ass back home, where you should be."

"Okay, I can do that too," Stiles nodded, "Mmm." The sheriff released his neck and went back to Melissa and Mr. Martin.

Kurt turned to Natalie and Zach sternly. "And that also goes for you two. Go home and get some sleep. It's a school night and you shouldn't be out so late anyway." Then he followed after John.

"You got the gown, right?" Stiles asked Zach as soon as the adults were far away enough to not be able to hear them.

"Yep," Zach said as he held up Lydia's blood-stained hospital gown. Natalie rolled her eyes. "What?" But she just walked away to the entrance of the hospital without saying anything. "What? God, stop being so judgmental towards me!"

Rolling his eyes, Stiles grabbed onto Zach's hood and dragged him out of the building to follow Natalie. When they were outside, they saw the blue jeep with Scott sitting in the passenger seat. Stiles hopped into the driver's seat as the Henderson siblings climbed in the back. Zach threw the hospital gown at the werewolf.

"Here. Happy birthday," Zach said sarcastically.

"This is the one she was just wearing?" Scott asked. Natalie nodded her head as she stared down at her hands. Scott noticed how distressed his best friend looked and placed his hand on top of hers. "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt her. Not again."

The redhead gave him a weak smile. "I know. I trust you, Scotty."

"Alright, just shove the thing in your face and let's find her," Stiles said as he started the car. When he turned on the headlights, he saw Allison standing in front of the jeep, making Stiles jump slightly. "Wow!"

"What're you doing here?" Scott asked as Allison walked over to his side of the car, "Someone's gonna see us."

"I don't care," Allison said, "She is my best friend, and we need to find her before they do."

"I can find her before the cops can," Scott said.

"How about before my father does?"

Suddenly, Natalie leaned in between her best friends' seats as she looked at Allison. "Wait, your dad knows? How the hell did he find out about that so fast?"

"I don't know," Allison shrugged, "But I just saw him and three other guys leave my house in two SUVs."

"Search party," Scott realized.

"It's more like a hunting party," Allison corrected.

"Yeah, 'cause there ain't no party like a hunting party," Natalie snorted, "All we need is a werewolf-shaped piñata." Scott and Stiles turned their heads and gave her funny looks. "Sorry. Just get in so we can look for Lydia."

As soon as Allison got in the backseat next to Zach, Stiles pulled out of the hospital parking lot and drove off in the road. Zach looked at the huntress and smirked.

"How's it going, pretty lady?" he said flirtatiously. Allison raised an eyebrow. "You know, if your whole Romeo and Juliet romance with the werewolf doesn't work out, don't be afraid to give me a call, okay?" He gave her a little wink.

She looked up at Natalie. "He's kidding, right?"

But instead of answering, Natalie gestured to her face. "Hey, Zach. I think you got… a little desperation on your face. Let me get that for you." She flicked his forehead, making him yep. She smiled in victory. "Got it."

"You need to stop being so violent," Zach said, rubbing his forehead.

"And you need to start hitting on girls your own age," Natalie retorted.

"Moving on now," Stiles spoke up before the siblings could start fighting, "Alright, but if she's turning, would they actually kill her?"

"I don't know," Allison said, "They won't tell me anything. Okay, all they say is, 'We'll talk after Kate's funeral, when the others get here'."

"What others?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know… they won't tell me that yet…"

Stiles rolled his eyes. "Okay, your family's got some serious communication issues to work on. Scott, are we going the right way?"

The teen wolf stuck his head out of the window and took a sniff at the air. He was able to get a whiff of Lydia's scent and detect which direction she went. "Take the next right!"

He did as he was told and soon enough, Stiles ended up driving into the woods. After a while, he parked the car and all of the teenagers got out with Natalie taking Tina with her. Everyone gave her questioning looks and she just rolled her eyes and said that it was for protection. They decided to just let her be and Scott led them through the woods. As they walked deeper into the woods, the Hale and Fierro house came into view.

"And you're sure that she came here?" Natalie asked Scott.

"Yeah, this is where the scent leads," he said as they walked closer to the house.

"Alright, but has Lydia ever been here?" Stiles asked.

"Not with me," Allison said, walking more slowly with Scott as Stiles and the Henderson siblings went up closer to the house more, "Maybe she came here on instinct, like she was looking for Derek."

"You mean… looking for an alpha," Scott said.

"Wolves need a pack, right?"

"Not all of them."

"But would she have been drawn to an alpha?" Allison asked, "Is it an instinct to be part of a pack?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah, we're stronger in packs."

"Like strength in numbers," Allison said.

"No, like, literally stronger, faster, better in every way."

"That's the same for an alpha?"

Nodding once again, Scott said, "That'll make Derek stronger, too."

They heard Stiles gasp in amazement and turned around to see him, Natalie, and Zach squatting down as they looked at something on the ground. Stiles picked up what looked to be a clear wire as the other couple walked over to them.

"Hey, look at this," he said, "You see this?"

"Yeah… it's a wire," Natalie said unimpressed, "That's not something you see every day. My life will never be the same after seeing this."

Her boyfriend rolled his eyes. "Nat, I love you, but I really don't appreciate your sass right now." Natalie shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyway, I think it's a tripwire." He lifted the wire with his finger and they waited to see what would happen. Nothing.

"Well, whoever planted this here did not do a good job," Zach said.

"Stiles," they heard Scott say.

"Yeah, buddy?" Stiles, Natalie, Zach, and Allison turned around to see Scott hanging upside down with the wire wrapped around his ankle. He did not look very happy about it. "Oh."

"Next time you see a tripwire," Scott said, "don't trip it."

"Yeah, noted," Stiles said.

Both Natalie and Zach started to laugh hysterically. "Hey, Nat. Here's the werewolf piñata you wanted," Zach said.

Laughing, Natalie walked over to Scott and began poking him with her baseball bat. "Do you think if I hit hard enough with Tina, he's puke up candy?"

"Ow!" Scott yelled out when the redhead jabbed him in the ribs, "Natalie, stop it! This is not fun for me at all!"

"Alright, alright, Mr. Sourpuss," Natalie sighed lowering her bat, "Let's get you down from there." They went to let him go but Scott stopped them before they could come any closer.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," he said, "Someone's coming. Hide. Go!"

Stiles grabbed Natalie's hand and they along with Zach and Allison ran off to find a hiding place. The couple went behind a larger tree that easily hid the both of them as Zach and Allison went somewhere else. Stiles placed his hand on his girlfriend's hips as they watched Chris and a few of his fellow hunters walk up to Scott and kneel in front of him.

"You know," Stiles whispered, "if we weren't hiding from hunters with our friends and your brother, this would actually be a romantic setting."

"You're really gonna talk about this right now?" Natalie whispered back harshly, "When our best friend is dangling in the air and being threatened by his girlfriend's dad?"

"I'm just saying," Stiles said, raising his hands up in defense, "Maybe when we decide to have sex for the first time, we can find a spot out here at night so we can be alone."

With raised eyebrows, Natalie looked up at her boyfriend. "Just to be clear, I am not having sex with you in the woods. Ever."

"Aw, why not?"

God, were they really having this conversation right now? Natalie rolled her chocolate brown eyes. "Why not? I'm not gonna be rolling around the ground where I can get leaves and dirt in places no person should. We're humans! If we were out here by ourselves at night, there is a ninety percent chance that we will get attacked by a wild animal or worse, a fuckin' werewolf! Do you really wanna take that risk?"

"Come on, Nat," Stiles continued, "Don't you wanna be spontaneous? You always said that you would be the first person to try anything bold and daring."

"Not when it comes to our first time. I may not be super girly or any of that shit, but I'm still a girl. I do want our first time together to be special, you know? I don't expect candles or rose petals. But I want it to be a moment I can remember for the rest of my life." Natalie patted Stiles's cheek. "Just something to keep in mind, babe."

It was then Stiles's turn to roll his eyes. When they looked back over to where Scott was hanging, Chris and his fellow hunters walked away. The hiding teenagers deemed it safe to come out and walk over to Scott.

"You okay?" Allison asks him.

"It's just another life-threatening conversation with your dad," Scott said.

"That's always fun," Natalie mumbled. She then walked over to the set up for the tripwire. "Alright, let's get you out of this thing."

When they heard a thud behind them, they turned around and saw Scott landing on his feet. "Thanks. But I think I got it."

"Show-off," Natalie scoffed.

"Yeah," Stiles said.

The corner of Allison's lips irked up. "Huh."

Scott then started walking back towards the Hale and Fierro house. He turned towards his friends with a smirk on his face. His head jerked towards the burnt house. "Comin'?"

As the sophomores chuckled and followed Scott to the house, Zach stayed behind and looked back down at the tripwire. He picked it up and checked it over.

"I really don't understand this whole werewolf thing."

"Zach, get your ass over here!" Natalie yelled.

"Coming!" Zach dropped the wire and ran after his older sister.

* * *

The next day at school, Scott and Stiles were standing in the front of the building, talking about last night's incident at the graveyard. As they were about to walk in the school, they heard a loud engine roaring. They looked over at the parking lot and saw a dark red 1967 Chevrolet speeding in, making a bunch of students quickly move out of the way so they wouldn't get hit. It left behind black tire marks as the car pulled into an empty space. Scott and Stiles looked at each other, wondering who the car belonged to.

To their surprise, Natalie stepped out and shut the door behind her. With her white tank top, black letterman jacket, jean short, red Converse, black bandana, and sunglasses, she looked pretty badass. A smug smile formed on Natalie's face as she locked the car and walked over to Scott and Stiles, whose mouths were both gaping like fish.

"You might wanna close your mouths, boys," the redhead said, placing her fingers under their chins and shutting their mouths, "You could catch flies that way."

"Is that yours?" Stiles asked as he pointed to the car.

"Yes, it is," Natalie beamed proudly, "My parents surprised me with it this morning. I decided to name her Trisha. Isn't she a beauty?"

"Uh huh," Scott nodded, "Can I touch it?"

"Nope," Natalie said, "I am not risking damaging her so hands off the car."

Stiles snorted. "Because your driving isn't going to destroy it first." When Natalie glared at her boyfriend, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "And I say this out of love."

"Oh, shut it," the redhead scoffed, waving him off, "So, did you guys hear? Last night at the cemetery, someone stole a liver from a dead body."

Both boys scrunched their noses in disgust. "Ew."

"I know. And Lydia's still MIA from what my dad told me. Seems a little suspicious, don't you think? Especially since she can't control whatever freaky thing she has."

"She ate the liver?" Scott asked with wide eyes.

"What? No," Natalie said, "I never said anything about her eating the liver. I just think that she might've taken it."

"You know what?" Stiles spoke up, "Even if she did, so what? It's the most nutritious part of the body."

"I never ate anyone's liver," Scott said.

"Yeah, right," Stiles snorted, "'cause when it comes to werewolves, you're a real model of self-control. Actually, wait. Hold on." When the trio started walking up the stairs, Stiles placed his hand on Scott's shoulder and stopped him. He also removed him arm from Natalie's shoulders but held onto her hand. "You're a test case for this, so we should be going over what happened to you."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked.

"I mean, like what was going through your mind when you were turning, you know? What were you drawn to?"

The teen wolf started to blush. "Allison…"

"Okay, nothing else?" Stiles said in disbelief as Natalie rolled her eyes, "Seriously?"

"Nothing else mattered," Scott admitted, "But, no, that's good, though, right? 'Cause the night Lydia was bit, she was with you guys. Mostly Zach."

"Yeah," Natalie said, "But then she left Zach to go look for…"

Her face grew serious when she looked back over to the parking lot and saw Jackson getting out of his Porsche. When he turned his head, his blue eyes locked with hers and they stared each other down.

"Jackass."

"Let's go!" Coach Finstock bellowed to his team in the locker room, "I have an announcement to make. Gather around! Quicker!" The players crowded around him as he continued to yell at them. "Danny, put a shirt on. Stilinski, that means you! Let's go, gather around. Listen up-" Natalie pushed her boyfriend forward, gaining the coach's attention. "For god's sake, Henderson, why the hell are you always here? Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

Shrugging her shoulders, the redhead replied, "We have a sub today. And I got nothing better to do."

"If you wanna see us naked, Henderson, all you have to do is ask," Greenberg teased.

"Hey!" Stiles exclaimed, "The only guy she wants to see naked is me!" Natalie's eyes grew wide and she smacked his stomach. "Ow, I'm sorry! Shit, woman…"

His girlfriend rolled her eyes as she looked back at Greenberg. "And no one wants to see your Ken doll dinker, you little-"

She was interrupted by Coach Finstock blowing his whistle. "As I was saying," he continued, glaring at Natalie, "Police are asking for help on a missing child advisory. It's a sick girl, roaming around, totally naked." Excluding a few people along with Natalie, a bunch of the boys wolf-whistled at the thought of a naked girl. "Now, it's supposed to get below forty degrees tonight. I don't know about you, but the last time it was that cold and I was running around naked… I lost a testicle to exposure."

"Ugh…" Natalie shuddered in disgust, hugging her jacket closer to her body, "That is an image I could never not imagine again…"

"Now, I don't want the same thing happening to some innocent girl. So police are organizing search parties for tonight." Coach Finstock taped a sheet of blank paper to the wall. "Sign up, find the missing girl, you get an automatic 'A' in my classes."

That made everyone extremely happy they cheered as they went to sign their names on the paper. Natalie's hand shot up.

"Does that count for me, too?" she asked Coach Finstock.

"No!" he immediately yelled back.

"Damn…" Natalie grumbled, "Someone's a little touchy this morning. I guess that's what happens when you have your nads frozen off." Stiles chuckled and wrapped his arms around her as they and Scott turned to Jackson.

"If Lydia wants to take a naked hike in the woods, why should I care?" he asked.

"Because we have a pretty good idea that she might be…" Scott looked around to make sure no one was listening. "You know, turning."

"Turning?" Jackson said.

"Yeah. Turning," Scott repeated.

"Into…"

Stiles and Natalie rolled their brown eyes. "A unicorn," Stiles said sarcastically, "What do you think, dumbass?"

Jackson glared at the couple. "Well, I think that it's Lydia's turning, she's not the one that's gonna need help."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked.

"Oh, god, you've got it all backwards, McCall," Jackson sighed, "When I was with Lydia, you should have seen the scratch marks she left on me. What do you think she's gonna do with a set of real claws?" He let out a dark chuckle before pushing past the trio.

"Well, that's just one more disturbing image planted into my head," Natalie said.

* * *

During chemistry, the students were prepping to take their quiz. Mr. Harris passed out the papers as Natalie did some last-minute highlighting in her notes. Next to her, Stiles tapped his pencil on the top of the table.

"Alright, it's causing me severe mental anguish to say this, but he's right," Stiles said.

Scott sighed. "I know."

"Just the thought of Jackass being right actually makes me sick to my stomach," Natalie said.

"But seriously," Stiles continued, "What if the next body part she steals is from someone who's still alive?"

"This is a pop quiz, Mr. Stilinski," Mr. Harris announced, "If I hear your voice again, I may be tempted to give you detention for the rest of your high school career."

"Can you do that?" Stiles asked with wide eyes.

"Well, there it is again," Mr. Harris said, "Your voice. Triggering the only impulse I've ever had to strike a student repeatedly and violently. I'll see you at three o'clock for detention. Same as you, Miss Henderson."

The redhead's jaw dropped and she let out a squeak of disbelief. "What the hell did _I_ do?"

"You chose to date him," the chemistry teacher said.

"Damn it," Natalie groaned. She pinched Stiles's arm as hard as she could, making him hiss in pain. "God, leave it to me to get a detention just for knowing you…"

"Quiet before I give you a whole week's worth of detention," Mr. Harris snapped. He turned to Scott. "You too, Mr. McCall?"

Scott shook his head. "No, sir." Mr. Harris gave a curt nod before walking to his desk.

* * *

After school, Stiles and Natalie sat at their table as Mr. Harris sat at his, grading the quizzes. The couple was on their twenty-third game of hangman, which Stiles was sucking at miserably. It got pretty boring after the first ten games, but it made the time go faster. Sort of. But when that hour finally did pass up, the two shot up out of their seats so fast that they almost fell on their rears.

"Sit," Mr. Harris ordered, making them stop in their tracks.

"What-" Stiles stammered, "but it's been an hour."

"My detention's an hour and a half."

"Are you kidding me?" Natalie said, "That's so dumb! You can't do that! He can't do that, right?"

"Oh, but I can," Mr. Harris smirked, "You see, Stiles and Natalie, since your fathers were so judicious in their dealings with me, I've decided to make you two my personal project for the rest of the semester. You two are going to benefit from all the best that strict discipline has to offer. Now, sit down, before I decide to keep you here all night."

Nudging Stiles with her elbow, Natalie grumbled, "Come on. Knowing him, he'll actually do it."

He sighed but let Natalie lead him back to their table. When they sat down, they didn't bother to continue their game. Instead, they decided to have thumb wars. Stiles wasn't doing so hot with this game either. They joined their hands together and moved their thumbs in time with the chant.

"One, two, three, four. I declare a thumb war." Before Stiles knew it, Natalie's thumb trapped his and she pressed down on it as hard as she could. She counted down from ten to one before she released him.

"God damn, Nat!" Stiles said as he shook out his hand, "Why do you have to have such a death grip? It's like you're part anaconda or something."

"I have those weights at the gym to thank," Natalie smiled, flexing her bicep, "Go ahead and feel."

Stiles reached over and squeezed her arm. He let out a low whistle. "Damn. You've got quite the set of guns on you."

"You bet," Natalie chuckled, "And just to let you know, whenever we have thumb wars or I hit you, I go easy on you. All the time."

"Wait, that's you going easy?" Stiles asked, "Then I never wanna get on your bad side. I keep imagining you using your 'anaconda squeeze' on me if we ever have sex." He shuddered and placed his hand over his crotch. "It's like I can feel it right now."

"Yeah, just be lucky that I didn't go too hard on you the other night at your house," Natalie said, "I mean, if I squeezed just a little bit tighter, you'd be a woman right now."

"Oh, god. I'm not even gonna doubt your skills because I'm pretty sure you're capable of doing that."

"Alright, I'm tired of listening to you two," Mr. Harris said after about ten minutes, "Now leave."

The couple let out sighs of relief as they recollected their things and ran out of the classroom. They headed out to the parking lot and decided to have Stiles drive them to the cemetery, where Kate's funeral was going to be held. Natalie just told him that she could just pick up her car after the funeral so she didn't mind Stiles driving. They got in the car and took off.

By the time they got to the cemetery, the area where Kate was buried was swarmed with different people, most of which Stiles and Natalie have never seen before. There were the Argents, their family, friends, police, and even paparazzi. Hell, even that kid Matt Daehler from English was there with his camera. It was insane!

Natalie finally found Scott hiding behind a statue, trying not to get caught by the Argents. Holding onto Stiles's hand, Natalie snuck him past the paparazzi and over to Scott. They crouched down next to their best friend.

"Yo," Stiles greeted. Scott tilted his head upwards and turned back to the scene in front of them. They noticed an older man with white hair, wrinkles, and an intimidating expression on his face talking to Allison. "Who the hell is that?"

"He's definitely an Argent," Scott answered.

"Why do all Argents look like they wanna kill everyone?" Natalie pointed out, "They need to learn to smile more."

"We're at a funeral, Nat," Scott said, "I don't think a lot of people smile at funerals."

The redhead raised her hands up. "I'm just saying that there's more than one facial expression in the world!"

Scott rolled his eyes. "Either way, them being here in Beacon Hills spells out nothing but trouble. A werewolf killed Kate. That means that all werewolves are pretty much fucked up at this point."

"Hey, you know, maybe they're just here for the funeral," Stiles said, "I mean, what if they're the non-hunting side of the family? There could be non-hunting Argents. It's possible, right?"

"I doubt it," Natalie snorted, "Just look at them. Their faces are the epitome of scary!"

"I know what they are," Scott said, "They're reinforcements."

Suddenly, the boys were yanked up by the collars of their shirts by John. Natalie didn't have time to react as Kurt grabbed ahold of her arm. She let out a defeated sigh.

"Why are you always there?" she exclaimed, waving her hands at her dad.

"Me?" Kurt said, raising an eyebrow, "I should be saying the same thing about you. Wanna tell me what the hell you're doing here?"

"Can't a girl just randomly show up at her friend's aunt's funeral without being interrogated?"

"Not really, no," Kurt said.

"We are very, truly, _deeply_ sorry about this, Mr. Henderson," Stiles said, coming up next to Natalie and slinging his arm around her, "I promise this sort of thing won't happen again. I'll just go drop her off at her car and then we'll go home."

He then pulled Natalie away before Kurt could get a word in. They met up with Scott, who quickly explained to the redhead what they overheard from Sheriff Stilinski about another attack.

"Are you kidding me?" Natalie said exasperatedly, rubbing the back of her neck, "Okay, what the frick is Lydia doing?"

"I don't know," Scott answered honestly.

"What kept you from doing that?" Stiles asked, "Was it Allison?"

"I hope so."

"Do you need to get closer?" Stiles asked again.

After sniffing the air a little bit to try to detect Lydia's scent, Scott said, "No, I got it." He turned to head into the woods but Natalie grabbed his hand before he could move. Her big eyes resembled ones of a puppy, and Scott knew that she was really worried for her friend.

"Scotty, I just really need you to find her, okay?" Natalie said to him, her voice cracking a little. "If something bad happens to her… Just please. Please find her."

"I will," Scott promised, giving her hand a squeeze. Then he ran off into the woods.

Wrapping his arms around her, Stiles engulfed Natalie in a very much needed hug. She rested her head on his chest as he kissed her temple.

"She's gonna be okay, Nat," Stiles said softly, "Everything's gonna be okay."

"You think so?" Natalie asked. Her voice sounded a bit muffled since her face was buried in Stiles's chest.

He cupped his girlfriend's face in his hands so she was looking up at him. "I know so." Leaning down, Stiles kissed Natalie with as much love as he could put into it. "I love you so much. You know that, right?"

Natalie nodded her head and smiled softly. "Yeah, I know. And I love you, too." She kissed Stiles one last time before taking his hand. "We should go find our dads so they won't kill us for being alone out here."

"Yeah, that seems like a smart idea," Stiles chuckled.

Hand in hand, the couple walked along the road until they found police cars surrounding the damaged ambulance Sheriff Stilinski was talking about earlier. They found their dads standing next to a police car and having a serious conversation. As if they could sense their presence. John and Kurt turned their heads to see their children walk up to him.

"I thought you two were going home," Kurt said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"We were," Natalie said, "but it's such a beautiful night out. Why not enjoy it with a little… walk along the road…"

But Kurt wasn't buying it. "Cut the crap, Natalie."

Said girl nodded her head. "Yep. Cutting the crap right now."

"Now what are you two really doing here?" John asked.

"We just wanted to see what was going on," Stiles said, "Make sure that everything was okay."

"It's all being taken care of," John assured them, "With that being said, both of you, go home. It's not safe for you two to be out here."

"Come on," Stiles pleaded, "We just want to help. We can totally do that and not cause any trouble." Both police officers shot him knowing looks. "At least not a lot of trouble. Just-" He stopped talking when he noticed something in the distance. "Lydia?"

That made everyone's heads snap towards the direction Stiles was looking towards. Surely enough, Lydia was standing where the road met the woods. Her strawberry-blonde hair was knotted with leaves and dirt covered her Boyd from running around the woods. She stood there as naked as the day she was born, shivering from the very cold air. Her hands covered her private areas so she wasn't entirely exposed.

"Oh, thank god!" Natalie sighed in relief as she took in the sight of her friend.

"Well… is anyone gonna get me a coat?" Lydia asked, reaching her hands out in front of her. Stiles turned away as every part of her body was on full display.

Without thinking twice, Natalie yanked her jacket off of herself and walked over to Lydia. She helped her put the jacket on and zipped it up so nothing was showing anymore. Then Natalie pulled her into a huge hug, which Lydia immediately returned. Goosebumps were scattered over her bare arms and legs due to the freezing temperature, but Natalie didn't care. Her friend was safe. Everything was going to be okay…

For now.

* * *

**So there you have it, folks! The start of season 2! This episode was kind of uneventful so I apologize if it isn't so great. But I really hope that you did enjoy it, so PLEASE review and let me know what you think! Your feedback really does motivate me! And go check out my other Teen Wolf stories, Scars and No One Else! It would truly mean the world to me. **

**The reason I haven't updated so long is because during these past couple of months, I've being going through a rough time. I've been suffering with depression since I was thirteen and the only thing that has gotten me through this is writing. But in January, it hit me so hard that I had no desire to do anything. I couldn't bring myself to write, and it absolutely killed me because there's nothing I love more than creating stories for people to enjoy. It's been kind of a slow progress, but I am starting to get back into my writing kick. I'm ready to continue with these stories because I absolutely love these characters and the plans I have for them. I absolutely refuse to give up on them, whether it takes months or even years to get this done. I just hope you guys are on board with me. And thank you for sticking with me through all of these crazy updates. You guys are amazing.**

**Also, for those who were reading my other DerekxOC story, You Raise Me Up, I'm planning on discontinuing it. Not only am I trying to mainly focus on the other stories I have right now, I don't really have any plans thought out for this and I didn't know where it was heading. I decided to just cut it now before it got worse. But there are a few other stories that I'm gonna start writing eventually and you can read about them on my profile. **

**I hope to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Holy crap, I can't believe it's been two months since I last updated this! I am SOOOOOO sorry for being so late! I promise the next update won't take so long to get out. But anyway, here's chapter 18 of Awake and Alive!**

* * *

After parking his jeep in the Henderson's driveway, Stiles grabbed the little blue box with a white bow on top that was sitting on the passenger seat and got out. There was a little hop in his step as he walked up the front porch. He knocked on the door three times and waited for someone to answer. The door opened, revealing a professional looking Terri. She smiled when she saw her daughter's boyfriend.

"Good morning, Stiles," she greeted.

"Morning, Mrs. Henderson," Stiles smiled back, "Is the birthday girl up yet? I figured I'd take her to school today since I have something small planned for her afterwards."

"Well, how sweet of you. She's still up in her room. If she's still asleep, well, then you know what to do."

The boy clicked his tongue and winked before stepping inside the house. He waved hello to Kurt and Zach on his way up the stairs to Natalie's room. Just like Terri suspected, the redhead was snoring away in her bed. Stiles smiled to himself. It was nice to see her get some sort of decent sleep for once. Although he wondered how long she had been out for. Probably not that long, which made him feel uneasy.

Stiles shook that bad feeling away before tiptoeing in, placing the box on the dresser, and then pouncing on Natalie. She instantly woke up at the sudden intrusion.

"Ow!" she yelped, "Stiles, what the fuck?!"

"You say it's your birthday!" Stiles sang loudly, "Duhnuhnuhnuh! It's my birthday, too! Duhnuhnuhnuh!" Natalie groaned in annoyance but Stiles ignored it as he kissed her cheek. "Happy birthday, babe."

"Thank you," Natalie mumbled, "Can you get your butt off of me now? You're crushing me to death!"

She pushed Stiles off, causing him to fall on the floor. Instead of getting out of bed, Natalie pulled the covers back over her head. Stiles tried to yank them away but that just led into a tug-a-war, which the redhead won. Then Rocky waddled into the room and Stiles's lips turned into an evil smirk. He picked the puppy up and held him in front of Natalie's face.

"Ah!" she squealed as Rocky began to lick her face, "No! Not the puppy breath! Ew!" But the Keeshond puppy just barked happily. Sighing, Natalie sat up and took him from Stiles. "It's a good thing you're cute."

"Well, thank you," Stiles said cheekily.

"I was talking about the dog," Natalie said, making her boyfriend glare at her. She rolled her eyes. "But I guess you're alright, too."

"You're damn right I am." Stiles gripped his girlfriend's chin and kissed her deeply. She put Rocky down so she could pull him in closer. The kiss didn't last long before Stiles pulled away. "I know you just woke up and everything, but dude, you really need to do something about that morning breath."

"Screw you," Natalie laughed, pushing him off the bed again.

Her arms stretched out as she sat up, her shirt riding up a little to show a sliver of her skin. Then she got out of bed and went through her closet to pick out her outfit for the day. Since it was her birthday, Natalie decided she wanted to dress up a bit. Finally she pulled out a white sundress and a denim jacket. Nothing too fancy. Besides, when was Natalie ever known for being girly over anything? She guaranteed that there was going to be some kind of stain on her dress by the end of the day.

Once she shed her sleepwear (after making Stiles turn around, which he did with a roll of his eyes), Natalie clasped on a bra then put on her clothes. After she did that, she brushed her teeth, put on deodorant, curled her hair, and applied a little makeup on in silence. Stiles continued to play with Rocky as his girlfriend got ready. It wasn't until she slipped on her necklace she had finally noticed the little blue box on her dresser.

"Hey, what's this?" Natalie asked, picking it up and inspecting it.

"Your first present of the day," Stiles beamed. Both of Natalie's eyebrows rose. "Go ahead and open it."

Slowly, she pulled the ribbon off and then lifted up the lid. What was inside made her breath hitch in her throat. Just her reaction was enough to make Stiles's smile grow wider.

"Oh my god," she gasped, taking out a silver charm bracelet. "Stiles… this is… it's beautiful. It looks pretty expensive, too."

"It wasn't too bad," Stiles shrugged, "I've been saving up money to have it custom made. I came up with the charms myself. See?" He pointed each one out. "Here we have a baseball and bat. Then there's the Red Hot Chili Peppers symbol, which I'm pretty sure was a bitch for them to make."

"Was this one really necessary?" Natalie deadpanned, pointing to the wolf charm.

"Maybe not, but I thought it was pretty funny," Stiles chuckled, "It's kinda like an inside joke." But the redhead continued to look at him like he was an idiot. He stopped laughing and cleared his throat. "Tough crowd. Alright then. But this one right here is my favorite one."

Natalie lifted up the heart charm that had her and Stiles's initials on the front. Then she flipped it over and read the message out loud.

"_You know you're in love when you don't wanna go to sleep at night because your life is better than a dream._"

"Aw, you're so corny!" Natalie cooed, "I love it, Stiles. Thank you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Now help me put it on."

Chuckling, Stiles fastened the bracelet around her wrist. "There. Perfect fit." He then cupped his girlfriend's face and kissed her. "I love you, Nat."

"Love you, too. Now let's go before you're late to practice. And normally I'd love to see Finstock scream at you for no reason, but I'm feeling courteous right now so we should get going."

"Remind me again why I love you?" Stiles grumbled as Natalie pushed him out of the room.

"Because I let you grab my ass whenever you want."

And with that, Natalie smacked her boyfriend's rear and they raced down the stairs.

"Hey, are you two ready to eat?" Terri asked as the teenagers entered the teenagers entered the kitchen, "Your breakfast is getting cold."

"Can't stay," Natalie said, "Stiles has lacrosse practice in a half hour and we gotta get there before Coach Finstock throws a bitch fit. But we'll take these to go." She and Stiles grabbed as many pancakes as they could.

"Okay, but remember to meet us at Benihana's at around seven-thirty for your birthday dinner," Terri told her, "You, too, Stiles. Your father's supposed to be there as well."

He gave her a small salute. "Copy that, Mrs. H." He bit into a pancake. "Mmm. Delicious as always."

"You can enjoy your pancakes in the car," Natalie said, pushing Stiles out the house, "Just move your butt out the door." She grabbed her backpack from the floor. "Peace out, muchachos!" Then she shut the door behind her.

* * *

By the time Stiles and Natalie bolted into the school building, they were out of breath and ready to pass out on the floor. But they had made it on time so it was all good. They laughed breathlessly as they high-fived each other and praised themselves for being awesome. Stiles wrapped his arm around Natalie's shoulders and she wrapped hers around his waist as they walked to the boys' locker room.

At this point, Natalie had come into the boys' locker room so many times that no one had even bothered to say anything about it. Not like any of them would complain about it anyway, other than Jackson. There was a hot girl in the room guys got undressed in. Who would complain about that? Greenberg certainly wasn't against it. As he had made clear dozens of times. Natalie recalled the many moments when Greenberg flashed his manly bits at her and tried to play it off as an accident. Stiles didn't even have to step in to kick his ass. Natalie had done that on her own.

Has he mentioned how much he loved his badass girlfriend? Well, he needed to start saying that more often.

The couple met up with Scott over by Stiles's locker. With a huge smile, the teen wolf pulled Natalie in for a hug and wished her a happy birthday. He then pulled a decent sized box out of his duffle bag and gave it to the redhead. No time was wasted in tearing off the wrapping paper and lid.

"Yes!" Natalie cheered as she pulled out a Red Hot Chili Peppers shirt and the band's newest album, "I've wanted to get this CD for weeks! Now we can listen to this instead of that indie crap that Stiles always plays in the car now."

"Hey, I resent that!" Stiles exclaimed, "Mumford and Sons are more folk than indie. And I thought that you liked Mumford and Sons."

"I'm not saying that I don't like them," Natalie said, "But it's no question that Red Hot Chili Peppers trumps Mumford and Sons any day." Her boyfriend grumbled as he turned to his locker. She hugged Scott again. "Thanks, Scotty. And are you sure you can't come to dinner with us tonight? I know that you have your…" Natalie looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Hairy situation during the full moon."

Scott shrugged. "I'm gonna try to go, depending on how I feel later. But I'm actually feeling pretty good right now. I feel… normal."

"As normal as being a werewolf can be," Natalie snorted.

"I'm serious. It's not like the last full moon. I don't feel the same."

"Oh, does that include the urge to maim and kill people like me and Nat?" Stiles asked.

"I swear I don't have the urge to maim and kill you and Natalie," Scott assured them.

"You know, you say that now," Stiles said, "but then the full moon goes up and out come the fangs and claws and there's a lot of howling and screaming and running everywhere, okay?" He took a deep breath before continuing. "And it's very stressful on me and so yes, we're still locking you up."

"Okay, fine," Scott sighed, "But I do think I'm in more control now." A small smirk crept up his face. "Especially since things are good with Allison."

Both of his best friends rolled their eyes in annoyance. "Okay, we're aware of how good things are with Allison," Stiles said.

"They're really good," Scott emphasized, grinning widely.

"I… thank you, I know."

"I mean, like, really good."

At this point, Natalie was ready to throw something at his head. "Oh my god! Alright, we fucking get it! Do you wanna hear about _our_ sex life? I don't think you do!"

"But we don't really have a sex life," Stiles said.

"Well, even if we did, I'm pretty sure Scott wouldn't want us to talk about it," Natalie said, crossing her arms.

"Alright," Scott chuckled, "did you get something better than handcuffs this time?"

"Yeah, much better," Stiles said.

When he reached into his locker again, a long line of chains spilled out. They landed on the floor with a loud clang, catching everyone in the room's attention. Coach Finstock walked over to them and looked back and forth between Stiles, Natalie, and the chains. Based on the look on his face, Natalie could just tell that he was thinking the worst. God, this was so embarrassing.

"Part of me wants to ask," Coach Finstock said, "The other part says knowing will be more disturbing than anything I could ever imagine. So… I'm gonna walk away." And he did just that.

"That's good," Stiles called after him, "That's a wise choice, Coach."

"And I promise you that we're not into that kind of stuff!" Natalie added. Scott and Stiles looked at her weirdly. "What? He probably thinks Stiles and I do kinky shit. I didn't wanna give him the wrong idea."

They bent down to pick the chains up off the floor. Suddenly, a strange yet familiar scent traveled through Scott's nostrils. He sat up straighter and his best friends noticed his change in mood.

"Scotty?" Natalie said, "Hey, are you okay?"

"There's another," Scott said, "In here. Right now."

"Another what?" Stiles asked.

"Another werewolf."

* * *

Deciding to let the boys finish getting ready for practice, Natalie went out to the lacrosse field. Other students were already sitting on the bleachers, chatting amongst themselves. It was starting to get a little chilly and Natalie could feel the goosebumps on her legs and forearms. She was instantly regretting this outfit and swore to never wear it in the winter again. Tugging on the ends of her dress- as if that would do anything to get her to stop shivering- she walked over to the bench. But she ended up bumping into someone harshly. That someone being Matt Daehler.

"Whoa!" he said, "Sorry about that." He finally noticed the redhead and smiled. "Oh, hey, Natalie."

"Hey, Matt," Natalie said politely, "I see you still have that camera on you. You gonna take pictures of practice today?"

"Yeah, the school newspaper said that they wanted more shots of us players in action," Matt said, "I don't really play a lot anyway so I figured why the hell not." He chuckled lightly. "It's your birthday today, right?"

Hesitantly, Natalie nodded her head. "It is… how'd you know?"

"I heard a couple of people wish you happy birthday when you came up here. Plus, you just have this glow radiating off you that people tend to have on their birthdays."

"Really? That's… interesting." Natalie tucked her hair behind her ear.

"That's a pretty bracelet," Matt said, pointing to the charm bracelet on her wrist.

"Thanks. Stiles gave it to me this morning. He said that it was my first present of the day from him. Whatever that means."

"Oh, yeah, I keep forgetting that you two are dating," Matt recalled, the smile on his face dimming slightly, "Well, I hope he knows that he's a very lucky guy to have someone like you as his girlfriend."

And it got awkward again. Seriously, how does one even respond to something like that? Matt's always been nice to Natalie but he could come off as… odd. Even Stiles says so, and that boy is the king of awkwardness. Thankfully Natalie was soon saved by the bell. Well, more like the rest of the lacrosse team entering the field.

"I should go now," Matt said, "but it was great talking to you. See you soon?"

"Uh…" Natalie trailed off, "Sure."

"Awesome! I'll see you later then. Bye. Oh! And happy birthday!"

Natalie sheepishly waved at him. As soon as Matt was out of sight, the redhead let out a sigh of relief. Thank god that was over with! She then spotted Scott from the corner of her eyes and walked over to him.

"So did you ever figure out who the other werewolf was?" she asked, casually throwing an arm around his shoulders.

Scott shook his head. "No. But apparently, Stiles had a brilliant plan for me to find out."

"Of course he does," Natalie snorted, "How much do you wanna bet that this is gonna go horribly wrong so fast?"

"It's not even worth betting on because I already know that it's going to be bad," Scott laughed.

Stiles jogged to his best friend and girlfriend. "I told Coach you're switching with Danny for the day."

"But I hate playing goal," Scott whined.

"Remember when I said I had an idea?" Stiles asked, "This is the idea."

A sudden look of realization hit the teen wolf's face. "Oh…"

"There you go, buddy," Natalie laughed, patting his back.

"What's the idea?"

Both Stiles and Natalie's facial expressions quickly dropped. She literally face-palmed because she was astounded by her friend's stupidity. How was he even allowed out of the house at all?

"I seriously don't understand how you survive without me sometimes," Stiles said, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Well I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be in this position right now if it weren't for you," Natalie pointed out. She laughed as her boyfriend glared at her and pushed her away.

Coach Finstock blew his whistle, motioning for the team to come on the field. Stiles gave Natalie a brief kiss before he ran off. "Let's go!" the coach yelled, "Line it up! Faster! Make daddy proud!"

Sitting on the bench, Natalie watched as Scott stepped into the goal and the rest of the players lined up. The first player stepped up with his stick and hurled the ball at the goal. But then the freakin' weirdest freakin' thing happened. Instead of trying to catch the ball, Scott ran out of the goal and tackled the guy to the ground. It was so unexpected that Natalie couldn't help but laugh her ass off.

"McCall!" Coach Finstock yelled as Scott helped his teammate up, "Usually the goalie stays somewhere within the vicinity of the actual goal."

"Yes, Coach," Scott said.

"Let's try it again," Coach Finstock said.

Natalie got up and ran to Stiles on the field. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "This was your brilliant plan? Have Scott knock everyone on their ass to figure out who the other werewolf is?"

"Yep," Stiles nodded enthusiastically, "It's a pretty good idea, isn't it?" Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Oh, like you could come up with something better?"

"Maybe if I had more time, then yeah, I probably could!" They both winced as they witnessed Scott take another player down. "Ooh, that's gonna leave a mark in the morning!"

"Stilinski. Henderson," Coach Finstock said, "what the hell is wrong with your friend?"

"Uh, he's failing two classes," Stiles said, "He's a little socially awkward."

"And don't forget that he has a crooked jawline," Natalie added.

"That's interesting," Coach Finstock shrugged, "Let's fire it up." He blew his whistle. "And Henderson, get your ass off the field right now!"

"Ugh, alright, fine!" Natalie groaned, "There's no need to get your panties in a bunch. And would it kill you to be nice to me for at least one day? Especially on my birthday?"

"I'm not willing to take that risk," Coach Finstock said before placing his whistle between his lips again.

The redhead made a motion like she wanted to strangle the coach's neck before she went back to the bench. Danny was the next player to be brought down by Scott, making Natalie cringe. Poor guy. He didn't deserve to be a victim of her best friend's idiocy.

"McCall!" the coach screamed again, "You come out of that goal one more time and you'll be doing suicide runs till you die. It'll be the first ever suicide run that actually ends in a suicide." He pointed to Natalie. "I'll even have Henderson do them with you."

Hearing this made Natalie's jaw drop. "Scott, if you make me do suicide runs, I will drop-kick you into the next century! And don't think I won't do it!"

Scott's eyes widened in fear. Even though Natalie was smaller than him, there were times when she absolutely terrified him. They've gotten into wrestling matches several times, Natalie coming out as superior both times. He might be a werewolf now, but if she really tried, she could still probably kick Scott's ass.

When it was Jackson's turn, he told Coach Finstock that his shoulder was hurting so he was going to sit out. Natalie glared at him when he sat down next to her and she scooted away. But what really threw her off was Isaac Lahey.

Isaac was one of those guys who was always in the background. People have always said that he was like a hermit and acted weird. He was always sporting some kind of bruise or scar, but Natalie never figured out where they were from. You never saw him converse or sit with anyone. Well, anyone other than his girlfriend. Because of this, Isaac was never on Natalie's radar.

But right now, it was hard not to notice the way his shoulders heaved up and down as he breathed heavily and held onto his lacrosse stick so tightly that it looked like it could snap in half. And she certainly didn't miss his eyes turn yellow as he stared Scott down.

"Holy shitballs…"

Both werewolves ran towards each other with full speed and crashed. They seemed to have spun in the air before they landed on their hands and feet. Coincidence much? Not really! Adding on to this strange scenario, Natalie saw her dad, John, and a few other police officers walk onto the field. They spoke to Coach Finstock for a bit before her dad went to Isaac and had him follow him. Kurt led Isaac to the other police officers after telling Delilah, the boy's girlfriend, that she couldn't speak to him at the moment. Wanting to know what was going on, Natalie ran to Scott and Stiles.

"His father's dead," Scott said after a few minutes of listening in on the conversation, "They think he was murdered."

"Damn," Natalie sucked in a breath, "That's pretty brutal. I hope Isaac's doing okay though."

"Are they saying he's a suspect?" Stiles asked.

"I'm not sure," Scott said, "Why?"

"Because they can lock him in a holding cell for twenty-four hours."

This made Scott's eyes widen slightly. "Like, overnight?"

"During the full moon," Stiles added.

"How good are these holding cells at holding people?" Scott asked.

"Usually, they can hold people pretty well," Natalie answered, "But werewolves? Yeah, probably not so much."

The look on Scott's face seemed to drop even more. "Guys, remember when I said I don't have the urge to maim and kill?"

"Yeah?"

"He does."

* * *

During chemistry, the students were taking notes when Kurt entered the room. He talked to Mr. Harris a little before the teacher told Delilah to go with the deputy. Most likely to answer questions about Isaac. The trio watched as the girl nervously picked up her stuff and go with Natalie's dad.

"Why would Derek choose Isaac?" Scott asked his best friends. Natalie turned around so she faced him and Stiles, who sat behind her.

"Peter told me and Natalie that if the bite doesn't turn you, it could kill you," Stiles said, "And maybe teenagers have a better chance of surviving."

"Doesn't being a teenager mean that your dads can't hold him?"

Stiles shrugged. "Well, not unless they have solid evidence." Realization dawned on him. "Or a witness."

"Hold on a second," Natalie said. She turned to Danny. "Psst. Danny." Said boy looked over at her. "Do you know where Jackson is?"

"In the principal's office talking to your dad," Danny answered.

"What?" Natalie said, furrowing her eyebrows, "Why?"

"Maybe because he lives across the street from Isaac."

Oh crap. "Huh," Natalie said, "Thanks, Danny boy." He smiled before continuing to do his work. The redhead turned back to her best friend and boyfriend. "Well, that's not good. He's a fucking witness!"

"We gotta get to the principal's office," Stiles said.

"How?" Scott asked.

It was like a lightbulb suddenly lit up in Natalie's head. A sly grin stretched across her face, which worried Scott and Stiles. "Leave it to me, boys." She tore a page out of her notebook and crumpled it into a ball.

"Everyone please turn to page seventy-three," Mr. Harris instructed as he wrote something on the blackboard.

With all her might, Natalie chucked the paper ball and it hit her teach on the back of his head. His motions halted and he sharply looked back at his class.

"Who in the hell did that?" he demanded.

The trio pointed at each other and Mr. Harris ended up sending all of them to the principal's office. They waited outside for Kurt and John to finish their questioning with Delilah. Natalie tried to listen in by pressing the end of a paper cup (which she had stolen from the cafeteria, to answer Stiles's question) to her ear and the other side against the wall.

"This is the worst invention in the history of mankind," she grumbled, "It always works in the movies."

"You know that I can perfectly hear them, right?" Scott said, "You don't have to do that."

"I know," Natalie said, "but it still looks kinda cool. Very spy-like." The boys rolled their eyes. "Fine." She tossed it in the trash can and slumped in her chair.

"What are they saying?" Stiles asked Scott.

"Apparently, Delilah knew that Isaac's dad was hitting him," the teen wolf said, "And she claims that he's never hit her. Her heart is beating like crazy."

"Can you blame her?" Stiles snorted, "Her boyfriend's being sent to the slammer and she's being interrogated by cops. That would make anyone nervous."

As Scott continued to listen to what's going on, his frown deepened. "I smell blood."

"From in there?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah. But it's not really fresh. It's mostly dry blood. And I think that it's coming from Delilah…"

Neither Stiles nor Natalie were able to respond because the door opened up. The trio did their best to hide themselves. Scott covered his face with his hands, Stiles picked up a magazine, and Natalie threw her jacket her head. It probably wasn't the smartest choice, but she had to think fast. With her head down, Delilah was the first to leave the office, followed by Kurt and John.

"Hi, Scott," John said as he walked by, "Hi, Natalie."

Scott sighed as he lowered his hands. "H… yeah."

Just as Natalie pulled her jacket off her head, Kurt came up to her and raised an eyebrow. "Should I be concerned?"

"Nah," Natalie assured him, shaking her head.

"Good." Kurt patted her shoulder and walked away.

"Boys." The trio turned their heads to see Principal Argent, first name Gerard (also known as Allison's grandfather), standing in the doorway. "And girl. Come on in."

They got up and stepped into the office. After closing the door behind them, Gerard gestured the teenagers to take a seat in front of his desk. He began searching through his filing cabinet, looking for their records most likely. Stiles tried to fix Natalie's hair since it was messy from her jacket, but she just smacked his hand away and fixed it herself. Gerard finally found their records and sat down across from the teenagers.

"Alright, let's see what we have here," Gerard said, opening the first file, "Scott McCall. Academically not the most accomplished, but I see you have become quite the star athlete." He put that file down and moved on to the next one. "Natalie Henderson. All A's and B's. Not bad at all. And it says you're the co-captain of the girls' baseball team. JV?"

"Varsity," Natalie corrected, beaming with pride.

"Impressive," Gerard nodded. He then picked up Stiles's file. "Mr. Stilinski. Oh, perfect grades but little to no extracurricular activities. Maybe you should try lacrosse."

"Oh, actually I'm already-"

Stiles was abruptly cut off by the principal. "Hold on." He looked back up at Scott. "McCall. You're the Scott that was dating my granddaughter."

"We were dating but not anymore," Scott said shakily, "Not dating, not seeing any of each other or doing anything with each other." He swallowed nervously. "At all." Natalie pinched the bridge of her nose, losing her patience with her best friend.

But Gerard just chuckled in amusement. "Relax, Scott. You look like you're about to crack a cyanide pill with your teeth."

"Just a hard breakup," Scott said.

"Oh, that's too bad. You seem like a pretty nice kid to me." Gerard leaned on his elbows. "Now listen, guys. Yes, I am the principal, but I really don't want you to think of me as the enemy."

"Heh," Stiles snorted, "is that so?"

"However, this being my first day, I do need to support my teachers. So unfortunately someone is going to have to take the fall and stay behind for detention."

Simultaneously, Scott and Stiles turned their heads towards Natalie, who sat in the middle. She noticed the way they stared at her and she let out a sigh of defeat.

"Yep," she grumbled, resting her chin on her hand, "Should've seen that coming."

* * *

Since Natalie had gone to school with Stiles, he decided to go through detention with her. It's the little things like that that made Natalie love him even more. Mr. Harris had the teenagers clean and organize the supply closet in the classroom, which made them cringe. It was so dusty, cluttered, and- oh, god, was that box _moving_?!

"I want this closet spotless by four thirty," Mr. Harris said, "I'll be in the teacher's lounge until then. Don't screw around." Then he left the room.

"Well, happy birthday to me," Natalie said sarcastically, "Let's get this ish over with."

Halfway into their punishment, they had discovered the giant ass cockroach mob in the corner of the closet.

"Holy fuck!" Stiles yelped, "Even their babies have babies!"

"Grab a broom, Stiles," Natalie said, grabbing one for herself, "We're taking these suckers down."

They began slamming down the ends of the brooms on the cockroaches, killing them one by one. When both of them were sure that the bugs were all dead, Stiles and Natalie tossed the brooms to the side and leaned against the wall.

"I hate bugs, I hate cleaning, and I especially hate Harris," Natalie spat out, "This was not how I imagined spending my birthday."

"To be frank, you are the one who got us in here," Stiles said. Natalie sent him a death glare. He raised his hands in defense. "I'm just being honest."

"God, this sucks," the redhead whined "The only thing that's getting me through this is the promise of Brazilian food tonight. And your next present, of course."

"Actually, landing a detention kinda made a damper on my plans so I'm gonna have to give it to you another day."

Raising an eyebrow, Natalie asked, "Why? What is it?"

Stiles scratched the back of his neck. "Um, well.. I thought that we would go back to my house since my dad wouldn't be home... and then I thought that we could... you know... have sex..." He looked away as he said that last part quietly.

Throwing her hands in the air, Natalie exclaimed, "Are you freakin' kidding me?! We're stuck in detention while we could be doing it right now?! This blows!"

"You could say that again," Stiles sighed. Then he suddenly got an idea. He didn't know how his girlfriend would feel about it, but it was worth a shot. "Actually, there is something that I could do for you to make time go faster."

"Which would be..."

Instead of answering verbally, Stiles crashed their lips together. Natalie immediately responded and grabbed both sides of his face. He lightly pushed her back to the wall and pressed his body against hers. As their kisses grew hotter, Stiles pushed his girlfriend's jacket off her shoulders then tossed it to the side. His lips disconnected from hers and traveled down her face to her pale neck. When he began sucking on her sweet spot, Natalie gasped and placed her hands on the back of his head.

"You really need to consider growing your hair out," she said, "I need something to grab on to when we do stuff like this."

"I'll keep that in mind," Stiles promised before returning to his work.

One of his hands snaked up to cup Natalie's breast. He alternated between squeezing and massaging it, drawing out sweet moans from the girl. It ended way too fast for Natalie's liking but her heart started beating faster with anticipation when Stiles's body dropped lower to where he was on his knees. She felt his warm hands crawl up her thighs underneath her dress and she shivered at his touch. Then he gripped the hems of her panties and slowly dragged them down her legs. He tucked the panties in his back pocket before looking up at Natalie.

"You good?" he asked her.

Unable to form coherent words, Natalie nodded her head. Stiles lightly chuckled. He then grabbed her leg and placed it over his shoulder, which hitched up her dress and gave him a spectacular view of her private area. And then he began his task.

The second Stiles's tongue touched her clit, the redhead jerked in surprise and let out a squeak that she would deny she made later. Her head lolled back as he dragged his tongue up and down her folds tediously. It was like it was too much for Natalie yet not enough at the same time. As if Stiles could read Natalie's mind, he attached his lips on her sensitive bundle of nerves and sucked on it as hard as he could.

"Oh my g-" Natalie moaned, "Fuck, we need to do this more often."

"Noted," Stiles chuckled, sending vibrations through Natalie's core and making her whimper.

Deciding to kick it up a notch, he pumped a couple fingers inside of her as he continued to give her clit attention. The only thing Natalie could hold onto was the shelf next to her. Her knuckles were turning white, she was gripping it so tightly. When she was finally able to open her eyes since they were squeezed shut from the intense pleasure, she saw Stiles palming his erection through his jeans. It had to be one of the hottest things Natalie had ever seen. Stiles's fingers moved faster inside her, eliciting the most beautiful noises he heard from his girlfriend. Then he switched it up a bit. His tongue was now darting in and out of her entrance as thumb rubbed her clit in circular motions.

"Babe, babe," Natalie panted, grabbing the back of Stiles's head, "I think I'm gonna cum. I- oh shit!" She bit down on her bottom lip to muffle her moans.

This was the motivation Stiles needed to move his tongue and fingers faster and faster. Natalie buried her face in the crook of her arm and cried out to signal her release. If it wasn't for her hold on the shelf, she probably would've collapsed from the intensity of her orgasm. Stiles's body shook in excitement from hearing her go into ecstasy because of what he had done. He lapped up the essence that flowed out of Natalie. She had to push him away though when he kissed her overly sensitive clit. After wiping his mouth with back of his hand and stood up. He kissed her again, this time not as lustful but just as loving. Then he remembered what he just did and pulled away.

"Should I not have done that?" he asked, wincing, "I mean, it's probably gross for you to kiss me after I just gave you head. I know I would be if you did the same thing after su-"

"Stiles," Natalie chuckled, cutting off his rambling, "It's fine. To be honest, it actually wasn't that bad. And I'm still coming down from that high to really give a damn."

"Huh." The corner of Stiles's lips irked upwards. "Well... alright then."

"Do you want me to, you know, take care of you?" Natalie asked.

At that moment, every inch of the lanky boy's face turned red and he looked down. "Um... Uh, no, I don't think that would be necessary..."

Natalie was confused until her eyes fell on the front of her boyfriend's pants. It was hard to hold back the laughter that bubbled out of her. "Oh my god. Did you seriously get off just from giving me head?"

"Don't laugh at me," Stiles whined.

"What?" Natalie giggled, "It's kinda funny. You're such a teenage boy, it's adorable."

"Shut up." Stiles lightly pushed the redhead. "Okay, we're almost done cleaning this place up. Hopefully we'll be able to leave soon."

"Uh, Stiles?" Said boy turned around. "Are you forgetting to give me something?" Natalie held her hand out and raised an eyebrow.

He smiled sheepishly. "Oh. Right." He pulled Natalie's underwear from his back pocket and placed it in her hand before getting back to cleaning.

* * *

By the time Mr. Harris had finally let the couple go, it was dark outside. They turned their phones back on (stupid Harris made them shut them off and give them to him) and they beeped for about two minutes straight. There were dozens of missed phone calls and texts from Allison, saying how she had just been bombarded with questions from her dad and grandfather. Stiles called her back and put her on speaker once they were by his jeep.

"Hey, sorry," Stiles apologized, "Harris just literally let us out of detention. Literally. And he had our phones the whole frickin' time."

_"Well, we need to do something right now,"_ Allison told them, _"They were asking me all of these questions about Lydia and how she was bitten by Peter, and then they sent this guy out."_

"Wait, what guy?" Stiles asked.

_"He was dressed as a sheriff's deputy,"_ Allison said.

Looking at Stiles worriedly, Natalie said, "He's being sent to the station for Isaac."

_"He was also carrying this box with something on it. Like, um, like a carving or something."_

"What was it?" Stiles asked.

_"Hold on, hold on. It's in one of these books."_ They could hear the huntress rummaging through something on the other end of the phone. _"I'm taking a picture."_

A few seconds later, Natalie's phone buzzed in her hand. She opened Allison's text to see a picture of a familiar symbol. Cursing to herself, she showed the picture to Stiles.

_"Did you get it?"_ Allison asked.

"Yeah," Natalie said, "It's wolfsbane."

_"What does that mean?"_

"It means they're gonna kill him," Stiles answered. He told Natalie to get in the car and then they drove off to the school.

While he was driving, Natalie took the phone from him so she could continue talking to Allison. Derek had called the redhead right after she hung up with the huntress and told her that he along with a friend was going to meet them at the police station. Natalie had no idea who the other person was, but Derek had sounded very unsure when he said the word 'friend'. He just a peculiar guy in general so Natalie didn't expect anything different from him.

They finally reached the police station, where they saw the sleek black Camaro. Derek got out of his car along with a beautiful brunette who looked to be his age. To Natalie, she seemed to be very familiar, but she just couldn't pinpoint where she had seen her before. Before she could think more about it, Derek yanked her door open, making her jump in surprise.

"You. Move. Now," he ordered.

"Well, hello to you, too, sunshine," Natalie quipped, "I'm doing superb, thanks for asking. Tell me, do I look older to you?"

"Shut up and get in the backseat."

"You know, saying please goes a long way instead of barking orders-" Derek then moved like he was going to attack Natalie and she shrunk back. "Okay, okay! God damn, why are you always this moody?"

"You should've seen him when he first hit puberty," the woman said as she climbed in the backseat with Natalie, "That was a fun time for all of us."

Suddenly, it clicked in the redhead's mind. "Hey, I know you! You're that woman who came to talk to me in the locker room the other day."

"Oh, I've never even properly introduced myself, haven't I?" The woman shook Stiles and Natalie's hands. "I'm Anabelle, the white wolf. Nice to meet you."

Hold on. What the actual fuck?

"Wait, as in Anabelle Fierro?" Stiles asked with wide eyes, "Like from the Hale and Fierro fire?"

"In the flesh."

Son of a bitch! This really was a small world!

Natalie laughed. "What are the odds? Who would've ever thought that she was right there with us the whole time? This is awesome!" Playfully, she smacked Derek's arm. "Now I don't have to hear you bitch and moan about how you miss her and wonder where she could've been."

"You've been missing me?" Anabelle asked Derek, amusement lacing her voice.

"I will kill you in your sleep," Derek threatened Natalie.

"What else is new?" she snapped.

"Now is not the time to argue," Anabelle said, pushing Derek back before he could actually murder the girl, "Can we just figure out how exactly we're supposed to get Isaac out of here?"

"Okay, now the keys to every cell are in a password protected lockbox in my father's office," Stiles said, "The problem is getting past the front desk."

"I'll distract her," Derek said, moving to get out of the jeep.

But Stiles grabbed him by the shoulder to still him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... you? You're not going in there."

Derek looked down at Stiles's hand then up at his face. He looked like he was going to rip the hand off if Stiles didn't move it away. Swallowing down his fear, the teen removed his hand.

"I'm taking my hand off."

"I was exonerated," Derek reminded him.

"You're still a person of interest."

"An _innocent_ person."

"You?" Natalie laughed, "Innocent? Ha! That's funny!" She stopped laughing and cleared her throat when she noticed the way Derek was glaring at her. "Okay then... So what's your plan here?"

"To distract her," Derek repeated.

"Uh... huh," Stiles said hesitantly, "How? By punching her in the face?"

"By talking to her."

Stiles's head bobbed up and down. "Okay, alright. Give me a sample. What are you gonna open with?" Derek said nothing but continued to glare at the teen. "Dead silence. That should work beautifully. Any other ideas?"

"I'm thinking about punching both you and Natalie in the face."

"Violence won't be needed," Anabelle piped up. She fluffed her brown curls. "I'll do it."

Everyone else turned their heads towards her. "You?" Natalie asked, "How?"

"The deputy sitting at the desk is a lesbian," Anabelle said, "And before you ask how I know, I have a pretty good gaydar. I was in theater, after all."

"Are _you_ into girls?" Stiles asked. Natalie could hear in her boyfriend's voice how he wished the answer was yes and she punched his arm. "Ow!" He rubbed the sore spot.

"No," Anabelle said, "But when I was a junior, my high school did _RENT_ and I played Maureen Johnson, who was a lesbian. So I know how to flirt with both sexes pretty well."

"You think that'll work?" Stiles asked.

Anabelle shrugged her shoulders. "It's worth a shot. Derek may be good looking, but I don't think facial hair and bulging muscles will turn her on." She adjusted her shirt so her breasts looked more pronounced. "I'm going in. Wait for my signal."

Then with the swagger only some people could pull off, she got out of the car and strutted towards the building. Stiles and Natalie just stared at each other in bewilderment, not certain how to react to what was happening.

"Did you know that Tara was a lesbian?" Natalie asked him.

"Nope," Stiles said, shaking his head, "But that does explain why she never brought a guy to your annual summer barbecue."

"Oh, yeah," Natalie said as she thought about it, "So, Derek, how'd you find Anabelle?"

The alpha wasn't paying attention. Instead, he was too busy staring at something. More like someone. And a specific area on someone.

"Derek?" Natalie said again. But he still didn't respond. "Yo!" She snapped her fingers in front of his face, breaking him out of his stupor.

"What? What?"

"Dude, were you just checking Anabelle out?" Stiles asked, smirking at how flustered the werewolf looked.

"No," Derek replied, rolling his eyes, "That's ridiculous. I would never 'check her out'."

"Except you totally were," Natalie laughed, "Derek Hale just stared at a girl's ass! What is happening to the world?"

"I was not checking Anabelle out or staring at any part of her body," Derek growled, "I'm only making sure that she does what she's supposed to do. Now shut up."

"You don't need to be so embarrassed about it," Stiles told him, "She's hot. Anyone who has eyes would stop what they're doing to do a double-take at her." Both Derek and Natalie gave him the death stare. "But I won't, because I'm a taken man who needs no one else but his beautiful girlfriend. I love you?"

Patting his shoulder, Natalie said, "Total bullshit, but good try."

The jeep remained quiet as they watched Anabelle charm Tara. When the deputy turned to her computer, Anabelle put one hand behind her back and made a 'come hither' gesture. Must be the signal. Natalie pushed Stiles out of the jeep and together, they discreetly entered the police station. Anabelle was still keeping the deputy occupied as the teenagers snuck past the front desk. Of course, Stiles stopped so he could watch the two women flirt with each other so Natalie had to literally drag him by the collar of his shirt. They finally made it into Stiles's dad's office and went over to the lockbox.

"Could you be any slower?" Natalie his at her boyfriend, who was punching in the password.

"I'm going as fast as I can, woman!" Stiles jabbed back. He quickly unlocked the box and his heart dropped when he looked inside. "Oh, no."

"Oh, no? What do you mean, 'oh, no'?" Natalie looked in the lockbox to see the key to Isaac's cell was missing. "Oh, no."

Right then, they heard the sound of keys jingling nearby. They turned around and saw a man dressed in a deputy's uniform holding up a set of keys. He gave them a nasty glare.

"Oh," Stiles said nervously, "Uh, just looking, um..." His voice trailed off as he looked down to see a broken arrow stuck in the 'deputy's' thigh.

"Mother-"

Neither of the teenagers had time to think when the hunter grabbed them and dragged them to where the cells were. They kicked at the hunter to get away, but that just made him tighten his grip, causing them to wince in pain.

At one point, the hunter dropped Stiles and Natalie on the floor. To both of their surprise, when they looked up, they saw Delilah staring back at them. It occured to them that this was most likely the first time she had been exposed to the supernatural. Boy, if that was the case, then Delilah Lambert was in for a wild ride. The hunter noticed the girl and stalked over to her.

"And who the hell are you?" he snarled at her. Delilah cowered into the wall like she had already accepted her defeated.

Whatever blow she was prepared for never came as a low growl tore through the air.

Isaac- who was now shifted into a werewolf- had grabbed the hunter and pushed him onto the desk close by. Then he threw him onto the floor. Just as the hunter was about to stab him with a syringe he pulled out filled with wolfsbane, the beta knocked it out of his hand before tossing him like a rag doll at the wall. He was out cold alongside another hunter whom Stiles and Natalie assumed was fighting Isaac earlier.

Every teenager turned their heads when they heard the sound of glass breaking. Derek and Anabelle had entered the room and stepped on the syringes. The younger beta broke his attention away from his alpha to Stiles and Natalie, who clung onto each other like koalas. He was about to attack them but Derek had shifted halfway and roared so loudly that it shook the building. This made Isaac shrink onto the floor and cover his face, whimpering in fright. Both Stiles and Natalie stared up at Derek, amazed at how he was able to make Isaac submit to him like that.

"How did you do that?" Stiles asked breathlessly.

With a smirking, Derek turned to him and said, "I'm the alpha."

"Wow, that's gonna be your excuse for everything, isn't it?" Natalie sassed.

"Don't start," Anabelle warned Derek as he growled at the redhead. She then grabbed the younger girl's hand and helped her up, followed by Stiles.

Someone in the room had let out a whine, making the two older werewolves, Stiles, and Natalie turn around. The other young couple was staring at each other with wide eyes from the opposite sides of the room. Delilah looked scared of Isaac, while he looked absolutely heartbroken that this was how she found out about what he was. It took a while for either one of them to finally gather up the courage to move and Isaac crawled over to his girlfriend.

"Delilah-"

Said girl slapped away the hand that was trying to reach out to her. She quickly stood up and Isaac repeated her actions. He tried to touch her again but Delilah pushed her as hard as she could (it hardly made him budge due to his newfound strength) and then ran away.

He went to go after her. "Delilah, wait!"

"It's best if you just stay away from her for now on," Derek said as he held Isaac back, "Hopefully, she'll forget about it in the morning or write it off as a bad dream."

"But Derek, did you not see how terrified she looked?" Isaac exclaimed, "I have to go comfort her and explain to her what she just saw."

"I could've just hit her on the head to make her forget what happened, but I decided to be nice and let her go home. She knows too much already. Let her go before she gets into more trouble."

Derek then walked out of the room, continuing to break the pieces of glass as he left. Anabelle had gone over to the upset beta and rubbed his back in smooth circles as a poor attempt to comfort him.

"Come on, sweetie," Anabelle said to him, "Let's get you out of here before anyone sees you." Then she led him out.

Now it was just Stiles and Natalie standing in the cell room with two unconscious hunters sprawled out on the floor. She nudged one of them with her foot, making him roll over on his stomach. A small chuckle came out of Stiles.

"How's this for your sweet sixteen?" he said. But Natalie wasn't finding this funny. "Hey, it could've been worse. Our dads could've caught us."

On cue, sirens blared from outside. Well, shit. Stiles wasn't expecting that. Like the grudge, Natalie's head turned slowly and gave her boyfriend a look that said she was wanting to beat the shit out of him at that moment.

"You wanna say that again, Stiles?" she said, dangerously calm.

"Uh... I'd rather not."

"That's what I thought."

They remained frozen in their spots when Kurt and John came in the room. Confusion, shock, and anger were written all over their faces as they took in the broken glass, empty and severed cell, and the two knocked out men on the floor. Finally their eyes landed on their children, who were still just standing there. Unsure of how to explain what was going on, Stiles and Natalie took the safe way out and pointed to the hunters at the same time.

"They did it."

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! PLEASE review and let me know what you think! Feedback is my motivation to keep going so please leave a lot of it! Also, if you haven't, please go check out my other stories Scars, No One Else, and my new StilesxOC story, Dream A Little Dream Of Me! **

**Also, for those of you who've read You Raise Me Up, I am planning to get that up and running again soon, but I'm still having a little a bit of writer's block with that one so if you have any ideas or suggestions of what you want to see, feel free to PM me and let me know!**

**Quick question- does anyone know what Stiles's real name is? I've seen Genim in a bunch of other stories but I'm not sure. Is it Genim? If it's not, where did Genim even come from? WHAT IS HIS NAME?**

**Thank you guys so much for all of your love and support! I'll be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**I am a terrible person for not updating this in two months. I am SOOOOO sorry about that! I'm gonna try to be a lot better at this. I just get writer's block so easily and I keep dealing with a little annoying think called reality. It sucks, but I'm still gonna do everything I can to keep pumping these chapters out because I love you ****muchachos! So without further ado, here's chapter 19!**

* * *

"Well, this should be fun," Natalie said sarcastically as she stretched along with Scott and Stiles, "Nothing says exercise like climbing a fake rock."

"Lighten up, Nat," Scott said, "Rock climbing is not that bad. It's better than almost everything else we do in gym."

"Easy for you to say," Natalie quipped, "You have an advantage with your wolfy powers and such. All I've got going for me is a camel toe from the harness."

Both Scott and Stiles groaned in disgust. "Oh, come on, Natalie!" Stiles exclaimed, "Was that really necessary?"

Innocently, Natalie shrugged her shoulders. "What? You've seen me naked before so that wasn't as explicit as I could've made that sound."

"Oh my god, enough!" Scott cried out, shaking his head and waving his hands, "That is way more than I wanted and needed to ever hear."

"Like we don't hear or see enough about you and Allison making googling eyes at each other," Stiles said, patting Scott's back, "Live with it, dude."

Soon after that, Coach Finstock blew on his whistle and told everyone to gather around so they could start. The students went by pairs so they kept trying to outdo the other. It was pretty funny to watch everyone trying to scramble to the top of the rock like spiders.

Natalie couldn't help but wonder if this was how Toby McGuire trained for his role as Spider-Man. That actually didn't sound like a bad idea the more she thought about it. Maybe rock climbing could be beneficial. Perhaps Natalie should invest in becoming an actor or a stunt double. Or even maybe a superhero!

Nah. Running around with werewolves was even for her to be considered to be heroic. Doing everything she could to not get mauled by every supernatural being that comes her way? That was pretty damn brave if you asked her.

After a few pairs went, it was Scott and Allison's turn. They were buckling up their harnesses when Natalie nudged Stiles with her elbow.

"Five bucks that Scott's gonna fall on his ass," she bet.

"You're on," Stiles smirked, bumping his fist with hers.

Together, they watched their friends climb up the rock wall. It was when they were more than halfway up when Allison kicked Scott's foot off a rock after she caught him checking her rear out and he fell until he was hovering over the mat, making the class laugh. Then he landed on the mat. Natalie pumped her fist up in victory and held her palm out to Stiles. Rolling his eyes, he dug a five dollar bill out of his pocket and slapped it down in her hand.

"I swear, one of these days, I'm gonna go broke because of you," he said.

"We can't all be winners, Stiles," Natalie said, slipping the money in her bra, "Next time, pick your battles more wisely."

"McCall, I don't know why," Coach Finstock laughed, "but your pain gives me a special kind of joy. Right?" Scott nodded before getting up and walking away from the wall. Alright next two. Stilinski, Henderson, let's go. The wall."

The pair fastened their harnesses and got into their starting position. With just one look at each other, they knew that this was going to be a race.

Challenge accepted.

When Coach Finstock blew the whistle, they quickly began climbing the wall. Stiles kept bumping into Natalie. It didn't matter whether it was by accident or not- it was irritating the crap out of her.

"Ow!" Natalie yelled, "Stiles, stop stepping on my foot! That's been the third time ever since we started doing this."

"I'm not doing anything!" Stiles exclaimed, "You're the one who keeps pushing me! So move it, woman!" He bumped his hips with hers roughly.

The redhead gasped. "Did you just hip-bump me?"

"You bet I did." Natalie whacked her boyfriend's shoulder, making him yelp. "Oh, you little-"

Keeping one hand on the rocks, the couple smacked each other repeatedly with their free hands. They went at it for a while until the sound of Coach Finstock's shrill whistle broke them apart.

"Both of you, knock it off!" he barked, "For the love of god, it's like I'm dealing with children here."

"Technically, Coach, you are-"

"Zip it, Henderson! You two are done. Get down." With a huff, Stiles and Natalie lowered themselves onto the mat. "Alright. Delilah, Erica, you two are up. Let's go."

After they unbuckled themselves, Stiles and Natalie headed over to Scott and Allison, pushing each other along the way. Stiles was finally able to get his girlfriend in a headlock and remained in that position for a bit. The four of them watched as Delilah and Erica started climbing the wall.

The brunette seemed to be doing fine so far. But Erica on the other hand… not so much. It looked like that she had barely moved. She kept squeezing her eyes shut and slightly trembling. Anyone could tell that the poor girl was scared out of her mind. Natalie bit her nails and hoped that she was alright.

"Oh, please…" Erica whimpered.

"Erica," Coach Finstock called to her, "Dizzy? Is it vertigo?" Natalie refrained from rolling her eyes. Was he for real?

"Vertigo's a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear," Lydia said, rolling her own eyes, "She's just freaking out."

Delilah noticed that her friend was panicking. Without a second thought, she lowered herself so she was at Erica's side. Natalie couldn't really tell what Delilah was saying to the blonde, but it looked like she was trying to calm her down. All Natalie heard was Erica saying that she was fine. She didn't believe that, however.

"Coach, maybe it's not safe," Allison spoke up, "You know she's epileptic."

Throwing his hands up, Coach Finstock exclaimed, "Why doesn't anybody tell me this stuff? I have to get- Erica, y- you're fine. Just- just kick off from the wall. Th- there's a mat to catch you. Come on." The two girls held each other's hands and tighter, they pushed themselves off the rock wall and landed on the mat. "See, your fine. You're on the ground. You're alright. Let's go. Shake it off. You're fine."

Everyone except for the trio, Allison, and Lydia snickered as Delilah escorted a still trembling Erica out of the gym. A frown fell upon Natalie's face at her classmates' attitudes. She may not have known Erica personally, but she did know that the girl didn't deserve to be laughed at. No one did. People can be suck dickheads.

"Poor thing," Natalie said as she looked in the direction Delilah and Erica went, "I hope she's okay."

"Alright, everyone settle down!" Coach Finstock ordered, "Class isn't over yet. Okay, who's next?"

Class ended soon after that and everyone dispersed into the locker rooms to shower and change. Natalie had just finished washing up and was now pulling her hoodie over her head when suddenly she felt a sharp pain shoot through her head. Gritting her teeth, she rubbed her head with her fingertips to soothe the ache.

God damn it. This was the third time so far this week that this has happened. Randomly, Natalie would get these massive headaches that felt excruciating. It felt like someone hammering a nail into her skull. And it would get worse every time. Luckily no one has noticed whenever these headaches occurred. Natalie was pretty good at keeping a straight face through it all so no one could tell when she was in pain. She didn't want anyone to find out, especially Stiles.

Don't get her wrong, Natalie found it incredibly sweet that he always wanted to make sure that she was healthy and taken care of. That was just one of the many things she loved about him. But there were times when it can be a bit too overwhelming. Stiles would constantly ask if she was alright and tell her to take it easy. It was hard to blame him for being that way though. He was like that with his dad, too. Natalie knew that his mother's death played a huge part of that mentality of preventing his loved ones from illness or anything like that. Same goes for Natalie getting cancer many years ago. It was understandable. And that was why she decided not to tell Stiles about her constant headaches. It would give him one less thing to worry about. This was the last thing he needed on top of Derek turning teenagers into werewolves and Scott still learning how to control his powers.

In the meantime, the redhead will deal with the headaches on her own. After looking around the locker room to see if anyone was watching her, Natalie reached into her backpack and pulled out a pill bottle and water bottle. She popped a couple of pills in her mouth then took a swig of water. That was when she suddenly heard someone scream. Natalie shoved the bottles back in her bag before running to the gym.

On the floor was Erica, who had broken out in a seizure. Scott and Delilah were kneeling beside her while Stiles, Allison, Lydia, and the rest of their classmates were crowding around her.

"What happened?" Natalie asked Stiles.

He shrugged. "We just ran in here and saw Erica falling off the wall. Luckily Scott caught her before she could hit the ground."

"Lay her on her side so she doesn't choke," Delilah instructed Scott. He did that and Delilah smoothed her best friend's hair back. "You're gonna be okay."

"How'd you know?" Allison asked Scott.

Shaking his head, he answered, "I just felt it."

* * *

Lunchtime came around and Vernon Boyd (who just went by his last name) was sitting at a table by himself. He was enjoying the peace and quiet until to figures plopped themselves on the chairs across from him. Oh, boy. Slowly lifting his head up, he was met with Stiles and Natalie flashing big toothy grins at him.

"Boyd," Stiles said, "You got the keys?"

Sighing, Boyd pulled out a set of keys. "This isn't a favor," he said to Stiles, "It's a transaction."

"He means the money, babe," Natalie clarified when she saw the blank look on her boyfriend's face.

"Right, yeah," Stiles said, "Absolutely." He dug a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and pushed it towards Boyd. The taller teen raised an eyebrow.

"I said fifty."

"Really, I… I remember twenty. I don't know. I have a really good verbal memory." Natalie mentally called bullshit. "And I remember twenty. I remember that distinct 'twa' sound. 'Twa-enty'."

It looked like Boyd wasn't buying it either. "I said fifty. With the 'fa' sound. Hear the difference?" Neither Stiles nor Natalie knew how to respond to this. "If you can't, I can demonstrate some other words with the 'fa' sound."

And Natalie didn't doubt him. He was a big guy and she knew that he could really take them down if he wanted to. She laughed nervously. "Oh, that won't be necessary! Won't it, Stiles?" She pinched his thigh lightly.

"Uh, no, n… no," Stiles stammered, "I think I'm recalling it. Now. Maybe I just got it confused with… for-ty." Boyd just stared at him. Stiles sighed exasperatedly. "Come on, man, have you seen the piece of crap jeep that I drive?"

"You seen the piece of crap bus that I take?" Boyd shot back.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "God, I have to do everything." She pulled thirty dollars out of her backpack and gave it to Boyd. "Here." He dropped the keys in her palm. "Thank you."

Then she dragged Stiles up off his chair and headed over to Scott. "I could've handled that myself," Stiles said.

"Um, you obviously couldn't!" Natalie said, "'Oh, I remember the distinct 'twa' sound'! Real smooth. If you actually thought that that would work, then you need to reevaluate your life."

"You're just jealous that you're not as witty as I am," Stiles grumbled. "When they finally reached Scott, they sat down and Natalie set the keys on the table. "Got 'em. Pick you up right after work tonight and we'll meet at the rink. Cool?"

But Scott didn't respond. Instead he was looking off past his best friends. Furrowing their eyebrows, they turned around to face the same direction as him. Their jaws instantly dropped the moment they saw who it was that had just entered the cafeteria.

Holy shit.

Erica was strutting into the cafeteria. Yeah. Strutting. Like a freakin' supermodel would because that's exactly was she looked like. Ditching her usual frumpy clothes, Erica wore a low-cut white shirt to show off her cleavage, a black leather jacket, a matching skirt that made her legs stretch for miles, and leopard print heels. Her skin looked clear as day and her hair was styled into smooth and voluptuous curls. Natalie watched as Erica picked up some boy's apple and took a bite out of it seductively. She could even make eating a piece of fruit look sexy! It didn't even look like the same girl that had a seizure just a few hours ago. How did this all happen so fast?

With a look of bewilderment, Lydia walked up to the trio's table and said, "What… the holy hell… is that?"

"It's Erica," Scott said, not taking his eyes off said girl, who was now walking out of the cafeteria.

The trio looked at each other with wide horrified eyes, slowly figuring out what was going on. Natalie nodded her head. "Go, go, go!"

They shot up from their chairs and ran after Erica. They ended up following her out to the front of the school and saw her hopping in the back of a very familiar black Camaro. Sitting in the front was Derek and Anabelle. Derek smiled cockily at the trio while the she-wolf actually sent them an apologetic look before driving away. Pushing her hair back, Natalie let out a huff of air.

"Well, shit."

* * *

Fortunately, the headaches had dulled down by the time Natalie was standing in front of her mirror getting ready to go to the ice rink. But just in case, she hid the bottle of pills in the inside pocket of her purse. Now she was debating on which jacket she should wear with her outfit. In one hand was a red leather jacket with grey sleeves and hood and in the other was a khaki green military style. Natalie turned her head towards Zach, who was lying on her bed and playing a game on his phone.

"Alright, Zach, last one," Natalie said, "Which one of these jackets should I go with?"

"The pink one," Zach answered instantly, not taking his eyes off his phone.

Deadpanning, the redhead turned around so she could fully look at her brother. She swiped at his foot. "Maybe if you'd glance up from your phone every once in a while, you'd know that none of these jackets are pink."

"Fine," Zach grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Uh... the red one."

"Cool. I was thinking the same thing." Natalie tossed the green jacket on her desk chair and pulled on the red one.

"Girls are so weird," Zach said, "It's just the ice rink, not the Victoria's Secret fashion show. Why do you all feel the need to dress up for every single occasion?"

"Hey, I think I'm dressed pretty casually for tonight. But girls always wanna look their best in public. Especially on dates. Or in our case, triple dates."

A smile stretched across the younger Henderson's face. "I still can't believe I'm going on a date with Lydia Martin. Dreams really do come true."

"And we both know that Lydia isn't gonna wear anything that isn't designer," Natalie said.

"That girl could wear nothing but a paper bag and still look beautiful," Zach sighed dreamily, "Actually, she could wear nothing at all and I'd be perfectly okay with that."

"Of course you would, you little pervert," Natalie snorted, "I swear, you act more like Stiles every day. Which is really weird and I don't like it."

Just as she placed her beanie over her red velvet hair, Natalie caught a whiff of something unpleasant. She sniffed the air and looked over at her brother. Moving closer to Zach, the redhead smelled around his face. He raised his eyebrows.

"Uh, is this a habit you picked up from werewolves?" he asked, "Are you scenting me? Is that what's happening right now?"

"What the hell are you wearing?" Natalie asked, scrunching her nose in disgust.

"Dad's aftershave. I found it on the bathroom sink and figured that Lydia might like the scent of a manly-man. Makes me feel and smell older."

"Well you smell like a skunk that rolled around in garbage and I am not letting out in public like that."

As soon as Natalie snatched up a perfume bottle, Zach's eyes grew wide. "No. No, no, no. You better get that the hell away from me."

"Come on, little bro," Natalie grinned devilishly, "Let me make you smell pretty."

Then without any warning, she tackled Zach and started to spray perfume all over him. He would try to fight her off, but Natalie was much stronger so he was unsuccessful. After a minute or so of tussling, Zach was finally able to push his sister away, but she managed to spritz him with her floral fragrance one last time.

"Ugh, it got in my mouth!" he whined, sticking out his tongue and wiping it, "Is this stuff poisonous? Will this kill me?"

"No, it's not gonna kill you," Natalie snorted, rolling her eyes, "Don't be so dramatic." Then a car horn beeped from outside. "Oh! There's our ride." She sprayed Zach once more before darting out of her room.

"Hey!"

Zach chased his sister down the stairs, past the kitchen (shouting a quick goodbye to their parents), and out of the house. By the time he had reached Stiles's jeep, Natalie was already in the passenger seat, taunting her little brother. He grudgingly climbed into the backseat next to Scott.

"You are awful," Zach told Natalie, "How is it that you have friends?"

"I ask myself that every day," she said. She pointed to Stiles and Scott. "Don't you dare say anything."

Her boyfriend raised his hands up in defense. "Wasn't gonna."

Wrinkling his nose, Scott smelled a strong scent of flowers. He looked over at Zach weirdly. "Dude, are you wearing _perfume_?"

"Are you freakin'- damn it, Natalie!"

At the ice rink, the four of them met up with Allison and Lydia. Zach practically drooled when he saw the strawberry blonde, and Natalie had to elbow him in the gut. She swore that she needed to get her brother a leash so she could calm him down before he could actually jump Lydia. While Zach's little puppy love crush on her was kind of cute, it also made him look a little pathetic at times.

They went inside and rented their skates. As Stiles and Natalie put their skates on, they watched as Zach tried to flirt with Lydia. Key word being 'tried'. So far, he wasn't doing to well. He offered her his jacket when she complained about it being cold but she refused because it didn't 'match her outfit'. Then he broke out into a sort of impressive monologue saying that the things that no one would think would go together could end up turning out to be something quite beautiful and perfect. Obviously Zach was talking about themselves, but Lydia didn't seem to get that and thought he meant Scott and Allison. The poor boy threw his hands up in defeat and gave up on his metaphor.

"Do you think that his lines are ever gonna work on her one day?" Stiles asked his girlfriend.

"Eh, I highly doubt it," Natalie said, "But at least he's trying. And who knows? Maybe one day some other girl with fall for it. Eventually."

"Yeah, maybe," Stiles chuckled, "I have to admit, for a thirteen year old, he comes up with some pretty smooth words. It's kinda impressive."

"I know!" Natalie laughed, "I wonder where he gets it from. And thank god that he knows better than to use cheesy pick-up lines."

"Let me ask you something," he boyfriend said, turning so he was giving her his full attention, "If you and I have never known each other and I randomly came up to you with a pick-up line, would you ever consider dating me?"

Natalie shrugged her shoulders. "Depends. What would the line be?"

"Oh, I got a good one! and you're in baseball so it's even better!"

Stumbling on his feet a little, Stiles got up and walked towards the rink. He waved his hand in front of his face, revealing what was supposed to be a smoldering look. It just ended up making Natalie giggle, especially when he kept wobbling because he had his skates on. Stiles then walked over to the redhead, placed one foot next to her on the bleachers, and looked straight into her eyes.

"Hey, girl," he said, deepening his voice, "That's a cool jersey you have there. Why don't you give it to give it to me so I can have your name and number?"

It was hard to not bust up laughing at the ridiculousness of the joke. Throwing her head back, Natalie cackled and clapped her hands together. Of course hearing her bright and contagious laugh made Stiles chuckle along with her.

"Oh my god," Natalie giggled, "If you did use that to hit on me, then I most likely would've ripped off your clothes right then and there."

"See, I knew you'd like that one," Stiles laughed, "Pretty creative, huh?" He held out his hand. "Alright, come on. Let's go skate."

A grimace replaced Natalie's smile as she looked from Stiles to the ice rink. "Uh... you know what? I think I'm good here."

"What? Oh, do not tell me you're afraid of ice skating. I've done this with you before!"

"Yeah, when we were ten!"

"Nat, you'll be fine," Stiles promised. He looked over at Scott and Allison as they stepped on the ice. "And if it's any consolation, I'm pretty sure that you're gonna be a hell of a lot better at it than Scott."

Right after Stiles said that, Scott fell face first on the ground. The other couple laughed at their best friend's misfortune.

"Told you," Stiles laughed, "Nice one, Scott!" The werewolf just flipped them the bird. Stiles turned back to Natalie. "It's your turn now. C'mon. Up and at 'em!"

"Fine," Natalie gave in, letting her boyfriend pull her up, "but if I break something, you're paying the medical bills."

"You're not gonna break anything. I'm never going to let you fall. I promise."

Any girl would have swooned at those sweet words if they were spoken to them. Well Natalie sure as hell did. She let Stiles lead her to the ice rink and she hesitantly skated forward a little. But she ended up slightly losing her balance so she squealed and latched onto the wall.

"Nope!" Natalie exclaimed, shaking her head, "Fuck this. I'm not doing this shit. Just take me back on land where it's warm and I won't die."

"Nat, you're fine," Stiles said, rolling his eyes, "But you're not gonna learn by clinging onto the wall like a sloth."

"Maybe not, but at least I won't be like Scott over there," Natalie said, referring to her best friend that was still fumbling like a newborn deer.

Once again, Stiles held his hand out to her. "Give me your hands." She still looked nervous to let go of the edge of the wall, but she did it slowly and immediately grabbed onto Stiles's arm. Then without letting go of her, he moved behind her so his chest was pressed against her back. Lowering his head, he whispered in Natalie's ear, making her shudder from his warm breath ghosting over her skin. "Now just gently slide your feet forward."

The redhead took a couple of deep breaths and placed her hands on Stiles's arms, which were wrapped around her waist. Cautiously, Natalie's feet glided forward and before she knew it, they were skating around the rink together multiple times.

Hey, this wasn't that bad. Actually, it was pretty relaxing. Natalie could feel the wind blowing through her red velvet hair, cool air slapping her cheeks... She felt free like a bird. So she spread out her arms and-

Wait. Something was off. Looking down at her torso, Natalie noticed that the lanky pair of arms that were once around her were no longer there. Her eyes grew wide when she saw that her asshole of a boyfriend was at least five feet behind her.

"Stiles!" she shrieked, "What the hell?! Why did you let go?!"

"You got this, Natalie!" Stiles cheered, "I believe in you!"

Well, at least one of them was confident in her. But instead of overthinking the worst case scenarios, she just sighed and kept skating. Not once did she stumble or slip. It was like Natalie was floating on air. Like Leonardo DiCaprio in _Titanic_, she was king of the world!

Queen of the world, if you wanted to get technical.

"I'm doing it!" Natalie exclaimed happily, "I'm ice skating!" She threw her fists up in the air. "Woo hoo! Take that, bitches!"

Stiles had slowed down as he continued to watch Natalie skate around the ink with a fond smile. Seeing her beaming with pride and excitement was a beautiful thing to Stiles. Her smile was practically lighting up the building, like it did with every place she went. That was what really made him fall in love with her in the first place. Nothing could even come close to comparing with it. Because he was so deep into his daze, Stiles almost fell back in surprise when Zach punched his arm.

"Ow!" Stiles cried out, rubbing the sore spot, "The hell was that for?"

"Stop acting all lovey dovey over my sister!" Zach scolded, "You're making me look bad in front of Lydia."

"How is that my fault?" Stiles asked exasperatedly.

"Because of all of your guys' sweet talk, Lydia keeps saying, 'Oh, aren't those two just adorable together?' And here's my favorite- 'Why can't I find a guy who's as loving to me like Stiles is to Natalie?'" Zach flailed his arms. "It's like, hello! I am right here! So dial down the cuteness level like ten notches!"

"Dude, it's not my fault that Lydia's not into the whole 'smelling like a girl' thing," the older boy laughed.

"That was because of Natalie! I didn't do this on my own!"

Speaking of Natalie, Stiles didn't see his girlfriend coming their way. It was only until she screamed out his name that he finally noticed her. But it was too late and she ended up crashing into him, causing her to land on top of him. Instead of getting upset over it, both of them started cracking up. Stiles kept his arms around her as she placed her hands on his chest. Their laughter eventually died down but they still kept grinning at each other like idiots. Natalie blushed when Stiles brushed his cool fingertips over her heated cheek.

"What?" she asked softly when he kept staring at her.

"Nothing," Stiles said, matching her volume, "I just really love you, that's all."

With a small smile (and rapidly beating heart), Natalie said, "I love you, too." She lowered her head to kiss him.

"Oh, for the love of god!" Zach cried out, "Both of you, get a room. Ugh, you two make me sick."

"Get over it, little bro," Natalie said. She got off of Stiles and pulled him up. "Come on." She then pulled him away from the ice.

The couple made sure that they were hidden from their friends before they cuddled close to each other. Natalie wrapped her arms around Stiles's neck and he wrapped his around her waist. Smiling, they pressed their foreheads together.

"Finally," Stiles said, "We haven't been alone all day."

"Seriously," Natalie agreed, "It's been like that a lot lately, I noticed. Stupid Derek and his stupid betas... we definitely need to change something about that."

"We'll figure it out. But until then... I guess we're just gonna have to settle for this." And Stiles planted his lips against hers.

Smirking, Natalie pulled away slightly and said, "Yeah. I can definitely work with that."

Natalie cupped his face in her hands and kissed him again. Both of them became aroused quickly but as much as they wanted to do something about it, they would rather not risk getting caught. Making out would just have to do for now. And maybe even a little grinding, too. Keeping his hands on her hips, Stiles pulled the redhead even closer. Natalie could definitely feel the slight bulge in the front of her boyfriend's jeans and decided to tease him. She rolled her hips against his, making him moan in her mouth. Judging by the way she was biting her bottom lip, Stiles could tell that she was enjoying this torture. That little minx.

Unfortunately, it had to be cut short when they heard a piercing scream. Stiles and Natalie broke the kiss and looked at each other worriedly. They ran over back to the ice rink to see what was going on. On her knees in the middle of the rink was Lydia. Her green eyes were wide in horror as she stared down at the ice. Zach and Allison skated over to her to calm her down and make sure that she was alright. The trio stole glances at each other in the meantime, having absolutely no idea what the fuck was happening.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Nat," Stiles said the next day, walking out of class hand in hand with said girl, "I don't think a gun would help you in a zombie apocalypse."

"And why not?" Natalie asked. Just the way her tone was showed how annoyed she was that they kept having the same debate.

"Well what if you run out of bullets?" Stiles pointed out, "Think about it. If you're surrounded by zombies and you're shooting at them, there's a high possibility that you'll run out of bullets. By the time you reach into your bag and reload your gun, the zombies will already have you cornered and BOOM! You'd be dead."

"I see your point," Natalie said, "But I still think a gun's the quickest way to take someone out. Especially a zombie. Just one shot to the head and they're out like a light. It's a hundred times better than a sword in my opinion. They're too heavy and I feel like you don't have enough control over them."

"Okay, then what about a bow? You know, like a bow and arrow?"

Natalie shook her head. "Nope. That's even worse than a gun. You'd have to have perfect aim with that thing. And you have to keep taking the time to add a new arrow. Once you run out of those suckers... you're fucked."

That seemed pretty legitimate. Stiles nodded his head. "You make a good argument." As soon as they stepped foot in the cafeteria, Stiles came to an abrupt stop. He accidentally yanked Natalie back next to him since he was still holding her hand. "Oh, no."

"What? What's wrong?"

But Stiles didn't answer. He instead pointed to an empty table in the corner of the cafeteria. Natalie didn't understand it at first. Then her heart dropped down to the pit of her stomach when she remembered who it was that usually occupied that table.

"Oh, shit."

"Yeah, oh, shit," Stiles agreed.

He looked around the room until he found Scott and Allison sitting at opposite tables, but back to back so they could still talk to each other. They were still obviously trying to pretend they were not together for Allison's family's sake. It wasn't very convincing, but they were trying. Pulling Natalie along, Stiles rushed over to Scott's table, almost bumping into Allison as she walked away.

"Scott," Stiles said, coming up behind his best friend, "Do you see that?"

The werewolf looked towards the direction Stiles was pointing at. "What, it's an empty table."

"Duh," Natalie said, rolling her eyes, "But do you know who usually sits there?"

It finally dawned on Scott and his eyes widened. "Boyd."

He shot up from his chair and swiftly left the cafeteria, his best friends in tow. They walked through the hallways as they tried to come up with a plan on how to stop Boyd from accepting the bite from Derek. Why does that jerk-off have to ruin everyone's life? Inconsiderate butthead...

"Anabelle gave me her address in case there was an emergency," Scott told them, "I don't know about you guys, but I would consider this to be an emergency. So I'm going to go see if she knows what's going on and then I'm going to the ice rink, see if he's there. And if he's not at home, you call me, got it?" They suddenly stopped and Scott noticed the hesitant looks on his best friends' faces. "What?"

"Maybe we should let him," Stiles suggested, "Boyd, you know, man? You said Derek's giving them a choice, right?"

"We can't," Scott said.

"You gotta admit, Erica looks pretty good."

"I would say that she's smokin' hot," Natalie added, more to herself.

Both Scott and Stiles gave her weird looks. "Really?" Stiles said.

"Don't judge me," Natalie told him, "I can admire another girl's looks. I'm not gonna lie though. All of these new female werewolves are starting to make me question my sexuality..."

Rolling his eyes, Stiles grumbled, "Yeah, because that's what a guy really wants to hear his girlfriend say."

"How good do you think she's gonna look with a wolfsbane bullet in her head?" Scott said.

"Okay, okay," Natalie said, raising her hands up, "But maybe you should just let this one slid, Scotty. I mean, this isn't really your responsibility."

"They all are. And you know this thing's gonna get out of control. That makes me responsible."

"Alright," Stiles sighed, "I'm with you." He smiled at Natalie. "We both are. And I also gotta say this newfound heroism is making me very attracted to you."

"Shut up," Scott chuckled.

"No, seriously. Do you want to just try making out for a sec?" Scott shoved Stiles forward playfully. "Just to see how it feels."

"Now who's the one who has an identity crisis?" Natalie laughed, "But I'm not surprised. I've always known you two had the hots for each other. It was about time you guys acted on it." She continued to giggle even as her boyfriend put his hand on her face and pushed her away.

* * *

After school, Stiles and Natalie got into his jeep and they drove off to Boyd's house to see if he was there. It didn't take long to reach their destination and Stiles parked alongside the curb. They got out and Stiles went to go knock on the door while Natalie peeked in through the window.

"Hey, Boyd?" Stiles called, still knocking. He looked at Natalie. "You see him in there?"

"Nope," she said, "I see nothing. It looks like no one's here."

Stiles knocked again. "Hey, Boyd? It's Stiles and Natalie." No one answered so they decided to let it go. They turned around and jumped when they saw Erica standing there with her arms crossed and a smirk on her new flawless face. "Oh... wow."

The werewolf chuckled. "What are you doing here, Stiles?" She looked over at the redhead in distaste. "And Natalie."

Said girl was taken aback. Well, that was freakin' rude.

"Uh... nothing," Stiles stammered nervously, "We were just looking for, um..."

"Boyd?"

"Yeah. Yes. Boyd."

When Natalie got another glance at Erica, she noticed that the werewolf looked amused for some reason. "You know what you're both doing right now that's kind of funny?" The couple shook their heads. "You're only looking in my eyes."

One of Natalie's eyebrows rose up. "Why is that funny?"

"Because it's that kind of look where you're trying not to look anywhere other than my eyes, but you want to, don't you?" She moved closer to Stiles and Natalie had the sudden urge to push her back. With Tina. "You want a nice, long, hard... look."

Gulping, Stiles shook his head. "Not really. No. Especially because I already have a super hot girlfriend that I can look at whenever I want."

"And let's not forget that she's standing right here, by the way!" Natalie spoke up, pointing to herself.

"Oh," Erica said, still looking surprised, "So it's just my eyes?"

"Yes," Stiles nodded, "You have beautiful eyes."

Natalie shrugged when Erica looked at her. "I'm not gonna argue with that because it's true."

"I have beautiful everything," Erica said cockily.

"And a newfound confidence," Stiles said, "Congratulations, Erica. We should get going." He and Natalie were about to walk past Erica when she placed her hands on both of their chests.

"You're not going anywhere," she told them.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Natalie asked, "Why not?"

Erica held up a part of Stiles's engine (seriously, when the hell did she even get that?) and grinned maliciously. "You're having car trouble."

Before they could ask anything about what she had done, Erica had swung the car part at their heads and they saw nothing else but black.

* * *

Neither of the two knew how long they were out for. Minutes, hours... either way, it felt like forever by the time they finally woke up. They opened their eyes to find themselves in a small dark area. And, boy, did it reek! Natalie felt around her and let out a scream when she touched something slimy. It didn't take long for them to come to the conclusion that Erica had actually thrown them into a dumpster.

Together, they lifted up the lid. It was safe to say that none of them were ecstatic about this.

"Bitch," Stiles said unhappily.

"You can say that again," Natalie groaned, blinking her eyes to adjust to the sudden light, "I can't believe that she actually threw us in the dumpster. She's a lot stronger than she looks."

"Werewolves, babe," Stiles said, "What did you expect?" He let out a sigh. "Let's just get out of this thing." He hopped out of the dumpster and helped Natalie climb out. Then they walked away to find his car.

"Next time I see Derek, I swear I'm gonna kill him for creating douchebags." Natalie hissed as her head throbbed. "And of course she had to add on to my headache."

That made Stiles immediately stop walking. "Whoa, whoa, wait. Headache? What headache?"

Oh, crap. Nice going, Natalie. "Uh... nothing. There's no headache. What are you talking about? You're crazy."

She tried to keep walking but Stiles gently grabbed her arm. "Oh, no. You're not going anywhere." He turned her around. "What headache?"

"It's not a big deal," Natalie tried to assure him, "Just minor migraines."

"Migraines? As in more than one? Nat, is there something going on that you're not telling me about?"

"No. Everything's fine. I just might be coming down with something. Like the flu. I promise that it's not a big deal and the headache will go away quickly."

She could tell that her boyfriend looked hesitant to believe her. And he had every right to be. But Natalie didn't want this to be a bigger deal than it probably was. Hell, maybe it was nothing serious and that she was getting the flu. Even though she wasn't sure if headaches were symptoms of the flu.

Stiles sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay... But you would tell me if it was serious, right?"

"Of course," Natalie lied. She kissed his lips lightly. "Can we go now? It's getting cold and I really need to shower. I smell gnarly."

Her boyfriend nodded, still not sure whether she was actually telling the truth. But he really wasn't in the mood to fight about it right now and all he wanted was some sleep. So Stiles kissed her once more, intertwined their fingers, and they walked back to find Stiles's jeep.

* * *

**So there you go, folks! I hope you all enjoyed it! PLEASE review and let me know what you think! Also be sure to check out my other Teen Wolf stories and show them some love, too!**

***UPDATE: I decided to change Natalie's face claim to Kat McNamara. Just imagine her with darker red hair and brown eyes instead of green. **

**How about that season 5 premiere? I think Scira's becoming my new favorite canon ship. Those two were absolutely adorable! And I don't know about you guys, but I seriously hope that Stydia will happen by the end of this season. Although I'm not sure because she might be having a thing with Parrish. I love Parrish, but Stydia FTW! And at the end with the initials... so many feels! **

**I hope to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)**


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Teen Wolf, Romance, Supernatural