'  And if you feel you're sinking, I will jump

 right over into cold, cold water for you.  ' 

  STILES CONTEMPLATED at the girl who drifted at the bottom of the pool. Her eyes were closed, but the brunette boy knew she was still breathing. Her arms drifted in the nonexistent pool current and her clothes fanned out from her frail body. Bubbles filtered out of her nose, rising to the surface and popping as soon as they touched the heated air. "What are you waiting for?" Derek growled. "She's going to die if you don't save her!"

 The teenage boy groaned and looked at the older man. "If I save her, I have to drop you," he countered, grabbing the man's leather jacket with his fist. Derek's head bobbed in the chlorinated water, his chin creating ripples as it touched the pool surface. He spat out the liquid from his mouth and Stiles conjured all his strength to lift Derek's head above the water.

 "If you don't save her, we are going to have another two bodies on our hands." Derek scowled.

 "Two?" His eyebrows furrowed over his dark brown eyes as he stared at the man in his grip.

 "I will not hesitate to rip your throat out."

     Stiles groaned. "I'm not going to regret this." Releasing Derek's wet leather jacket, Stiles dove under the water with his eyes open. The chlorine burned his irises as his arms sliced through the water, pushing himself closer to the bottom of the pool. His jeans clung to his ankles as he kicked his legs up and down, creating a pattern that forced him deeper into the water. Air flooded out of his nose in  different sizes of bubbles, making his lungs yearn for oxygen. The unconscious girl floated in front of him, her still body causing Stiles to shiver under the currents. Stiles steadily reached out his right hand to grasp her wrist, his arm floating closer towards her. When the palm of his hand met her fingers, her scalding touch singed his pale skin.

   His skin seared in pain,  the palm of his hand becoming swollen and pink. Stiles looked back at the unconscious girl's hand, noticing the pigment of her fingertips was morphing into charcoal black. He could have stared at the girl's hand longer, but his oxygen was running out. His hand wrapped around her waist while his other hand and his two legs worked together to pull them to the surface. The two broke the water together, Stiles gasping for breath and Faye's head lolling onto Stiles's shoulder. 

  To the teenage boy's surprise, Scott stood at the edge of the pool with his tan arms out. He gave Stiles a nod, and the boy in the water handed Faye to Scott. He effortlessly lifted her out of the pool and placed her on the tile as Stiles dove back under to retrieve Derek. Scott could hear her heart thump every few seconds, but her body stayed motionless. Panicked, he turned his head to see Stiles dragging a half-paralyzed Derek out of the pool.

 "What do I do?" he asked, his voice shaking as he gently coiled his fingers around Faye's wrist. The comforting feeling of her pulse reminded him that she was not dead. It pounded against the palm of Scott's hand with an irregular beat, but Scott didn't let go.

 "CPR," Derek replied in between his gasps for air. "Put your hands together and push against her chest. Don't push too hard, or you'll break her ribs." Scott nodded, knitting his fingers together and placing his hands on her chest. With a little force, he pressed his hands into her skin, making Faye's body jerk upwards. Her eyes remained closed, but a sliver of water ran down her chin and landed on her neck.

  He pushed against her chest a few more times, her body jumping with every nudge. Her lips had forced themselves apart, letting in the smallest amount of air as possible. The sliver of water that had once ran down her chin turned into a river. Faye began to choke on the air that was forcing itself down her throat. A low hiss from across the pool pulled Scott's attention from the blonde below him. A growl rumbled in the back of his throat as he stood up, scanning the room.

    Faye stopped choking as more water spilled out of her throat. The choking turned to loud, heavy coughs that rubbed against her throat. The blonde heaved in raw breaths that cut deeply into her lungs, but the discomfort was numbed by the return of air in her lungs. She slowly sat up, her spine aching from the tile floor and her limbs sore from thrashing around in the water. Her surroundings seemed to spin around her, but there was one thing that was perfectly clear: the thing that had pushed her into the water was standing in front of her.

  The beast's tongue flickered, showing off it's rows of razor sharp teeth. Scales covered every inch of it's body, each one shining a different shade of slimy green. The monster's claws scraped against the floor as it took a step closer to Faye, baring it's canine teeth. "Don't move," a voice breathed behind her. She instantly recognized Scott's soft  voice and gave a curt nod, her arms shaking as she struggled to support her body.

   A feral snarl left Scott's lips, causing Faye's lips to tremble as she swallowed down a dry sob. Something flew over her and tackled the giant lizard, pushing it away from Faye. The two creatures wrestled on the floor, hissing and snarling coming from each monster. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as her body began to quiver with trepidation. Faye looked down at her fingertips and closed her mouth as she let out a muffled cry of terror. Black washed out the pigment of her fingertips. The squeal grabbed the lizard's attention, giving Scott enough time to pick up a piece of broken glass from the ground. The beast turned back around to quarrel with Scott once more, but as soon as it's eyes spotted itself, the monster vanished.

  Stiles ran up to his best friend and assisted him in standing up. The boy with the buzz cut muttered something inaudible, which made Scott gradually pivot on his heels and face Faye. The tears that she had tried to hard to keep in flowed down her cheeks in an unbreakable stream. The muddy brown eyes that Faye had grown to seeing were now a bright yellow. Scott's ears had grown, making the tips of his ear point upwards. Hair had miraculously grown on his crooked jaw line, and the space between his eyebrows was wrinkled, making it look like Scott was glowering.

"Faye," Scott enlightened. "I'm not going to hurt you."

  Her lips quavered, fighting back a vocal sob. She pushed herself off the wet and slippery floor, her sweater and her jeans dripping their own icy tears. "You're just like that thing," she said, her voice faltering. The blonde bent her fingers into the palm of her hand, her nails dragging against her wet skin. 

 "He's actually one of the good guys," Stiles quipped. More tears swam in her eyes and her legs wobbled, waiting for Faye to break down.

 "Stay away from me," she snapped, her voice sounding brittle. Her tongue swelled in her mouth and she could taste the bittersweet taste of tears on her lips.

 "Faye," Scott repeated through his canines. He took a step towards her, hoping to comfort the blonde. Her hands shook with fear and anger as she cleared her throat and looked Scott in his yellow eyes.

   "Stay away from me!" she yelled, her voice echoing through the room. Her eyes swept the room, catching a glimpse of herself in the shard of glass. A startled yelp came out of her throat, but did not make it out of her mouth. Faye's eyes burned a fiery orange, the familiar blue eyes nowhere to be seen. She gave one last glimpse towards Scott and bolted out of the room, droplets of water staining her cheeks. Her calves and thighs twinged as she ran down the hallway and into the parking lot.

 Scott let out a sigh and swiveled on the balls of his feet to face Stiles. His animalistic face had faded back to his regular one, his canines becoming short and his eyes changing back to chocolate brown. "Scott," Stiles said, breaking the eerie silence in the room. "Something happened under the water."

 The boy with the crooked jaw line pulled his head back up and glanced at his friend. "What do you mean?"

 Stiles ambled over to him and showed Scott the palm of his hand. "When I was trying to grab her from the water, she burnt my hand." The irritated skin glistened as Scott grabbed Stiles's wrist.

 "That's not possible. She's human."

 "I don't think she is, Scott."

  FAYE SPRINTED home, disregarding the fact that her muscles were howling at her to stop.  The air that she had regained left her mouth in small clouds that grew faint in the inky sky. The crescent moon loomed above her as she ran up the driveway panting, her body begging for a break. The Rosenberg house met Faye under the dark sky, and a feeling of relief washed over her. "I'm safe here," she uttered under a sharp breath as she walked into the house. The three words became a mantra that she continuously repeated all the way up the stairs and to her room.

  Faye swung her bedroom door open and was greeted with a familiar face. "Erica?" she squeaked. "How'd you get into my house?"

 Erica nodded to the open window and looked back at Faye, analyzing her soaking wet body. She overlooked Faye's dripping clothes and stood up from the mattress. "We need to talk," she said.

 As much as Faye wanted to converse with Erica about what had happened to her, something in the back of her mind already knew the answer. "Did you start the fire at your old school?" 

   Faye's body became paralyzed as she watched Erica pull out a crumpled newspaper clipping. She had saved the clipping after the accident; it was a cruel reminder that she tortured herself with. The voice that she once had lodged itself in the middle of her throat and panic consumed her like a fire. She wanted to yell at Erica and maybe even hurt Erica. A feeling of darkness shadowed her eyesight, and Faye brushed it off as if it was a stray hair.

 "I-I don't know what you're talking about," she stuttered, the words colliding with each other and creating a slur.

  "Your heart is beating faster. You're lying to me, Faye. Now, I'm going to ask you again: Did you start the fire at your old school?"

   After a few moments of hesitation, Faye collapsed to the ground. No tears came out of her eyes, but she gagged on her invisible sobs that clawed up her throat. Erica rushed up to her friend and pulled her to her feet, wrapping her arms around her. She held Faye in her arms until her breathing regulated and she was hiccuping. "It was an accident," Faye whispered through her puffy lips. "I couldn't control it."

 Erica sat herself and Faye down on the dilapidated mattress, silence threading itself between the two girls. "I saw something tonight," Faye finally said after moments of silent.

  "I know," Erica stated. "There's something you need to know Faye."

  The blonde turned towards her friend and her worst nightmare came true. The eyes that she had once seen in Scott McCall glared at her, sending frightened waves of chills through her body. "Get out," Faye snapped.

 "Faye, don't do this to me. I'm not going to hurt you."

 Faye stood up and pointed towards the door. "Get out before I call the cops."

   Erica rolled her eyes and strutted the opposite way, jumping out through the window. Once Faye knew that Erica was gone, she rushed over to the window and slammed it shut. The lock sprang into action as soon as Faye touched it. With a heavy heart, she turned off the lights and let her knees buckle. She crashed into the beaten down mattress, her body aching and her head throbbing. Salty droplets strolled down her tear stained cheeks and she let out a yawn, ignoring the tears slipping into her mouth.

 After numerous shaky sobs, Faye fell asleep with one thought provoking the darkest thoughts of her head.

I'm a monster too.

 ●          ●          ●         ●          ● 

Faye did cry a lot in this chapter, but one: she almost drowned and two: she's traumatized by Scott and Erica and the lizard. Most people's first response to fright is crying.

dedicated to -allisonarrgent

thank you so much for supporting this story from the beginning!!

xx