ICE PICK
(HAS NOT BEEN REWRITTEN)

"Carter, what happened to you last night?"

"I don't know. I've never been affected by an Alpha like that before." Carter answered the brunette boy standing next to her as she fumbled with her fingers, feeling extremely anxious. "It felt like my head was going to explode."

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked, noticing her shaking hands and her jitteriness. She was anxiously tapping her right foot, harshly biting on her bottom lip and constantly fumbling with her fingers.

She glared over at the taller brunette boy next to her. For the past half-hour, Stiles had been asking Carter the same question, repeatedly, and it was wearing on her nerves, making her even more irritable. She shook her head before focusing her attention back at the rock climbing wall positioned in the middle of the gym.

Allison and Scott were just preparing to go up the rock wall, and that made Carter even more frustrated. She knew that she wanted to be paired with Scott, and her new sense of anger didn't help the current situation.
Since last night, she's been having this overwhelming surge of emotions. After she had regained consciousness, finding herself in her bed and hearing Derek snoring out in the living room, she had this overbearing need to cry. And she did. She cried for hours, until her sobbing had eventually woken up Derek and he came into her room to make sure she was okay. Derek held his crying younger sister in his arms until he lulled her back to sleep.

And this morning, she woke up with a renewed anger burning a fire deep within the pit of her stomach. Her emotions were so thrown off it was making her jittery, like she was coming down from some major high or partying. Watching Scott and Allison flirt only made it more unbearable to keep it under control.

But aside from her out of control emotions, things were actually pretty good.

Lydia seemed to be recovering really well after her hike in the woods. Carter also noticed that something was slightly off in Lydia's personality, and had a feeling that Jackson had something to do with it. She hadn't seen him recently, but apparently the black-blood situation was under control, because Carter hadn't experienced the blood coming out through every part of her body - so that means Jackson hadn't either.

And for Derek, the two siblings were obviously drifting apart, and it made Carter's chest ache just thinking about it. She needed him in her life, more than she would care to admit out loud. He was the reminder that she wasn't alone in this life that no matter what he would always be there. He was her rock, just as she was his, no matter how much they argued.

Suddenly, the sound of Scott gasping caused Carter to snap out of her thoughts and look toward the wall just in time to see Scott soar to the floor, the safety-harness ceasing his fall when he was about a foot from the floor. The entire gym erupted into laughter as Scott smacked against the mat.

"McCall, I don't know why, but your pain gives me a special kind of joy." Coach Finstock admitted, moving to sit on the mat next to Scott, chuckling loudly. "All right, next two. Stilinski, Erica, let's go. The wall."

Stiles grinned excitedly, giving Carter's shoulder a slight squeeze before practically skipping over to the harness that Allison had just been using. Erica seemed as though she would much rather be somewhere else, anywhere but in the gym at that moment, as she stared up at the rock wall in extreme terror.

Erica's frizzy and unkept blonde hair and pale skin made her stick out in the crowd of cool and tan teens. Erica Reyes, in eight words or less, wasn't exactly someone that many people associated with. The poor epileptic girl had no friends.

Stiles and Erica strapped themselves into the harnesses, Stiles eagerly beginning to climb the wall with ease. Erica struggled to pull herself up and onto the wall.

Something was off, and Carter could sense it when she heard Erica's breath labor.
Stiles quickly reached the top, soon sliding down from the wall. Erica continued to struggle, not even a half way up the wall. Stiles descends onto the mat, his fists pumping into the air in triumph as Erica began sobbing on the wall.

Her sobs became louder, cutting through the air as she began to go through the early stages of hyperventilation. The students in the crowd began to stare up at her, noticing her distress, and quickly began to crowd around the wall.

"Erica," Finstock shouts, "Dizzy? Is it vertigo?"

Lydia gives the coach a disapproving look. "Vertigo's a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear. She's just freaking out."

"Maybe you should bring her down," Carter suggested, Stiles, Allison, Finstock, Lydia, and Scott all turn to look at her, shocked at the sudden sound of her voice. "She could be having an anxiety attack or something, you can't just force her to stay up there."

Erica lets out another loud weep.

"Erica?" Finstock called out again, his voice harshly than necessary.

"I-I'm fine," Erica stutters, although her shaking body proves otherwise. Watching Erica, seemed to put Carter even more on edge as her own limbs shaking became more uncontrollable.

"Coach, maybe Carter's right," Allison murmurs. "You know she's epileptic."

"Why doesn't anybody tell me this stuff?" Finstock cried out in shock. "Erica, you're fine. Just - just kick off the wall. Ther - There's a mat here to catch you. Come on."

Everyone watched with wide eyes as Erica
hesitantly lets go of the colored rocks she was clinging to, her hands quickly clamping around the rope attached to the harness as she slowly eases to the ground. She stumbled a little when her feet hit the mat, her hands holding onto the wall for support.

Finstock steps over to her and said quietly: "See, your fine. You're on the ground. You're all right. Let's go. Shake it off. You're fine."

Laughter quickly filled the gym, a growl formed in the back of Carter's throat as she watched Erica lower her head - embarrassed and ashamed. As Erica pushed her way through the crowd, the students snickered at her.

Once the class ended, Carter, Allison, and Lydia made their way into the girl's locker room, to change out of their gym clothes.
Around her, Carter could hear all of the snickering and snide comments from the girls as they continued to talk about what had happened with Erica.

When Carter went to take off her Nike shorts, her legs began to shake violently, causing her knees to give out and fell onto the wooden bench next to the lockers. And suddenly, the taste of blood invaded her mouth and the smell of distress and anxiety filled her nostrils. Her fingertips were tingling painfully and the back of her brain pinched. Her jaw fell slack when she realized what was happening.

Erica.

Carter immediately sprinted out of the locker room, seeing Erica on the rock wall - without a harness - and her body was shaking convulsively. She was having a seizure. Carter pushed herself harder toward the wall as Erica began to slip off of the rock pegs, but Scott beat Carter and was able to catch Erica in his arms.

Allison, Stiles, and Lydia emerge from the locker rooms and rush over. The three of them stood around her, the rest of the class watching from a good distance.

"Put her on her side. Put her on her side," Carter instructed quickly, Scott rolling Erica onto her side as she gripped Scott's hand tightly.

"How did you two know?" Allison whispered to Carter and Scott.

"I don't know, I just felt it," Scott replied.

Carter nodded, "I had read somewhere that when someone is about to have a seizure, their body gives them some sort of warning. They get this blood-like taste in their mouth. When I was in the locker room, I tasted it. I could also smell her distress and anxiety all the way into the locker room." She paused, glancing around at her friends before staring down at Erica, "My legs and arms were shaking spastically, like I was getting warned that she was going to have a seizure before it happened."

***

Carter and Scott were quietly sitting at their lunch table when Stiles suddenly appeared and slammed a set of keys on the table. "Got'em," he said, quickly sitting down across from Scott and next to Carter. "I'll pick you up right after work tonight, while Carter rides with Allison and Lydia, and we'll meet at the rink, cool?"

"Yeah, Stiles, I totally want to fifth-wheel with you guys," Carter replied, feigning happiness. Which wasn't exactly a lie, she didn't want to go to the skating rink with them. It would be two couples with one outsider - a fifth wheeler.

Stiles turned and glared at the brunette sitting next to him, opening his mouth to speak when the sound of heels clacking on the tile interrupted him. All heads whirled around to see Erica strutting in, looking like a completely different person. Erica bent down next to a random table filled with freshmen, wrapping her fingers around the bright red apple that was lying on the kid's tray before sinking her teeth into it.

Carter flinched slightly when Lydia slapped her hands down upon the table and asked: "What the holy hell is that?"

Carter's eyes suddenly widened as realization clouded her features. "Is that my jacket?" Turning around, she scowled to her friends: "She stole my jacket. And to think I felt sorry for that bitch."

Stiles and Scott grabbed Carter, pushing her along with them as they ran out the door, following after a retreating Erica. They crashed through the front doors, opening them to see Erica climb into a black Camaro. Carter felt rage surge through her body.

She clenched her jaw, seeing Derek flash them a cheeky smile.

***

Allison giggled at something Lydia had said, and soon enough, they were all laughing at something that wasn't even particularly funny. The laughter quickly ceased when there was a knock at Allison's bedroom door, her father walking in with a smile on his face.

"Headed out?" Chris asked. Carter rolled her shoulders, before placing the book she was flipping through back on its shelf.

"Studying," Allison replied, slowly pulling on her gray gloves, giving her father a small smile. Chris gestured to her with his head, Allison awkwardly tucked her hair behind her ear as she approached her father. "Just studying, Dad."

Carter leaned in ever-so-slightly, enabling her to hear the conversation better.

"I get it," Chris nodded, wrapping his arm around Allison's shoulder. "But we need to remember what happened."

"You want me to stop being friends with them?" Allison asked in disbelief, casually glancing over her shoulder at the brunette and strawberry-blonde girls in her room.

Chris raised his eyebrows and shook his head slightly. "Actually, we want the opposite. I know how this might sound, but we need you to keep an eye on them."

"You want me to spy on them?"

"We want you to look out for your friends to make sure everything's okay with them." Chris corrected.

***

When they arrived at the ice rink, Carter actually started to get excited. She was practically hopping up and down. She realized that this was the chance for them to have a little normalcy in their crazy lives. They wasted no time in getting their skates. Stiles, Lydia, and Carter sat down together as they began to tie their skates.

"Could it be any colder in here?" Carter complained, desperately trying to create heat by rubbing her hands together.

Stiles dug through his backpack, pulling out an orange jacket. "Here."

"She's wearing blue," Lydia deadpanned. "Orange and blue, not a good combination."

"But it's the colors of the Mets," Carter replied. Stiles' grin widened at Carter's comment. She took the jacket from him and slipped it on. "Thanks," she gave his knee a thankful squeeze before standing up and making her way to the rink.

Carter smiled to herself when Stiles took a package of Reese's out of his backpack and gave them to Lydia, and Stiles began talking about that no matter how different two people may be, they could still be perfect for each other.

She had become so engrossed in their conversation that she hadn't realized she was on the ice until she slipped. Plummeting face first, but when her face was mere inches from the cold hard surface, a pair of arms wrapped around her.

She twisted around in the person's arms until her rescuer's skates slipped out from underneath him, and they both fell. Carter's savior ended up breaking her fall when her body crashed upon his.

Carter flipped away the dark curtain of hair that was blocking her vision. When her eyes registered his face, she blushed.

Scott McCall.

Carter and Scott's chests were pressed together, while her hips were between his legs, and his arms were still wrapped around her waist. Their faces were so close that Carter could feel Scott's minty breath fanning her face, and she thanked God that Lydia had given her a mint before they had arrived.

Scott and Carter moved their heads forward slightly until their noses brushed. She physically shuddered at the contact, a fire awakening in her that had long been extinguished.

The two of them didn't move from their position until a scream echoed throughout the rink. Carter immediately turned her head in the direction from which the scream came.

Lydia was kneeling in the middle of the rink, frantically clawing at the ice. Sharing a look with Scott, the two scrambled to their feet before racing over to Lydia.

Carter desperately tried to move the girl away from the ice. After a few tugs, Lydia fell limp in Carter's arms, gripping onto the orange jacket. When she looked up, she saw the confused expressions on her friend's faces.

No one knew what was happening to Lydia.

***

Erica gingerly wiped off the excess of lip-gloss from around her lips, while she stared at the small make up mirror on the inside of her locker door. A small smile appeared on her lips when she felt a familiar presence behind her.

"Two's not enough for Derek. I knew he needs at least three." Scott said as Erica spun around to face him. "So who's next?"

Erica scoffed before slamming her locker shut. "Why does there have to be a next when we've already got you?"

"Who's next?" Scott asked, getting angrier by the second as he took a daring step forward. This wasn't the same girl. This girl was a completely different version of Erica, and Scott didn't want a Beta fight breaking out in the hall.

Erica smirked, "You know, I never knew what I looked like during a seizure until someone took a video of me once and put it online?"

"I don't care," Scott said, shaking his head.

"It happened during class," Erica continued. "I started seizing at my desk and everyone was saying how they should put something in my mouth until some genius reads the card on my key ring which tells him not to because it could break my teeth."

Scott took in a deep breath; he could smell the anger radiating off of her. "Erica,"

"Do you know what happens next?" Erica asked, "I piss myself. And they start laughing." Erica started walking forward, causing Scott to move back. "You know, the only good thing about seizures was that I never remembered them. Until some brilliant jerk-off..." she shouted, shoving Scott against the lockers. "...had to go and put cameras in everybody's phone." Erica reached forward, gently brushing Scott's cheeks with her hands before resting them next to his head on the lockers. "Look at me now, Scott."

Scott slowly glanced to his right to see Carter standing in the middle of the hallway, silently watching the confrontation happen. Erica looked between the two of them before she chuckled lightly.

"Does Scott McCall have a crush of Derek Hale's baby sister?" Erica asked teasingly. "How cliché,"

Scott angrily gripped Erica's wrists, squeezing them and hearing her bones crunch under the fierceness of his hold. Erica gasps and pulls her arms away from him. She smirked before walking off.

***

When Carter and Scott arrived at the ice rink - after figuring out that Derek was going to turn Boyd - the two teens couldn't have been more relieved to see Boyd riding around on the Zamboni. There was still a small possibility that Derek hadn't gotten to him yet, and Carter was hoping that he hadn't.

Her eyes widened as she watched Scott step onto the ice without a second thought. Carter scarcely glanced down at her converse and prayed that they wouldn't fail her. The ice crunched underneath her weight.

"Boyd," Scott called out over the noise of the Zamboni. "We just want to talk." He said. Boyd briefly glanced over at Scott, but ignored him and continued to guide the machine along the ice. "Hey, come on, Boyd, please. Did Derek tell you everything? And I don't just mean going out of control on the full moons. I mean everything."

Something seemed to flip in Boyd's brain, turning off the Zamboni he said: "He told me about the hunters."

Carter stuffed her hands in her pockets, trying to get warm as she stood in the rink, while tisking at the dark-skinned teenager in front of her. "And that's not enough for you to say no?"

"Whatever you want, there's other ways to get it." Scott stated, trying to get through to Boyd.

"I just want to not each lunch alone every day." Boyd snapped.

Carter and Scott fell silent. She felt an overwhelming feeling of sadness surge through her entire body. The fact that Boyd ate lunch alone everyday never really clicked in Carter's mind. She had been too consumed with her own troubles. She didn't want him to live the life of a werewolf, because it only ends badly and no one knew that better than Carter.

Scott bit down on his lip, "If you're looking for friends, you can do a lot better than Derek."

"That really hurt, Scott." Their heads whirled around to see Derek standing behind them, Erica and Isaac casually standing next to him. "I mean, if you're going to review me, at least take a consensus." Derek said, turning to look at his two Betas. "Erica, how's life been for you since we met?"

"Hmm," Erica hummed, narrowing her eyes at Carter. "In a word...transformative." the newly transformed werewolf made it her duty to growl at Carter, and she couldn't help but smirk at how utterly pathetic Erica was being.

"Isaac?" Her brother called next.

Isaac shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I'm a little bummed about being a fugitive, but other than that, I'm great."

"I bet you are," Carter retort, not bothering to hide her distaste before turning her attention back to her brother. "Now what? We rooting for different teams now, Derek? I refuse to stand next to you and your pack of wannabe werewolves. You'll be crushed when one of them gets themselves killed, or even worse, if they slaughter each other." She shifted to make a step forward, but Scott reached out and grabbed her arm. A fire burned bright inside Carter as her anger grew. "It wouldn't be the first time an innocent died because of your shitty decision making."

An overpowering surge of emotions filled Carter as she moved back behind Scott, refusing to cry over Derek. "Okay, hold on, this isn't exactly a fair fight." Scott said, holding his hand up, ceasing Isaac and Erica's movements.

Derek, who was refusing to glance at his sister, grinned. "Then go home, Scott."

"I meant fair for them," Scott correct, bringing his fist down, hitting and breaking the surface of the ice. Carter wrapped her arms tighter around herself as she backed up until she was far enough away from the upcoming brawl.

Erica was the first one to advance on Scott, and the first to fall as he slammed her body against the ice. Isaac quickly moved to attack Scott, but Scott whirled around and wasted no time in throwing him into the protection glass surround the ice rink.

Carter continued to move away until her back hit the railing, her eyes flickering between the fight and Derek. Carter knew that she shouldn't have brought her up, but it had just slipped out before she could register what she had said.

Scott growled throatily at them, "Don't you get it? He's not doing this for you. He's just adding to his own power, okay? It's all about him. He makes you feel like he's giving you some kind of gift, when all he's done is turn you into a bunch of guard dogs!"

"It's true," Derek confirmed, slowly walking toward Scott. Carter quickly jogged up to Scott and grabbed it arm. "It is about power,"

Carter's grip on Scott's arm tightened when Derek moved closer - completely transformed, his eyes glowing a crimson red. Scott forcefully shoved Carter away, making her lose her balance and fall onto the ice. She quickly looked up to see Derek head-butt Scott. Derek's claws were extended, and she watched in horror as Derek sliced straight through Scott's flesh.

She let out a cry of pure fiery-agony as the exact same wound appeared on Carter's stomach. Her chest heaved as she felt her lungs begin to constrict, while a pool of blood formed around her and tears filled her eyes. She flipped her hair out of her face to see that Derek was pressing his foot on Scott's throat, but Scott wasn't looking at Derek. It was her. Scott's eyes were filled with concern as he stared at the brunette lying next to him.

"Leave," Carter growled at Derek, blood oozing out of her mouth and trailing down her chin as Derek slowly backed away.
Carter sniffled as she crawled her way over to Scott, leaning in and placing her head on his chest, pressing a firm hand on his wound. She glanced up to see Boyd standing over them.

"Don't," Scott breathed out painfully. "You don't want to be like them," begging the boy not to leave with Derek.

"You're right," Boyd said, lifting up his sweatshirt to reveal a bite on his side. "I want to be like you."

***

Carter and Scott painfully walked into the infamous animal clinic, a place Carter hadn't had the opportunity to see until now.
They were both still injured and were leaning on each other. Scott leaned over and pulled up his shirt, revealing a large gash. "Why aren't you healing?"

"Because it's from an Alpha," Carter jerked her head up in shock at seeing Deaton, Scott's boss, standing there, hovering over an operating table with the body of a dead man lying upon it. "I think maybe we better have that talk. I have a few things to talk to Carter about as well."

Carter's eyes widened in surprise, "How do you know my name?"

"I've known the Hale family for a long time, Carter."