𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏 | 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽𝔂'𝓼 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭

DESPITE BEING UPSTAIRS, CHARLOTTE CAN hear the loud knock on the front door travel through the house. Already half-awake from a nightmare, she groans once realising no one else is going to visit their visitor. But when she closes her eyes to try and go back to sleep, it happens again. "Fuck off!" Five minutes later, the knocking has yet to cease, and a very angry Charlotte Martin stomps down the stairs to answer the door. "Oh, for fuck's sake it's one in the fucking mor- Allison, what the hell are you doing here?" She looks at her friend standing before her, soaked head to toe from the pelting rain. "Get inside," she ushers quickly.

Hand in hand, she drags the girl into the kitchen and tells her to wait for a towel and change of clothes. A few minutes later, a dry Allison and tired Charlotte sit on the couch facing each other and holding steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

"You haven't said a word since you got here," Charlotte softly says. "Are you okay?" She gently grabs one of Allison's hands. The brunette looks down and it's not long before she breaks into quiet sobs. Charlotte takes the mug out of her hand and sets it down onto the coffee table, "Hey! Hey, what's going on?"

Allison sniffles. "I-I didn't know where else to go."

Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Why can't you go home?" she asks.

"I..." Allison trails off and tears continue to stream down her cheeks in a steady flow.

Charlotte squeezes her hand. "Hey, you can tell my anything, yeah?"

"It's Kate, she showed me something. An-And I... If I tell you, promise me you won't look at me like-like I'm crazy."

Her lips lift into a soft smile. "Allison, absolutely nothing you say to me will make you look crazy. Literally nothing." She'd be genuinely shocked to her core if the girl was able to do so. Finding out the supernatural exists is pretty hard to beat.

Allison nods and takes a deep breath. "She took me to this place; I don't know where it was. But she was talking about family secrets, and she opened this door and Derek was there chained up..." A tear falls onto the fabric of the couch. "Lottie, she kidnapped him and-and she was torturing him! And he had these teeth and glowing eyes, and Kate was talking about werewolves and all this crazy shit, and I just don't know what to do! She was saying that I'm going to help her catch another Beta? Is this a dream? Like, what if-"

Charlotte cuts off her rambling. "Allison, slow down," she interrupts. She squeezes the girl's hands again. "I believe you, okay?"

Looking at her with wide eyes of surprise, she whispers, "You do?"

"Yeah. Of course I do. But Alli, it's two in the morning..." Charlotte frowns in concern. "Do you want me to call your parents?"

She's quick to furiously shake her head in denial. "No. No, please no. I... Not right now." She pauses for a few seconds before saying, "Is it bad that I want to help her? I mean, Dere-"

"Allison. Hey, why don't you stay here tonight? I doubt Mom would mind, and Lyds and I can drop you tomorrow. Does that sound good?"

Allison nods and brushes more tears away, now back to sipping on her hot chocolate. Charlotte sighs and pulls her into a hug. The brunette clutches on to her like a koala. "Thank you," she gratefully whispers into her friend's ear.

Charlotte's pulse is rapid. She's a little worried she's about to have a heart attack. Multiple things circle through her head. One is that Kate has Derek. Two, Allison now knew about the supernatural. But what worries her the most is that the Argents are now hunting for the second Beta. Scott. And Allison seems willing to let that happen.

»»———-　　———-««

Barging through the front door of the McCall household, Charlotte doesn't flinch as it bangs against the adjacent wall then slams closed. She races up the stairs whilst yelling out, "Boys! Big problem! Big, big, big fucking problem!" Melissa wasn't home to hear such foul language. She'd made sure the car was gone before storming inside.

Scott's bedroom door is flung open to reveal the two boys frantically moving around inside. "We know," Stiles confesses. "Scott almost died last night and Derek-"

"Wait, what the fuck?" She races over to Scott and lets her eyes study his body. "Okay... No visible marks. What happened? And I have an even bigger problem. Like, much bigger than almost dying." Scott rolls his eyes and she quickly adds, "No offence."

All three sit on the bed in the middle of the room, ready for another debrief session. As soon as she tells them the more urgent points of what she's recently learnt, both her friends are just as shocked as the other. Then, the boys explain their own recent chain of events.

"Allison knows? Kate has Derek? Where?"

"Yes, yes, and not sure."

"Holy shit!" Scott exclaims.

"I know. Allison rocked up at ours at one in morning, saying Kate had shown her Derek; fangs, eyes and all. And the most concerning part is that she mentioned Kate said something about hunting for the second beta," she points to Scott, "and that Allison wants to help. But no one knows that it's actually you. Well, I don't think so..."

Stiles sits frozen still, lost for words. Scott throws his head back and groans. "Okay, so I thought he was dead," the Stilinski says slowly, referencing to Derek. "You know, Scott, after mentioning him walking into gunfire and all."

Charlotte shakes her head. "How did you get shot? And Deaton knows? As in your boss, who isn't actually the Alpha, knows about super dogs and saved your life?"

Scott nods. "Yeah."

"But he's a vet!"

Scott's nodding turns more vigorous. "That's what he said!" he exclaims.

"Maybe he's a vet for super dogs, too..."

"To answer your first question, Charles, Scott found Jackson at Derek's, who was actually trying to kill Jackson... Then Derek tried to kill Scott for interrupting his homicidal plans. Then the Argents showed up and Scott got shot, leaving Jackson all alone to make his escape. Am I right?"

Scott hesitates for a second then dips his head in agreement. "Yeah."

"And why didn't you let Jackson die?"

"Charles!"

"Sorry..."

Stiles rolls his eyes in amusement. "No, you're not," he counters with a chuckle.

Charlotte grins then tries to go back to being serious. "Okay, so what's the plan?" she questions.

"The plan is, we need to find Derek. Argent's plan was to use him to get to the Alpha, Peter. They aren't going to kill him."

She nods at Scott's words, whilst Stiles narrows his eyes and begins to protest. "All right, so let's just let them do what they're planning? Just let it happen, then the problem's solved."

"Not if Peter's going after Allison to find Derek first! I can't protect her on my own-"

"Hang on," Charlotte cuts in. "Peter wants her why?"

"Just so he can piss Scott off," Stiles says.

The girl grimaces. "Oh, yikes..."

"It doesn't matter why he wants her! What matters is that I can't protect her by myself, so that means we have to either find Derek first-"

"Hold on. Scott, what happened to your two best friends?" Charlotte points to herself, then to Stiles who looks expectantly at the werewolf.

Scott breathes a sigh. "Just help me!"

"Jesus, fine!"

"Have you talked to Allison since last night?"

Now it's Charlotte's turn to sigh. "Lydia and I dropped her home this morning, but I haven't talked to her." She runs a hand down her face in frustration. "I don't know what to say! I don't want to lie, which technically I haven't done... It's either you two who have lied, or I just haven't told the truth."

"That's called lying," Stiles smiles.

"What could I possibly say to her? Don't kill the other Beta, who by the way is also my best friend and your lover, and that your aunt is a crazy sociopath?" Charlotte groans loudly and collapses face down onto Scott's bed.

The Stilinski scrunches up his nose. "Yeah... Sorry, dude. Not sure what to say about that."

Scott continues to frantically look around his room before the girl puts a stop to it. "Okay, this is bugging me. What are you looking for?"

"His phone that he lost while fighting Derek."

She nods. "Want to use mine?"

Scott looks at her and begins to nod, however, he suddenly freezes. He looks out the window overlooking the road and says, "Wait... It's my mom."

His friends share a look as they watch him try to concentrate on whatever is occurring outside. "Is she okay?"

"She's crying."

Charlotte's lips tug into a frown. "Scott, I know you want to and I know you feel like you have to, but you can't protect everyone." Stiles nods in agreement with her.

Scott turns to look at them. "But I have to."

»»———-　　———-««

It's mid Tuesday that Charlotte finds herself back in the boys locker room. She rolls her eyes at the whistles. "Fuck off," she hisses to them. The group of teenagers quickly turn back around and busy themselves with something else. She spots Scott just finishing talking to Coach.

The teacher's eyes find her figure and he scowls. "Martin, get the hell out of here!"

She salutes. "Will do soon, Coach!" Charlotte walks over to her best friends who are with Jackson at his locker. The latter opens his door only for her to slam it closed. He turns to glare at her. "Remind me why we didn't let him die?" she mutters.

"I'm getting close to killing you, you bitch-" Jackson is cut off by Scott's very (in Charlotte's opinion) scary glare. "Okay. Hold on, you want me to take her to the formal?"

The blonde's eyes narrow. "Please for the love of God, tell me he's not talking about me."

"Allison," Stiles whispers to her.

She sighs in relief. "Wait, weren't you already taking her?" she queries. Jackson only rolls his eyes.

"I don't want you to, I need you to," Scott corrects.

Jackson scoffs. "You know what? Fuck you," he says to Scott. Then, he points to Stiles. "Fuck you, too! No, fuck each other!" He scowls at the girl. "And you can die a slow and painful death."

"Someone remind me why he's still alive?" Charlotte exclaims loudly.

Stiles elbows her as they watch a few heads turn their way. "Dude, could you be any louder? Don't answer that." His eyes flick back to the pretentious teenage boy. "Scott saved your life, Jackson. Okay?

He scoffs and moves the scowl back to the werewolf. "No. He left me for dead!"

"I got fucking shot for you!"

"Yeah? Show me the bullet wound."

"You know it healed," Scott counters.

"Convenient, hey?"

Charlotte's jaw clenches. "Stiles, restrain me from punching him again please." Jackson's smirk falls.

"Just... Just do it for Allison!" Scott pleads desperately. "She's in serious danger! All the time, all around the clock danger. Someone needs to keep an eye on her during the dance."

"Remind me why we're doing this?" she whispers to the boy with the buzzcut.

Stiles shrugs. "To be honest, I have no clue what Scott's doing ninety percent of the time anymore," he mutters back.

Jackson rolls his eyes. "Have her dad do it! He's the one actually equipped to handle something like this."

Charlotte sarcastically smiles at him. "And how is he supposed to do that without Argent finding out about him, you dickhead?"

Jackson casually shrugs. "Not my fucking problem." He turns to walk away but is stopped by Scott who calls out after him,

"I know you care about her. It's Allison. Who wouldn't? All that time you spent with her instead of me... You're her friend, too. So you can't tell me that you wouldn't care if she gets hurt."

He turns around to the trio. "What if I get hurt?" Jackson questions.

"Best day of my life."

"Well, it's not worth it to me."

Stiles and Charlotte turn to Scott as the boy continues to walk away. "Scotty... I totally would say that we told you so..."

Stiles nods his head. "But we're not going to. Because 'we told you' so isn't strong enough. What about, 'Charlotte and I are always right, and you should listen to absolutely everything we have to say and never disagree ever, ever again for the sake of your wolfihood?'"

The girl grins and points a finger to him. "See, now that's so much better, don't ya think?"

"I'm not done."

Stiles' eyes narrow a fraction. "You're not done, Scott?"

"Lottie, how do you feel about hitting him again?"

She barks a loud laugh. "Scott. Why are you even asking me that?"

By now majority of the locker room has cleared out, including Coach. Which is probably for the best due to what's about to happen. The boys watch her walk forward to Jackson who is about to exit the room. "Jackson?" Scott calls out. The aforementioned male slowly starts to turn around after hearing a low growl, only for him to be met with Charlotte's fist.

"If I say please, can I be the one to kill him?"

"No!"

»»———-　　———-««

A little while later, the trio watch an incredibly anxious Jackson approach Allison and begin talking to her about the dance. Once his eyes flick back their way, Charlotte sends him a wave and an innocent, Stiles grins widely, and Scott flashes his golden eyes. They watch Allison and Jackson walk off.

"Don't worry, Scott, we'll still be there," Stiles reassures his best friend.

"I'm still going," the werewolf states.

"Even after Coach just said you're banned?" Scott nods. Stiles pulls a face. "Is it a good idea though? I mean, you don't even have a date!"

Scott looks at Charlotte and she laughs in disbelief. "Yeah, over my dead fucking body."

"What! No, Charles, as friends."

She shakes her head. "Nope, Stiles already asked me." Scott's jaw drops to the floor. "No, Scott. We are also going as friends. Lydia's tagging along too, but she thinks she's going with me and that Stiles isn't there..." She chuckles. "You know, set up," she drawls out.

Stiles beams with excitement and Scott rolls his eyes. "Then, no, I don't yet."

"Do you have a suit?"

"No."

"Do you have a ticket to the formal?"

"What about a ride?"

"No... And no..."

Charlotte lips twitch upwards. "So just to be clear. You're going to ride your bike to a dance, that you're actually banned from going to, without a date or a suit or a way in without being seen, along with big, bad Peter out to get you as well as the murderous Argent family coming to kick your werewolf ass?"

"Yeah." Scott looks to Stiles, then to Charlotte. "Are you going to help me?"

"Fuck yes!"

"Obviously!"

»»———-　　———-««

"Lyds, you look stunning!"

"They didn't have the dress I wanted in stock!"

"Lydia Martin. You could wear a trash bag as a dress and somehow still make it look hot."

The strawberry blonde meets her sister's eyes through the mirror with a small smile. "I can?"

Charlotte firmly nods. "Absolutely you can." She leaves her sister's bedroom to let her add the finishing touches to her makeup, and heads back to her own to grab her heels. She's just beginning to do up the straps when she shrieks in terror at the shadow that falls over her. "Dude! Who the fuck let you in? I could've been naked!" The boy holds up a key and grins. "Stiles, get the fuck outta here!"

He stares blankly at her. "Excuse me? I'm your date!" he points out.

"Exactly! Mine and Lydia's. Now go do what a date is supposed to do and knock on the fucking front door."

"But I-" Stiles' eyes widen in alarm as one of her heels is thrown at his head. "Going!"

She smiles to herself and chuckles. It takes another minute to finish putting on her shoes and delicately placing the flower in her hair, then she grabs her purse and heads back to her sister. "Dee, you ready?" she questions after knocking.

The door opens and Lydia instantly smiles. "You look perfect," she whispers.

"Why, thank you. As do you. Now, shall we go dance the night away?"

"You're so cheesy."

"That's exactly what sisters are for." Both girls walk down the stairs and open the front door to find Stiles with his fist raised to knock. "Stiles!" Charlotte greets with a grin. "Just in time." He stares at Lydia and the blonde's grin widens. "Stiles?"

Lydia turns to her twin and mutters, "What's he doing here?"

"He's our date."

Her eyes widen. "He is?"

"He is, aren't you, Stiles?"

The boy blinks out of his daze. "Yes. Yep. Yep! I'm your date. Lydia, you look beautiful."

A faint blush taints her cheeks. "Really?"

Charlotte sadly smiles. It's clear how often Jackson critiqued her. She hates that her sister is so self-conscious. If only she knew how beautiful everyone found her. Just like Stiles. "Yeah! Yeah, of course you do! I mean, you always look beautiful, not just tonight..."

The blonde chuckles and lets him have his moment. She locks the door behind her and follows the pair towards Stiles' car as they drive off to the winter formal.

»»———-　　———-««

The Jeep pulls up in front of the high school and the three get out at the same time as Jackson and Allison are walking past them. Charlotte instantly glares daggers at the boy, and when Lydia isn't watching, she drags a line across her throat as they make eye contact. Jackson Whittemore pales a shade lighter but continues on as if nothing had happened. Then she looks to Allison Argent. Her eyes linger on the girl's face, and she's thankful she isn't caught staring a little too long. She thinks she looks absolutely gorgeous.

"Jackson! You look handsome tonight," Lydia says. Charlotte smiles sympathetically to Stiles who awkwardly fiddles with his tie.

"Obviously, it's Hugo Boss."

"And no one gives a shit," Charlotte retorts snidely. He and Allison walk on, the latter giving her a small wave and smile. Charlotte thickly swallows and smiles back.

"I don't care, I don't want fucking 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," Lydia mutters.

Her sister and the boy beside her watch on in pride. "Fuck yeah, Dee!" Charlotte praises. Lydia straightens herself and clears her throat.

"Well, I think you both look beautiful," Stiles observes with a smile. Both of the girls grin as he holds his arms out, and they each grab onto one.

"You go, dude," Charlotte whispers to him. She's taken notice of how his beaming smile hasn't left his face since they had opened the door for him back at home. As soon as the double doors are pulled back, loud music enters her ears. She takes a deep breath as Stiles and Lydia depart from her, and she closes her eyes for a second. "Only doing this for Allison and Scott. Hate dances, only for a few hours, Charlotte. Breathe."

"Breathe," someone whispers.

Charlotte screeches in alarm and spins around to see Allison grinning behind her. "Allison, what the fuck? This is the second time someone's done that to me in the last hour!"

The brunette giggles. "Sorry... I know how much you hate dances," she adds with a sympathetic smile.

Her eyebrows raise. "How do you know that?"

Allison's teeth sink into her lip as she looks down. "Uh, Lydia told me. So I got you something to help you remember this one. Hopefully remembering it being good?" Charlotte's eyes widen when she is handed a small box. She undoes the bow fastened around the lid and opens it to find a delicate silver bracelet tucked inside. There's a single charm on the chain; an arrow. Allison clears her throat softly. "Um, the arrow's for me... I was thinking each one you add would be meaningful." She hesitates before adding, "And I hope I mean something to you?"

Charlotte looks up with tearful eyes and quickly wraps her arms around the girl. "It's perfect," she whispers. "I love it and you so much, thank you. And of course you do, you're my best friend."

Allison giggles again. Charlotte thinks it's the most beautiful sound in the world. "Love you too, Lottie, but you gotta let me go, you're choking me."

Charlotte quickly loosens her hold and smiles apologetically. They stare at one another. The blonde quickly tears her eyes away and holds the box out reluctantly. "Uh, could you put it on for me?" Allison takes the jewellery out of the box and clasps it onto her wrist. "Again, thank you so much."

Both girls lock eyes and they each get lost in the ones opposite from them. Allison swallows. "Your eyes are really pretty," she whispers. "They're like oceans. Ocean eyes."

Charlotte smiles. Then she spots Scott sitting on the top row of the bleachers behind the girl. "Oh, hey, look-"

"Allison, do you want to dance?" They turn to find Jackson standing behind them, clearly not thrilled to be asking the question in the first place.

Allison's eyes flick back to her friend's in question. Charlotte dismisses her with a wave. "Go, have fun." They share one last smile together, and the blonde-haired girl watches her walk off with Jackson. She giggles when she realises that he's only doing this with the fear and knowledge that Scott is somewhere in the room.

Plopping down into one of the chairs around a circular table, she spots Stiles arguing with Lydia, trying to persuade her to dance. She bites her tongue to stop herself from laughing as she hears part of the conversation. "I know somewhere inside that cold, lifeless exterior, there's an actual human soul. And I'm also pretty sure Charlotte and I are the only ones who know how smart you really are."

Lydia grabs his outstretched arm after a few seconds with a smile and they walk off together to the dance floor. Meeting his eyes, Charlotte gives him a supportive thumbs up and grin as he pumps his fist in the air.

She takes one of the cups of punch on the table and pulls out the brass flask from her purse. After pouring in a respectful amount of vodka to help her survive the rest of the evening, she takes a sip. "Now that is punch," she murmurs to herself with pride. It's probably sixty percent spirit and forty percent fruit juice.

"McCall!"

Her head snaps up at Coach's furious voice. Ah. He's found Scott. She snickers as she looks to where she had spotted her best friend before. Scott frantically stands up and races down to the dance floor.

"Come here, buddy! I see you... Come here!" Coach picks up the pace as he chases after the boy, pushing through the seas of dancing teenagers. "McCall! Get outta my way, you idiots... It's a small gym, McCall! I'm gonna find you..."

Charlotte gasps. "Oh, my God, no fucking way."

The music stops and Coach finally discovers what she had a few seconds earlier. "McCall, you're not supposed to-" Bobby Finstock falters at the sight of Scott with his arms wrapped around Danny's neck. "What the hell are you do- What the hell are you doing?"

Charlotte's grin widens as Scott innocently smiles at him. "Yes Coach?"

"Okay... ho-ho, haha. Hold on. I was just saying he's not supposed to- I mean, I wasn't saying that he shouldn't... You guys don't think... You don't... I-I was- Just dance, everybody! Just dance! Dance! It's a party! What the hell are you looking at, Greenberg?"

The music starts up again and Charlotte shamelessly laughs. As she takes a long sip from her alcoholic drink, Stiles takes the seat beside her and she looks up in confusion. "Hey, what happened to your other date?"

"She went to go find Jackson," he says glumly.

She frowns and places her cup down. "Oh, Stiles, I'm so sorry."

He sighs. "It's okay. She loves him. I get it."

"Well, your other date would love to dance with you if it's okay?"

Stiles smiles and he takes her hand. "It would be my absolute pleasure."

»»———-　　———-««

They've ended up in a balloon fight. It had been rather violent until a chaperone had interfered and told them to quiet down. Charlotte's giggle slips past her lips as she lightly throws a lone balloon at him. They've now dialled down the intensity of said fight. Stiles laughs evilly and grabs multiple into his hands, running up close enough to hit them on the back of her head.

When the music finally slows done, they agree to a truce and make their way to the middle of the room for the promised dance. "They're pretty cute aren't they," she says, pointing to the side to Scott and Allison swaying with one another.

Stiles smiles. "Yeah," he agrees. "They are."

"He really loves her, doesn't he?"

"I think he does."

It's silent for a little while, just the hired band continuing their song without any idea of the troubles that lurk some of the teenagers below them. Charlotte stares at the couple. "Do you reckon we'll ever get something like that?" she quietly speaks up.

Stiles looks down at her and gives her a small smile. "Yeah. Eventually."

"You'll get her one day, Stiles."

His eyes widen. "What do you-"

"You know what I mean. She just needs some time to realise and figure it out for herself. The Jackson phase will go. Hopefully very, very soon for everyone's sake." He chuckles. "But you'll get there."

Hope glimmers in his eyes as he asks, "You think so?"

Charlotte firmly nods. "Absolutely. You know what? Tonight hasn't been as horrible as I thought it was gonna be. No one has died yet, everyone's mostly okay, you danced with Lydia, Scott's with Allison... Everyone's happy!"

He mimics her smile until his eyes land on her wrist. "And someone gave you an early birthday present?"

She rolls her eyes as they sway side to side. "Allison," she tells him. "Apparently Lydia told her how much I hate this sort of stuff..."

Stiles raises his eyebrows in a pointed manner. "Awful big gesture to give someone just to help them get through a dance."

Charlotte rolls her eyes once more. "It's a friendship gift. You know how people have the friendship band thing? I guess this is ours."

His eyes narrow slightly as he studies her face. "Uh huh..."

»»———-　　———-««

Half an hour later, their no problems have now morphed into a single problem. As the pair walk out of the gym and into the adjacent hallway, the boy tries to reach Jackson Whittemore via his phone. Charlotte sighs. "Okay, so, this probably isn't good, right?"

He briefly glances to her and shakes his head. "Missing Jackson on a night when an Alpha werewolf and hunters are out to kill another werewolf? Probably not."

Charlotte's eyes widen when they see said person stumbling down the hallway. She rushes over to him, Stiles close behind. "Did Lydia find you?" Jackson stays silent under her piercing gaze and gulps. But when Charlotte realises how pale and scared he looks, her heart jumps up into her throat. "What the fuck did you do?"

"I-I was out behind the school, and I-I was out-"

"What happened, Jackson?" Stiles questions. "Jackson, what did you do?"

Charlotte Martin removes her shoes in record time. She dumps them in the hallway without a care in the world and breaks off into a sprint as she races beside Stiles toward the lacrosse field. It's a little hard in the dress she's in, but it's not like she cares if she has to rip it.

The distant figure of Lydia Martin stands alone on the sea of grass.

Her sister stops dead in her tracks with wide eyes filled with terror. "Lydia, run!" she screams. The second Stiles finds where she is focused on, his heart drops to his feet and he takes off after her as she races toward her sister. Charlotte doesn't think she's ever been this scared before. "No, no, no, no, no..." she mutters to herself.

They can only watch helplessly as someone approaches the vulnerable girl, and just as the pair reach her, Lydia collapses to the ground like a rag doll.

Charlotte falls to her knees beside the girl and her shaking arms hover over her unconscious body. Somehow, tears are yet to fall from her eyes. She presses her ear to her sister's mouth and a shaky sigh of relief leaves her mouth once picking up on faint breathing. She firmly places her hands against the gaping wound in Lydia's neck and looks up at the man standing above them. The floodlights make the tears in her eyes shimmer like mirrorballs. "Please don't kill her," she begs.

Peter slowly lifts his head up to reveal the blood dripping from his chin. He smiles at them. "Of course not." He drags a clawed finger along the wounded girl's cheek. "Just tell me how to find Derek Hale."

Charlotte and Stiles look to each other with alarm. "I-I don't know. Please just let us go, she needs an ambulance," the blonde says frantically. Her eyes flick between the older Hale and her sister who lies before her on the ground, the once bright grass now stained a deep red.

Stiles tears his tearful eyes away from Lydia Martin. "How are we supposed to know that?" he questions in disbelief.

Peter smiles again. "Because you're meant to be the smart ones. You see, deception has a particularly putrid scent. If you don't tell me the truth, I will rip her apart."

A tear finally drops down Charlotte's cheek. "Please, I don't know!"

"But you do."

Stiles looks between the siblings and Peter anxiously. "Look-look we don't know! Okay! I swear to fucking God I have no idea."

"Tell me!"

"Okay, okay..." Charlotte's eyes widen at Stiles' response, and her hand trembles as she grabs onto Lydia's limp one. "I-I think... I think he knew," he says.

Peter's eyebrows raise impatiently. "Knew what?"

"Derek, I think he knew that he was going to be caught."

"By the Argents?"

"Yeah..."

"And?"

"When they were shot, he and Scott, I think Derek took Scott's phone."

"Why?"

Charlotte half listens to the conversation in front of her as she watches her sister's chest rise and fall in an uneven pattern. Her own breathing is erratic. She's on the edge of a panic attack. She takes a deep breath and looks back up at Peter, still clutching onto her sister's hand. "All phones have GPS trackers now," she informs him. Every word shakes with fear. "So if Derek still has it, and if it's still on, you can find him."

After pondering over the information for a few seconds, the man nods. "Right, let's go," he orders the teens firmly.

Her eyes widen in horror. "What? N-no, Peter, I can't just leave her here." Another tear falls when she looks back down to her lifeless twin.

The Alpha almost rolls his eyes at her. But for some reason, his heart constricts. It's something about watching her suffer beside her family member, not being able to do anything as she slowly bleeds out. In a way, it reminds him of the fire. The fire he had been stuck in all those years ago. Peter's glowing red eyes harden as he clears his throat. "You don't have a choice, Charlotte," he states. "Both of you are coming with me."

Her eyes burn like a wildfire. She can't help the tears that now freely fall from them. "Please," she tries once more. "If she dies... Please, just let-"

Peter grabs onto her wrist and forces her to stand up. Despite trying to stay strong in front of both the males before her, a sob rips through Charlotte's throat. He turns to Stiles and says, "Call your friend, Jackson." If it was any other time, both of the teenagers would instantly correct him by saying the boy is in fact not their friend. "Tell him where she is. That's all you get."

As Stiles' eyes flick to his best friend, she nods without hesitation. Charlotte Martin never thought she would ever say the words aloud, but Jackson Whittemore might just be her saving grace. "Do it, he's better than nothing."

After dragging the girl away from her dying sister, Peter, Stiles, and Charlotte sit inside the Jeep as the Stilinski follows the directions from the Alpha. Her red and raw eyes accidentally meet Peter's in the mirror. He rolls his. "Don't feel bad, if she lives, she'll be a werewolf." Stiles closes his eyes for a second. "She'll be incredibly powerful."

She swallows and her eyes fall to her wrist. She harshly snaps the hair tie on her skin twice. "Breathe," she whispers to herself. "Just get through this, then you can go to Lydia."

Peter hums. "Exactly! You both just have to put up with me for a little, which really isn't going to be as difficult as you're assuming it will be. Plus, if I wanted you dead-"

"You'd have killed us already," Stiles mumbles.

The werewolf smiles at them again, and goosebumps erupt across her entire body. "Precisely. You're both going to be fine. Again, I don't want to kill you." Charlotte wonders if they'll be getting out of this in one piece like they've been told they will be. She doesn't have supernaturally enhanced hearing, but she's not stupid to know that a murderer probably won't follow through with their promises.

It takes Stiles Stilinski a further ten minutes to finally reach Peter's destination. The Jeep slowly drives into a parking lot, and the boy briefly looks back to his best friend. Her left leg is uncontrollably bouncing up and down, and her clasped hands tremble with anxiety. He ignores Peter's stare as he says, "She's gonna be okay." Charlotte's eyes snap to meet his. "She's gonna be okay," he repeats. She nods once.

As soon as the car stops, the adult jumps out and quickly walks down to a locked car a few metres away. The teenagers hesitantly follow behind him. The girl sighs. "Whose car is this?" She knows she'll regret asking.

Peter glances to her as he unlocks the trunk of the vehicle. "It belonged to my nurse," he responds casually.

The pair behind him shrug. Then they freeze simultaneously as his words sink in. Stiles' eyes widen. "Wait, belonged? What happened- holy shit!" Stiles and Charlotte jump back in alarm when they lay eyes on what lies within the boot of the car.

It's the same woman from the other week at the hospital. The only difference now, is that she looks very, very dead. Charlotte takes a deep breath. They're not going to die. They're not going to die... Peter pries the laptop bag out of the deceased nurse's hand and shoves it into the girl's chest. Charlotte stares at him as he slams the trunk closed. He meets her eyes and shrugs. "I got better."

"Uh huh..."

Stiles clears his throat. "Uh, well, good luck getting a signal here. It's hopeless." He nods when a small black box is pulled out and set next to the bag now lying atop of the closed trunk. "Oh! Mifi..." Peter takes out the computer.

Charlotte's eyebrows raise. "And you're a Mac person! Is that for all werewolves, 'cause Scott has one too, or is it just personal preference, you kn-"

"Charlotte, stop talking. One of you turn it on, get it connected."

"You know, you're really destroying the whole mysterious super wolf thing at the moment-"

"Charlotte?" She hums in response. "Focus."

"Got it." The girl receives a nod from Stiles once the Mifi box is turned on and she opens the laptop to its lock screen. "Uh, Peter, we still need Scott's username and password-"

"You both know them."

Stiles stares back at him. "No, we don't."

"Even if I couldn't hear your heartbeat, I would still be able to tell that you're lying."

"Dude, I swear-"

"Wait!" Charlotte calls out, stopping Peter from slamming Stiles' head into the car next to them. "I really just want to go to my sister now." She turns the computer towards her and quickly taps on the keys. Peter releases Stiles from his grip and they watch as she types.

Whilst she continues to enter in the details to open up the laptop, she hears Stiles in the background. "What happens when you find Derek? You're gonna kill people, aren't you?"

"Only the responsible ones."

Charlotte quickly looks up from the computer and glances back to Peter. "If we do this, if I unlock this, you have to promise to leave Scott alone."

"Do either of you know why wolves hunt in packs?"

She slowly nods. "Most of the time their preferred prey is too large for a single one to take on. Teamwork."

"Exactly. I need Derek and Scott. I need the both of them."

"He's not going to help you," Stiles points out. "You know that, right?"

Peter chuckles. "Yes he will. Because it will save Allison. And both of you will, because it will save Scott." Charlotte takes a deep breath and enters in the first half of details. Peter stares at the screen, then looks at both of the teenagers incredulously. "His username is Allison?" When the password is in, he scoffs. "His password is also Allison?"

Stiles hums. "Sure you still want him in your pack?"

Charlotte's eyes widen slightly at what is displayed on the screen. "That's where they're keeping him? At his own house?" She blows out a sigh. "Kinda genius..."

"Not at it, under it," Peter corrects. After a few seconds, he scoffs once again. "I know exactly where that is." The humans watch his facial expression turn into one of realisation and he says, "I'm also not the only one." He hesitates for a few seconds then turns to the boy beside him. "Give me your keys," he demands.

Her eyes narrow at the man sceptically. "Wait, what did you hear?"

"I said, give me your keys."

"Careful, she grinds in- Oh, my God..." Stiles looks down at his keys in alarm, each one bent to the point where they are unusable.

His best friend stares at them in shock. Her eyes nervously flick back to the werewolf. "Does this mean you're not going to kill us?" Peter closes the open car door and turns back to face them. Charlotte shakily exhales. "Oh, God... not again..."

"Don't you understand yet? I'm not the bad guy here!" he exclaims defensively.

"Dude! You turn into a giant murderous dog who has red eyes, fangs, and likes to chomp people. And you still think you're not the bad guy?"

Stiles dramatically nods in agreement with her words, and Peter smiles at them. "I like you, Charlotte. You too, Stiles. I'm going to offer you both something. Since you've helped me tonight, would you like the bite?"

They glance to one another briefly before looking back to the man in bewilderment. "Wait, what?" she quietly questions.

"You heard me. Do you want the bite? If it doesn't kill you, you'll become like us. Like Scott."

Stiles' eyes widen even further. "Like you?"

"Yes! A werewolf. Do you want a picture drawn?"

"Would be nice actually..."

"That first night in the woods, I took Scott because I desperately needed a new pack. But it could have also been either of you instead. No more standing by his side, watching him become stronger, quicker, more popular at school, watching him get the girl... You'd be equals."

"I don't want to be like you," Stiles says firmly.

Peter's lips uplift. "Right then, I just heard the sound of your heart beating slightly fast over the words, 'I don't want.' Stiles, I think you believe that you're telling me the truth but you are lying to yourself." He turns to Charlotte who has been silent throughout. "But you... I think you want it."

She raises her head to look him square in the eyes. "No. I don't. Right now, I just want to be with my sister."

He nods. "That was also the sound of your heart blipping. Well then. Goodbye."

She breathes a sigh of relief when he finally leaves them in the parking lot with a Jeep that's keys won't work. "Thank God that's over."

Stiles' heart suddenly begins to race. It's similar to when they were trying to reach Lydia. "Charlotte?" he squeaks.

"What, Stiles? Can you call a cab?"

His voice raises a little louder. "Charlotte, move."

She rolls her eyes and points to her phone. "Can you please call a cab? Or your dad to come get us?"

"Peter- wait, don't!"

The confusion in her eyes quickly changes into something of pain. As soon as whatever has entered her neck leaves, she immediately clutches the skin. Charlotte removes a hand and the fear returns at how her palm is painted a deep crimson. Her lips part as she breathes out, "Stiles?"

Her best friend runs towards her and manages to catch her just in time before she falls to the concrete floor. "Hang on, Lottie," he pleads. "Okay? Just hang on for me."

She winces. "I changed my mind, I don't want this anymore. Hurts like a fucking bitch."

Stiles gives her a weak smile as he fumbles to get his phone out of the pocket of his pants. His heart drops a level lower when her eyes flutter. "Hey, hey, Charlie, you're going to be okay. All right? Just hang on a little longer for me, yeah?"

Her tearful eyes meet his. "Make sure Lydia doesn't die," she whispers. "And make sure Scott's okay."

Fear dances across his face as he finally manages to dial an ambulance. "Hey, they're gonna be fine, okay? We gotta get you to a hospital." He doesn't hesitate to grab onto her bloodied hand when she reaches out for his.

Charlotte groans. "Oh, for fuck's sake. I really, really hate this guy," she complains. He manages a smile. And that's the last thing she sees before her vision turns to a starless, pitch-black sky with the echoes of sirens ringing in her ears.

𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 1 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘞𝘏𝘖𝘖𝘖