𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏 | 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽𝔂'𝓼 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻

𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺

CHARLOTTE MARTIN LOUDLY GROANS AS she slowly opens her eyes. She winces once the searing white light invades her vision. Clattering and the movement of furniture can be heard around her, so she slowly lifts her head to see who's beside her. The girl immediately cries out in pain and collapses back onto the pillow. Stiles Stilinski and Scott McCall rush towards her and lean over either side of the bed. "I obviously did die and I'm in hell if you two are here," she mutters.

"Hell?" Scott questions incredulously. "Why would us being with you mean yo-"

Stiles' eyes are full of concern as he asks, "Hey, are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"Yeah, we were really worried-"

"And the doctors weren't sure if you were gonna make it-"

"And Lydia is missing, so we ran over to make sure you were here-"

"And did I ask if you're okay-"

The blinding pain in her head is enough for her to snap at them. "Okay, shut up!" Charlotte shrieks. The boys take a few steps back at the outburst. Her eyes squint as she tries to properly look around the room; as best as she can from her position. "Are you fucking kidding me? Why am I in a fucking hospital? Oh, Scott! You're alive!" She grins at him in relief, however, she frowns when he doesn't reciprocate the smile. Then she remembers what else they had said. "And thank God Lydia's okay." The boys share a look at how she hadn't heard the 'missing' part.

Scott looks anxiously from Stiles and back to her as he pulls his armchair closes to the bed. "Lottie, do you remember what happened?" he softly asks.

She drags a hand down the side of her face ad the memories from that night come flooding back. "Right, yes. Psychopathic man. Fuck, I hate him... When I see him next, he's dead," she hisses angrily. "Like, deader than Jackson..." Charlotte looks over to her friends when they don't exclaim something like 'more than Jackson?!', and her eyebrows furrow at their expressions. "What?" She tries to slowly sit up, and in doing so her hand instantly clutches her neck. "Shit, this hurts like a bitch."

Scott taps his fingers on the arms of the chair he is sitting in. "Yeah, so, we have a bit to catch up on."

Stiles grimaces. "Scott, ignore that for a moment. Who's going to tell her about the 'thing'?"

"No, you tell her about the 'thing'!"

Charlotte's eyes flick between them. "What 'thing'? Wait, how long have I been in here for? Because Stiles, you somehow look taller, and Scott, your hair's different." The werewolf proudly smiles, internally thrilled that someone had finally noticed.

Stiles takes a deep breath and lowers his voice as if it would soften the following blow. "Charles, you've been in here for four days," he says.

Her eyes widen in shock. "Four days? But shouldn't the bite have healed within four days? And Scott, how has your hair changed so much in four days?"

"It's not supernaturally healing like Scott's did," Stiles tells her grimly.

"So my body's rejecting the bite? But didn't Peter say you either die or become a werewolf?" Her brows pinch together in confusion. "Shouldn't I be dead by now then?"

Stiles' lips purse. "Yeah. That's the part we don't get."

Charlotte's fingers gently graze the bandage covering the wound on her neck. "So I'm healing humanly? Like, normally?"

The boys nod. "Exactly," Scott says. "Lydia's the same, she's been up since yesterday."

"Woah..." They help her move the bed so she can lean against it, slightly sitting up. "Someone please get me Whittewhore and... let's call him, He Who Must Not Be Named. I need to vent my rage." Charlotte heavily sighs in frustration when her friends share yet another look. "Okay, what else could possibly be wrong?"

The room is silent for a few seconds.

Stiles clears his throat. "Peter's dead."

"Wait... What? Wait. What? Wait, what?"

"Derek killed him."

Her eyes widen further. "Derek's alive?"

"Yeah... Scott found Derek then Kate found both of them, Peter killed Kate, and Derek killed Peter."

"Derek's an Alpha," Scott adds with a frown.

"What's bad about Derek being... Wait, I kinda like him, is he gonna turn into a Peter copycat?" She grimaces at the thought of her acquaintance turning into her nightmare.

"Not too sure yet, but we don't trust him," Stiles states bluntly. Scott nods in agreement.

There's still something etched upon their faces that makes her realise they're holding something back. "What else could've possibly happened?"

"Allison knows about Scott. She knows everything, Charles. She was there with Kate." Stiles sighs. "She knows about Scott."

"Holy shit..." Charlotte's eyes widen in sudden realisation. "Wait, what did you mean when you said Lydia's missing?"

»»———-　　———-««

Later that day, the doctors clear the girl to be discharged from the hospital with very strict orders to not do any strenuous activities. Obviously, this wasn't going to happen. But of course Charlotte hadn't voiced that aloud. She follows her mother to the front door of their home, and she smiles at the woman when she begins to unlace her daughter's shoes. "Mom, I can do it, it's okay."

Natalie sighs and pulls the girl into a hug. "I was so worried," she stresses. "I just love you so much, and seeing you there and not being able to do-"

"M-mom, t-too tight," Charlotte stutters out through gritted teeth.

The embrace is loosened and the two share a smile. "Just promise me you'll listen to the doctors' instructions," the older Martin pleads.

"Mom, we need to find Lydia. Do you really think I'm going to follow some stupid doctor's rules?"

Natalie rolls her eyes and calls after her daughter as she walks up the stairs, "Just... Just be careful, okay? Call me or the Sheriff if you see anything!"

"You got it, will be super careful!"

Yeah, that obviously wasn't going to happen either.

»»———-　　———-««

Knuckles rap twice on her bedroom door and without looking up from reading her book, she yells, "Come in!" The door creaks open and a head pops through the gap. Charlotte's eyes widen in surprise. "Allison?"

There's a blur of brunette hair, then a body collides with her own. "Oh, my God, when Scott said that you were home, I didn't believe him-"

"I love you but no hugs," she interrupts gently, wincing in pain.

Allison pulls back immediately with guilt all over her face. "Shit, I'm sorry. I just... I'm so glad you're okay!"

Charlotte grins and pats the bed next to her. "Thank you for coming over."

The two share a smile. Then Allison's slowly begins to fall. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and meets the girl's eyes. "I wanted to apologise to you for, you know, everything before..."

"Apologise?" Charlotte questions in confusion. "What for? If anything, I should be apologising to you."

"No! No. I get it, it wasn't your thing to tell... But I feel horrible about what happened the other day. Coming over to you and spilling everything, and you probably felt like you had to choose a side, and I didn't know you knew beforehand-"

She takes one of Allison's hands. "Hey. It's okay. You have nothing to apologise for."

"But I was with Kate, and I let her hurt Derek. I hurt Derek, and I-"

"Allison!" Her eyes snap up to the ocean blue. "I'm not going to pretend I'm not a little pissed off that you wanted to physically hurt Scott. Because I am." Charlotte softly sighs. "But you also didn't have all of the information and only acted on the side of the story you were told. Kate was your family, and she used your loyalty and love to her advantage."

Allison's eyes are full of tears. "I never wanted to kill them!" she protests. Her voice trembles. "I mean, I guess a part of me wanted Derek dead, but I never would've killed him!" She takes a deep breath. "I never knew she was planning to kill both of them," she confesses quietly, referencing their mutual friend.

She noticed the second the tears appeared at the mention of the deceased Argent. Even though Charlotte hadn't particularly liked (understatement of the year) Kate Argent, the woman was still Allison's aunt. They were still family. "I'm so sorry about Kate," she whispers.

A tear drops down her cheek. The girl quickly nods. "Yeah, I... I don't really want to talk about it if that's okay."

Charlotte shuffles closer to her friend. She squeezes Allison's hand comfortingly. "Of course it's okay. I'm here if you want to talk about it. Always."

Allison gives her a weak smile. "Thank you," she responds softly.

"Why don't we just forget about the whole thing. I mean, I wasn't even there so I can't really say anything... How about we get ice cream on the way to Stiles', then we go find Lydia?"

"Yeah. Mint choc?"

"Obviously. And pain meds. Lots and lots of pain meds. Do you reckon they sell them in buckets?"

»»———-　　———-««

With a tub of mint chocolate ice-cream in hand, Charlotte shoves a spoonful in her mouth as she gets out of her friend's car. They don't need to enter the McCall residence, as the boys they're looking for are walking over to the Jeep parking in the driveway. "Boys," the blonde calls out, her voice muffled by the delicacy. Allison giggles. "We grace you with our wonderful presences!"

Scott smiles. "Hey- Wait, Allison, what are you doing here? Someone could see us!" Charlotte blinks at him. Stiles snickers at the confusion on her face. Then Scott doubletakes and looks back to the Martin. "Wait, Charles, why are you here? You should be in bed!"

She scoffs. "Did either of you really think I was gonna stay in bed? 'Cause if you did, amateurs." Stiles shrugs in agreement. "And why is Alli being here such a problem?" The mentioned girl sighs and takes the tub of ice-cream from her best friend. She shoves multiple spoonfuls into her mouth, and Charlotte's eyes widen at the sudden sadness radiating off the girl. "Okay, I have so clearly missed something here."

Stiles throws a bag into his car. "She's banned from dating Scott," he states.

Charlotte's brows raise. "Well that's new. I take it the whole wolf-cross-hunter thing didn't end so well after all?"

Scott grimaces at the memories. "Yeah..."

The girl shrugs. "Who cares. My sister is currently somewhere in Beacon Hills, naked?" She tilts her head in question to Stiles and the boy confirms it with a nod. "Right. And tomorrow is going to be the coldest night of the year. Scott, your dating status is important next week."

"She's right," Allison agrees. "Plus, we need to find her before they do."

Charlotte dumps the now empty ice-cream tub into the nearby bin and sighs. "Look, I've got full faith that Scott can find her, somehow-" Scott's eyes widen at the 'somehow.' "-before Stiles' dad does."

"How about my father does?" the dark-haired girl offers.

Charlotte Martin's eyes widen in horror as she spins over to her friend. "Wait, your dad knows about my sister?"

Stiles vigorously nods. "He knows?"

"I saw him and a few other guys leave my house in SUVs."

"Search party," Scott sighs.

"More like a hunting party," Allison corrects. She gives the girl beside her a sympathetic glance. "Sorry..."

Charlotte sighs. "It's okay." She unzips her backpack and throws a shirt in Scott's direction, "Your turn, wolf boy. Lydia's. Pray tell, what will you do with said shirt?" Scott grins and raises the clothing to his nose. She scoffs. "You're going to smell it?"

Stiles gives her a look, then nods encouragingly to the werewolf. "Yep. So, hurry up and sniff, Scott! Sniff, sniff, sniff!"

With all four teenagers now crammed into the Jeep, the Martin asks the question that had been circling around in her head all afternoon. "So, how did she get out of a hospital with no one noticing? I mean, Mom only said she escaped, that's all they know."

Stiles clears his throat. "Well, I was getting chocolate... Then the vending machine fell over, I heard a scream from her room, and she was just gone!"

"Did you get the chocolate?"

He locks eyes with Allison in the rear-view mirror and grins. "Yeah, I did. Thank you for asking, Allison. It's much appreciated."

Charlotte rolls her eyes. "Well, here's a bigger concern: Alli, will your dad actually kill Lydia? I mean they don't know she's rejecting the bite, too..." She swallows nervously and begins twisting her hair tie. "Wait, what if they kill me? Do they know Peter bit me? Oh, my God, if they know I got bitten, am I also on their hit list?"

Stiles sighs before speaking up, much to Allison and Scott's disapproval. "She's got a point..."

The blonde-haired girl's panic reaches a new level. "A point?" she screeches. The Jeep swerves to the side at the sudden outburst. "So I'm right? I'm going to die?"

Allison watches the girl beside her in the back of the car begin to breathe heavily. She quickly grabs onto her hand. Charlotte's eyes snap over to her. "No. It helps that you didn't escape from the hospital, and that you're not in the woods alone. I won't let them kill you. Promise." That only slightly calms her nerves.

Stiles' grin returns. "Yeah!" he exclaims, pumping a fist into the air.

"Stiles! Right! Turn right!"

And Charlotte's anxiety completely disappears as Scott sticks his head out of the window and dramatically sniffs the air. "Wow... This might be one of the best things I've ever seen."

»»———-　　———-««

"Here? Not distrusting your impeccable sense of smell, Scott, but are you sure it leads here?"

"Yeah, it stops here," he confirms.

Stiles turns to the pair of girls behind him and asks, "Has Lydia ever been here?"

Allison shakes her head. "No, not with me."

Charlotte wraps the tan coat tighter around her body and her eyes narrow slightly at the Hale house in the distance. "Never! I don't even think she knows about this place apart from when it was in the news, like, a decade ago."

Stiles' lips purse in thought. "What if it's an instinct? Like, what if she's being drawn towards Derek? Wolves need a pack, right? And Derek's an Alpha. Maybe Lydia's trying to find a pack," he suggests.

The Martin turns to him with confusion. "But I thought we concluded earlier that Lydia isn't a werewolf because she's healing normally?"

"Maybe you're both just taking a really long time to heal from it," Scott theorises. "Maybe you're still in transition?"

Charlotte narrows her eyes at him. "Okay, so why wasn't I? You know, drawn to Derek?"

The werewolf sighs cluelessly. "I don't know," he confesses. "Probably another reason to find Lydia before the Argents do."

"Good enough for me," she agrees. "Are you sure there's nothing else here? Like, the scent just stops?"

"No. That's it. Plus, wolves don't necessarily need packs. But Stiles is right." The boy proudly smiles. "It's an instinct; we're stronger in packs."

The group begin the trek towards the Hale house and Charlotte pulls her grey beanie down over her ears. She shivers. It's fucking freezing. She glances to Scott as she questions, "So you'll turn from the Hulk into, like, Super Hulk?"

He grins brightly at her assumption. "Yeah! We're literally stronger and faster... All our abilities are heightened. It makes the Alpha, Derek, stronger too. That's why Peter wanted me in his pack."

She steps over a fallen branch and picks up her pace to fall into step beside Stiles, giving the couple behind them some much hinted time alone. "How are you doing?" she softly asks.

Stiles' eyebrows raise in disbelief. "How am I doing?" She nods. "I should be asking you that! Plus, how did you manage to convince the doctors to let you go? You'd literally been in a coma for multiple days..."

Charlotte kisses her teeth. "Told them I would be super careful, take it easy, all that jazz."

"And your mom didn't say anything?"

"Oh, she did." He expectantly raises his eyebrows at her. "She knows it was all a lie. I think she's just given up on parenting me."

He chuckles, "Yep. I think Dad's the same..."  He trails off and stops next to her, staring off at something on the ground.

She squats beside it and her eyes widen as she moves to delicately touch it. "Holy shit, guys!" she yells back to their friends. Stiles eyes it closely. "It's a tripwire!"

Allison curiously looks at the trap. "Oh, woah..."

"Charles?"

"Yeah, Scotty?" She spins around at his voice and immediately gasps. "Oh, my fucking God." She grins and pulls her phone out to take multiple photos of the boy who is hanging upside down from a tree. "Say 'bark'!"

Scott rolls his eyes at them. His friends personally find it hilarious and struggle to keep their laughter in. "Next time you find a trip wire, don't trip it," he points out exasperatedly.

"Sure. But if you're with me, I will definitely, one-hundred percent touch it again."

The werewolf opens his mouth to protest something else, but he suddenly stops his attempts to break free. "Wait. Someone's coming," he urgently warns them. "Guys, hide!"

All three teenagers standing on solid ground frantically look around, until Stiles grabs onto both girls' elbows and drags them behind a nearby tree. Back pressed against the trunk, Charlotte turns to subtly glance back to where they had left Scott. She quietly hisses when a loose piece of bark pushes against her bandage. Allison squeezes her hand.

"Scott?"

Stiles, Charlotte, and Allison's eyes widen even further at the familiar voice. The blonde anxiously whispers, "Is that your dad?" Allison nods her head. "What the fuck is he doing out here?"

Stiles sighs. "Of course he's here."

"I have no idea," Allison murmurs.

"Mr Argent..." Scott greets casually. "Hey!"

"How are you doing, Scott?"

"Good, just you know... hangin' out."

Charlotte cracks a wide smile. "That's my boy." Stiles sends him a thumbs up.

Scott eyes them quickly then focuses back to Argent. "Is this one... one of yours? It's, um, good! Very nice and constricting."

"Scott, what are you doing out here?"

"Looking for my friend."

Charlotte leans her head against the tree and quietly whispers, "Abort! Scott, abort the mission. Now."

"That's right! Lydia... She's in your group now, isn't she?"

"Mm... Not really," Stiles mumbles.

"Part of your clique? Is that the right word? Or is there another way to put it? Part of your pack?" Stiles shifts his weight and leaves crunch underneath his shoes. Charlotte holds her breath in anticipation. They hear Argent abruptly stop talking. "Did you hear something?"

"No, nothing. Actually, you're right. Clique does sound right to me."

"I hope so... 'Cause I know she's a friend of Allison's. And one special circumstance such as yourself... One, I can handle. But two? I can't handle two, Scott." Charlotte closes her eyes as her heart hammers away in her chest. Herself and Lydia makes three special circumstances. "Scott, do you know what a hemicorporectomy is?"

"Cutting someone in half at the waist..." Stiles and Allison look over to their friend with wide eyes.

"I have a feeling I don't want to," Scott mutters hesitantly after hearing Charlotte's less detailed answer.

"It's a medical term for amputating someone at the waist. It takes a tremendous amount of strength to cut through tissue and bone like that. Let's... Let's hope a demonstration never becomes necessary."

Turning her head to meet Allison's eyes, Charlotte quietly asks, "Would he really do that?"

She sighs as they head towards Scott who is still hanging upside down. "Honestly? I barely even know my parents anymore."

"Very comforting..."

"Scott, are you okay?"

"I'm great! Just another life-threatening conversation with your dad..."

Charlotte chuckles. "Oh, he's fine. Sarcasm is a healthy coping mechanism for Start."

Scott cuts himself down with his claws and joins the group. "Start?" he queries in confusion.

She grins. "Stiles, Charlotte, and Scott! You guys have Sciles... Allison and Scott are Scallison." Allison rolls her eyes and smiles. "And now we have Start!"

"You know what, the whole four days of silence thing was actually kinda nice... Can we just lull you back to sleep?"

»»———-　　———-««

It had taken an hour of convincing, but Charlotte Martin had managed to make her mother believe that going to school was in her best interest. She wasn't overtly tired, and other than the throbbing pain in her neck, she was feeling okay. To her, that meant things were on the up. However, as she walks beside her best friends, she contemplates whether it had been a good idea in the first place. "I'm sorry." Her eyes are wide in incredulity. "But did I just hear you say my sister ate a liver?"

"No!" Stiles protests. "I didn't say she ate it, I just said it was missing."

Charlotte raises her eyebrows and turns to Scott. "Did he just say my sister ate a liver?"

Scott nods and goes to speak, but shuts his mouth when Stiles sends him a deathly glare. "No...?"

"I didn't!"

"But you heavily implied it," she retorts. He grimaces. "Lydia is not a werewolf, neither am I, hence, she didn't eat a liver."

"Just-just... Even if she did, so what? The point is, if neither of you are wolves... then you're something!"

Scott's eyes widen and his head subtly turns between the pair like a tennis match. Charlotte stares at Stiles in bewilderment. "Excuse me? 'Even if she did, so what?'"

"It's the most nutritious part of the body!" he exclaims defensively.

"For your sake, I'm going to pretend you said nothing at all."

"Nothing was said."

»»———-　　———-««

Making her way through the corridor and toward her locker to meet up with Allison before class, Charlotte is too caught up in her own thoughts about Lydia to notice that she's heading straight into someone also too distracted to notice her. They both crash into the other, books dropping onto the floor. Her eyes widen and she begins to profusely apologise. "Oh, shit, I'm so, so sorry!"

"Hey, Charlie, it's okay. It was my fault, too."

Charlotte helps the boy pick up his textbooks and slightly smiles at him. "No, Isaac, seriously, it's mine. I was rushing to meet someone." Her eyebrows furrow with concern once her eyes flick across his face. "Hey, are you okay?" she asks him seriously.

Isaac brings a hand up to gently touch the purple bruise on his eye and winces it makes contact. "Yeah, happened at lacrosse practise," he says.

Even though she doesn't believe it, she slowly nods. Her smile returns. "I haven't seen you in ages! How's chemistry going?"

"Not so good after we stopped the tutoring," he admits with a sigh.

"Just let me know and we can do something anytime, yeah?"

Isaac nods and gives her a small, grateful smile. "Yeah, thanks."

Charlotte doesn't give him any warning when she pulls him into a hug. The boy stands awkwardly for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around her. "It's good to see you Isaac," she whispers.

"You too, Charlotte. Oh, and I'm so sorry." He points to the bandage on her neck and frowns. "And about Lydia. They'll find her."

"Yeah. I hope so."

It didn't take her long to find the girl she had been looking for. Charlotte leans against a nearby locker as she watches Allison open hers. The brunette pulls out a black dress zipped up in a clear bag, then her head snaps over to her friend in surprise. "Wait, did you...?" She nods. "Is-is it for..."

She nods and reaches her hand out to squeeze the girl's shoulder. "Yeah. You're not going alone, Alli."

Her dark eyes widen. "No, it's okay, you have Lydia to worry abo-"

"Hey, I can multitask, okay?"

"Really?"

Charlotte rolls her eyes and smiles. "Of course. I'm not letting you do this alone. Plus, the cops are still looking for her, and as long as they find her before your family does... We're okay." Allison carefully folds the dress away and begins to grab books for class, handing each one to her friend to hold. Charlotte's attention focuses on a group of girls across the hallway, and she sighs once hearing the conversation.

"Not her sister, her aunt. The one who murdered all those people."

"You mean the crazy bitch who killed all those people?"

"Yeah, the fire, all-"

Her patience snaps. Leaving Allison at her locker, Charlotte storms up and interrupts the gossip session with a venom in her tone that is rarely heard. "Shut the fuck up. All of you. Find someone else to talk about because you don't want to see me angry. And right now, I'm not angry."

The girls stare at her in shock then quickly scurry away.

She turns back to her best friend and rushes over when noticing the tears in her eyes. Charlotte grabs onto Allison's hand and pulls her into a nearby classroom. "Hey, hey, don't listen to them, okay?"

"But it's true!" Allison cries out. "They're not wrong."

"Even if it's true, it doesn't make it right for them to gossip about it, especially when they know you can hear them."

A tear slips down her cheek. "I-I can't do this! I can't go to the funeral. Every-everyone is going to be watching me, and there's gonna be cameras there and I-"

"Us," Charlotte corrects firmly. "Not just you. They'll be watching us. Alli, you can do this. I know you can. You loved Kate; she was your aunt. And I also know that if you don't go, you'll most likely regret it later."

"Yeah," Allison says quietly. There's still an uncertainty tainting her voice. She slowly nods as the words sink in. "Yeah, I can do this."

"Yeah, you can. I know you can. We can do this. And I know Scott will be there too."

"Wait, what?"

"It's Scott. He'll be there with binoculars, up in a tree or something."

»»———-　　———-««

The second hand ticks closer and closer to the twelve. Charlotte doesn't think an hour has ever taken so long. It's agonising. As soon as it reads four o'clock, she grabs her books and the chair loudly screeches as she pushes it back.

"Sit."

She freezes. "Oh, come on! It's been way past an hour."

"Exactly!" Stiles exclaims heatedly. "You can't do this."

Adrian Harris looks blankly to his students from his desk. "My detentions are an hour and a half," he states.

Charlotte stares at him incredulously. "You legally can't even do that! School's over!"

The man lets out a dry laugh. "Oh, yes I can," he retorts. "You see, Stiles, after your father was so judicious in his dealings with me, I've decided to make you my personal project for the rest of the semester. And you." Charlotte groans and her head drops onto the desk. "You... I don't even need a reason to give you detention every single day for the rest of the year."

"What?" Her jaw clenches in frustration. "It was one missed class! And again, you can't do that!"

"I just did."

They fall back down into their chairs in defeat. Charlotte sighs and leans her chin in her palm as she glances to Stiles. "What did you do?"

"Was talking to Scott."

"Ah."

»»———-　　———-««

Allison tightly clutches onto Charlotte's hand as her parents guide the girls in front of them, shielding their daughter from the cameras. The Martin brushes a curled strand of blonde hair out of her eyes and watches the ground to stop herself from tripping over from her heels. "You okay?" she whispers to her best friend.

She curtly nods. "I just want to get this over with."

"Thank you for coming, Charlotte. It's good for Allison to have the support of one of her friends." The girl forces a smile to Victoria Argent, and they walk to a sectioned off area with chairs placed around a podium and a place in the ground already dug for the coffin.

Cameras snap behind them and Charlotte tunes into the Argents' conversation as she keeps her hand in Allison's. "Well, if he insisted, then he can deal with it when he gets here."

Allison and Charlotte share a look before the former looks back to her parents as she asks, "Who gets here?"

Victoria smiles sweetly. "Just sit down girls."

The brunette tugs her best friend down next to her. She looks around the cemetery. "No one's coming, are they?"

Victoria sighs. "All that matters is that we're here, Allison."

Charlotte takes a deep breath and her head snaps up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. "Christopher," an older man greets the Argent.

"Gerard."

"I'm so sorry."

Maybe they're all psychopaths... A shadow casts over her and Allison, and she looks up to be met with the eyes of Gerard. The man completely ignores her presence as he focuses on Allison. "Do you remember me?"

Charlotte looks away, wanting to give them some form of privacy, as much as one can while sitting in the seat next to. Her gaze freezes onto a statue in the distance and she rolls her eyes when she makes eye contact with Scott and Stiles. She refrains from whispering in fear of being heard, and subtly jerks her head towards the new attendance. She can vaguely see them nod frantically in response. They've obviously been here for a while.

"Considering I haven't seen you since you were three, I don't suppose I can assume you'd call me 'Grandpa.' So, if it's comfortable, call me Gerard for the time being... But I'd prefer Grandpa." Charlotte could have sworn her heart stops beating when he turns to her and his eyes briefly linger on her neck. "And you are?"

"Charlotte," Allison answers. "She's my best friend."

The girl gives him a small, forced smile. Gerard nods at her. "Pleasure to meet you."

When the three adults are busy conversing with one another, the blonde-haired teenager gently nudges Allison and subtly motions to the statue where their friends are hiding out behind. Allison sends a smile toward her boyfriend, and Charlotte bites her lip as she tries to hold back a grin when Sheriff Stilinski suddenly appears out of nowhere to drag the pair up off the ground and away out of the cemetery.

The service was shorter than any funeral Charlotte had ever attended previously. Perhaps because of the unwanted attendance of the press. The two girls walk side by side toward Charlotte's parked car out the front of the property. Once she's certain they're out of sight from Allison's family, she exclaims, "You did it!"

The brunette smiles. "Yeah, I did." She clears her throat. "I couldn't have done it without you, though. Really. Thank you."

They stare at each other for a few seconds. Charlotte hums. "So, Gerard?"

"Yeah. Didn't see that one coming... I honestly don't really remember him. I mean, I remember him, but it's more like a vague memory. It's been so long. Do you think it's a coincidence?"

"He could just be coming to mourn his daughter?"

"Or he could be a reinforcement to kill Lydia." Allison's lips snap shut and her eyes widen when realising exactly who she's talking to. "Shit, I'm so sorry, I-"

"I get it. Lydia's become a heap more popular these days." Allison sheepishly smiles and Charlotte grabs her phone out of her coat when it pings. "Scott and Stiles," she reveals with a chuckle.

"Go. I've apparently got more family drama to deal with."

"You guys could rival the Kardashians... Just add the supernatural crap and we've got ourselves an Emmy winning TV show!"

»»———-　　———-««

After making a brief detour home to swap her heels for Converse, she jogs through the Preserve, trying to find a flashlight that indicates where her friends are. She squints her eyes in the darkness. "Scott?" she calls out cautiously. A twig breaks behind her and she lets out a loud scream when someone grabs her arm. Whoever is there is quick to cover her mouth, and her eyes widen when she spins around. Her voice is muffled as she exclaims, "Stiles?"

Said teenager smugly grins and removes his hand. "Ha! I got you back after all those times!" He glances over his shoulder to call out, "Did you get it, Scott?"

"Oh, yeah, all on video..."

Charlotte's eyes narrow to slits as she looks between them. They both pale a shade lighter under her gaze. "What the fuck do you want? Because right now, I'm picturing both of your homicides, executed by me obviously."

Stiles rubs the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. "Just needed that one-time satisfaction. Never happening again," he promises.

"We think we found Lydia," Scott says.

"What?" They motion to an ambulance in the distance, its flashing lights illuminating the surroundings. All three teenagers creep quietly through the woods and crouch beside a large boulder that conceals them from any prying eyes. "Why didn't I change out of this dress," she mutters to herself in regret.

Scott's jaw drops slightly as he remembers the funeral. "The old guy!"

She nods. "Yes. Talk later, Scott." Her brows pinch together as she watches the red and blue lights dance around in the shadows. "What the fuck was Lydia doing here?"

"I'm not sure..."

"We heard it on my dad's police scanner that someone was attacked," Stiles explains.

"And you immediately thought Lydia did it?"

"Well, yeah." She sighs. The back door is wide open for view, blood splattered across the back walls, and the patient inside looking very dead. Stiles turns to Scott as he asks, "You got her scent?"

Scott nods confidently. He goes to run off but is stopped by the girl who grips tightly onto his upper arm. "Scott, find her. I don't care if she's done something or not. Please just find her." The werewolf gives her a smile and spins around to head back into the trees.

Stiles grabs a hold of her hand comfortingly and gently pulls her away. "Come on, let's go see what happened. Maybe Lydia didn't do this... Maybe she was just in the area, that's how Scott got her scent so easily."

Charlotte nods and shakily sucks in a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

As they walk closer to the emergency vehicle and the crime scene, they're met with the Sheriff. Noah's narrowed eyes flick between them. "What are you two doing here? Actually, you know what, never mind. Don't answer that."

"Dad, what happened? Has any-"

Charlotte tunes out the father and son as she stares emptily into the woods. Thoughts swim a million miles an hour in her mind, each one paranoid that something has happened to Lydia, that they wouldn't find her alive. Charlotte's eyes widen and her pulse increases when she suddenly catches a small movement in the dense bushes. "Lydia?" she whispers hopefully.

A shaking hand reaches out and moves a branch aside, creating a gap between trees. Lydia appears, just as described, with no clothes, and clutches her arms around her body. Charlotte gasps in shock and immediately tears off toward her. She doesn't double check if everyone behind her has noticed. The girl shakes off her hoodie and hurriedly helps her sister pull it on, internally thanking herself for buying it a few sizes too large.

Lydia shakes in her arms, numbingly cold to the touch. She stares up at her twin. Her eyes move between the bandage on her neck, then move to her blue eyes. "Lottie?"

Charlotte's heart fractures at the tremble in her voice. She nods and the siblings tightly engulf each other into a bruising hug. The tears that had been bottled up finally run down Charlotte's cheeks, and they don't seem to want to stop anytime soon. "Oh, my God, I'm so glad you're okay," she murmurs in relief, rocking them side to side.

Lydia nods against her shoulder. "I-I..."

"Hey, it's okay. Let's just go home first, yeah? Then we can talk all you want tomorrow."

She receives a nod in response, but the grip around her body only tightens. Charlotte slowly lifts her head back up to glance towards Stiles' direction and sees the group watching the reunion with tearful eyes. She locks eyes with the Sheriff, and he gives her a small smile before sending a female deputy towards the pair.

"Hey, Lydia," the woman greets them gently. "How about we get you home, does that sound okay?"

The strawberry blonde clutches onto her sister's hand, her body shaking from how low her body temperature is. "Y-yes please."

Stiles and Charlotte share a smile filled with relief and comfort knowing that Lydia is safe, and so far, unharmed. He mouths, Tomorrow. She nods gratefully and responds with, Thank you. The supernatural problem would be pushed down the list of priorities. Werewolf or not, Lydia remains on the top of Charlotte's. And right now, she's beyond thankful that somehow her sister is alive and standing beside her.

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘺𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘶𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦.