chapter two
❝ things i almost remember ❞
second chance at first line

━━━━༺❀༻━━━━

Ben Stallard walked into his daughters room. The brunette girl looks up, bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. Ever since the night of the party, Kennedy has felt sick. She felt like all energy she had, was drained from her body. In his hands was a tray with grilled cheese, a bowl of pineapples, and a glass of hot chocolate. AKA; Kennedy's favorite things.

"Hey, Pumpkin, everything okay in here?" He asks, looking around the room. Kennedy's yellow walls had slowly been covered in posters and tapestries as years passed. The closet on the right wall was filled with clothes of hers, and her dresser on the same wall as the door was covered in clutter. She curls up in her paisley-patterned comforter, watching her dad place down the tray of food in front of her as he sits on her dark teal ottoman.

"Everythings fine, Dad," Kennedy replies, smiling softly as she looks up at him. Ben couldn't help but smile at his daughter, an ache in his chest at the memories, the lies he has been keeping.

Ben sighs, "Your friend called. Told me he tried to call your cell," He explained, "I told him you've been asleep all day,"

Kennedy frowns, "Was it, Scott or Stiles?" She asked. Her eyes trailed to the door as Stiles Stilinski came into view. His hands were shoved in his pockets as he gave a small nod at the sick girl.

"I told him you were sleeping, so he decided to pay a visit." Ben chuckled. Kennedy smiled, reaching for a piece of pineapple, eating it as her dad stood up. "Alright, just put the tray on the floor. I'll come get it later, okay? Stiles, are you spending the night?" Stiles looks over, eyes wide as he tries to figure out what to say. He wasn't planning on spending the night, but the way Kennedy looked at him with an innocent gaze caused his heart to melt.

"Uh, sure," Stiles stutters out, turning to smile at Kennedy. She returns the smile, happy her friend was going to hang out with her.

"Alright, goodnight," 

"Night, Dad," The Stallard girl said softly as he kissed the top of her head. She watched as he walked out of her room. Stiles Stilinski stands in front of Kennedy Stallard's bed, staring at the sick girl. "What?"

The Stilinski pointed, "You're never gonna believe me what happened today," He said as he moved to sit on the bed. Kennedy narrowed her eyes, raising a brow. "Scott nearly broke Jackson's arm, and he tried to kill me. I promised him I'd video chat and give him an update."

Kennedy's eyes widened as she leaned forwards. "Scott tried to kill you?" She asks, drinking her hot chocolate. 

"Yeah," He sighs. "And, his girlfriend's Dad is one of the hunters that tried to kill him." Kennedy raises her brow, more than surprised.

"I wish I was there today, sounds much more interesting than watching Gossip Girl all day," The brunette mumbles. Stiles acknowledged the fact her hair was a mess, and she was wearing fuzzy pajama pants and a tank top.

Stiles shakes his head, scoffing, "Trust me, it was horrible." He looks down at his hands. He thinks about the secret, their secret. He brings his lips between his teeth, before speaking, "How are we supposed to tell him without him turning into a murderous werewolf?" He asks, looking over at Kennedy. The brunette girl looks up, bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. She doesn't answer, unsure what to tell him. 

Kennedy shrugged her shoulders. "We can tell him when he's 35 and married." She muttered.  "For now, you wanna call Scott and give him that update of yours?" She asks, looking over. Stiles nods, awkwardly rushing through his back pack to pull out his lap top.

Scott McCall answers the skype fairly quickly. He's surprised when the screen pops up, and Stiles is pointing a nerf gun at the camera, his laptop resting on Kennedy's desk. "What'd you find out?"

Stiles frowns, throwing the Nerf gun on Kennedy's bed. "Well, it's bad. Jackson's got a separated shoulder."

"Because of me?" Scott asks, feeling guilty.

Suddenly, Kennedy climbs out of bed, coming into the camera's view. "No, Scott, because he's a tool." She retorts, running her hand through her brown hair. Stiles looks over, watching the girl play with a small piece of hair from the back when she'd focus. She was doing it now, the thin piece twirling in her finger. 

Shaking his head, he looks at Stiles. "But is he gonna play?"

"Well, they don't know yet," Stiles explains, shrugging. Kennedy looks at Scott's background, noticing something neither of the other two boys had seen. "Now they're just counting on you for Saturday."

"Stiles," She whispers, pointing to the looming figure behind Scott.

Stiles's eyes widen as he leans forward. "What?" Scott asks. Neither teen say a word as Stiles begins to type.

It looks like

The screen begins to freeze up, "Dammit," Stiles hisses, trying to finish typing.

Someone's behind you.

Scoot kneels forward, "What?" He whispers. Scott studies his own camera, seeing the person behind him. Before he can do anything, Scott is grabbed by the figure and thrown out of view.

The pair of friends nearly jump out of their skin. Scott's camera goes black and the call abruptly ends. Both teens look at each other with wide eyes. "Should we see if he's okay?" Kennedy asked with a confused look.

Stiles shrugged, "I think it was Derek. You know, the other werewolf." Kennedy slowly nodded as she looked at the computer again. "Should we just, you know, do homework or something normal?" The teenage boy looks at his best friend. He missed being normal, and with Kennedy, they've been anything but that. So, when Kennedy smiles, nodding as she grabs his computer, opening up Netflix, Stiles climbs into her bed, the two leaning against her white headboard.

The TV show they decided to watch continues as Kennedy leans her head on Stiles's shoulder. The teenage boy smiles as the sick girl slowly fell asleep on him. She was his best friend, his entire world. He couldn't have gotten through everything that's happened without her. He knew that even if she didn't. 

Okay, so maybe Stiles had a crush on the girl. The truth is out! But what can you do when your best friend likes the same girl? Simple, say you have a crush on her best friend. Or former best friend, rather. It became awkward after Kennedy called crying saying Jackson dumped her for Lydia. Then Kennedy proceeded to say it was okay if he still had a crush, he couldn't control her feelings. So, the boy kept up the awkward act. He had to, for himself, for Kennedy, and for Scott.

༺❀༻

Kennedy sat in her class the next day, Jackson also sitting next to her. "I was worried I was gonna have to sit by Lahey," The Whittemore mumbled as he looked at the girl. Kennedy turns her head, looking at the teenage boy in the back corner.

"What's wrong with Isaac? He's adorable!" She titters, smiling wide. Jackson frowned.

"He's a loser," Jackson grumbles.  Rolling her eyes, Kennedy slaps Jackson's knuckles with her pencil. "Ow! What the hell is that for?" He hisses, gripping his knuckles.

The brunette raises a brow, "For being a dick," She says with a smile. Their teacher begins to speak, and Kennedy sighs as she leans back in her chair.

"So, you excited for the game tomorrow?" Jackson asks. Kennedy looks over, raising a brow. Jackson shrugs as he taps his pencil on the table, looking at her with an expectant look.

Sighing, Kennedy looks over. "I'm going to go and support my best friends," She replies, looking at him with a bored stare. "Why? Jealous I'm going to be cheering someone else on?"

Jackson chuckles lowly, leaning closer to the brunette's face. "I do admit, I've missed hearing you scream my name." He smirks. The teenage girl scoffs under her breath, knowing he meant to make that sound much dirtier than it really is.

Kennedy turns slowly, leaning over. Her lips brush his ear as she smirks. "Too bad you never got to hear it in the bedroom," The teenage boy's eyes darken when she pulls away. Before he can say anything else, the bell rings, signaling the end of class. Kennedy grabs her things, not bothering to look back at the Whittemore as she walks away.

As everyone begins to pile out of the classroom, Kennedy approaches Isaac Lahey. "Hey," She hummed with a smile.

Beacon Hills High's halls were full of people as Kennedy pushes her way through. She raises a confused brow when she finds Scott and Stiles hiding behind a wall, poking their heads out every now and then. "So, are we the scooby gang now?" She chirps, "Do I get the short purple dress? Or the short red pleated skirt?"

Stiles practically jumps six feet in the air, turning around, gasping for air. "Holy hell, don't do that!" He hisses, glaring at his friend.  Kennedy laughs as he pulls her over to the group. "Scott is using his new wolfy hearing to figure out what my dad is saying," He explains to her.

"Curfew because of the body." Scott blurts, hardly listening to his friends.

Stiles scoffs, shaking his head. "Unbelievable. My dad's out looking for a rabid animal, while the jerk-off who actually killed the girl is just hangin' out, doing whatever he wants." He snarks, wishing he could punch Derek in the face.

"Well, you can't exactly tell your dad the truth about Derek," Scott replied with an awkward shrug.

Kennedy nodded as she gestures towards Scott, "You can't say this guy is a serial killer werewolf that turned you into a werewolf. That will most definitely get you sent to Eichen House." She explains. Scott looks over at the girl, watching her cross her arms. He nods, agreeing with her statement. Stiles purses his lips before speaking up.

"I can do something." Stiles declares, looking at his two friends.

Scott shrugs, "Like what?" He asks the Sheriffs son.

Stiles looks between them, "Find the other half of the body." He replies. Kennedy's jaw practically drops. Stiles turns away from his friends, leaving them alone.

"Are you kidding?" Scott calls outs, looking over at Kennedy. His brown eyes widen, "He's got to be kidding, right?"

Sighing, Kennedy looks in the direction her best friend scurried off. "I don't think he was kidding."

༺❀༻

The school day had finally ended, and Allison Argent smiles softly as she approaches Kennedy Stallard. "Hey, Ken," She chimes, sitting down.

Kennedy looks up, "Hey, Allison," The hazel-eyed girl thinks about Scott for a moment, how he had a crush on her for years, but it all changed when he met Allison. Maybe it was a blessing, Kennedy decided. It saved her from the severe awkwardness of knowing her long-term best friend has liked her all this time. "What's up?"

Allison shrugs, "Well, I was talking to my parents, and they mentioned that they really want to meet more of my friends, and I was actually wondering if you would like to come over to my house Saturday." Allison smiles wide as she looks at the Stallard girl. Kennedy was nice, funny, unproblematic (as far as she knew), and was a good friend of Scotts. No matter how Lydia felt, Allison decided she was going to try and befriend the hazel-eyed brunette. Kennedy thinks for a moment. She hadn't really had female friends in a long while, and it was almost a relief when Allison asked her to hang out. The only concern Kennedy had was Allisons dad, who's a werewolf hunter.

And currently, Kennedy's life is filled with werewolves.

A smile spreads across Kennedy's face as she rests her head in her hand. "I'd love to," She hums.

Allison grins, "Amazing, I'll, uh, text you later," She chirps before walking away. Kennedy smiles to herself, looking at her notebooks scattered in front of her at the cafeteria table.

Though her life seemed to completely suck recently, Kennedy felt joy at the idea of having a friend other than Scott or Stiles. She even felt joy now, being alone, not having to deal with any werewolf Scott-related drama.

"Ken!"

She jinxed it.

Turning slowly, Kennedy grimaced as her peaceful moment was interrupted by Stiles Stilnski. "Scott called, he said he went to Derek's house." Kennedy stands up, intrigued.

"Why would he do that?" She asks, looking at him with an incredulous look.

Stiles shrugs, "Does it matter?!" Without another word, Stiles grabs Kennedy by the wrist, dragging her to his blue jeep. He practically throws her into the passenger seat as he rushes to the driver's side.

"You seem excited that he found something." Kennedy follows, looking over at Stiles for a moment.

The teenage boy looks over, shutting and opening his mouth a few times. "Well, yeah, it means we might have proof Derek killed that girl," Stiles explains. Kennedy hums, nodding slowly as she looks out the window. "You seem not convinced."

Kennedy shrugs, "I just, feel weird, around Derek." Stiles frowns, taking a glance at her as he focuses on the road. "It's like I've met him before,"

"Like deja vu?" Stiles inquires.

Kennedy looks down in thought, "Yeah, exactly like that." She murmurs. Stiles says nothing more, pressing on the gas as he speeds through Beacon Hills.

The pair reach Scott's house, Stiles practically falling out of the car as he sprints to the front door. Kennedy jogs behind him, not really wanting to fall on her face. Stiles throws open the front door, sliding on the rug as he runs up the stairs. Scott sits in his room, fixing his lacrosse stick when Stiles bursts into his room. "What did you find? How did you find it? Where did you find it?"

Kennedy finally walks in. "He's had a lot of Adderall," She tells Scott before he can ask. Stiles blinks a few times, scratching the back of his neck.

Scott looks up, "I found something at Derek Hale's."

"Are you kidding? What?"

"There's something buried there, I could smell blood," Scott explains, frowning at the memory of the smell.

Stiles throws his hands up, "That's awesome! I mean, that's terrible." Kennedy sends Stiles a look, "Whose blood?"

Scott shrugs, "I don't know. But when we do, your dad nails Derek for the murder." He explains, looking at the Stilinski. "And then you two help me figure out how to play lacrosse without changing. Because there's no way I'm not playing that game."

"When I became your guys' friends, I did not ask to be a part of getting serial killer werewolves arrested," Kennedy says slowly, looking between the two.

"Well, you did now," Stiles shrugs. Kennedy groans, shaking her head slowly.

༺❀༻

Beacon Hills Hospital was calm and quiet as the three teens walk through the hall. "Hey," Stiles points to a door with a sign that says Morgue with an arrow pointing straight.

Scott sighs, "Okay, Kennedy, come with me."

Stiles frowns, "Why can't I come?" He asks.

"Because Kennedy is quieter than you," Scott mumbles. Stiles scoffs but then nods in agreement. Scott and Kennedy walked through the door.

The hallway was empty and darker than the other halls. "Is this the moment where we open the morgue door to see a zombie eating a nurse?" Kennedy asks Scott, leaning closer to him. Scott's heart jumps as her hand brushes his, the memory of his long-term crush surfacing in his mind again. He thanks the world for her not having wolf senses so she couldn't hear his heartbeat.

Before Scott can reply, the door across from the morgue opens, causing both of them to jump in surprise. Kennedy jumps back closer to Scott, who grabs her waist to keep her from falling. A nurse walks by, nodding his head at the two teens. They mutter hellos, walking past him and approaching the morgue entrance. Kennedy looks in both directions of the hall as Scott opens the door, the two of them walking in.

The morgue is dark and cold. "Okay, creepy," Kennedy mumbles to herself. Scott walks further into the room, the girl staying by the door. He walks to the wall of doors where the bodies were stored.

"It's this one." Scott gestures to one of the doors on the bottom. Kennedy walks closer, seeing the label reading Jane Doe - Partial. The two share a worried stare as Scott grabs the handle, pulling it open.

Both of the teenagers breathe heavier as they look at the handle. Scott grabs it, Kennedy moving to the side as he backs up, pulling the body out of the cold chamber slowly. Kennedy's face scrunches up in disgust as she sees blood on the blanket. Scott pants as he grabs the blanket, pulling it up to show her feet. Kennedy grunts, grossed out as the body is pale. Scott grabs the tag on the left big toe, reading it over.

"Well, is it the same?" Kennedy asks Scott, looking over at him. Before Scott answers, she quickly covers the body up, shoving it back into the metal door. Kennedy jumps back at the quick action as Scott rushes towards the door, "Scott," She rushes after him, grabbing his hand. Scott turns to face the brunette; her hands rest on the sides of his jaw. Her eyes were soft and concerned, but they held something that caused his heart to slow down in comfort. "Are you okay?"

The McCall looked at the wall of chambers, sighing as he looks back at Kennedy. "Yeah, I'm fine." He mutters, grabbing her wrists and lightly moving them off his face, "The scent was the same as the one at Derek's." He says finally. Kendall sucks in a heavy breath.

"Okay, let's tell Stiles," Kennedy opens the door, leading the way as Scott is close behind. Kennedy almost couldn't believe it, Scott's super senses possibly found a dead body. She walks into the reading room, seeing Stiles pretending to be reading a menstrual cycle booklet.

Scott grabs the booklet from the boy's hands, causing him to jump in surprise. "Holy, God!" He gasped as his friends look at him impatiently.

"The scent was the same." The teenage werewolf says to him.

"You sure?" Asked Stiles. Kennedy takes the booklet from Scott, looking at it in curiosity. "So he did bury the other half of the body on his property?"

Stiles stands up, now both boys standing on either side of her. "Which means we have proof he killed the girl." Scott explained.

"I say we use it." Stiles walks away, Scott close behind.

Kennedy glances up, suddenly rushing after them. "How?" Kennedy looks at the booklet, before throwing it to the side.

Stiles turns around, looking at Scott. "Tell me something first. Are you doing this because you want to stop Derek, or because you want to play in the game, and he said you couldn't?" Kennedy raises a brow, surprised by Stiles's bold question.

"There are bite marks on the legs, Stiles," Scott replies. "Bite marks."

Kennedy sighs. "We're gonna need a shovel." Kennedy follows the two boys. Stiles pats Scotts back, the two walking towards the exit. "And I'm gonna need a jacket."

༺❀༻

Derek Hale walks towards his car, on the phone with Ben Stallard. "You haven't told her, have you?" He asks the human man.

Ben, who's at home, sighs. "No, Derek. Kenny still knows nothing about you except what you've told Scott." The man looks at himself in the mirror, pursing his lips. "She's out with Scott and Stiles right now, doing who knows what."

"Probably nothing good." Derek mumbles, "I'll meet you at your house." The Hale hangs up the phone, sliding into his black car. He drives off, just as a blue jeep comes into view.

Stiles Stilinski and Scott McCall hop out of the jeep with shovels and a flashlight. Finally, Kennedy crawls out, wearing one of the boys' sweatshirts she found in the back seat. She looked up at the Hale house, and an orphic feeling invades her body. She flashed her flashlight at a specific window in the home, and she couldn't help but wonder what room used to be there.

"Wait, something's different." Scott blurts, looking around in confusion.

Stiles frowns, "Different how?" He asks the wolf.

Scott shakes his head, "I don't know." He looks over at Stiles, then peaks at Kennedy. "Ken, are you okay?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Kennedy looks over, "Yeah, let's just get this over with. This place gives me the creeps." She mutters, walking over.

Stiles sighs, "Okay, Ken, are you okay with keeping watch while Scott and I start digging?"

Kennedy nods, "I'm gonna go look at something," The two boys nod, beginning to dig. Kennedy walks around to the porch of the home, inspecting the front of the Hale House. Her hand grazed the burnt wood. How could someone still live here, she asked herself. The front door was ajar, and something inside Kennedy told her to open it.

The entrance was dark, even when Kennedy shined her flashlight around she couldn't help but gulp nervously as she looked around. Nature had seemed to grow into the walls and she couldn't help but envision the original colors. The stairs stared back at the hazel-eyed girl as she steps closer to them. Her long brown hair shifted in the wind as she slowly walked up. Her palm landed on the banister as she made her way up, The stench of moldy burnt wood and water distinct as she turns down the left hallway. Her feet almost naturally led her to the end of the hall. Leaning against the wall was a dark wooden door; Kennedy moved her flashlight, looking at the old burnt sign that had fallen off the door.

P##NC#SS K######'S ROOM

Kennedy frowns, unable to tell what the name of the girl was. She could tell it said Princess and Room, but she couldn't for the life of her read the name. Standing back up, Kennedy slowly walks into the room, seeing the window she saw once before.

It was every little girl's dream room. With a pretty pink canopy bed that had been burnt in the fire, an old castle dollhouse, and vintage royal furniture. She noticed stuffed animals, including a cloth doll that looked like a princess with brown hair, a stuffed dog, a faded blue stuffed elephant, and a normal teddy bear. She smiled, knowing whatever little girl lived here, had a good childhood. An armoire stood against the back wall, and it was probably the least damaged thing in the room. Kennedy walked over, her hand grazing the metal handle, pulling it open. Inside, sat a small stuffed bunny. It was dingy and had browned in age, but Kennedy couldn't help but smile as she looked down at it.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear #####! Happy birthday to you!"

The little brunette with bright hazel eyes smiles wide as she leans over, blowing out the candles. The group around her cheers loudly, a pair of strong arms picking up the girl in his arms. "Happy 6th birthday, Bunny." Says a man. He was strong and had a warm smile. Like the little girl, he had bright blue eyes.

The little girl wraps her arms around him tightly. "Thank you, Daddy!" She coos, shoving her face in her neck. The man sat the girl down, handing her a gift bag. Her eyes widen as she opens it quickly, pulling out the purple tissue paper. Gasping loudly, the girl squeals as she pulls out a white stuffed bunny. "Oh my gosh!"

"It loves pink, just like you," The little girl's dad says softly, gesturing to the pink bow on the bunny,

Kennedy looks at the bunny, before leaving the small bunny on the center of the burnt bed. She smiles softly, leaving the little girls room completely.

༺❀༻

Ben Stallard and Derek hale sit at the dinner table once again, eating a nicely cooked meal. "So, my sister erased her memories?" Derek asks.

"Kennedy remembers things, but not that she was a Hale, or even knew you," Ben explains. "She remembers the good parts, but she remembers them with me or with cousins. Like building a snowman with Stiles and Scott, or me reading her all of her favorite bedtime stories,"

"Beauty and the Beast," Derek smiles, remembering that the most about Kennedy. He clenched his jaw as he looked over. "How was she not hurt?"

The human man shrugs, "Peter risked his life to save her. He had managed to get her out of the basement. I had just arrived on the scene and Laura had found Kennedy."

Derek looks at his plate. "That's why, the first week after the fire, Laura was always gone." Ben nods slowly, taking a bite of his food. "How is she now?" Derek asks, wanting to know more about the sister he had lost.

Ben chuckles, "She's a lot like her mother, that's for sure." The two men laugh at the remark. "But, gosh, I have never seen a girl so driven to do everything right. She loves her friends, and spends every waking moment being with them or talking about them." Derek smiles, listening to Ben. "She loves pineapples, it's one of the things I'm forced to buy every time we go to the store. Oh, and she has this thing where she must play Last Christmas by Wham! every day of December until Christmas." Derek chuckles, imagining the girl doing just that. "She's such an amazing girl, and I don't want anything happening to her." Derek purses his lips, looking down in thought.

"You and me both."

༺❀༻

Kennedy walks out of the Hale house, sighing. "This is taking way too long." Kennedy groans.

Scott nods, "Ken's right, what if he comes back?" The teenage boy asks.

"Then we get the hell out of here." Stiles retorts, continuing to dig.

"What if he catches us?"

Kennedy looks at Stiles, who shrugs. "I have a plan for that."

Scott and the girl look over at their friend, "Which is?" They ask in sync.

Sighing, Stiles stands up. "You run one way. I run the other. Whoever he catches first, too bad." He explains to Scott.

"What about me?" Asks Kennedy.

"You're hot, he'll probably let you live," Stiles explains to her. The compliment catches the girl off guard. Kennedy feels her cheeks heat up until she realizes hot girls always die first in movies.

Kennedy and Scott look at each other, "I hate that plan." They mutter at the same time.

Suddenly, Stiles hits something on the ground. "Stop, stop, stop." He ushers, grabbing onto Scott.

Quickly, the two boys kneel to the ground, brushing dirt off a bag. Stiles grabs onto a rope, undoing the knots. "Hurry up," Kennedy hisses.

"I'm trying. Did he have to tie the thing in, like, 900 knots?" Stiles remarks, annoyed.

"I'll do it." The two boys begin undoing knots, Kennedy standing over them with a confused look on her face. When the knots finally come undone, they lift the cover off, revealing a dead wolf. Scott and Stiles scream, leaping out of the hole to Kennedy's feet.

"What the hell is that?" Stiles screams.

Kennedy looks over, not nearly as phased at the other two. "It's a wolf." She says, bluntly.

Stiles rolls his eyes. "Yeah, I can see that." Kennedy sends a sarcastic smile, and Stiles looks at Scott. "I thought you said you smelled blood, as in human blood." He remarks. Scott looks down, shrugging in confusion.

"I told you something was different." Scott reasons.

Stiles shakes his head, "This doesn't make sense." He mutters to himself. Kennedy looks up, eyeballing a purple flower.

"We gotta get out of here," Scott says to his two friends.

"Yeah. Okay, help me cover this up." Kennedy looks at the purple flower, walking closer to it. The two boys watch the brunette in curiosity.

"Ken, what's wrong?" Scott asks.

"You see that flower?" Stiles blurts.

"What about it?"

Stiles looks at it as Kennedy kneels down. "I think it's wolfsbane." He says. The two boys begin to argue as Kennedy's stomach churns, the flower practically mocking her. Her eyes unfocus for a moment, everything a blur. She closes her eyes tight, before opening them again. "You are so unprepared for this." She hears Stiles mutter. "Ken! Pull the flower!"

The teenage girl shakes her head, everything finally going back to normal for a moment. Grabbing the flower, she stands up, pulling hard. She's shocked to see a rope, specifically the same rope that was on the wolf's body bag. Stiles nods at Kennedy, reassuring her she was doing it correctly. Slowly, the girl pulls along the rope, following its shape. It loops around the body, Stiles helping her now.

Scott purses his lips, looking down at the hole. His eyes widen, "Guys." He mutters. Kennedy finishes pulling up the rope, the two rushing to the boys side.

"Holy-" Stiles's jaw drops as they no longer see a wolf, but a girl. Kennedy's heart practically stopped, and a wave of sadness came over her. She had no idea why. She didn't even know who this lady was. Still, somehow, Kennedy's heart ached at the sight. Sighing, Kennedy looks at her friends with worried looks.

༺❀༻

Kennedy stands next to Scott, her arms crossed over her chest. Scott looks over, "Hey, are you okay?" He asks her, placing a hand on her shoulder. The brunette silently nods, turning her head just in time to see deputies leading Derek Hale to the cop car. Kennedy watches as his eyes bore into hers, a look of sadness lurking as he stares at her. "We did the right thing, Ken, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." She mumbles, watching Stiles mindlessly walk up to the sheriff's car. Scott frowns as Kennedy walks away from him, meeting Stiles in the middle, before climbing into the front seats.

Kennedy sits in the driver's seat while Stiles is on the passenger side. The two both turn to look at Derek. "Okay, just so you know, I'm not afraid of you." Is the first thing Stiles says. Derek says nothing, staring at him with a cold stare. "Okay, maybe I am." He mumbles.

The teenage girl rolls her eyes, "Look, it doesn't matter. We just wanna know something." Derek looks at her, and Stiles notices how the Hale's eyes soften slightly at the sight. "The girl you killed was a werewolf, right? But she was a different kind." Derek says nothing, listening to the teenage girl. "For example, she could turn herself into an actual wolf, but Scott can't do that." She rambles.

"Is that why you killed her?" Stiles blurts.

Derek narrows his eyes. "Why are you so worried about me when it's your friend who's the problem?" Kennedy tilts her head in confusion. "When he shifts on the field, what do you think they're gonna do. Just keep cheering him on? I can't stop him from playing, but you can." Derek leans forward, causing Kennedy to lean back "And, trust me, you want to."

Before either teen can ask more questions, the doors on either side of the car open up. Sheriff Stilinski and Deputy Stallard pull their children out of the car. "There. Stand." Kennedy and Stiles stand side by side, looking at their dads. "What the hell do you two think you're doing?"

"We're just trying to help." Stiles reasons with his dad.

"Okay, well, how 'bout you help me understand exactly how you came across this."

Kennedy speaks up, "We were looking for Scott's inhaler, sir."

Ben Stallard looks over at his daughter. "Which he dropped when?" Kennedy shrugs, looking at Stiles.

"The other night."

Sheriff raises a brow. "The other night when you were out there looking for the first half of the body." Stiles nods in reply, "The night that you told me you were alone and Scott was at home."

"Yes." Stiles freezes, realizing what he said. "No. Oh, crap." Kennedy giggles, looking down.

"So you lied to me."

Stiles snaps his fingers, "That depends on how you define lying." He replies.

"Well, I define it as not telling the truth. How do you define it?"

Stiles looks at Kennedy, humming in thought, "Reclining your body in a horizontal position?" Stiles's memory flashes memories of that night. Kennedy laying down on her mattress as he hovered over her. The way her soft lips pressed on his neck.

Snapping out of it, Stiles looks up at his dad. "Get the hell out of here."

"Absolutely." Stiles grabs Kennedy's wrist, clumsily pulling her to the blue jeep.

Scott looks at Kennedy with an incredulous look, "Are you insane? Why would you go in there?" He asks, throwing his arms up.

Kennedy raises a brow. "We needed answers, Scott," She reasons, shrugging. Stiles narrows his eyes, trying to make sense of the upcoming argument that's bound to spark.

"You went into a cop car with a serial killing werewolf!" Scott hisses, "He could have easily broken the screen and ripped your throat out!" Kennedy scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I can protect myself, Scott." She stands straighter, "And do you think that Derek is so reckless that he'd shift and kill a teenage girl in front of the entire police department?" Scott says nothing, realizing she was right. "Exactly."

Kennedy shoves past the McCall, getting into the Jeep and shutting the door. Stiles furrows his brows, turning to Scott. "What the hell was that!?" He whisper-shouts. Stiles throws his hands up, sending his friend a similar look Scott gave Kennedy.

"I'm sorry, I just, I don't want her getting hurt," Scott mumbles, looking down at his feet.

Stiles purses his lips, shoving his hands in his pockets, "You're with Allison now, Scott. You can't mindlessly pine over your best friend anymore." Stiles says low enough that Kennedy doesn't hear. Scott looks up, knowing that Stiles was right. It wasn't that easy, though. Scott had to move on from Kennedy, but he wasn't doing it fast enough.

"I know," Scott says quietly, turning and walking to the passenger door. Stiles sighs, climbing into the driver's side

༺❀༻

Scott sighs, shaking his head at his phone. "I can't find anything about wolfsbane being used for burial." He explains.

Stiles looks away from the road for a moment, "Just keep looking. Maybe it's like a ritual or something. Like maybe they bury you as a wolf." He reasons, looking back at the road in front of him. "Or maybe it's like a special skill, you know? Like something you have to learn." Kennedy lays in the back seat, attempting to sleep away the feeling of nausea. She looks anywhere but the windows. She never gets carsick, but this overwhelming feeling she's about to throw up came over her almost as soon as Stiles started to drive.

"I'll put it on my to-do list, right underneath figuring out how the hell I'm playing this game tonight," Scott mutters. Kennedy ignores him as she closes her eyes.

Stiles looks at the rearview mirror, seeing the uncomfortable brunette. He purses his lips, "Maybe it's different for girl werewolves,"

"Okay! Stop it!"

The human boy jumps at Scott's shout. "Stop what?" He asks, confused.

"Stop saying werewolves! Stop enjoying this so much." Scott snapped, clearly stressed from the situation he was in.

Kennedy sits up from her position, "Scott, are you okay?" She asks.

The McCall shouts back, "No! No, I'm not. I'm so far from being okay." He shuts his eyes tight, feeling a weird feeling.

"You know, you're gonna have to accept this, Scott, sooner or later," Stiles retorted. Kennedy looked between the two.

"I can't."

"Well, you're gonna have to-"

Scott cuts Stiles off, "No! I can't breathe." Kennedy sits up completely now, attempting to ignore her sick feeling as Scott begins to groan in pain. "Pull over!"

"Why? What's happening?" Stiles asks urgently.

Scott growls on instinct, looking around. He grabs the backpack, zipping it open to reveal the wolfsbane flower and rope. "You kept it?" He shouts, flabbergasted.

Kennedy breathes heavily, her body aching. "What was I supposed to do with it?" Stiles asks.

"Stop the car!"Kennedy shuts her eyes tight as Stiles swerves the car to a stop, quickly running out of the blue Jeep and throwing the backpack into the woods. Kennedy watches Scott practically jump out of the car.

"Scott!" Kennedy yells, crawling out after him. However, once she had gotten out, he was gone.

She sighs, walking around the Jeep to see Stiles, "Okay," He sighs, "Okay. We're good, you can" He turns around, stopping when he only sees Kennedy and no Scott. "Where did Scott go?"

Kennedy shrugs, "Away," She mutters. Stiles looks around, calling out for his friend. "If it's any consolation, I think Scott wolfing out stopped me from throwing up,"

"I don't know if that's possible, but I'll take it," Stiles says, walking back to the Jeep. Kennedy urgently follows Stiles, this time sitting in the passenger spot.

༺❀༻

After Stiles dropped Kennedy off at her home, and she came back to Beacon Hills High School with Deputy Ben Stallard. "Scott's good this season, huh?" Ben asks his daughter.

She had added a big black jacket and a black beanie to her outfit, making sure to keep warm during the game. "Yeah, really good." Ben nods, remembering what Derek said to him at the station.

"If Scott changes during the game, you're the only adult there who knows what to do." Derek says to Ben.

Ben shakes his head, "Barely, Scott McCall is a teenage boy, I'm not going to hurt him."

"So you're going to let him kill the entire lacrosse team? Let him kill your best friend's son? What about your daughter? Who do you think is going to rush in to stop him?" Ben looks down, imagining a wounded Stiles with a wolfed-out Scott standing over his body. He imagines young Kennedy rushing over, trying to save both boys, and Scott slashing her throat in the process. "Saving the town is much more important than saving one boy."

Ben smiles at his daughter, the two sitting in the stands. Kennedy rubbed her hands together, "I told you to bring gloves," Ben chuckles.

"Why, if it isn't Benjamin Stallard," Kennedy and her dad looked up at the voice. Chris Argent, being closely followed by Allison approached them quickly. Ben stood up, smiling wide.

"Christopher Argent," Ben laughed as he hugged the man Kennedy recognized as a wolf hunter.

Allison moved closer to Kennedy. "You guys know each other?" She asked.

Chris nods, "Ben and I went to high school together," He told the teenage girls. "I thought it was a coincidence when Allison said Kennedy Stallard was coming over,"

"What can I say? I told you I'd never leave this town," Ben joked. The two men knew well, however, that they had talked only within the last week about the possible return of a werewolf. But their daughters didn't need to know that.

Lydia Martin hopped up onto the bleachers, sitting next to Allison. The Argent sent an apologetic look to Kennedy, who briefly waved it off.

Stiles Stilinski looked around before finally looking at the stands, seeing the way Kennedy laughed as she conversed with the Argent family. Her long hair was slightly hidden under a hat. Her cheeks flushed from the cold air and her eyes sparkled. His eyes get lost in the moment until he looked slightly over, seeing Lydia and Allison holding a sign supporting Jackson.

His smile fell, and he quickly looked at Scott. He could tell, even from the bench, that Scott was definitely upset. "Brutal," Stiles whispers. Kennedy turns to look at Scott, seeing the new look on his face. Stiles sees the same thing, "Oh, that's not good." He mutters.

Kennedy looks around, hopping off the bleachers and moving closer to Stiles on the bench. "So, are we about to watch Scott kill the entire team?"

Stiles shakes his head, "Maybe." He leans onto his knees.

"Stallard!" Kennedy jumps, looking up to see Coach Finstock. "What the hell are you doing on my bench?" He asks.

Kennedy sits up straight, "I am supporting your team, Coach, someone needs to keep the bench warm." She explains with a smile.

Coach narrows his eyes, "I don't know what any of that meant, but don't be a distraction!" Kennedy salutes him, turning her head to see Scott catch a ball. Stiles grabs onto Kennedy's hand, squeezing it tightly. Kennedy's eyes widen as Scott effortlessly runs through the field, even jumping off another player's shoulder. When Scott makes it to the net, she's not surprised when he makes it. Stiles and Kennedy jump to their feet, cheering on their best friend.

Scott turns his head, seeing Kennedy cheering him on. He smiles softly, remembering how even when she dated Jackson, she cheered on her friends. He looks back at Allison, seeing the Argent cheering him on. He felt a bit hurt, from her holding up two signs for Jackson tonight. He looks back at Kennedy, nodding in her direction. 

A player from the opposing team catches the ball, looking around for a teammate. He stops when he sees Scott, who looked angry, and scary. Without another movement, the player weakly throws the ball, letting it land in Scott's net. Coach sits down next to Stiles, who nervously chews on his glove. "Did the opposing team just deliberately pass us the ball?"

"Yes, I believe so, coach," Stiles mutters.

Coach hums in thought, watching as the McCall runs through the field. "Interesting." Scott throws the ball, and it happens to burn through the goalie's net, hitting the goal. Kennedy and Stiles stand back up, cheering loudly. Ben Stallard stands up, narrowing his eyes as the team gets into position again.

Scott gets the ball, running towards the net. He's surrounded by the opposing team. "This doesn't look good," Kennedy mutters to Stiles.

The pair stand up, "No, Scott, no, no, no." Stiles mutters to himself. Ben looks down, watching his daughter closely.

The clock narrows down slowly. "Come on Scott!" Kennedy yells, and Scott's head perks at the sound of her voice. He hears Allison quietly cheer him on. In a swift movement. Scott throws the ball, hitting the net effortlessly.

The crowd bursts out into cheers, Stiles and Kennedy cheering. "Yes!" Stiles bursts, grabbing on to Kennedy and spinning her around in circles. "Oh my god!" He breathes. "I thought we were going to die."

"I did too," Kennedy breathes, letting Stiles set her down. Breathing heavily, Kennedy sits back down on the bench. Ben looks over at his daughter, smiling in relief. Everyone on the bleachers pile onto the field to cheer everyone on. Stiles looks over at his dad, who began to speak on his phone at the same time as Ben.

Chris Argent looked around. Kennedy stood up, walking over. "Have you seen Allison?" He asked. Kennedy furrowed her brows, looking for any sign of her friend.

"No, but I'm sure she's just congratulating someone," Kennedy shrugged as she looked around some more.

Stiles stumbled as he grabbed Kennedy by her shoulders, "We gotta find Scott,"

Kennedy frowned, "Why?"

"Derek's being released from prison, and the body was identified as Laura Hale, his sister,"

Kennedy's eyes practically bulge out of her head, "What?" She croaked. Stiles fearfully nodded. "I need to find Allison, I'm going to her house,"

Stiles rolled his eyes, "They're probably together, come on,"

Kennedy and Stiles ran into the locker room, hoping to find Scott and/or Allison. As Kennedy rounded the corner, she almost fell on her face in shock when she saw Scott and Allison kissing. Stiles grabbed her, tugging her out of sight. A feeling settled in Kennedy's chest, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. Her heart seemed to sting and her stomach felt like it was churning. She almost felt sick.

It confused her.

Allison pulled away from Scott, smiling softly, "I gotta get back to my dad and find Kennedy," She whispered. Scott awkwardly nodded, watching as she began walking away. Allison stopped, "Hi, Stiles."

"Hey," The Stilinski waved. Allison looked over at Kennedy, who stood next to Stiles.

The Stallard gave a teasing grin. "You ready?" Kennedy chirped with a wide smile. THe Argent rolled her eyes playfully, leading the way back to their parents. Kennedy glanced over Kennedy's shoulder, making eye contact with Stiles. Hazel meeting brown. Scott took a notice at the strange energy that seemed to pass between the two. And if Scott didn't have super hearing, he never would have heard what Stiles whispered under his breath.

"Kennedy Dawn, you're going to be the death of Beacon Hills."