"Empaths are absorbers, not observers."

♰ ♰ ♰

In the gymnasium of Beacon Hills High School, a class of students stands around the rock climbing wall that Coach Finstock had set up.

Isabel stands in the crowd watching as Scott and Allison climb the wall together, listening to their conversation. Besides her stands Stiles, who watches her with hidden concern behind his eyes for the girl that had spent the weekend with Derek.

He notices her skin glowing, her hair seemed longer and more luscious. Everything about her was amplified after she somehow activated her werewolf side.

Derek had taught the now were-witch everything he knows and begged her to stay with him and Isaac to further train her, she disagreed and returned to attempt to retain a semi-normal life as a high-school student.

"It had a tail. I don't have a tail." Scott softly speaks to the huntress climbing next to him, mentioning the creature they saw at Isaac's.

Allison smirks at Scott. "Maybe you just haven't grown it yet." She laughs to herself.

Scott gives her a look before focusing on the wall in front of him.

"I'm not growing a tail- ever." He breathes out. Allison climbs ahead of the wolf, before stopping and watching him climb. Scott looks up confused. "Are you slowing down for me?"

"I was waiting for you." She defends with a smile, Scott quietly laughs.

"What? Waiting for me to catch up?"

"You looked like you were struggling," Allison smirks.

"Maybe I was admiring the view?" Scott jokes, leaning back to check out Allison from behind.

"Try admiring from afar." She beams, before continuing up the wall and leaving Scott below watching.

She thinks that is the case before she looks up to see Scott smirking at her from above and she gives him a look of disbelief. Scott watches her smugly as Allison looks at him annoyed. She uses her foot to push Scott's foot off of the support, causing him to fall.

The wire catches him before he smashes to the floor and then releases him to the ground where he takes a deep breath. Allison softly laughs to herself from above as the class laughs at Scott. Coach takes a seat next to where Scott lays on the protective mat and laughs in his face.

"McCall, I don't know why, but your pain gives me a special kind of joy." He starts to laugh again, "Right?" Allison finishes her climbing and pushes herself off of the wall as she and Scott remove their gear. "All right, next two! Stilinski, Isabel, let's go!" Coach shouts as Stiles turns to Isabel with a huge smile, escorting her to the gear with a hand on her back.

They put their gear on and stand at the bottom of the wall. Stiles watches her with a beaming smile. Isabel chuckles as she glances at Stiles who was still staring at her.

"You just gonna stare? Or are you gonna climb?" She grins, before jumping up towards the wall and grasping the rocks, giving herself a head start.

Stiles gulps at the sight of her above him before shaking his head and beginning to climb.

"That is totally cheating!" He mumbles, but Isabel hears it and pauses looking down at him.

"Don't be a sore loser, Stiles." She smirks.

Stiles freezes at her words and looks up at her in disbelief. He shakes his head and gives a small laugh before quickly climbing up and catching her.

"I'm definitely not a sore loser." He responds as he passes her. "But you will be!"

Isabel laughs and subtly moves her fingers towards his foot. Her powers stop his foot, making it stuck to the rock. Stiles tries to pull his foot but looks down at it in shock as a red glow encases his foot.

He looks to his side to see Isabel smirking next to him. She sticks her tongue out as she passes him.

"Cheater." He whispers with a smile, before noticing his foot has been released.

The two clamber to the top, Isabel reaching the end before him but waits as he finishes the wall too. He meets her eyes at the top and grins as she jumps down to the floor. Stiles follows not too far behind as Coach congratulates Isabel on finishing the wall first.

"Nicely done, Martin!" He chuckles, "We have a group of ladies showing all you men up!" Coach shouts as Stiles and Scott share a look of disbelief; knowing the two girls cheated.

Isabel stands next to Allison as they share a high five and a giggle. Stiles and Scott watch the two girls and shake their heads.

"Next! Erica and Greenberg! The wall!" He motions dramatically.

Isabel watches cautiously as Erica trembles, approaching the wall. Greenberg takes off without hesitation, and the rest of the class talk amongst themselves not paying attention.

Erica pauses and Isabel hears her heartbeat racing, her breath become abnormal as she clings to the wall. She moves forward, noticing her whimpering. The rest of the class notices her hyperventilating and watches the girl.

"Help, please," Erica whispers.

Isabel rushes forward, Coach not far behind as the rest of the class follows.

"Erica?" Coach shouts. "Dizzy? Is it vertigo?" He asks confused as Isabel narrows her eyes at him.

"Vertigo's a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear." She responds as Lydia chuckles next to her.

"She's just freaking out." Lydia snidely remarks but Isabel shakes her head, keeping her eyes back on Erica.

"Erica!" Coach shouts again as Erica begins whimpering.

"I'm fine." She chokes out, voice shaky.

"Coach, maybe it's not safe. You know, she's epileptic." Allison anxiously explains.

"Why doesn't anybody tell me this stuff?!" Coach responds exasperatedly. "Erica, y-you're fine. Just-just kick off from the wall." He instructs, Erica looks down horrified as sobs wrack her body. "Th-there's a mat to catch you. Come on." He shows her.

She takes a deep breath before loosening her hands on the rocks and letting herself slowly drop. Isabel moves forward and catches the girl as she drops, gently helping her onto the ground.

Isabel feels the panic encase her body as she touches Erica and looks at her in worry. Erica gives the girl a terrified look as she helps her remove her safety gear.

"See? You're fine. You're on the ground. You're all right. Let's go. Shake it off. You're fine." Coach attempt to comfort.

Erica walks off without a word, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to comfort herself as the rest of the class snickers. Scott watches as Erica silently cries as she leaves, before turning back to see Isabel watching her in wonder.

Coach ends the lesson there, escorting all of the students back to their respective changing rooms. After everyone has left, Erica approaches the wall and stares at it afar in determination. She places a hair tie in her hair as she takes a shaky breath. Inside the boys changing rooms, Coach gathers everyone in a circle.

"Listen up! Anybody sees Isaac Lahey, you immediately tell the principal. Get a teacher, or you call me except for you: Greenberg. Don't call me for anything. I'm not kidding. Don't call me. You shouldn't even have my number." Coach explains before walking off, shaking his head at Greenberg. The rest of the boys laugh as Scott turns to Stiles.

"Isaac?" He asks, knowing Stiles was one of the people that saw him last.

"It's Derek's problem now," Stiles explains.

Jackson overhears the conversation and watches them confused as the two walk off. Inside the girls changing rooms, Allison and Lydia stand together as Isabel stands aside silently, the strange feeling she had when she touched Erica still lingering on her mind.

Erica begins to climb the wall slowly, breathing heavily as she lifts her body from rock to rock.

"What do you mean, tonight's not a good idea?" Stiles exclaims, removing his shirt as he looks at Scott in disbelief. Scott takes a breath.

"I don't know- that thing we saw last night, figuring out how Izzy turned, Isaac missing, Allison's grandfather, all this stuff happening with Derek. It just- doesn't feel right." Scott lists.

"No, you're not backing out! Do you wanna know why? Because you and Allison are obviously having quite a good time together. And you know who else wants to have a good time? Stiles! Stiles wants to have a good time with Izzy! Many, many times! Several times in a row! In several different positions! Are you even listening to me?" Stiles huffs at Scott.

"Izzy?" Allison asks, watching the girl closely.

Lydia turns at the name and watches her cousin in concern. Isabel lifts her hands, watching as they tremble and shake. Her breathing becomes heavy and shaky, almost getting caught in her chest.

Lydia tries to place a comforting hand on Isabel but she quickly rushes off. She runs into the gymnasium, pausing in fear as she watches Erica cough and begins to seize from halfway up the climbing wall.

She rushes forward as she begins to fall and catches her before she can hit the floor. Erica seizes in her arms as a group of students watches in horror before rushing forward.

Allison rushes forward first as Isabel places her on the floor, pushing through the pain in her chest and body.

"Put her on her side! Put her on her side!" Allison instructs as Stiles and Scott approach.

The four help place Erica in the recovery position and watch in fear. Isabel continues to hyperventilate but tries to push through it as Erica grabs at her hand and holds it close to her chest as she continues to seize. Stiles and Scott watch Isabel in worry as her entire body trembles just like Erica.

Allison looks at her in shock. "How'd you know?"

"I felt it." She shakily breaths out, comfortingly holding Erica as they both struggle to breathe.

The trio watches Isabel in disbelief as students call an ambulance in the back.

♰ ♰ ♰

Erica lays on the hospital bed silent as Melissa shines a light in her eyes, testing their reactivity.

"It's been a while since we saw you, Erica. You were being so good about taking your medication." Melissa kindly speaks, placing the light in her pocket as she looks down at the young girl.

"Are you gonna tell my mom?" Erica quietly speaks.

"Well, I swear I don't want to, but there's this team of lawyers in the back who would break my legs, and I don't know if you've seen my legs, but for a girl my age? They're still pretty hot. So-" She jokes, bringing a huge smile onto Erica's face.

She places a comforting hand on her head as she gently strokes the girl's hair.

"Doctor's gonna be in in a minute, okay?"

"Okay." Erica breathes out before sighing as she watches Melissa leave the room.

Her eyes fall shut, her body exhausted from the seizure, and allows sleep to take over. Derek enters the room, grabbing the hospital bed and releasing the brakes before taking Erica out of the room.

Erica awakes, watching the lights pass from the ceiling above, and tries to look back but a hand makes her head look ahead.

"Lie still," Derek commands, before continuing to take the girl into the morgue: somewhere they wouldn't be interrupted.

Erica whimpers and feels the panic overtake her body as she watches Derek; terrified. She sits up from the bed and watches as Derek reads from the back of her epilepsy medication.

"'Side effects may include anxiety, waking, acne, ulcerative colitis.' Yeesh!" He reads out. Erica watches him closely.

"Who are you?" She asks, voice shaking.

"Let's just say we have a...mutual friend. You know Isabel Martin right?" Derek answers, watching as the girl's body slightly relaxes at the ginger girl's name. "You get a warning right before you have a seizure?" He asks, approaching her legs, watching as they shake.

"It's called an aura." She answers quietly, almost too quiet to hear. "It's-it's like a metallic taste in my mouth."

"You don't have to lie, Erica," Derek responds, leaning in closer as the girl begins to cry. "What does it really taste like?"

"It tastes like blood." She quietly cries out. Derek stares into the eyes of the young blonde, giving a nod of understanding.

"What if I told you... that all of this could go away?" He begins, Erica listens quietly in disbelief. "The side effects," He begins to list, rubbing a hand up one of Erica's claves. "The symptoms," He places his other hand on her right leg, feeling them tremble under his touch. "All of it." He lowly speaks before pulling her close to his body as she gasps. "And what if all those things not only went away, but everything else got even better?" He finishes, caressing her face gently.

"How?" Erica chuckles out lowly.

"Let me show you," Derek smirks, showing her his glowing red Alpha eyes.

♰ ♰ ♰

Jackson angrily approaches Lydia after class, quickly following behind her before grabbing her and dragging her around the corner. Lydia jumps and turns to Jackson in shock.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He speaks lowly, teeth gritted.

"What?" Lydia breathlessly responds.

"Show it to me." He demands, grabbing at her dress to attempt to see her bite. "Show it to me. Come on!"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Lydia pushes him off, a terrified look on her face as she stares at her ex-boyfriend. Jackson glares at her with a knowing look.

"Nothing happened to you. It's like... It's like you're immune."

"I don't have a clue to what you're talking about." Lydia frustratedly whispers. Jackson furiously pushes her against the wall.

"It's-it's you. Whatever it is- blood, saliva- whatever soul-killing substance is running through your veins, you did this to me. You ruined it for me! You ruined everything!" He shouts at Lydia, a terrified look on her face as tears escape down her cheeks.

Jackson turns and takes a breath before leaving, Lydia watching him in horror.

Isabel feels a tightness in her chest as she turns the corner, watching Lydia stand there frozen. Without a word, she escorts Lydia to the bathroom where sobs overtake her body.

Isabel holds her closely, allowing her to cry into her shoulder as she moves them into the privacy of one of the stalls. Isabel takes a breath, feeling tears stream down her face even though she wasn't upset.

After a few minutes, they hear the bell ring signaling their next lesson but Isabel remains with Lydia, holding her close as she releases all of her sadness.

The sound of the girl's bathroom door squeaking open alerts the girls to another presence. But the sound of footsteps doesn't follow. Lydia lifts her head and looks up at Isabel confused.

"Hello?" Lydia tearfully calls out, thinking that maybe Jackson had come to apologize.

Isabel protectively stands in front of Lydia as the sound of feet against the floor approaches, until finally stopping right in front of the stall. The two girls stare at the dirty feel in horror.

"This is the girls' room," Lydia explains, voicing cracking from the tears.

Isabel stares at the feet in confusion, feeling a sense of recognition. The figure turns and leaves, the girls watching the feet disappear from under the stall. Isabel throws the stall door open, Lydia following behind scared as they see an empty bathroom.

Lydia chases after Isabel as she bolts out of the bathroom, into the hallway staring as the figure heads up the school stairwell. Without a thought, Isabel begins chasing down the person and Lydia wordlessly follows, almost like the two were in a trance.

They follow through the doors the person takes, the sound of their feet echoes through the empty hallways. Finally, they see the figure decent a small set of stairs and approach before watching as he stands at the trophy cabinet, dragging his hands down the glass. He turns so they cannot see his face and leaves through the door.

Isabel remains stuck in place as Lydia approaches the trophy cabinet, before noticing the trophy he was staring at. Isabel's body fills with dread as she realizes who it was.

Lydia's eyes fill with tears as she quickly turns to her cousin, the two sharing looks of fear. The sound of the lunch bell snaps them out of their trances and Lydia rushes towards Isabel who shakes her head in confusion.

Without another word, the two head towards the cafeteria slowly. They enter the cafeteria in confusion as everyone is silent and staring toward the other entrance. The two girls approach Scott and Stiles' table before noticing who everyone was looking at.

"What... the holy hell... is that?" Lydia asks, leaning on the table in shock as Isabel feels her heart sink into her stomach.

"It's Erica." Scott slowly answers, sharing the same concern as Isabel.

♰ ♰ ♰

After school, Lydia and Isabel go straight to Allison's house, as the three get ready for their night out at the ice rink. Stiles has paid Boyd for the keys to the rink after-hours so they had the whole place to themselves.

Lydia and Isabel laugh at Allison's joke as they notice Mr. Argent at the door, he knocks on the door to get Allison's attention.

She looks up at her dad, her face slightly falling. Lydia offers Isabel her headphones to show her a new song she was listening to, which she takes gratefully and places into her ears, drowning out the sound of Allison and her father as Lydia watches her reaction to the song.

"Headed out?" Chris asks his daughter.

"Studying." Allison lies. she watches her father's eyes drift over to Lydia and Isabel before motioning for Allison to come and talk. Allison sighs and walks over to her father. "Just studying, Dad."

"I get it. But, we need you to remember what happened." He explains, placing his arm around her shoulders.

"You want me to stop being friends with them?" Allison incredulously asks.

"Actually, we want the opposite. I know how this might sound, but we need you to keep an eye on them."

"You want me to spy on my best friends?" Allison frowns.

"We want you to look out for your friends to make sure everything's okay." Chris counters, as his daughter looks at him in disbelief.

"Seems okay to me," Allison responds, as they watch Isabel and Lydia.

Lydia giggles at Isabel as she listens closely to the song in the headphones, in her own world. Chris sighs as he watches the two teenage girls.