♐ ♐ ♐ ♐ ♐ ♐ ♐ ♐ ♐ ♐ ♐ ♐

CHAPTER NINETEEN; 19

For two days, Sage was forced to stay in the hospital even though she already told Melissa and Stiles' dad that she was perfectly fine. They weren't having it, and she took her place as Lydia's roommate once again. It wasn't completely terrible, though. Lydia woke up a day ago, and since then they complained about her dickhead father, terrible hospital food that Sage refused to eat, and most of all, how suck ass formal was. Sage was informed by the dynamic duo, Stiles and Scott, that Lydia's body didn't heal, meaning she wasn't a werewolf; she also didn't die so everyone was wondering what the hell Lydia Martin was.

She spent a good majority of her days talking to Stiles considering he was persistent on staying at the hospital until "her ass was out of the white walls that reeked of death". A part of her felt like he was also staying because of Lydia but she shoved the thought aside as soon as it surfaced. She decided that she was tired of downgrading herself when she knew Stiles truly cared about her. The night of the formal cleared that up well enough.

Sage knew that Lydia was upset about the lack of Jackass because she would always shoot her head up whenever their door opened only for it to be Melissa or their creepy, perverted doctor that seemed to enjoy touching them at random moments. She had elbowed him in the gut when he asked her to lift up her shirt so he could get a better reading of her heartbeat. Lydia had done something similar when he asked to take her blood pressure. But overall, Sage grew worried about the absence of Jackson. She thought that after almost seeing his ex-girlfriend die, he would be a little more adamant on speaking with her.

Currently in the day and life of Lydia Martin and Sage Connelly, the two girls were staring at Lydia's dad while he lingered in their room. Sage was sitting cross-cross on the bed eating some chocolate pudding, thankful that she was able to wear her own clothing after convincing Melissa she would rather go naked than wear the awful hospital gown. Her eyes followed Lydia as the strawberry blonde made a move to get up.

"Do you want help getting in the shower?" her dad asked, his hand outstretching to help her. Sage's face contorted in humor, watching as he made an attempt to be a real dad. She'd heard enough from Lydia about how shit of a father he was, and Sage highly doubted Lydia wanted him anywhere near her.

Lydia stood up. "Maybe, if I was four and still taking bubble baths."

"Right. I'll just wait outside then. Where it's slightly less sarcastic."

Sage snorted, getting up from her bed to throw away the empty pudding cup. Lydia's dad stared at her, almost giving her a look of disapproval that she had seen on too many faces of parents before. She send an overbearing smile his way, watching as he left the room.

"I don't see how you lived in a house with him," Sage called out to Lydia, making sure that her voice was heard over the shower water. On her way back to her bed, she stumbled over the leg of the chair that Stiles left laying in the middle of the room last night. "Ow, okay, ouch. I'm dying. I'm dying."

"Are you okay?" Lydia shouted back, listening to Sage curse out as she muttered about her foot.

"Fine! Hurry up, I need to take a shower next!" Sage rushed, moving over to her bag full of clothes. Scott had brought it by after she texted him, thankful to have one friend that wasn't in the hospital or suffering from an extreme loss.

The blonde knew that Derek and Scott weren't speaking, especially after the whole 'I'm-the-alpha-now' scene, but she also got filled in that Allison and Scott were playing Romeo and Juliet. Allison told her all about how Papa Argent banned Scott and her from seeing each other after he caught them having a steamy makeout session in the car. That was brought up in between Sage's explanation of why she was harboring Lydia's wounds on her body and the awkwardness of sitting together on a bed after Allison nearly ruined her relationship.

Now that the curly haired brunette was filled in on everything supernatural, Sage felt like Lydia was the only one being left out of the equation (apart from Danny) and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. On one hand, she was relieved her former enemy, now close friend, was safe from harm, but she, too, thought that Lydia knowing the secret would actually lower the chances of her being eaten alive by something you would find on the Sci-Fi network. Lydia was already asking questions about Sage's injuries from the formal, and Sage did what she did best: she lied.

Although her abilities were no longer causing life-or-death situations on her part, she still had to endure the pain and the infliction like they were her own. The doctors got suspicious when she would hiss in pain at the same time as Lydia or when she would grip onto her sheets as Lydia cried. Something happened on Friday, but she thought that it was just because Lydia hurt the side of her waist in the shower. There was an intense burning on her hip, feeling exactly the same as when Lydia was bitten by Peter. She didn't over think it though, pushing it aside as she had bigger issues to deal with.

"Lydia! Fish need water to survive! Don't be the girl that murders Nemo!" Sage yelled, tugging the grey hoodie she was wearing over her head, throwing it lazily on her unmade bed. When she heard ruffling in the shower, she stopped what she was doing to look at the closed bathroom door. "Lydia?"

A piercing scream rang through her ears, and Sage's whole body froze up. Her body worked faster than her mind and she was running towards the bathroom, almost sliding with the socks she was wearing. Whipping the door open, Sage looked around the bathroom to see that it was completely empty. The shower curtain was pulled back, and Sage leaned in to check and see if Lydia might have slipped and fallen.

"Sage? Sage!"

She turned around, looking to see that Melissa and Lydia's father were standing behind her, inspecting the room while Stiles came busting through the door. His eyes were crazed, gazing around the room until they landed on her. He breathed out in relief, walking forward to pull her into his side while Melissa turned off the shower. Sage appreciated his embrace but her priority right now was Lydia, the girl continuing to stare around the room as if something would give off even the slightest clue as to where she went.

"Sage, what happened?" Melissa demanded, turning around. The blonde opened her mouth but didn't know what she could say. She was just as clueless as them seeing as there was no trace of Lydia aside from the gown she left behind and an open window.

"I don't know."

♐ ♐ ♐ ♐ ♐ ♐

After much begging and pleading, as well as the overall fact that the mother knew there was no way to keep the blonde in the hospital anyway, Melissa allowed Sage to be discharged. Sage believed a part of the woman only decided to do it because she didn't want to have to face Sage's whining. That, and she had a better chance just discharging the blonde already than facing the repercussions of another patient escaping. The moment that her conversation with Scott's mother ended, Stiles pulled her off to the side of hallway so that the police weren't capable of hearing the conversation the two were having.

"What happened?" Stiles asked, the two standing in a corner to try and avoid the eyes of deputies. Sage crossed her arms, chewing on her lips as she stared around the frantic hospital.

"I honestly don't know. We were talking one second, then I heard some ruffling and she just screamed. By the time I got in there, the window was open and she was gone," Sage explained, biting the inside of her gum to try and calm herself. Stiles breathed out, running his hands through his hair before nodding. He wasn't very accepting of the story, mostly because there wasn't much to it, but he had to go with what Sage was telling him.

Swallowing the bitterness in his throat, Stiles gave the girl a straight look. "Okay, I texted Scott. We'll go looking for her. You're okay, right? No freaky magic ability going on?"

Sage scowled at Stiles. "No. The last time anything happened was Friday. I'll know if anything happens to Lydia, don't worry. After formal, I'm getting better at telling who exactly it is that got hurt."

"Okay, le—" Stiles' voice trailed off as he saw his dad speaking to Melissa. Slowly walking over, he listened in on the conversation, tugging Sage with him. They stood around the corner, silently eavesdropping as Sheriff stressed on how important is was to find Lydia. Like they didn't already know that. To top on everything, Lydia could be out having intestines for dinner.

"Alright, let's get an APB out on a sixteen year old, redhead—"

A voice interrupted the man before he could finish his description. "She's five foot three, green eyes, fair skin, and her hair is actually strawberry blonde."

Sage stared as Stiles corrected his father on his incorrect insights on the way that Lydia looked. The blonde hadn't expected for him to blow up in context like that, especially in front of her, and couldn't help but feel something sting in her heart as she still had the thought inside of her head that, maybe, Stiles still cared about the strawberry blonde as much as he had half of his life. However, she pushed her emotions aside because, at this point, she just wanted to find Lydia, get her into a pair of pants, and find out what was going on with her.

Sheriff dragged Stiles aside, and Sage was too far away to hear any part of their conversation, but she could tell that he was no doubt pissed at his son. Between hushed whispers, the two glanced over at Sage, and she knew they were talking about her. Not knowing what else to do, she gave a quick wave, watching as they turned back around. Sheriff happened to end the bickered conversation it by shoving Stiles back over to Sage. The boy didn't seem pleased, just grabbed her arm, and the two walked away without another word.

"What the hell was that about?" Sage asked, grabbing her bag that was sitting outside her room. Stiles shrugged, staring down at his phone as he got a text saying Scott was there. She frowned before noticing a couple of workers messing around with a vending machine, trying to lift it off the ground. "Oh, please tell me you didn't."

Stiles glanced up, cringing when he saw what he was looking at. "I didn't?"

"Walk away, just keep going," Sage pressed, the two of them picking up their pace as they avoided the workers' gaze. They got outside just a few minutes after, Sage noticing Stiles' jeep first thing. In the passenger's seat was Scott, staring as they walked over to the car. Sage opened her bag of clothes before pulling out the gown that lay on top of everything, throwing it to Scott through the window.

"This is the one she was wearing?" Scott asked. Sage nodded and got into the jeep, flinching slightly when she felt herself tear the wound on her side. Her hands were shaking slightly as she worried something would happen to Lydia, and Stiles looked no better. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt her. Not again."

Sage bit down on her lip. "Just shove the thing in your face and let's find her."

Stiles started up his jeep, the lights blaring ahead of them, giving a clear imagine of a girl standing there. Stiles looked up from his keys, nearly jumping out of his seat when he saw Allison standing there. Sage's eyes widened when she saw her friend, but she wasn't as alarmed as Stiles. "Oh, whoa, wow!"

Allison ran over to Scott's window, and he immediately asked. "What are you doing here? Someone's going to see us!"

"I don't care," Allison said. "She's my best friend, and we need to find her before they do."

"I can find her before the cops can," Scott reassured.

"How about before my dad?"

Stiles barged in on the awkward couple banter. "He knows?"

"Yeah, I saw him and three other guys leave my house in two SUV's."

Sage rubbed her face, trying to figure out what to do. If the hunters found Lydia before they did, Lydia will be dead on the side of the road before she could ever speak. Sage knew just how intense the hunters were, Argent cleared that up when he grabbed Jackson, Stiles, and herself back at the hospital. "That's great. It's a hunting party. Lovely. Maybe we can stop and get some balloons and party streamers on the way."

The side of Stiles' lip twitched while Scott and Allison silently scolded her with their eyes. Turning towards his secret girlfriend, he jerks his head to the backseat. "Get in."

Allison did as told, moving past Scott to sit down next to Sage. The two shifted uncomfortable, Sage clearing her throat before looking out the window. Stiles pulled out of the hospital, and they didn't speak, all of them too nervous to speak. When Stiles hit a red light, he turned around to face Allison. "If she's turning, will they actually kill her?"

"I don't know. They won't tell me anything, okay? All they say is 'we will talk after Kate's funeral when the others get here'," Allison explained, leaning forward so her head was close to Scott's.

"What others?" Sage asked, making Allison turn to look at her.

"I don't know, they won't tell me that either."

Sage raised her eyebrows while Stiles shook his head in astonishment, "Okay, your family has some serious communication issues to work on." Glancing over at Scott who had his head stuck out the window the whole time, an accurate resemblance of a dog, Stiles shouted over the wind, "Scott, are we going the right way?"

"Take the next right!"

Sage furred her eyebrows, looking at the route that they were taking. It was too familiar to her seeing as she'd driven through these woods for sixteen years, the same trail every single time. "Why the hell is Lydia at the Hale house?"

♐ ♐ ♐ ♐ ♐ ♐

"She came here? You sure?"

The four teenagers stood in front of the Hale house. At night, the building is even more haunting, and it just looked like a place where a horror film should be shot. It was hard to believe that Lydia, of all people, would come here. The house was no longer a house, rather just pieces of wood that were still together after the fire. Sage felt sick to her stomach, thinking back to just a few nights ago when Kate and Peter both drowned in their own blood.

"Yeah, this is where the scent leads," Scott replied. Allison frowned from beside her boyfriend, and they both watched as Stiles began up the hill with Sage, hands intertwined as he helped her up a steep part. Stiles pursed his lips before glancing back.

"Alright, but has Lydia ever been here?"

"I've never taken her here," Sage admitted, shaking her head at her friends with pursed lips. She wouldn't want to bring Lydia to the house anyways. There were too many secrets being held behind the doors, too many answers the girl would want.

"Not with me," Allison denied, beginning to follow Stiles' footsteps. The boy frowned, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say. Instead, he returned back to his pace, the couple standing a little way behind to speak to each other. "Maybe she came here on instinct, like she was looking for Derek."

Scott hesitated. "You mean, looking for an alpha?"

"Wolves need a pack, right?"

"Not all of them."

"But would she have been drawn to an alpha? Is that an instinct to be a part of a pack?" Allison interrogated, her emotions on a high as she ran around trying to find her best friend. She was also still on the edge about being around Sage, concerned that the blonde was still upset about formal. She realized how much of a bitch she was, and tried apologizing already but there was still tension between them.

"We're stronger in packs," Scott agreed.

"Like strength in numbers."

"No, like—" he paused, trying to word it correctly. "Like literally stronger, faster, better in every way."

"Is that the same for an alpha?"

Scott hesitated before he finally understood what she was trying to infer. Nodding his head, he spoke out loud what she was thinking. "It will make Derek stronger too."

Sage and Stiles roamed around the forest, trying to find any evidence that Lydia was actually here instead of just relying on Scott's werewolf senses. There wasn't much they could go off of though considering she didn't have any clothes on and if she were to get cut, Sage would automatically know meaning finding blood was useless. Stiles ended up walking behind Scott and Allison, Sage doing the same. When something started to shimmer through the light from the moon, Sage shot her hand out, practically soccer mom-ing Stiles.

He turned to her with raised eyebrows, glancing down at where her hand was. She bent down, moving the leaves that were hiding the thin wire. "Guys, look." Allison walked over while Stiles bent down, immediately intrigued. "It's a trip wire."

Stiles being Stiles decided to pull on the wire despite Sage's protests. Right when they believed nothing happened, Scott spoke up. "Hey, Stiles?"

"Yeah, buddy?" Stiles asked, all of them turning around to see Scott hanging upside down, leg caught in the wire. Sage and Allison started to crack up, moving their hands over their mouths to try and hide that they were laughing.

"Next time you see a trip wire, don't trip it."

Stiles raised his thumb. "Noted."

The three moved forward to help him when Scott's hearing picked up on the sound of crunching leaves and triggering of weapons. "Wait, wait, wait! Someone's coming. Hide." When they just looked around, their feet glued to the ground, Scott's eyes widened. "Go!"

Stiles grabbed a hold of Sage's waist, pulling her along while Sage managed to grip Allison's jacket. The three of them stumbled down the small hill, hiding behind the first tree that could disguise them all. When Stiles' breathing fell irregular, she slapped her hand over his mouth to keep him from outing them.

"Scott," Argent greeted.

"Mister Argent," Scott replied, making Allison's eyes widen. Sage figured it had to be them, they were the only people that would actually settle for using a trip wire instead of just using the good ole' tackle method.

"How are you?"

Scott hesitated. "Good. You know, just hanging out. Is this one of your's? It's, uh, good. Nice design, very constricting." Sage bit down on her tongue to keep from snorting, proud of Scott for using sarcasm in one of the worst moments.

"What are you doing out here, Scott?"

"Looking for my friend."