"I just don't know why you can't tell me what going on with you and Isaac." Lydia says as we walk down the bleachers, looking for a place to sit. I glance down at my sneakers and reply, "I just can't Lydia. It's not for me to say. You're just as important to me as he is."

I ended up getting dressed and ready to go within the hour after Isaac left and Lydia has been pestering me nonstop about why Isaac slept over. It's not weird when she does it so why does it matter as soon as Isaac does? I pulled in a  lavender pullover with some light wash mom jeans and my black converse. Lydia's wearing a light blue tea-length dress with white heels and a sheer cover up with her purse. We're opposites and that's normally what makes us so great but today's one of those days it makes us feel further apart than ever.

As we find a bleacher at mid-field to sit on, I look for Scott, Isaac, and Stiles' jerseys. I spot their numbers but Coach looks like he's giving them a serious speech so I decide not to yell their names. I glance down the bleachers and see Derek, uncomfortably wedged between two blondes that are overjoyed to be sitting next to a block of muscle like him. I shake my head and glance back at the field.

"I told you, we'll be fine. There's no supernatural threat and if there was someone with ill intent, I would feel it." I say quietly, knowing Derek's listening. I look back at him and see he's glaring in my general direction. I laugh and shake my head as the girls next to him shift with his body language to make space for his shoulders.

The referee blows the first whistle of the game and I watch Scott and Isaac and Liam run onto the field. I cheer loudly and watch all three of their heads turn at the same time. Scott gives me a nod before the ball is thrown and the game starts. I feel a sudden sense of fear as the game starts and I shift uncomfortably in my seat. Lydia is busy texting whoever is important at the moment so she doesn't see me move.

"Lyds, I'm going to the bathroom." I say before getting up and rushing down the bleachers. I make my way to the bathroom, weaving around groups of people, and feel the sense of dread increase. I glance out at the field to see what's going on in the game and I notice that Liam is playing a lot more aggressive than usual. I step to the fence and I feel my chest constrict.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes. It's not me feeling this, it's Liam. He's scared and he needs help. I glance at the jerseys of the team we're playing and I realize it's the boys prep school Liam used to go to.

~~~

"He's angry as a normal teenager so what makes you think him being a werewolf would make it any better?" Derek paces back and forth in the driveway facing me, Scott, and Stiles. "I had to save him. He would've been another person I could've saved but didn't." Scott rebuttals. "He's a kid with issues, Scott! He took a golf club to his sports coaches car. That's the whole reason he had to move and change schools!" Stiles yells.

"That was an extenuating circumstance and his coach pushed him too far."  I shake my head and walk a little away from the group to take a few breaths and think. "You still should've thought about it before you hit him. You can't go around biting people because you want to save their life. It could make a bigger problem for all of us."  "He's just a kid and he would've been dead if we didn't do anything." "Maybe he would've been better off dead than a werewolf with anger issues!"

"STOP IT!" I yell, walking back to everyone. "Derek, you need to calm the hell down. Yes, Scott had to bite someone to save them. I get that Liam needing to work on his temper puts all of you guys at risk but he would not be better off dead. His family wouldn't know how he ended up in that situation and Scott would have to live with that guilt."

"Scott, I know you want to save everyone and you don't want anyone to die if you can help it. Stiles, you've watched Scott through this whole transformation and you help him during full moons. You put yourself at risk for him and now you have someone else you'll have to take care of during a full moon. I get your frustrations but we're not going to get anywhere with you all blaming each other for what we've done. We can't change the past, we just have to deal with it."

I take a breath and sigh deeply as all three of them look at me. "Since he's a member of Scott's pack, he's all of our responsibility. If we helped Scott and Isaac, we can help Liam." Derek shakes his head and says, "You're taking on a lot KJ. Are you sure you can handle it?"  I glare at Derek and reply, "I have to deal with the emotions of every soul around me along with my own 24 hours a day. So I think an angry werewolf is the least of my problems."

~~~

Coach is frantically waving his arms and his clipboard damn near flies out of his hand as he's directing the team down the field. "Call a time out!" I yell, cupping my hands around my mouth. "That's a great idea. TIME OUT!" He yells in response. I make my way down the fence looking for the gate. I unlatch it and latch it back quickly, making my way over to hr bench. Liam is wheezing in the back of the group and Isaac and Scott make their way to me.

"What's going on?" Scott asks, pulling off his helmet. "Liam's gonna shift if you don't get him off this field." Isaac leans over to look me in the eye and says, "Why? He's been doing pretty good." "We're playing his old school. He got kicked out because he damaged his lacrosse coaches car." Isaac mouths 'oh' and nods. "How do we go about this?" I shrug and say, "Let me talk to him first and if a doesn't work, make Coach take him out. And if that  doesn't work, do what you need to."

Before they can rebuttal, I make my way over to Liam sitting with his head in his hands. His chest is rising and falling quickly and his hands are clenched in fists. I kneel in front of him so we can be eye to eye. "Liam you need to look at me." I say softly, putting my hand on his knee. When he looks up, his eyes are glowing yellow and fading back to their normal icy blue. "KJ, I can do this. If I sit out, I'm just proving to them that I run from my problems. I don't want to run away more." I shake my head and respond, "Liam, this is severely different. You could easily win this game by yourself but you might hurt half of the team in the process. You're too emotionally invested and I don't want you to get hurt."

His eyes glow yellow again and I see his fangs come in. "I need to prove to them that I can do this. Isaac and Scott look at me as a kid they constantly need to watch. If I can control myself playing against my old school, they'll trust me more." I sigh and look at Liam's claws. "Liam, they do trust you. You've improved and put a lot of effort into changing yourself for the better. But I don't think going through with this will prove anything to them. You'd only be putting yourself out there for possible exposure and your pride."

Liam sighs and I watch his jaw relax. His fists are clenched tight, his nails digging into his palms. "Time outs over, Dunbar! Get back out there. Womack, what are you doing on the field?! Go away!" Coach yells. I pat Liam on the leg once before scrambling out of the fence. The sense of fear subsides and I watch as Liam points to his knees as an explanation for sitting down. 

Scott and Isaac glance over at me and nod. I nod back and see Stiles sitting on the bench. He gives me an exaggerated wink and I laugh, walking back over to Lydia. She puts her phone down for a moment and asks, "How was the bathroom? You were gone for a while." I shrug and answer, "I didn't think the line was that long but apparently it was. I'm fine though." Isaac glances up at the bleachers and mouths, 'Thank you', before putting his helmet back on. Liam turns and gives me a slight wave as he feigns injury as the team doctor places ice on his knees.