Chapter Twenty-Nine

Autumn's POV

Of course all hell would break loose once Mr. Harris left us alone. Why wouldn't it!?

I'm not exactly sure why I did it, but all I knew was that something inside me made me move without thinking. It must've had something to do with Jackson freaking out.

"I don't remember you being so heavy!" Stiles complained from underneath me, trying to use his shoulder to push against my chest. If the situation weren't life threatening, I might've felt a bit awkward about laying on top of one of my best friend's back, but since I was shielding him from falling rubble, the awkwardness would have to wait till later.

"Shut up, Stiles!" I hissed, hunching over him more when a few more books landed on my back. A few moments later, once the commission seemed to settle down a little, I lifted my head a little to get an idea of what was going on. Erica and Matt were no where to be seen and Scott was hunched over Allison a few feet away. Looking to the front of the room, my eyes landed on the chalkboard and the message written on it.

Stay out of my way or I'll kill all of you.

There was no sign of Jackson, so I hauled myself off the floor and offered Stiles my hand as I stared at the words on the board. "Uh," he hesitated and it caused me to look down at him.

"What-" I began and then I saw why he was staring at my hand like it had grown claws. I did, in fact, grow claws. The nails I'd let Lydia paint during biology had grow at least an inch and a half and became pointed at the end. They didn't look exactly like Derek's or Scott's, but they probably just as deadly. I quickly pulled my hand back and let my fingers curl back into my palm. "Sorry. I-I don't know what happened." I whispered, taking a tentative step back.

This wasn't good. Something was happening and I could feel it. It felt like my blood was boiling and I was starting to have a little trouble breathing. The room felt like it was closing in on me and I needed to get out. "I...I have to...go." I fumbled and turned, leaving my bag and I ran. Ran and ran until I couldn't breathe anymore. I had no clue where I was anymore. All I knew was that I was in the woods, surrounded by thick trees, and fallen leaves. Once the buzzing in my head started to die down, so did my speed.

Eventually, my legs began to burn and I stopped altogether. I ended up standing perfectly still, trying to catch my breath, and dropped to the ground. Even with my visor on, my eyes burned. Hoping to ease some of the pain, I scrunched my eyes closed and continued breathing deeply. After what felt like hours of laying on the ground just breathing, my body finally began to relax. My lungs didn't feel tight anymore and it felt like my blood was cooling down.

I could feel my phone buzzing in my pocket, but I really didn't want to talk to anyone. I didn't want to admit it, but I could feel myself beginning to panic.

"I'm fine. I'm fine! I'm totally fine!" I said into the nothingness around me. Sitting up, I brought my knees up to my chin and wrapped my arms around them. I stretched my fingers out and looked at my nails again. They'd gone back to normal, but I couldn't get the image of them being claws out of my head.

"I don't know what's happening to me." I mumbled when I caught a comforting scent. A few seconds later, warm leather was draped over my shoulders and an even warmer body sat down next to me. "I'm afraid! I feel like I'm losing control of my own body!" I whispered, letting my body fall into the werewolf sitting next to me as he wrapped his arms securely around me. He didn't say anything for a long time and just buried his nose in my hair.

"Everything's going to be okay." he whispered into my hair and I sighed and tried to bury myself further into Derek's warmth. I couldn't help but hope he was right. I knew he didn't have the answers I wanted, so I did what I normally would when I didn't want to think about my issues for the time. I shoved them to the side and let Derek seep into the front of my mind.

"How did you know where I was?" I asked, letting my cheek rest on his chest so I could let his heart beat calm my own.

"Scott called when you didn't answer your phone. He told me you ran from the school and were acting funny. He sounded really worried and it set me on edge. I wasn't too far from the house before I caught your scent. You're only about a mile from the house." he told me, using the one hand that wasn't clutching me to him to stroke the nape of my neck like my mother used to when I was upset.

"Thank you for coming for me." I said and a small smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "I don't know what I'd do without you." I chuckled, nuzzling into him.

"I'll always come when you need me and you'd probably get hopelessly lost in the woods." he said cheekily and my smile widened. After that, all that was left was silence. I didn't feel like talking and I had a feeling he didn't either. It was nice just sitting in the leaves with Derek, not having to worry about anything other than the cold that began nipping at my face. The only reasonable solution to that problem was burrowing further into Derek and letting him take the brunt of the chilly wind.

"You know," I started, it being muffled by his chest. "my dad's gonna be out of town for about two weeks starting tomorrow. And since Issac's staying with Erica and Boyd for now, I was thinking you could keep me company while he was gone." I said, lifting my head and resting my chin in the now vacant spot.

"Did your dad approve?" he asked, raising a questioning eyebrow and I blushed. "I'll take that as a 'no'." he chuckled and I pushed my face back into his chest to hide the ever growing heat on my cheeks. "I'd love to stay with you while your dad's gone." he said after the amused rumbling of his chest stopped.

A/N: Sorry for not updating for a while. I've been busy with school. Don't forget to leave a review!