Ariana's feet pounded against the pavement as she did her best to ignore the way her lungs struggled with her attempts to increase her pace. She didn't have time to slow down right now, not with her lack of superhuman speed and not when she had no idea of the chaos she had possibly created. If she had created any at all.

In the back of her mind she knew it was possible that it had just been a weird vision, an odd hallucination, that there was no real-life meaning to it. After all, she hadn't really destroyed the hospital the other night. But something about this vision of Violet had felt off. The warning felt too real.

As she ran, Ariana felt her chest heaving, struggling to keep air in, but she kept running, tearing past familiar streets and cutting a few corners until the harsh bricked structure of the high school appeared in the distance, all sharp shadows and unfriendly features, far too unwelcoming at this time of night.

There was no sign of chaos, no burning embers, no screams of fear. No hint of any danger yet, but Ariana couldn't relax until she saw Liam safe with her own eyes.

"Liam?" Ariana called out as she ran, her voice slightly hoarse, fear undercutting the desperation in her tone, not to mention the lack of oxygen in her lungs now highlighting just how unfit she was.

"…A lot of hard-to-believe things. Really hard to believe…"

She knew that voice. Ariana's heart leaped in her throat as she neared the corner of the building, cutting across the empty parking lot, knowing Liam was finally close. She wasn't too late.

"Liam!" Ariana called out as she spotted him with Mason near the school bus zone. She picked up her pace, sprinting towards them, her heart pounding with relief as she came to a skidding stop beside Liam.

"Ari?" Mason frowned, his head tilting slightly in confusion as she hurried towards the two of them. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just…I just, um…" Ariana faltered as she scanned the two of them, both seemingly unharmed, safe from whatever chaos she'd feared had occurred. It really had just been a dream. Just another weird hallucination. Again.

Liam rested a hand on her back, steadying her as she leaned into his touch, even as he remained just as confused as Mason. "Hey, it's fine. You're fine," he said quietly, locking eyes with her, something in his eyes indicating he could hear just how hard her heart was racing. Could he feel the slight tremor of aftershocks in her body too? Were they real too? If he did, he didn't give anything away, other than reaching down to squeeze her hand.

"Guys?" Mason interrupted their moment after a small beat. "Um…a wolf?"

Ariana felt her expression swift from soft to accusatory in a heartbeat. "You told him?" she said to Liam, eyes widening in disbelief, betrayal sinking into her bones. She'd told him her thoughts on this. He knew how strongly she felt about this. He knew the danger of telling Mason.

"What? No, I didn't," Liam protested, his eyes widening. "I mean I was going to…but, no I didn't. I didn't say anything!" He shook his head as Ariana pulled her hand from his grip, stepping away from him with a small shake of her head.

"Uh guys?" Mason pushed again, "There's a wolf."

"I can't believe you went behind my back like this," Ariana said, ignoring Mason for a moment as she stared at Liam, her heart rate increasing all over again. "How much did you tell him?"

"Nothing," Liam insisted, frowning as he tried to reach for her but Ariana took another step away.

"Guys!" Mason said slightly louder this time, his voice sharp enough to draw their attention back to him. "There's a wolf. Right behind you." His voice wavered slightly, uneasy. "Look."

Sighing, Ariana followed Mason's wide eyed gaze behind her. He was right. Taking in a sharp breath, Ariana stared as she looked at the wolf standing a few feet away, its eyes steady on them. It was almost like it was waiting for something, waiting for some kind of reaction.

"That's a wolf…" Ariana breathed out, vaguely aware of the way Liam slowly moved forward, blocking her and Mason from the wolf's view.

The three of them stared at the wolf for a moment, all seemingly frozen as they watched it, waiting.

And then the wolf roared.

As it lunged towards them, Mason let out a well-warranted yelp, grabbing Ariana's hand and bolting away, tugging her along with him as Liam took off, following them with panicked eyes.

"Liam!" Ariana shrieked, her hand gripping onto Mason's for dear life as she ran along, not even paying attention to where they were going, apart from 'anywhere but here'.

"What?" Liam yelled back, skidding slightly as he turned the corner behind Ariana, eyes wild as the wolf let out another roar, seemingly closer than before.

"Do something!" Ariana shouted over her shoulder, not even bothering to think about the consequences as Mason tugged her along, not bothering to care about what would happen next as long as they survived. "Roar!"

She just had time to catch Liam's eyes widening slightly, as if he'd forgotten the one upper hand he had in this situation, before she was tugged around a corner, Mason's hand firmly gripping her own.

Mason had just whipped around another corner and sprinted up a nearby staircase, Ariana only a few steps behind as she tried not to trip over her feet, when a second roar broke out, this time slightly more familiar as it rang out, echoing down the corridors. Ariana skidded to a stop halfway up the stairs, almost toppling over Mason as he stopped a step ahead of her.

Before Ariana could turn around, she heard a gasp escape Mason's mouth. Glancing up, she held back a wince. Mason was staring over the top of her head, directly at Liam. Ariana followed his gaze, her heart skipping an odd beat of anticipation as she spotted Liam at the bottom of the staircase, eyes blazing a bright golden, fangs and claws both bared out in full view.

On the bright side, the other wolf was slinking away now, back into the darkness, back to wherever it had come from.

On the less bright side, Mason was still staring at Liam, his gaze unwavering.

Liam glanced over at Ariana, his golden eyes fading back to their normal baby blue, claws retracting as he took a slow breath in. His brow was furrowed, a silent plea to let the lies end. Well there was no going back now. There was no way around it. Mason had seen too much now. They couldn't lie and talk around the truth any longer. He deserved the truth.

Finally, Ariana clenched her jaw slightly, giving a tiny nod.

"There's something I gotta tell you," Liam said after a long silence between the three of them, defeat in his voice as he dropped his head low, collecting himself for the truth.

Ariana stayed where she was, arms folded tightly to her chest as she tried to control her own breathing, trying to keep her heart rate steady before she revealed her secrets in an unexpected demonstration of her own.

Mason was smart though, an odd gleam of excitement in his eyes as he stared back at Liam. "You're a werewolf," he interrupted before Liam could continue. "A real werewolf." He almost looked pleased with the revelation, probably proud of his ability to work it all out.

Liam stared back agape. "You…what?"

"You're a werewolf," Mason repeated, fighting back a satisfied grin as he glanced over at Ariana. She let out a swift exhale, just relieved that he didn't seem to be freaking out too much. She'd been worried he would panic, or run off in terror before they could explain anything properly. Then again, he didn't know anything about her yet.

Luckily, before Mason could turn to Ariana and question her, Liam was stepping forward, grabbing Mason's attention again. "You…You're not mad? You're not freaking out…"

"Oh, I'm definitely freaking out. Like, freaking out about how cool this is!" Mason exclaimed, eyes still wide with glee. Only Mason would get excited about having a werewolf as a best friend. Ariana could already see all of the research he was going to pour into, determined to learn all he could about the supernatural world.

"You're a freaking werewolf! How long? How did it happen? Did a werewolf bite you? Was it during a full moon? Do you have a whole wolf pack? Can I meet them?" Mason fired off several questions in a row, barely breathing in between his words. He left no space for Liam to answer, too busy spilling over his own curiosity until finally he paused to catch his breath.

"I'll tell you everything," Liam said, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly, clearly relieved that he hadn't lost his best friend on the first reveal. "It's a bit of a long story though. Like…a few months worth of stories, really. But I'll tell you everything."

Ariana pursed her lips, feeling her own tension growing inside. She wasn't sure how much of the truth Liam was willing to share but everything was a big ask, especially if it meant explaining the last few months, explaining the deadpool list and Mexico. There would be no way to avoid her own truths then, and she wasn't ready for that.

But still, this was Mason, her best friend. Mason, who was currently staring at her with an odd frown. Crap. He'd figured it out already. He knew.

"Ari…" Mason trailed off, glancing between her and Liam with an increasing look of suspicion. "You…you don't seem surprised. At all. You just watched your boyfriend turn into a werewolf - which is super cool and exciting by the way," he added quickly, glancing back at Liam, "and you have barely raised an eyebrow…"

"She knows," Liam replied, stepping closer to Ariana so he could squeeze her hand. He could probably feel her racing heartbeat, judging by the look of concern that flickered over his face.

"I knew. I've known for a while," Ariana admitted finally. She paused for a beat, collecting herself, squeezing Liam's hand before she continued, "and I'm the reason Liam didn't tell you sooner."

Mason's frown deepened. "But why? Why didn't you want me to know?" he asked.

Ariana glanced back at Liam again. She knew she didn't have to do this, she knew she could easily talk around it and put this conversation off for another time, but another part of her knew she might as well rip off the bandaid.

"Because telling you about Liam meant we would inevitably be telling you about me too," she said, pulling her hand free from Liam as she took a few steps away from the staircase, swinging her arms by her side as she took a slow inhale, preparing herself.

"About you?"

"And what I am," Ariana clarified, turning back to face Mason. "Okay, how are you handling the whole 'werewolves are real' concept right now?"

Mason folded his arms across his chest, shrugging. "Pretty well, I think. Why?"

"What if I told you there were more supernatural creatures, other things besides werewolves?"

"Seems logical. Wait, you're not a vampire are you?" Mason's eyes widened suddenly, one hand going to his neck. "Please don't bite me."

Liam let out a snort from where he was now leaning against one of the lockers. "Vampires aren't real," he remarked as though the concept was absurd, but then again Ariana had to admit it wasn't totally farfetched considering everything else they'd encountered so far, although it was obviously untrue.

In her avid studies over summer, she'd not only delved into druidology but also spent hours pouring over the beastiary loaned to her from Scott. She'd read about countless different creatures, some she recognised from her research into the deadpool, some completely foreign. But no mentions of vampire. Thank goodness some demons were only fiction.

Shaking her head, Ariana felt her fists closing on their own accord, fighting back the small pulses begging to be released. "No, I'm not a vampire. I'm…Well it might be easier to show you, I guess."

"Ari…" Liam warned quietly. "Can you control it?"

It was a fair question given Ariana's track record, but it still stung. Even now, he couldn't give her two seconds of faith. He knew how hard she'd been working all summer. He'd witness how many times she missed pack meetings and dates just to study up on druidology. And yet, he couldn't even trust her with a tiny demonstration.

The fact that she barely trusted herself was beside the point.

Giving Liam a cool look to make him hush, Ariana slowly unclenched her fingers, letting the tremors that had been building up slowly trickle outwards, sending those pulses into the ground below.

It wasn't much, but the stress she'd felt over the course of the night was enough to summon a tiny earthquake, enough to make the ground rumble gently below her feet, the old lockers rattling against the corridor's walls. Around the corner, Ariana could hear one of the lacrosse team banners slip off the wall where it had been poorly tacked on.

And then Ariana twitched her fingers slightly, willing the tremors to ease, to fade into stillness once more. It was tricker than she'd anticipated though, and for a moment she wondered if Liam was right, if she'd had too much trust in herself. The tremors wavered, getting stronger for a brief moment and there was an unsettling groan from the building, as though it was contemplating collapsing around them.

But before Ariana could lose control and spiral, she locked eyes with Liam. He was staring straight at her, eye bright, blue and hopeful, willing her to prove herself. "Breathe," he mouthed, brow furrowing ever so slightly as he nodded at her.

Right, breathe.

Nodding back, Ariana inhaled slowly, her eyes fluttering closed as she twitched her fingers again, allowing her heartbeat to steady, allowing the tremors to fade properly this time, until the world came to a quiet halt, leaving the three teenagers in silence once again.

"Holy shit," Mason breathed out after a long pause.

Ariana's eyes flew open, uncertain as she turned her focus to him.

Mason was staring right at her, an odd expression on his face. It was a mixture of fear and awe, but there was still that hint of fascination. He still wasn't sprinting away either, another good sign. "You're…you're a witch?" he asked slowly.

"No," Ariana let out a huff, unable to hold back her attitude, rolling her eyes while Liam let out a snort. "Not exactly. I'm a…well I'm a druid."

"A what?"

"A druid," Ariana repeated. "It's a special kind of connection to the earth. Um, and I can channel its energy into power, kind of."

"So…like a witch?" Mason's eyes widened.

"No!" Ariana shook her head again, half a step away from summoning another gust of wind at Mason out of pure frustration.

"You're a bit like a witch," Liam admitted with a sheepish shrug, dodging Ariana as she swatted out at his arm with a glare. "What? You kind of are," he said defensively.

"Well I want to know everything," Mason said, cutting off the impending argument with a curious gleam in his eyes. "Like…everything."

To absolutely no one's surprise, Mason was full of questions well into the next day of school. Ariana and Liam had been slowly bringing him up to speed over the previous night over a long string of text messages, quietly leaving out any mentions of Ariana's involvement in The Orphans and the deadpool, but Mason's questions were never-ending, wanting to know every inch of lore, every part of their journeys.

Miraculously, Ariana found a way to completely talk her way around the deadpool situation without drawing any suspicion, but maybe that was because Mason was too invested in the supernatural information to focus on the timeline.

If he had, maybe he would be questioning more about how Violet and Garrett had felt about it, or if they'd been hunting the supernatural creatures and therefore hunting Ariana. And then he might have started questioning how they died, and if Ariana had known about it. And then she would have to find a way to lie about Violet, about her involvement, about how she really got her powers, about the chaos she'd unknowingly steamrolled into action.

But luckily, anytime Mason came close to the topic, Liam was ready with a fun bit of werewolf trivia to distract him, always one hand resting on Ariana's back, both a comfort and a caution.

By lunch time Liam were halfway through an explanation of how he could smell pheromones and pick up on moods, when Genevieve slipped into the chair beside Ariana, plonking her lunch tray onto the table with a small huff.

"How come werewolves get a heap of cool abilities but I still can't figure out a good comeback when Kennedy picks on me?" she asked with a pout, dropping her head onto the table with a small thud.

Ariana glanced over at Liam quickly, doing her best to keep a neutral expression while simultaneously panicking slightly inside. They had filled Mason in on most of the situation, excluding anything deadpool and Orphan-related obviously, but Ariana had also made sure to omit Genevieve from the story too, unsure of if Genevieve would want someone else knowing her secret. Not everyone was as protective over their powers like Ariana, especially when hers were created out of such chaos, but still. Ariana didn't want to ruin her friendship with Genevieve yet again.

Mason, to his credit, didn't freak out right away, simply staring at Genevieve as the wheels turned over in his brain, processing what she had just said, his rare silence giving Ariana time to panic and figure out a plan to cover up Genevieve's reveal.

"Uh…" Liam interrupted the slightly awkward silence, doing what he apparently thought was his best, but in fact not contributing at all. He was clearly panicking a little too, his eyes flickering back and forth between Mason and Genevieve, who was still sulking with her head down, unaware of what was happening at the table, missing all of the frantic glares currently being exchanged between Ariana and Liam.

Before anyone could salvage the situation, Mason finally spoke.

"Wait…" he trailed off for a moment, clearly not wanting to assume anything. He glanced over at Ariana who was well aware that her panicked expression was giving away any possible confusion. "You…you're…you're a…."

Genevieve finally lifted her head at Mason's voice, her eyes widening almost comically, resembling a deer in caught headlights as she stammered for a response before Mason could finish his sentence. "Oh-uh…Uh…I mean, hypothetically, you know? Like if werewolves existed and had had powers, why can't humans have cool comebacks? Hypothetically…If werewolf" she sunk slightly in her seat now, raising a hopeful eyebrow.

"You're a werewolf," Mason said, almost cutting her off as he wisely brushed off her attempts to cover her tracks. "That is…awesome."

Taking in a sharp breath, Genevieve looked back and forth at everyone at the table, her fists clenched anxiously.

"He knows," Ariana murmured quietly before Genevieve could spiral into an anxiety attack. "He found out about us last night."

"Oh," Genevieve breathed out, all tension leaving her body almost immediately as she leaned against Ariana, bumping her shoulder lightly. "Thank god. I was digging myself in a proper hole there. Must be a werewolf thing," she added, throwing a snicker in Liam's direction.

Liam clearly caught the reference, sticking his tongue out at Genevieve, while Ariana frowned, not appreciating how out of the loop she felt right now. "What do you mean? I haven't read that anywhere."

"I just fell in a hole last night when we were out helping Stiles. No biggie," Liam explained, twirling his lunch tray around in circles as he spoke.

Ariana pursed her lips, not pushing the issue, but she filed that as something to question Liam further later. He'd told Mason just about everything there was to know about his new abilities, but he'd somehow omitted anything about helping Stiles last night, much less anything about Genevieve's involvement. It was nice to know that everybody was helping each other while they kept her in the dark. Really nice.

"Hey, don't worry, it was a total bore," Genevieve said, apparently catching Ariana's pout. "Stiles just wanted werewolf noses to help investigate Theo, like a stakeout, but we didn't find anything fun."

Ariana hadn't even realised there was anything worth investigating Theo for, apart from showing up with a lot of knowledge on their pack, but he'd done his research, so what? Ariana loved research and she knew how easily word could spread so it wasn't totally crazy for him to hear everything about Scott's pack without stepping a foot in Beacon Hills.

Then again, maybe if people were filling her in, she would have had a clearer picture and could have a more developed opinion. Instead, she sat back in her seat silently, ignoring Genevieve's consistent nudges, poor attempts to remove the pout off Ariana's lips.

"I have…so many more questions," Mason said, easily brushing over the tension sifting over the rest of the table. "Gen, how did you become a wolf? How did you get bitten? Are you part of Scott's pack too?"

Genevieve inhaled slowly, nodding as she took in the wave of questions. "Well, I actually wasn't bitten. I was a born werewolf, because my parents were both wolves too."

"Woah…that is so cool. So you've been a werewolf this whole time? I've been lab partner with a werewolf and I didn't even know it?"

"No," Genevieve giggled slightly, her long ginger ponytail bouncing across her shoulders. "I mean not exactly. I only really got my abilities last year."

Mason was only more curious, leaning forward, lunch totally abandoned by now. "Wait, how? What happened?"

She glanced briefly at Ariana, the smallest of looks but it was all the two girls needed these days. It was enough for Ariana to understand the silent question, how much to reveal, how much Ariana had told him already.

Pursing her lips, Ariana gave a tiny shake of her head. That was all Genevieve needed, telling her all she needed to know.

" Um…not super sure. I guess something just triggered it one night," she shrugged, "but now I'm part of another pack. My alpha is Satomi. She's kind of like my new foster mom, I guess. Took me into her family and her pack."

"Wow." Mason nodded along, his expression serious as he took it all in. "Intense."

By the time the final school bell rang, Ariana was just about over the entire day. After lunch, she'd had another class with Mason which meant another period of talking around his endless questions, and another period of mulling over Genevieve and Liam's little adventure.

It wasn't like she was jealous of them at all. She wasn't stupid. She knew Genevieve was still head over heels for Brett no matter what she said, and she knew where she stood with Liam. Mostly. Not counting the whole weird situation with Hayden the other day. They were fine.

It was just the fact that yet again, Ariana was in the dark. Yet again, she was brushed aside, not needed. Too much of a hazard, too much of a liability to be called along. It wasn't like they couldn't track her down, after all Ariana spent her nights either at Liam's or Scott's house these days, although it was mostly Scott's lately. With his mother in the loop, it was easier to explain the situation. So it wouldn't be hard to find her. Or at least tell her what was happening, and why.

Instead, Ariana was left to mull and overthink, all while trying to fit that into her schedule alongside panicking over their collective doomed future if they didn't figure out what the Donas's next move was.

It was no wonder Ariana was feeling a little bit on edge these days.

"Hey, are you busy tonight?" Lydia appeared out of nowhere as Ariana closed her locker door, jumping at the older girl's presence. Ariana let out a little yelp, a hand flying to her heart in surprise. She shook it off quickly though, as she slung her backpack over her shoulder.

"Uh…I was going to study and then probably go see Deaton, do more research…" Ariana trailed off, hugging her arms to her chest as she leaned against her closed locker. She would have been planning something with Liam or Genevieve but after today, she was a little too cranky to deal with either of them.

"Well, how about some fun girl bonding time?" Lydia asked, waggling her eyebrows, a glint in her eyes. "Kira and I are teaching Malia to drive and I thought you might like to tag along. Do you have your license?"

Ariana shook her head slowly, biting her lip. "No, um…Garrett was always the driver and I never really had anyone to teach me. I mean Lucas could but…Well, he didn't."

To be honest, Ariana wasn't even sure how Garrett had managed to get his license but that was just the kind of guy he'd been, able to figure his way through anything, always the problem solver. Violet had never bothered, happy to let Garrett drive her around. Ariana supposed she could have asked Lucas to teach her, but whenever he'd reached out, it was usually just a quick check up. He was never around long enough for her to ask.

"Well, you're coming with us then," Lydia declared, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Come on, you can leave your stuff at mine. We're all meeting at Malia's. Maybe we'll get you behind the wheel." She gave a small nod of her head, throwing a wink at Ariana as she turned on her heel, strutting back down the hallway, giving Ariana the impression that she should follow her.

Not wanting to be excluded from something again, Ariana readjusted her backpack quickly before trotting after Lydia, barely catching the withering glare she received from Kennedy Carter as she turned the corner. Whatever that was about, Ariana had no doubt she'd hear about it soon enough.

Ariana hadn't realised how long the driving adventure would take, not that she was complaining, but she had kind of planned to get started on her History reading tonight to get it out of the way. Putting it off only made her dread it more, she knew that by now. But by the time she and Lydia had arrived at Malia's house to go driving, Malia's father had insisted on everyone having a snack first, and then a cup of tea, and only once he was satisfied that everyone had full stomaches did he hand over the car keys.

The sun had long since set now, which was handy for Malia's night driving practice, but it did mean Ariana would definitely not be getting behind the wheel tonight. There was no way she was letting her first driving experience happen in the dark, not when she was running purely off theory and second hand experience.

"Okay, hands on the wheel at 10:00 and 2:00." Kira was apparently self appointed road safety instructor, leaning forward in the backseat beside Ariana, one hand clutching her phone with an open PDF of driving tips ready to be handed out throughout the drive.

"Actually, the recommended position is now 9:00 and 3:00," Ariana interrupted from beside Kira. "I mean, that's what I read," she added when all eyes turned on her, suddenly questioning her own knowledge.

She knew she was right though. She'd spent ages reading over the rules when Garrett started to drive, determined to do her part to make sure they all survived his driving skills. He was reckless in most part of his life but Ariana had refused to let him overlook an easy thing like road rules. Not to mention, she'd wanted to make sure he abided by the rules to avoid ever getting pulled over in the middle of a job.

"That's true," Lydia confirmed, throwing Ariana an appreciative smile from the front passenger seat. "At 10:00 and 2:00, a deployed airbag could break your thumbs," she added, adjusting Malia's hands herself when Malia refused to alter her position.

"Mine would heal though!" Malia argued, moving her hands back to where they were.

"Save your strength!" Lydia shot back exasperatedly, tugging at Malia's forearm stubbornly. "And try not to destroy your beautiful new car. 9:00 and 3:00," she repeated Ariana's suggestion, yanking a little harder and giving Malia a hard stare until finally Malia relented.

"Good, okay, easing into it. There you go!" Kira cheered as Malia began to accelerate, the car jolting slightly as she tried to get a hang of the car's gears.

"Please shut up." Malia eased on the brake slightly, slowing down until she was apparently comfortable enough to turn her head around to throw Kira a pointed look.

"No problem. Shutting up." Kira beamed back, offering a thumbs up as she sat back.

Kira was all pep and encouragement as Malia took off again, albeit considerably quiet this time, giving small words of encouragement as Malia slowly accelerated until the car was chugging along down the road.

Lydia kept one hand on the console between herself and Malia, clearly ready to reach out and help steer at any moment, an action that did not seem to go over Malia's head judging by the way she kept glaring down at the hand as if it would move itself.

Lydia kept it there though as she gave careful instructions, her voice slightly raised so that Ariana could hear each tip. A small gesture but Ariana appreciated it, even if she was realising more by the minute how stressful driving seemed.

Ariana found herself only half paying attention to the road, her mind still determined to wander back to the earlier conversations with Liam and Genevieve, not to mention the stress she was carrying about Mason's involvement in everything now that he knew so much. She trusted Mason, she did. He was one of her best friends, but now he was just someone else to factor in when she thought about all the danger ahead.

Speaking of dangers ahead, Ariana was pulled out of her troubled thoughts as Malia yanked the steering wheel sharply, narrowly avoiding a tree as she swerved. Ariana felt her entire body pressing against the car door as they turned, wincing as Kira was slammed into her other side.

"Sorry!" Kira said quickly, righting herself as Malia continued to turn the wheel, causing the car to drive around in circles. "Malia, maybe try and stay on the actual road," she added as she glanced at Ariana to make sure she was okay.

Ariana gave a quick small smile to Kira as she straightened up, hugging her arms to her chest as she focused on the way Lydia's hand hovered on the wheel, ready to intervene again.

But Malia seemed to get the hang of things after a moment, taking a breath as Lydia offered more instructions. For a few more minutes there was a lull in the car, all focus on the road as Malia drove. It seemed like she was driving pretty smoothly now, other than some sharp turns as Lydia directed her quietly.

"Anyone wanna tell me where we're going? Or am I just driving until we run out of gas?" Malia asked after a while.

"The school," Lydia said as if that was obvious,. "Left here…" she pointed to an upcoming road, nodding as Malia made a slightly slower turn this time, "We can finish with parking practice in the lot."

Ariana squinted into the dark, trying to figure out where they were. A few of the buildings looked familiar but it was definitely not on the way to school. Ariana knew this area from her assassin work. This was a much rougher area, full of plenty of industrial buildings, and not too far from the Argent Warehouse. Definitely not a school zone. "Lydia…um, this isn't the way to school. We're heading downtown," she said, leaning forward past Kira to look ahead.

Lydia turned to frown at Ariana, confused. "What?"

"Yeah…you're right," Kira noted, glancing out the window too." If we want to go to the school, we should do a U-turn... Shouldn't we?" she asked Lydia.

Lydia turned back to face the front again, letting out a slow sigh, sinking into the seat. "No. Keep going," she said softly, something in her voice changing slightly. She was sitting very still now, one hand gripping the handle of the door.

Kira leaned around the back of Malia's headrest to get a better look at the road, a crease forming between her brows. "You sure? What-"

"Yes. We're almost there" Lydia cut Kira off. "We're almost there…"

Ariana frowned, leaning between the middle of the front seats to look ahead, her eyes taking in the downtown view. And then she looked at Lydia. Lydia glanced into the review mirror, locking eyes with Ariana with a somber expression, and it clicked.

The other girls seemed to realise at the same time, the car sinking into a somber silence as Malia drove, the only sound being Lydia's occasional soft directions for a turn, as they all waited for the destination to reveal itself, all eyes peeled for the sign of something deadly in the dark.

Or maybe just dead.

A/N: Well it's been a hot minute here! Thank you so much to all my readers for being so patient with me. I'm definitely still here and determined to keep writing FFY! If you have a moment, feel free to leave a lil review and let me know any thoughts/feelings/theories! Reviews always motivate me to keep writing and I love hearing people's thoughts! Thanks again for reading!