Season of the Witch

"I'm fine, Lydia," October groaned into the phone. "Don't be such a worrywart."

"Worrywart? Seriously, Toby? How old are you again?" She could imagine Lydia rolling her eyes. "Why didn't you bring your phone again? You could have used Stiles' phone to call me! I had to talk to Greenburg about it.

"You told me to leave it at home. I didn't want to worry you."

"Well, I already am. I can't believe that piece of shit. Men suck."

October looked over to Isaac. He was still asleep, curled next to her in bed. She smiled lightly.

"Not all men," She said.

Lydia snorted. "Of course not. Anyway, what are you doing today?"

"I think the guys what me to train and answer some stuff."

"And, Mr. Curls will be there, I'm guessing?" Lydia teased, but she became serious. "They found out, too. Didn't they?"

October sighed. "Yeah. I might have to go to Deaton's later today, too. Train with him and whatnot."

"Well, aren’t you just a busy bee. Don't make plans for tomorrow. I need some more girl time. Allison's been avoiding me."

"She's probably still too busy with moving and stuff. Don't worry about that either, Lydia."

Lydia said something incoherent. October rose a brow, figuring the strawberry-blonde was cursing under her breath. October sighed, looking over at the clock. It was eleven twenty-three. She really didn't want to get out of bed, but considering in an house they had to go to the depot, she had to.

"I have to go," October rubbed her eyes. "I need to shower."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lydia sighed. "I better see you tomorrow."

The girls hung up the phone. October sat up and pulled at her pajama shorts. She already felt like today was not going to be her day. Quietly, she got off the bed and made her way to her bathroom. She disregarded her reflection when she stripped out of her clothes. She looked a mess. October had decided against showering the night before and regretted it. But, what's done was done.

October took a quick hot shower, washing her hair in the process. She tried not to think of what could happen throughout the day. It was hard though. All she could think about was the training, the questions, and how horrible she'd feel because she kept it for so long. October put on her robe, before she left the bathroom.

Isaac was still there, curled in a ball. October watched him for a moment. His brows were knitted together, sweat gathered on his forehead. It looked as though he was in pain. She stepped to him, kneeling on the ground to be face-to-face. Her hand reached out and touched his cheek lightly. It was obvious he was having a nightmare. Once she touched him, his body tensed. October didn't react fast enough.

Isaac's eyes opened, glowing yellow. His nails grew and he lashed out - claws hitting her cheek. October fell back, green eyes wide. She looked at him, completely shocked. But, she couldn’t blame him. It was obvious he was having a nightmare and he was completely vulnerable. October touched her cheek gently before glancing at her fingers. Bright red blood stuck to her fingers.

The teenage boy soon realized what he'd done. His eyes returned to the bright blue October was so used to. His claws receded back to his normal nails. Isaac sat up before reaching his hand out towards October. The young girl flinched. He stopped moving his hand.

"I-I'm so sorry, Toby," Isaac stood up.

October moved back when he stood. Her eyes were still wide when she got up from the ground. She ignored all the apologies Isaac was giving her. He still hadn't moved from where he stood. October went to her desk, pulling open her jewelry box. Blood stuck to the box, but she didn't mind. She'd clean it later. Quickly finding her ring, October slipped it on her finger.

As soon as the ring was on, she could feel the wound clotting. October breathed out deeply. She grabbed a tissue from her desk and wiped her cheek. She turned on her heels and bumped into Isaac's chest. His hands cupped her face; blue eyes stared down into green eyes.

"I'm sorry," He said. "I didn't… I didn't mean to."

October nodded, knowing that he didn't mean to. "I know, Isaac, I know."

"Hey, Toby, have you - oh," James walked into her room and stared at the two teens. "Uh, what's going on? Aren't you the kid that stayed with Toby in the hospital?"

October felt her cheeks redden when she pulled away from Isaac. She glared at her brother who looked at her innocently. Isaac leaned against her desk, looking around October's room.

"Nothing's going on," October crossed her arms over her chest. "James, this is Isaac. Isaac, this is my douche of a brother."

"You love me," James teased. "Anyway, have you finished packing?"

October shook her head. "No, not yet - almost, though."

"Okay. Finish by tonight, we're leaving tomorrow afternoon," He turned on his heels. "Oh, and don’t get pregnant."

She rolled her eyes and looked back at Isaac. His cheeks were red and his blue eyes were wide. He looked at her confused and a bit afraid of her brother. It was funny, really. October gave him a shrug and tried not to laugh.

"He isn't that scary," She said. "You can shower if you want - there's an extra towel in the linen closet."

Isaac laughed and shuffled into her bathroom. The young girl grabbed a wet wipe from her desk and cleaned the blood from her fingers before throwing it away. October turned to her closet and picked at the bloodstains on her robe, hoping there was a way to get rid of the stains. From in the bathroom, she could hear the water start. Digging through her closet, October pulled out a pair of old basketball shorts and tank-top. She quickly dressed, knowing that with her luck Isaac would be out of the bathroom before she'd be fully clothed. Luckily, though, she had another minute to spare before he came out.

Isaac was staring at her at the doorway as she filled her small purse with her necessities - wallet, keys, gum, and a small sachet. He ran a hand through his wet hair as he thought back to what happened when he had woken up. His heart clenched at the thought of hurting the girl… again. Isaac stepped toward her and stopped when her green eyes looked into his blue ones. How could one person make him feel this way? To be honest, he didn’t know how he felt. There was something about October that made his mind go blank and fill itself with a thousand thoughts of her.

His thoughts jumbled when her small pink lips curved into a smile. October let out a laugh as though she knew what he was thinking, but it wasn’t possible. She was going to be the death of him. The more he was around her, the more he felt for her. It wasn’t normal. This girl made moved to Beacon Hills to escape the supernatural world, but here she was - stuck in the crosshairs. Isaac didn’t know what to make of the girl. She was insane; she was gorgeous; she wasn't human and she was a liar.

And, that stuck out like a sore thumb. October had lied to keep her and her brother safe. But, Isaac didn’t care about that. It was strange to him. He didn't care that she had lied. He actually wanted her to keep that to herself, so she wouldn't feel pressured into helping their cause. Isaac realized, though, that it would have come out one way. If it weren't at the Depot, then it would've have been in battle. He didn’t like that thought at all. He didn't like to think that October would have to stick her neck out for the problems the werewolves were facing.

"Isaac?" October pulled him from his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

Isaac scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, why?"

"It looked like you were going to blow a fuse for a second there," She said, peering up at him.

He hadn't realized how close she got until then. She was a foot away. It would be so easy to grab her shoulders and plant a kiss on her small lips. He wondered how soft they'd be against his chapped ones. But, he took a step back. She wouldn't want him, no matter how badly he wished for that to be true. October rose a brow, confused as to why he had moved back so abruptly.

"We should go to Derek's," Was all he said.



The car ride was silent. No matter how many times October tried to strike up a conversation, Isaac would shoot it down by either answering with one word or not answering at all. It was honestly causing October to go mental. What the hell had she down to get the silent treatment from the boy? She had given up talking to him about half way through the drive. What was the point in just talking to herself?

As October exited her car, she didn't wait for Isaac. When she heard him slam his door closed, she locked her car. Isaac could have easily caught up to her with his long strides, but he stayed back. It was almost like he knew he shouldn't bother her, but he didn't know why.

"What the hell happened to you?" Peter greeted when October and Isaac entered the Depot.

October rolled her eyes. "You know, it's not the kind of thing you ask a girl when she walked into the room."

"Well," He gave her a sarcastic smile. "It's a good thing I'm not here to impress you."

She snorted and shook her head. Peter's sassiness was not what she wanted to deal with today. October wanted to train for a few hours, go to Deaton's, and pack for the funeral she had to go to. She did not want to have to talk more than she had to.

"What kind of weapon do you feel comfortable working with first?" Derek pulled out a cart and opened it.

October's eyes went wide as she looked them over. He had arrows and bows, crossbows, guns and different types of knives. He really was serious about her training.

"Um," She shook her head. "I don’t… It's like your prepping me to kill something."

"You might as well have to." He looked her in the eyes.

She looked at the other men in the room - they were all serious. "I don't understand."

"There might come a time where you might have to kill someone, October," Peter said. "I know you don't want to have to think about that, but it might happen."

"No."

"You can't just say no, Toby," Derek pinched the bridge of his nose. "What'll you do when you come face-to-face with another damn werewolf? Are you just going to say 'No, don't kill me, I won't kill you'? It doesn't work that way."

"I have my magic," She clenched her hands.

Derek growled. "You can't even control your own magic! What if you don't have the energy to do that? What if you're too scared or too hurt? What will you do?"

October didn't say anything. He was right. She didn't have full control on what she was doing. She wished he wasn't right, though. Rolling her eyes, October stepped to the cart. She touched the bow, smooth dark wood.

"I guess I'll go with this one first," She sighed, defeated.

Derek nodded and motioned her over to another room. This room was bigger and it already had targets marked. The quiver that rested on her shoulder felt heavy whenever she moved.

"Can you shoot with the thing?" Peter asked, keeping far from her as possible.

And, he was right to. October didn't know a damn thing about bows. She didn't even know how to hold one properly. Her silence gave him the answer he was looking for. Peter chuckled and made his way to the young girl.

"Hold it up and I'll help," He ordered.

October mimicked him under her breath while making a face. She brought the bow up and looked at Peter expectantly. He closed his eyes for moment, probably trying not to hurt her. When he opened his eyes again, he grabbed her arm and moved it higher. Her other hand was placed on the string with an arrow between her fingers.

"Keep this arm locked," Peter touched the arm that held the wooden part of the bow. "You see that target over there? Aim and fire."

Easier said than done. October took in a needed breath. She was going to fail horribly. Her arm was already getting tired, but she wasn’t going to give up on this. From where she stood, she looked at the target, pulled the string back and fired. It missed, going way over the intended mark. October dropped her arms, thinking of a new way to go about it.

"Don't give up," Peter said as he walked away.

October rolled her eyes. Bringing the bow back up, with a new arrow, she tried again. And again. And again. It was about her twenty-fifth try when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Isaac.

"What?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I think you should stop."

"Why?"

"Your fingers are bleeding."

October glanced at her fingers and, sure enough, they were bleeding. "Oh. I didn't realize."

"I know," He whispered. "Let's get something to eat, and we can start hand-to-hand combat."

October nodded. Food did sound good. It sounded fantastic, really. She placed the bow and quiver back on the cart. Derek and Peter had already left, seeing as no one was around. October left to the bathroom, needing to wash the blood from her fingers. She also wanted to see how far along her cuts from this morning healed. The mirror showed that the cut was a bit smaller from when she had left the house. It was going to take another few hours for it to heal right. October watched as the blood washed down the drain. She wanted her problems to be like that - to wash away and never come back. But, that was just hopeful wishing.



"What happened to Erica and Boyd?" October asked when they reached the supermarket.

Isaac tensed. "I think they found another pack."

"You think?" She looked at him. "You don't know?"

"Don't ask me," He said, anger etched on his face. "Ask Derek or something."

"I was just asking…"

October walked away from him. She didn't want to be around him when he was angry. She'd never seen him so angry and she didn't want to start now. Walking along the isles, October realized she had no clue what she wanted.

"You're Toby, right?" A voice asked.

The voice sent chills down her spine. October had to bite down on her tongue to keep from screaming. She turned to face Dennis. Half his face was bruised and his nose had bandages.

"So, where are your guard dogs? You leave them at home?" He sneered.

She rolled her eyes. "Leave me alone."

She turned on her heels and tried stepping away. But, he ran to her, grabbing her wrist roughly. October tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let up.

"Leave me the hell alone! Let go!" She yelled, hoping someone would hear her. "Isaac!"

Thank the gods for super hearing. One moment she was being held by Dennis, the next he was sprawled on the ground. Isaac looked over the boy before looking at October, checking for any visible marks. Seeing that there weren't any, he moved from Dennis to her. She hadn't realized she had been crying until he wiped them off.

"We should just go," He muttered quickly.

At that October nodded. She didn't want to be there any longer. Because of Dennis she wasn't going to be getting any food. It didn't upset her as much as she thought.

"You need to be more careful," Isaac said once they were outside.

October huffed. "It wasn't my fault!"

She walked ahead, not wanting to be lectured. She had enough lecturing from James, she didn't need to hear it from anyone else.

"You've got to understand, Toby," Isaac put a hand on October's shoulder. "It's not that I'm trying to treat you like a child. You have to be careful."

"Don’t you know that I already know this?" She turned to face him. "Thing just don't go the way I want them to."

He didn't say anything on the walk back to the Depot. She didn't say anything either. The tension between them was thick. October was fuming by the time she walked inside. Peter was about to say a snarky remark, but didn't say anything when October grabbed a pipe from the ground and threw it at him. He dodged it easily enough, making October scream in frustration.

"What the hell happened to Erica and Boyd? Chris said he let them go," October glared at Derek. "What happened to them? And, don't give me a bullshit excuse of an answer."

Peter mouthed wow as he rolled his eyes. He went to the huge window and looked at the city. Derek looked like he was going to explode. It was like he couldn't come up with a lie.

"I don't know," He finally said. "I'm guessing they found another pack."

"Or they didn't," Peter sang underneath his breath.

October looked at the three men. "What do you mean?"

Peter turned on his heels, hands clasped in front of him. "Or someone found them and took them."

"Why would they do that? Who?" Her eyes widened. "Other hunters?"

"Should I tell her or should you?"

"There's a pack of alphas," Derek finally gave in. "They wouldn't take them. Why would they?"

"To get to you."

Peter gave her a bright smile. "Someone's learning.'

October glared at him as she mulled everything over. A pack of alphas. That didn't sound good. It was obvious he didn’t tell Scott or she would have learned about it sooner. She was surprised Isaac hadn't mentioned anything about it, either.

"I'm going home," October said. "I need to talk to Deaton and pack for my trip."

She didn't wait for an okay. She was going to go whether they wanted her to or not. They didn't want to talk to anyone about the alpha pack and she wasn’t going to go and spread that joy. They knew it, too. Which is why she was able to get into her car and drive off. The drive to the animal shelter was short lived. October stayed in her car for a bit longer, staring straight ahead.

"Are you going to sit in there all day?" Scott knocked on her window.

She jumped at the sound, hand clutching her heart. "I-I… No."

She took off her seatbelt and got out of the car. Scott looked her over, possibly trying to see if she was okay. He noticed the scratches on her face.

"Uh, are you good?" He asked.

October nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He rose a brow but again said nothing about it. October smiled and walked past him to go inside. Dr. Deaton was in the back room, shuffling through some files. The cool ac hit her body, causing chills to break over her skin. Scott came in right after her. There was a small dog on the examination table, whimpering. October pouted before scratching the dog behind its ears.

"October," Dr. Deaton gave her a warm smile. "You're here early."

She nodded. "I might have to leave soon, though."

"Of course," He said. "I don't really have anything planned for you, though. Just go home."

"I don't want to go home," October said immediately. "I mean, not yet at least."

Dr. Deaton looked at her confused. "Is there a problem at home you want to discuss?"

Scott busied himself with the dog, taking away some of its pain. October bit her lip, contemplating whether to let everything out or not.

"I have a funeral to go to," She said, eyes casted downward. "I don't want to go… It'll all seem real if I do."

Dr. Deaton shut the cabinet he was looking through. He waved her over to a seat. October took the seat hesitantly.

"What happened? You don't have to say anything you don't want to," He said.

October shrugged. "Everyone is dying and I can't stop them from happening. They say life won't give you something you can't handle, but I can't handle this at all. Everything is falling apart. My secret is out and… I want things to return to normal - or at least as normal as it used to be."

October covered her face with her hands, hot tears running down her eyes. All she wanted was for things to be okay for once. But it was never going to happen. Not when she was a witch and not when her friends were werewolves. It was fair. Yet, she wouldn't change a thing that had happened in her life. She had a great friend, Lydia, that she'd do anything for. What she really wanted, though, was her family back. October felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Let it out," Dr. Deaton soothed. "Don't hold it in. Scott and I are here for you if you need anything."

"Yeah," Scott cleared his throat awkwardly. "It'll all get better."

October shook her head. "Do you really believe that?"

"I have to," He mumbled. "I didn't believe so at first. I me-mean, my mom knows I'm a werewolf, I don't have to hide it. And, Allison…"

"You love her a lot, don't you?" She looked at him.

"Yes."

October nodded. It was obvious how much love he had for her. But, Allison on the other hand… It seemed like she was forcing herself to move on. She was literally moving houses, going to France with her dad. October was surprised she wasn't moving schools as well.

October wrung her fingers together, feeling and hearing her bones crack. She really didn't want to go to the funeral. She knew all too well what was going to happen. They were going to pay their respects, cremate the bodies and send the ashes free at the willow tree near their old him. The thought of going back to that place gave October a headache. Scott must have noticed her quiet cry for help because he grabbed another chair and brought it to her. He took the seat and placed an arm across her shoulders. October brought her face into his chest and began crying.

This wasn't like her. It wasn't like her at all. What happened to the strong-willed girl? Is there any way for her to go back to that? As she cried, she realized there was no way back. With that thought, October cried harder.



That night, October called Lydia over. She couldn't stand being alone at that point. The strawberry-blonde had came almost immediately after hearing how distraught her friend was.

"I don't want to go, Lydia," October pulled at her sleeping shorts.

Lydia sighed deeply. "I know. But, you have to. It's your family."

October shrugged, eyes casted down. "I don't care. Well, I guess I do, but I have to go back to that place."

Lydia stayed quiet, eyeing the other girl. She didn't know what to say to that. So, instead, she wrapped her arms around the small girl. She had been crying before Lydia got to her house. Lydia could tell by her swollen red eyes and blotchy skin. October took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

"Part of me wishes that I wasn't a witch," She whispered. "But, then, I wouldn't have you or Stiles or anyone for that matter. Then, again, I'd still have my family intact."

Lydia smoothed out October's dark hair. "It'll all be okay soon. After you come back from the funeral, you and I could have a serious girl night. No distractions - no boys, no supernatural anything. Just us. That sounds good, doesn't it?"

October nodded. "Yeah, it does."