Lost Inside A Scream

I had woken up, sweaty and full of panic. The dreams. They were back. And they were worse than ever.

And I was expected to forget about them so I could have a good first day of school.

Who said it was a good idea for me to leave Eichen House again? Oh yeah, that's right, Ms. Morell, the same person I was about to pass in the hallway, and who I would have to see last period for French. I wonder if she's any better at teaching than she is at counseling. Because she kinda sucks at that.

I tried my best to find some way to avoid her as she made her way towards me, and, as if on cue, a voice called my name.

But, of course, it was Stiles. Damn it.

"What do you want?" I groaned, turning around to look at him. couldn't help but notice dark circles similar to my own under his eyes as I ran the hand that wasn't holding my textbooks through my hair.

"Nice to see you, too." He winced, shifting his focus to the short redhead walking his way. "Oh, hey! Lydia!"

"Yes?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She didn't look insane. Then again, I didn't really, either.

"I have someone you need to meet. Penny, this is Lydia; Lydia, this is Penny. Hope you two can bond over your insanity and unwillingness to be nice to me." He said with a swift nod before walking away.

"Nice to meet you, Penny, but I gotta go." Lydia began to move towards a classroom. "Oh, and for the record, I am neither insane nor mean to Stiles."

Well, this day was off to an interesting start.

I began walking down the hall, studying the schedule on the sheet in my hands as I did so. Chemistry. I had chemistry first. And that's in the lab. Which is somewhere on campus. Hopefully somewhere easily found.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by two warm hands on my shoulders. I didn't have to look up to know they belonged to Scott.

"Better watch where you're going, Penny." He smiled, moving so he stood next to me instead of in front. "Don't need you running into someone."

"Sorry." I smiled. "I guess I'm just a little too focused on not being late to class. High school is actually a lot different from mental hospitals."

"Really? I had no idea." He laughed. "What do you have?"

"Chemistry."

"Lucky for you, so do I." He grinned, throwing his arm around my shoulders. "To the lab we go."

I gave him a thankful smile as he lead me out the doors and towards another building. "By the way, I met Lydia."

"Oh, great! Did Stiles introduce you?"

"Yeah. Told us we could bond over our insanity and hatred of him." I told him, rolling my eyes.

"You hate Stiles?"

"No." That wasn't a total lie. "He just-"

"Comes on a bit strong?" I nodded. "Yeah, that's Stiles. But I promise he'll tone it down after he gets to know you."

"I feel like you just described a puppy." I laughed. "Someone's been working at the vet for too long."

●●●

"Okay, guys, this is Penny. She works at the clinic with me now." Scott told the group at the lunch table he had just sat down at. I took the seat next to him, between him and Lydia.

"I'm Allison." A girl with dark brown hair said, grinning. "Nice to meet you."

"Isaac." The boy next to her said, raising his hand with a little wave motion.

"So, where are you coming from?" Lydia asked, turning to face me.

"I, um..."

"Eichen House. She was there the same time I was." Stiles said for me, mouth full of food.

"Well, you fit into our group perfectly already." Isaac laughed to himself.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, I just- y'know, like, we're not exactly the most normal kids here." He said, tensing ever so slightly, just enough for it to be visible.