1. Redheads on the Loose

R.I.P. to my youthAnd you could call this the funeralI'm just telling the truthAnd you can play this at my funeral /Might go to Hell and there ain't no stoppingMight be a sinner and I might be a saint/Sweet little baby in a world full of painI gotta be honest, I don't know if I could take it  ~ The Neighborhood

You and I walk a fragile lineI have known it all this timeBut I never thought I'd live to see it break ~ Haunted ~ Taylor Swift

"I'm not having another movie night with you, Allison," Cody said as she pulled a sweatshirt over her head.

"Why not?" Allison asked.

"Because last time you invited Scott over, you made me watch Titanic, and then halfway through the movie you two started making out on the couch," she glared at her sister who gave her an innocent look. "While I was still sitting on it."

"Well," said Allison in a playful tone. "It wouldn't be so bad if you had a cuddle buddy." She poked her sister teasingly in the stomach. "You could call Derek." She grinned. Cody did not.

"Hey, if I had a dollar for every time in the past two days I've told you 'I don't want to talk about Derek' I could hire a hit man to kill you. Then I wouldn't have to deal with this problem," said Cody. "Besides," she grabbed the car keys. "I'm going to find Stiles. I haven't heard from him all weekend."

"That's because he's been outside Lydia's hospital room for the past two days," said Allison with a chuckle.

Cody made her way to the door. "You've got to be kidding me," she grumbled.

Sure enough, there was Stiles, stretched out across the chairs in the waiting area, grumbling in his sleep. He had a "get well soon" balloon tied around his wrist and he seemed to be having a very good dream. "Stiles," said Cody, tapping him on the arm. "Stiles!" He shot up, giving her an annoyed look. "Have you seriously been here all weekend?"

Stiles sat up, looking around the empty waiting area. "If I say yes, will you judge me?"

"Stiles," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I've been judging you since I met you. It's what best friends are for."

"Come on," said Stiles, stretching and standing. "Let's go to the vending machine."

They walked down the hall at a slow pace, Stiles still stretching out his legs. He yawned. "So, have you heard from-"

Cody whipped around to look at him, stopping him in his tracks. "If you say 'Derek' I swear to god I will strangle you."

Stiles put his hands up in surrender. "I didn't know it was such a touchy subject." Cody threw him a look. "Okay, fine, I did, but my curiosity got the best of me."

Cody sighed. "No, I haven't heard from him."

"Do you want to?" asked Stiles, his tone cautious.

Cod looked away. "I wish you would ask me simpler questions, Stilinski."

Stiles put his quarters in the vending machine. "So what's your biggest problem with him right now?"

"All he cares about is power," said Cody. She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, not wanting to be having this conversation. "He was willing to let Allison die to get to the alpha. And you saw how easily he killed Peter. He didn't care that that was Scott's only cure. He just wanted to be the alpha."

Stiles didn't say anything, just watched as his candy bar moved forward, then got stuck right before it fell. Stiles groaned irritably.

"Hey, can you help me out?" he asked softly.

"What?" she asked, pretending not to know what he meant.

"Can you do your-" he lowered his voice to a whisper. "-witch thing and get me my candy bar."

Cody pretended to think. "Hmm...no. Too risky. Someone could see."

Stiles glared at her. "Are you kidding me?" he snapped. Cody's devious smile told him she was not. This was payback for bringing up Derek. "Fine," scoffed Stiles. "I'll get it myself." He took hold of the sides of the machine and shook, adding more force when the candy wouldn't budge. He grabbed it hard and it teetered, then fell forward, the glass shattering on the floor. Stiles jumped away spastically.

"You idiot," said Cody.

Stiles grabbed her hand, pulling her back down the hallway. "It wasn't us," he said frantically.

A scream echoed through the hallway, practically splitting Cody's eardrums. She gripped her ears, trying desperately to block out the sound. Stiles changed directions and started running to Lydia's room, yelling her name in a panic. Once the screaming stopped, Cody followed him.

The shower was still running in her bathroom and the window was open. But Lydia was gone.

***

The sheriff was talking to the cops and Melissa McCall, asking for anything else to describe Lydia.

Stiles ran up to his dad. "She's five foot three, green eyes, fair skin, and her hair is actually strawberry blonde."

Cody grabbed the back of Stiles jacket and pulled him a few inches away from his dad. "God, Stiles," she said. "You're such a creep."

The sheriff turned to the two of them. "Why are you two here?" he asked.

"I just came to get this idiot," said Cody, pointing an accusatory finger at Stiles like everyone didn't know who she was talking about. "He's the one that's been here all weekend."

"All weekend?" asked the sheriff. Stiles gave a sheepish smile. "Why don't both of you get out of here so I can try and do my job, okay?"

"But-" Stiles began to protest.

Cody took hold of the back of his jacket again. "We're out of her. Sorry to bother you Sheriff Stilinski." She hauled Stiles out the hospital doors as he grumbled, irritated.

***

Scott crawled in the back of Stiles jeep and he and Cody turned to look at him. Stiles handed him Lydia's hospital gown.

"This is the one she was just wearing?" asked Scott.

Stiles nodded. "Just stick your face in it so we can find her."

"I'm not going to let anyone hurt her," Scott promised. "Not again."

Stiles nodded, starting the jeep and turning on the lights. The girl walking towards them came into view.

"What are you doing here? Someone's going to see us together," Scott said to Allison, who was now at the window.

"I don't care," she said. "She is my best friend and we have to find her before they do."

"I can find her before the cops," reassured Scott.

"How about before my father does?" asked Allison.

"Wait," said Cody. "He knows?"

Allison nodded. "I just saw him and three other guys leave our house in two SUVs."

"Father Murderer is out again with his hunting party," said Cody, her voice irritated. Cody opened the door and Allison crawled in, getting in the back seat next to Scott.

"If she's turning will they actually kill her?" asked Stiles as he drove. He was going about thirty over the speed limit.

"I don't know," said Allison, running her fingers through her hair. "They won't tell me anything."

"Cody?" Stiles asked.

Cody shook her head. "They tell me less than that."

Allison cut in. "All they say is we'll talk after Kate's funeral when 'the others' get here."

"What others?" asked Stiles.

"I don't know, they won't tell me that either," said Allison. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

"Okay," said Stiles. "Your family really needs to work on their communication skills. Scott!" he snapped, grabbing his best friend's attention. Scott had his head out the window, trying to catch Lydia's scent. It would have been funny if the situation hadn't been so serious. "Are we going the right way?"

Scott sniffed the air hard. "Take the next right!" he commanded.

Scott got back in before they pulled over. "Hey Cody," he said, grabbing Little Argent's attention. "Do you know where D-"

"Oh my god!" She snapped, pausing between each word for emphasis. "I'm going to kill all of you!"

Stiles grimaced. "She doesn't want to talk about Derek."

"Why not?" asked Scott. "I thought you guys were a-"

"Do not say 'a thing!' We were never 'a thing!' Jesus, why does everyone think that?" Cody snapped.

"Aside from your obvious feelings for him?" said Stiles under his breath. The other two snickered.

Cody glared at him, then Scott, then Allison. "Why do people think it's a good idea to piss off the witch?"

Scott shrugged. "I was only asking because Lydia's scent leads to the Hale house."

Cody crossed her arms with a huff. "Of course it does."

***

They crept up to the house slowly. Cody prayed Derek wasn't there. For the first time since she had met him she didn't want to see him.

"Why would she come here?" asked Stiles. "Has she ever even been here?"

Allison shook her head. "Not with me."

Stiles bent down and started skimming over the leaves, looking for something, footprints probably. "Hey look at this," he said, running his hand over a string. "It's a trip wire." He pulled it and there was a wooshing noise.

"Hey, Stiles," Scott called.

"Yeah, buddy-" Stiles said as he turned around to find his friend hanging upside down.

"Next time you see a trip wire," said Scott. "Don't trip it."

Cody tried really hard not to laugh. Just as they were heading over to cut him down he waved his hands frantically.

"Wait, wait," he said. "Someone's coming. Go!"

The three took off, each hiding behind different trees to wait for the stranger to pass. And of course, it was Chris Argent and his monster hunters that came out of the trees. Cody couldn't hear what they were saying, but it didn't look like her dad was going to hurt Scott. Apparently, Chris had said all he needed to because he turned and left. Allison, Cody, and Stiles ran over to him.

"What the hell was that about?" asked Cody.

"Oh, you know," said Scott, sounding pretty relaxed for a guy who was hanging upside-down. "Just another life threatening conversation with your father."

***

Cody had a disgusted look on her face. "So Lydia ate the liver form a dead body?" she asked.

"I didn't say she ate it," said Stiles, walking up the steps to the school. "I said it was missing. And besides, even if she did eat it, so what? It's the most nutritious part of the body."

"I never ate anyone's liver," said Scott.

"Yeah," Stiles snapped. "Cuz you're a real model for self-control."

"Well-" Cody started to say, but Stiles cut her off.

"And you don't even start, miss 'I fall in love with psycho werewolves and then burn other psycho werewolves alive!'"

"I am not in love-"

"Can we please not have this fight again?" said Scott. He sounded like a tired parent telling his children to stop bickering.

"As long as he stops bringing up Derek," grumbled Cody.

"Wait," said Stiles. "You're the model for this," he said to Scott. "We should be going over what happened to you. What was going through your mind when you were turning? What were you drawn to?"

"Allison," said Scott sheepishly.

Cody and Stiles rolled their eyes. "You are so unhelpful."

***

Cody opened up her locker, not expecting to find a dress hanging in there. "Allison!' she called across the hall, holding her dress up. "Did you put this in here?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked.

"I told you," she snapped. "I'm not going."

"It's Kate's funeral," said Allison. "You have to go."

Cody walked over to her sister. "I don't feel grief or sadness. I won't cry for her." She hung the dress in Allison's locker. "I'm not going." She turned on her heel, walking down the hall without looking back.

She was marching down the hall when she got a text. She pulled her phone out to look at it and ended up running head first into an open locker door. She fell back on the linoleum floor of the hallway. Several people around her laughed.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?" someone asked, reaching a hand down to help her up. She took it gratefully.

"Yeah," she said, rubbing at her forehead. "Just, you know, a little mortified." People were still laughing. She recognized the boy that had helped her up, Isaac Lahey. He was cute, tall and lanky, with sandy colored curly hair. Her mortification grew.

"Don't let 'em bug you," he said. "I never do." She smiled. "I'm Isaac," he said.

"I know," Cody said. When it came out of her mouth she wished it hadn't. "We have history together."

Isaac's eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh yeah, Cody right?" She nodded. "Cool."

He seemed a little bit shy, but nice none the less. She nodded, not sure what else to say.

"Sorry I hit you with my locker," he said.

"Sorry I hit your locker with my head," she said with a chuckle.

Isaac laughed. He began gathering his books. "Well, if you're not mad about the locker incident tomorrow, feel free to sit next to me in class."

"Okay," said Cody with a smile. "I will."

He smiled at her as he walked away.

***

Everyone told her she looked pretty. They all said it was going to be okay. Cody knew that wasn't true. She had that feeling again, in the pit of her stomach, that something bad was about to happen. The reporters were just the start of it. Her mom and dad shielded her and Allison from their cameras and questions and led them to their seats. There were only a few there. They only expected a few people to show up.

Cody bounced her leg up and down like she always did when she was nervous. Control, she told herself. Focus on control. There were a lot of leaves around her. A lot of kindling for a fire. That would only make things worse. Much much worse.

She looked up when she heard someone approaching. Her eyes landed on a man who looked to be in his mid-seventies. He wore an expensive suit. His appearance gave Cody a feeling of foreboding. Her father called him Gerard. She gave Allison a questioning look, but her sister was just as in the dark as she was. The man turned to them.

"Do you remember me?" he asked. He had an unsettling voice. The girls shook their heads. "Well, I haven't seen you two since you were three. So I don't suppose you'd call me grandpa." They looked away. "So," he went on. "If it's comfortable, call me Gerard. For the time being. But I would prefer grandpa." He sat down.

Cody took her sister's hand. She could feel the anxiety radiating off of Allison, but it was nothing compared to her own.

***

Scott was calling Allison frantically. Stiles kept calling Cody. They were about to head home from the funeral when Cody finally answered.

"What, Stiles?" she asked.

"We need your help," he said.

"Why do you need my help?"

"Scott heard Lydia screaming, but he can't catch her scent."

"What am I supposed to do about it?" asked Cody.

"Well," snapped Stiles. "We were hoping you would get your witchy ass over here and do some freakin' magic for us."

"I don't know what you expect me to do," said Cody when she found Stiles. "The only spells I've read are off the internet."

"I don't care," said Stiles, waving his arms around frantically. "I don't care. Anything that could help find her is fine with me."

Cody sighed. "Okay, I guess I can try. I need a map of the town, something Lydia has touched, and some type of powder. I guess dirt will do."

Stiles pulled the map out of the glove compartment of his car, then reached into his bag and grabbed Lydia's hospital gown.

"You still have this?" asked Cody. Stiles just stared at her. "You're a real creep," she said, taking the gown from him. She went to work.

She drew the circle in the dirt just like it had said to on the website she read. She made all the intricate designs. They seemed to be imbedded in her brain, she could see them so clearly. She set the map on the ground and the gown right next it in the center of the large circle. She grabbed a handful of dirt, placed it on the map, and began saying the words. The dirt moved as she spoke, forming a path from her location out towards Lydia. It took a moment, but when the dirt stopped moving the outer circle lit in flames, signifying the spells completion.

"She's at the edge of the wood," said Cody, giving Stiles her exact location. "Go, get her. I'll be fine."

Stiles took off without another word, leaving Cody a little bit irritated that he didn't even ask if she was okay, or say thank you. She swayed on the spot, her vision spotty and nose bleeding. She had never done a real spell before and it had taken a toll on her. She fell and just laid on the ground for a moment, focusing on the feeling of the leaves under her palms and the wind on her skin. She sat up when she heard a shuffling.

"Need some help, little witch?" Derek asked as he came into view.

Cody wiped at her nose, embarrassed. "Not from you," she said.

He was at the edge of the circle now, watching the sparks die away with her energy. He looked impressed.

"You did your first real spell, huh?" She didn't look at him. "Come on, Cody," he said as he made his way towards her. He squatted down so he could look her in the eyes. "This 'hard to get game' will only last you so long. Stop wasting our time and just give it up."

"I'm not playing a game," said Cody, sounding just as tired as she felt. "I just don't like you."

Derek chuckled. "I didn't even need to listen to your heart to know that you're lying."

"So what?" snapped Cody. "You're still a jerk." She was aware of how childish she sounded, but she didn't care. This was her chance to let him know exactly why she was mad. "You wouldn't even help me save my sister. You wouldn't let Scott have the cure. All you cared about was becoming the alpha. Is that why you helped me with my magic? So you could get me in your pack once you became the alpha?"

"You know that's not why I wanted to help you," said Derek. Cody rolled her eyes. "It's true. We're friends, remember?"

"Not right now, we're not," said Cody, sinking back to the ground and looking up at the sky. She was too tired to get up right then. She laid spread eagle in the ground, avoiding Derek's gaze. "Just go," she said, waving him away.

Derek chuckled. "Come on," he said, scooping her up into his arms like she was a small child. "I'll take you home. Or as close as I can get without your father shooting me full of arrows."

"Derek, don't," she said, kicking her legs and try to get free. Of course, she couldn't because Derek was not only a muscly guy already, he was now the alpha. "I'm mad at you!"

"I know," he said. He didn't let her go. As irritated as she was with him, she was exhausted. She didn't want to be carriedby him, but she sunk into his arms and let him carry her anyway. She wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head against his chest out of exhaustion. "I thought you didn't like me," said Derek. Cody didn't need to look up to see the smirk on his face.

She sighed, content with her position and closed her eyes. "Shut up."

(A/N: bonus gifs of Cody. Every gif/image I use for this character is Davina Claire from The Originals aka Danielle Campbell. Not even sorry. Side note: what must it be like to be that pretty?)