Don't Give Up on Me

15

During gym, Coach had the students climb a rock wall. Coach called Stiles and Erica to the wall after Scott and Allison had finished.

"Oh please-" Erica muttered.

"Erica," Coach called. "Dizzy? Is it vertigo?"

Lydia scoffed. "Vertigo's a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear. She's just freaking out."

"Erica."

"I'm fine," Erica replied.

"Coach, maybe it's not safe," Allison said.

Lydia glanced at Coach. "You know she's epileptic."

"Why doesn't anybody tell me this stuff?" Coach asked. "I have to get -- Erica, y-you're fine. Just -- just kick off from the wall. Th-There's a mat to catch you. Come on. See, you're fine. You're on the ground. You're all right. Let's go. Shake it off. You're fine."

Erica, determined to prove herself later, started going back to the rock wall and began having a seizure. Scott ran in, having sensed something.

Allison ran in and instructed, "Put her on her side. Put her on her side. How'd you know?"

Scott shrugged. "I just felt it."

---

Erica was taken to the hospital.

Melissa smiled. "It's been awhile since we saw you, Erica. You were being so good about taking your medication."

"Are you gonna tell my mom?" Erica asked worriedly.

"Well, I swear I don't want to, but there's this team of lawyers in the back who would break my legs, and I don't know if you've seen my legs, but for a girl my age, they're still probably hot. So -- doctor's gonna be in in a minute, okay?"

Erica nodded. "Okay."

Melissa left the room as Erica laid down, getting as comfortable as she could on the bed.

Derek walked in and said, "Lie still."

He picked up a bottle of medication. "Side effects may include anxiety, waking, acne, ulcerative colitis. Yeesh."

"Who are you?" Erica wondered.

"Let's just say we have a mutual friend. You get a warning right before you have a seizure."

"It's called an aura. It's -- it's like a metallic taste in my mouth."

Derek smiled. "You don't have to lie, Erica. What's it really taste like?"

"It tastes like blood."

"What if I told you that all of this could go away? The side effects, the symptoms, all of it. And what if all those things not only went away, but everything else got better."

"How?"

"Let me show you," Derek replied as he pulled her up and bit her.

Erica got back to school in time for lunch.

She walked into the cafeteria. She picked up an apple and took a bite from it before taking it with her as she walked out.

---

The next day at school, Scott was talking with Erica.

Scott said, "Two's not enough for Derek. I know he needs at least three. I don't think Ania is his beta, but she's obviously important given what I've seen of their interactions. So who's next?"

"Why does there have to be a next when we've already got you?" Erica asked. "Why's Ania important? Is it because she's a cop?"

"Who's next?" Scott repeated, ignoring the latter two questions.

"You know, I never knew what I looked like during a seizure until someone took a video and put it online."

"I don't care."

"It happened during class. I started seizing in my desk and everyone was saying how they should put something in my mouth until some genius reads the card on my key ring which tells him not to 'cause it could break my teeth."

"Erica."

"Do you know what happens next? I piss myself? And they start laughing. You know, the only good thing about seizures was that I never remembered them. Until some brilliant jerkoff had to go and put cameras in everybody's phones." She tried to seduce Scott. "Look at me now, Scott. That's right. You only have eyes for her."

---

Ania met Derek at a dimly lit subway station. She looked around with a frown. "Seriously? An old subway station?"

Derek shrugged. "I didn't have anywhere to go."

"You do know I have an apartment, right?"

"I don't want to impose."

"It's not an imposition if I offer."

"Ania, I know you're still nervous around me."

She scoffed. "What? No I'm not."

"Your chemosignals tell a different story."

"So you're smelling me now? Yeah, that's not creepy at all."

"Did you come here just to annoy me?"

"You're making it really easy to annoy you." She cracked a smile and sighed when Derek didn't give one in return. "I thought I'd check on you, see if you were okay."

He nodded. "I'm fine, Ania."

She studied him with a suspicious expression. "I don't believe you, but your poker face is impeccable."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm going to the rink. Want to come along?"

"Nah, I've gotta finish up some paperwork at the station. But you have fun. And stay out of trouble. I will arrest you if I have to."

She waved and left. Derek stared after her and said, "Bye, Ania."

---

Derek made his way to the ice rink, followed by Erica and Isaac.

He heard Scott talking to Boyd. "If you're looking for friends, you can do a lot better than Derek."

"That really hurts, Scott," Derek said. "I mean, if you're gonna review me, at least take a consensus. And don't judge Nora for her disability. Erica, how's life been for you since we met?"

"I'm not judging her."

Erica took a moment. "Hm. In a word, transformative."

"Isaac?" Derek called.

"Well, I'm a little bummed about being a fugitive, but other than that, I'm great," Isaac said.

"Okay, hold on," Scott said. "This isn't exactly a fair fight."

"Then go home, Scott," Derek shot back.

Scott growled. "I meant for them. Don't you get it? He's not doing this for you. He's just adding to his own power, okay? It's all about him. He makes you feel like he's giving you some kind of gift when all he's done is turn you into a bunch of guard dogs."

"It's true. It is about power."

"Don't," Scott told Boyd. "You don't wanna be like them."

"You're right," Boyd replied. "I wanna be like you."

A fight broke out.

When it was over, Derek and his betas made their way back to the subway station and he worked on training them.