Chapter 1: Werewolves and First Line
The woods were quiet tonight. The trees stood tall and dark through my bedroom window. Flickers of light shone through them from the flashlights of the search party. Not even ten minutes ago, Mom had answered the door to Sheriff Stilinski. He asked if we had noticed anything unusual in the woods lately or any suspicious persons around the Preserve. My curiosity had gotten the better of me and I asked about the sudden interest. Mr. Stilinski had a certain look about him when he didn't quite know how to answer a question. After years of friendship with Stiles and the bizarre things he could ask, it was a look I was pretty familiar with. "A body was found by two hikers earlier this evening." Mom gasped and carried a brief conversation with the Sheriff before he thanked us for our time and cooperation. "Be careful Mr. Stilinski!" I called to him as he climbed back into the cruiser. He nodded, giving me a small half-smile and pulled away further into the Preserve. Nothing ever happened in Beacon Hills and especially nothing like a potential murder.
I wandered back up the stairs, into my bedroom and sat staring out over the Preserve. Maybe the body was dumped? Maybe it was an animal attack? I shook my head, hoping to clear the thoughts from my mind. The Sheriff's department would figure this all out. They had to. I forced myself away from the window and toward my closet. Tomorrow would be our first day of Sophomore year and that meant I had to piece together my one 'I'm actually trying today' outfit of the semester. I pondered a blue blazer and some dark high waisted skinny jeans with black flats and a Captain America t-shirt to keep everything casual. I hung my choices on the back of the closet door as my phone went off. No one else had the Imperial March set as their ringtone, so I didn't even bother with checking the caller ID. "Yes Stiles?" I spoke into the receiver, waiting for him to start talking but also half knowing what it was he was calling about. "Lana! Wanna come with me and Scott into the woods?" There was whispering before Stiles elaborated. "My Dad got a crazy call on the scanner earlier about two hikers finding a body out in the woods. We're gonna go look for it!" The excitement was evident in his voice as he spoke and through the faint sounds I could make out, I could easily envision Scott holding his phone up for Stiles as he shifted and sped down the road in the baby blue Jeep we had fixed up this summer.
I huffed a sigh. "You shouldn't be on the phone while you're driving Stiles." I replied.
"I'm not. You're on speakerphone." I rolled my eyes.
"I'm gonna pass Sty..." I trailed off.
"What? Why?" He asked, his previously animated voice falling slightly.
"Well, A: like all of your other schemes to snoop around a crime scene, your dad is definitely going to catch you and, B: it's a school night and I don't feel like dragging ass tomorrow morning. Besides, I can watch the search party from my bedroom window if I get too curious." I reasoned, and he huffed.
"Okay fine party pooper. We'll go without you." I heard Scott faintly in the background say hello to me.
"Hi Scott. Be careful and text me when you get home alright Stilinski? You too McCall." Both boys chorused a yes before exchanging goodbyes and hanging up. I shut off the light and climbed into bed, trying not to focus on the lights through my window. This didn't make me fear the woods. Not even in the slightest. There was plenty of death in the forest around my house and that wasn't a terrifying concept to me. Death happened, it was something to be accepted not feared. It was the things that could kill you that worried me.
The next morning I woke to the sound of my alarm, not remembering when I had fallen asleep the night before. I checked my phone immediately, finding two messages from the boys and releasing a sigh of relief. I made quick work of my morning routine and made my way downstairs. "Good morning Lana." Mom called from the living room as she heard me thunder down the stairs. "Morning." I called back. I packed some snacks for Scott and Stiles after lacrosse practice and grabbed a quick cup of coffee. "Today's your first practice right?" Mom had moved from the living room to place her mug in the sink. "Yeah. Finstock wants my CPR and emergency paperwork again." I said with a sigh. "It's not like anyone else is volunteering to be the team medic." She chuckled as I rolled my eyes. The beep of a horn sounded from the driveway. "That's Stiles. I'll see you later Mom." I called as I rushed out the door.
Stiles sat in his Jeep, smiling through the windshield at me. "Have I told you how lovely you are lately?" He spoke as I opened the passenger door, goofy grin still firmly in place.
"What do you want?" I replied as he feigned hurt.
"Why do you think I want something? I'm hurt Lana. I thought we were friends..." He trailed off as I stared at him, arms crossed and unimpressed with his flattery. "Fine! What did my Dad say when he came over last night?" I climbed into the Jeep, fastened my seatbelt and waited for him to reverse back onto the road before speaking. "He didn't say anything you don't already know. He asked if we'd seen anything unusual lately and if there was anyone suspicious around the property." I turned to look at him as he focused on the road. "Just the usual questions." He nodded quickly, mulling it over for a few moments.
"So have you seen anything weird?" I shook my head. "Come on! Nothing? Half of a body shows up in the woods and you've got no ideas!" Stiles gushed for a moment, turning to look at me as he turned onto the main road that lead straight to the high school. "What do you mean 'half a body'? I thought it was a body, as in, whole." My eyebrows furrowed together at this new piece of information. "Oh shit! Yeah, that was the best part! The hikers only found half." Stiles continued to speak animatedly about how the local police had called in state troopers to help with the search and how they were leaning toward the possibility of an animal attack judging by the way the body was severed in half. "Stiles, as much as I love lateral amputation, I'm gonna ask that you change the subject." I cringed as he mentioned that only the lower half of the body was recovered, leaving it unidentifiable.
"Right. Sorry." He said with a cringe of his own. "Scott said he lost his inhaler out in the woods so we were gonna go look for it after practice. You up to joining us?" Stiles asked as he pulled into the parking lot. "Sure." I replied, nodding my head. We climbed out of the Jeep and headed toward the front stairs. "Speaking of Scott, there he is." I pointed in the direction of our shaggy haired friend before following after Stiles as he took off ahead. He stopped short however as a silver Porsche pulled up into the spot next to Scott at the bike rack. Jackson Whitmore stepped out, hitting Scott with his door in the process and then muttered something about watching the paint job. He cast an uncomfortably appraising look my direction as I stopped beside Scott before continuing on up the stairs away from us.
"Okay, let's see this thing." Stiles prompted as he approached Scott. The latter raised his shirt to reveal a large gauze pad on his side. "Ooh!" Scott dropped his shirt, quickly scanning the surrounding area. "Yeah, whoa. It was too dark to see much, but I'm pretty sure it was a wolf."
"A wolf bit you?" Stiles asked as I looked incredulously at Scott.
"Uh-huh." Which earned nothing but denial from Stiles. "I heard a wolf howling." Scott pressed again. "No, you didn't." Stiles sassed back, rolling his eyes lightly. I could do nothing but stand back and watch the idiocy unfold at this point. "What do you mean, 'no, I didn't'? How do you know what I heard?" Scott rebutted, and I knew it was my time to earn participation points for the day. "Scott, there haven't been wolves in California for at least sixty years." I spoke up. "Really?" He asked, slightly dumbfounded which wasn't an uncommon expression on his face. "Yes really, there are no wolves in California. It must have been something else that bit you Scotty." I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Alright, well if you don't believe me about the wolf, then you're definitely not gonna believe me when I tell you I found the body." Scott turned to look at Stiles more directly and the latter looked like he was going to explode from excitement. "You- are you kidding me?" He nearly screamed his delight. "No, man, I wish. I'm gonna have nightmares for a month."
"Oh, God, that is freakin' awesome! I mean, this has seriously gotta be the best thing that's happened in this town since-" He broke into a pause for a moment, and just as I was about to ask him to go on, he picked up again. "Since the birth of Lydia Martin." I rolled my eyes, casting a sideways glance at Scott as Stiles called out to the queen bee herself. "Hey, Lydia! You look... like you're gonna ignore me..." It took all of my self-control to suppress the woofing laughter that threatened to burst forth.
"You're the cause of this, you know." Stiles turned and shook a finger at Scott.
"Uh-huh." Scott replied as we walked up the front stairs.
"Yep, the both of you. Draggin' me down to your nerd depths. I'm a nerd by association. I've been Scarlet-nerded by you." Stiles ranted at his latest rejection from Lydia Martin, causing me to roll my eyes. "Yes, says the kid who belongs to an online gaming community that fights supernatural creatures and just so happens to be an avid Star Wars fan." Scott chuckled beside me at Stiles' aghast look. "At least I'm not fluent in elvish." He bickered back. "Oh how you wound me, mellon." I laughed at the look on his face as he had to register that I had slipped Sindarin casually into conversation again. "See! There's that elvish crap again!" He flailed his arms. "God, why am I friends with you?" Scott chuckled as Stiles lead the way down the hall and to our first class. "I think it's really cool." I smiled.
"Thanks Scotty. I know he does too, he's just got his boxers in a bunch because of Lydia." We shared a laugh and I slid into the open seat beside the window, just in front of Stiles and turned my attention to the syllabus on my desk. Kafka, great.
I had already begun listing ideas for three essays as our English teacher prattled on about something or other. "As you all know, there indeed was a body found in the woods last night. And I am sure your eager little minds are coming up with various macabre scenarios as to what happened. But I am here to tell you that the police have a suspect in custody, which means you can give your undivided attention to the syllabus which is on your desk outlining this semester." My head snapped up as I turned to look at Stiles. "A suspect?" I mouthed, earning a shrug from the boy. I shook my head. For the nosy son of the Sheriff he was pretty bad at keeping up with things.
English passed by quickly. The only truly interesting thing was the addition of the new girl, Allison Argent, to the student body. We had a math class together and she seemed nice enough, polite and a little shy but she seemed cool. Naturally, it seemed, she was swooped up by Lydia and Jackson and pulled along to lacrosse practice.
I stopped by the locker room before heading out onto the field to hand Coach Finstock my certifications. "Thanks Sullivan. I don't think we'd make it through the season without you." He clapped me on the back rather hard, causing me to nearly lose my balance. "It's no problem Coach." I smiled, turning to walk out onto the field.
"That reminds me Sullivan, head down to the nurse and make sure the kits are stocked." I smiled again. "I already did Coach. I had a free period."
"Sullivan, you're like the daughter I never wanted!" He clapped me on the shoulder again before heading out toward the field. "Thanks... I think?" I shook my head and followed some of the lacrosse players out. "Hey Lana!" Danny greeted. Danny was our goalie. We had met late in middle school and bonded our freshmen year when he first told me he was gay. I helped him tell his parents and Jackson and we've been close ever since. "Hi Danny! How are you?" I replied as he pulled me into a hug. "I'm great gorgeous. How are you?" He left his arm thrown across my shoulders. "I'm wonderful. Are you not playing goal today?" I asked, noticing that he wasn't carrying his usual stick. "Not just yet. Coach is putting your friend McCall in first." I nodded. "Oh, okay. Have a good practice handsome!" Danny winked as he jogged out onto the field. I spotted Stiles and took a seat on the bench beside him, nodding my acknowledgements. "So, Finstock put Scott in for goal?" I asked as I turned to scan the bleachers while earning a nod from the teen next to me. "Yeah, something about wanting the guys to score some goals and boost their self-esteem." I noticed Allison and Lydia in the stands watching the practice, talking amongst themselves. Allison saw me as well and offered a good-natured wave which I returned.
I rummaged around in my bag for a moment before pulling out the snacks that I had packed and dangled them in front of Stiles' face. "Oh my God! I love you!" He exclaimed, reaching forward and snagging the Oreos. "You're literally the greatest person alive, you know that right?"
"I was beginning to doubt myself because, you know, I'm fluent in elvish and that's nerdy apparently." I was guilting him now. It hadn't hurt my feelings when he'd said it originally but I was trying to teach him a lesson. "I know, I know. I'm sorry." He mumbled around a large bite of cookie. "Apology accepted." I turned my attention to the field, watching as the team lined up to go against Scott. The whistle was blown and Scott clutched his head as if he were in pain. "Come on Scotty!" I called from the bench, trying my best to encourage him just as he took a ball to the face mask. "It's alright Scott! You got this!" I cheered. Beside me, Stiles had begun chewing on his lacrosse glove which was one of his many habits I always hated and Scott righted himself before blocking the next goal. And then the next, and the next. "Who is that?" I heard Allison ask to Lydia. "I'm not sure." She answered, sounding perplexed. "He seems pretty good." Allison went on, causing Lydia to nod, "very good."
"Shit, here comes Jackson." I hushed to Stiles as Whitmore moved to the front of the line with an aggressive wave of his lacrosse stick. He took a running start toward the goal and Scott before lobbing the ball toward the goal. It took me a moment to register that Scotty had actually caught it as Stiles leapt to his feet beside me cheering. Coach stood to the side of the field, mouth agape as he looked over the field.
Practice had finished a half hour ago and we were now wandering through the Preserve looking for Scott's inhaler. Scott led the way as he yammered on and on about the events that lead to his attack last night. The boys splashed through a creek while I balanced along a fallen tree. With how far into the woods we had walked, I began to realize I hadn't gone this far in a long time. "I don't- I don't know what it was. It was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball. And that's not the only weird thing. I- I can... hear stuff I shouldn't be able to hear. Smell things." Scott struggled to explain as we walked through the trees. "Smell things? Like what?" Stiles prompted as we paused for a moment.
"Like the mint-mojito gum in your pocket and the Chex mix in Lana's bag." Scott explained, causing me to blanche. I hadn't told him what snacks I had packed. "I don't have any mint-mojito..." Stiles trailed off pulling the poorly wrapped, half stick of gum from his pocket as I shook the bag of Chex. "And this all started with the bite?" I asked, casting a look at Stiles, silently communicating. He was slightly freaked out by this, and I certainly didn't blame him. "What if it's like an infection, like my body's flooding with adrenaline before I go into shock or something?" The concern was clear in Scott's voice as he fretted over the idea that he might be dying.
"You know what? I actually think I have heard of this. It's a specific kind of infection." Stiles responded calmly, stiffening his upper lip to keep from laughing. He looked to me quickly, agreeing to our silent plan. "Are you serious?" Scott asked, "is he serious Lana?" He spun on his heel, puppy dog eyes pleading for an answer. "I'm afraid so Scott. I think it's called lycanthropy." I stayed stone-faced as Stiles agreed. "What is that? Is that bad?" Scott clung to our every word. How he had gone sixteen years without so much as watching a monster movie scared me. Stiles struggled for a moment, but disguised his laughter as a clearing of his throat. "Oh yeah, it's the worst. But only once a month." The short-haired boy confessed.
"Once a month?" Scott asked, his brows furrowing. He turned quickly to me, as if asking for reassurance. I nodded, muttering a small 'yeah' in response. "Mm-hmm, on the night of the full moon." Stiles paused as he released a cartoony, comical howl. As I choked on my laughter, Scott turned from us angrily and began the trek through the woods anew. "Hey, you're the one that heard a wolf howling." Stiles added in our defence.
"Hey, there could be something seriously wrong with me!" Scott scolded, frustration evident in his tone. "I know! You're a werewolf! Rrr!" Stiles mimed claws, earning a stern look from Scott. "I mean really Scott, lighten up. If we thought it was anything life threatening we wouldn't be making jokes about it." I soothed, trying to get the shaggy haired boy to understand. "Of course! But if you see me in Shop class trying to melt all the silver I can find, it's 'cause Friday's a full moon." Stiles managed to get one last quip in before we came to a halt in the middle of the woods. Scott stooped lowly to the ground and began scanning over the leaves
"This is it. This is where I found the body." Scott stated as he continued, eyes never raising from the ground. "Are you sure? Because I'm not really seeing a body here Scotty." There wasn't any blood or distinct disturbances in the leaves that would mean otherwise. "No, I- I could have sworn this was it. I saw the body, dropped my inhaler. The deer came running..." Scott continued to rummage in the leaves as I stood up. "Maybe the killer moved the body." Stiles suggested with a nonchalant shrug. Like we weren't in the woods looking for an inhaler and the other half of a dead body. "If he did, I hope he left my inhaler. Those things are like eighty bucks." Really? There was potentially a murderer out here somewhere and all Scott could think about was how much a lost inhaler would cost him? It was times like these I seriously questioned our friendship.
Stiles roughly smacked Scott on the shoulder gaining his attention as he motioned toward the new arrival. The boys stood shoulder to shoulder in front of me, as if they were trying to hide me from view. Lovable idiots. He was older, not much older than us it would seem. Dark hair, dark clothes but the most interesting eyes I'd ever seen. You remembered a pair of eyes like that. His were a hazy, light green color, so light they were almost gray. He carried a brooding sense about him and a serious, authoritative demeanor. I wonder if it's exhausting being the walking cliché of the tall, dark and handsome stereotype. "What are you doing here? Huh? This is private property." The voice to match the face. The face that was just so familiar the longer I watched it. "Uh, sorry man, we didn't know." Stiles stuttered, the eyes glanced at him before turning to Scott. "Yeah, we were just looking for something but- uh, forget it." The eyes flickered to me as he tossed Scott's inhaler to the boy. "Derek?" I spoke, finally making the connection. The light twitch at the corner of his lips confirmed my suspicions as he turned and walked away.
I turned to look at Scott and Stiles, who had just raised their gawking eyes from the inhaler in Scott's hand. "Um, alright. Come on, I gotta get to work." Stiles stared at him for a moment, an expression between disbelief and confusion written on his face. "Dude, that was Derek Hale. You remember right? He was only a few years older than us." Stiles spoke quickly, awaiting Scott's answer. "Remember what?" The latter replied, confusion and mild annoyance taking over his tone. "His family. They burned to death in a fire like, ten years ago." I shook my head. "It was six years ago. The Hale's were the only other house on the Preserve. I wonder what he's doing back?" I spoke more to myself than to my companions. "You know him?" Stiles asked like it wasn't obvious.
I nodded my head, "yeah. I used to play with the Hale kids when I was younger. Derek carried me home after I broke my wrist when I was nine." Stiles looked at me as though he expected more information but I didn't have anything that would interest him. I did know that I would be paying a visit to the old Hale house eventually to check and see if Derek had been back there. From there I led the way back out of the woods to Stiles' Jeep and they dropped me off at home. I waved goodbye from the front porch and made my way upstairs. There was something not right about Scott's bite and I needed to look into what it might be.
Stiles picked me up extra early the next morning. We had lacrosse eliminations first thing. "So, any word on the body?" I asked, turning partially in my seat to look at Stiles as he drove. "No, nothing yet. They sent out a fiber analysis on some hairs they found on the body, so hopefully those will be in soon." I nodded in agreement. Then they would know for certain what had happened or, at the very least, have a lead. "Sty..." I trailed off. I couldn't bring myself to say what I was thinking or bring up the nearly three hours I spent researching werewolves last night. "What's up Lan?" He replied, quickly looking at me before we made the turn in the parking lot. "Nothing... It's just- what if.. It's stupid." I shook my head furiously, trying to dispel the thought and banish my stuttering.
"What if what? What if Scott's actually a werewolf?" Stiles cocked an eyebrow as he spoke. I simply shrugged. "I said it was stupid. Forget I said anything." One look at my sullen face and any joke he had about my suspicions vanished. "Hey, don't be like that. Why do you think he's a werewolf?" Stiles asked, pulling me aside beside the locker room door.
"His heightened sense of smell and maybe other senses, his agility on the field yesterday. I mean, I know he practiced really hard this summer but, what he did was impossible. And he hasn't needed his inhaler since we got it from the woods." I looked up at Stiles from under my lashes. "I mean, maybe it was a fluke thing yesterday and he'll be back to normal today but, I don't know. I'm worried about him. And it probably wasn't such a good idea to research the supernatural because I'm a little freaked out." I reasoned as Stiles fidgeted in place. Someone had taken too much Adderall this morning. "I know what you mean. I was up last night doing some research too and I don't wanna believe it but, if Scott does anything weird today then we'll see if we can figure something out, if not then we forget all of this ever happened and go back to the way things were. Cool?" I nodded my agreement and shooed Stiles into the locker room to dress for practice while I made my way out to the field.
I took my seat on the bench and watched as some of the players did warm ups or stood talking on the field. Scott met me out there a few minutes later, putting on his gloves. "Scott! Lana! Wait up!" Stiles' voice cracked as he raced around bystanders, before coming to a stumbling halt behind the bench. "Stiles, I'm playing the first elimination, man. Can it wait?" Stiles took a few deep breaths before launching into whatever had him so excited. "Just hold on, okay? I overheard my dad on the phone. The fiber analysis came back from the lab in L.A. They found animal hairs on the body from the woods!" He huffed. My attention was grasped immediately. "Stiles, I gotta go." Scotty finished gearing up and made his way to the field. "Wait, no! Scott! You're not gonna believe what the animal was!" Stiles tried to follow him but he was already out on the field. "Sty, what was it?" I moved over on the bench so he could sit beside me. "It was a wolf." His voice was quiet and my eyes widened at his words. A wolf. That couldn't be possible. "Seriously?" I asked, earning a nod from Stiles. "You don't think that..." I trailed off, remembering our conversation this morning outside the locker room. "No, we'll stick to the plan but I can't help but feel like something seriously weird is going on."
Coach called all the players into a huddle for the first elimination, pep talking or whatever his equivalent was, before launching straight into the first game. Scott caught a pass and started to take off down field before he was blindsided by Jackson. "You got this Scotty!" I called from my seat beside Stiles, who was watching the game mouth agape. Scott won his face-off against Jackson and took off up the field, weaving between the other players, dodging left and right before coming to a wall of three defensemen. He jumped up, front flipping over all three of the opposition before landing and making a goal. His teammates rushed him, congratulating him until Coach Finstock called him over. Coach stood not too far from our place on the bench as Scott ran over. "Get over here! What in God's name was that? This is a lacrosse field. What, are you trying out for the gymnastics team?" He all but yelled at Scott as he stood there before him. "No, Coach."
"What the hell was that?" Finstock answered back, waving a hand toward the field for enfices. "I don't know. I- just trying to make the shot." Scott responded, his face blank and unsure of Coach's tone. "Yeah, well you made the shot. And guess what? You're startin', buddy. You made first line. Come on!" Scotty cast a bright smile toward Stiles and I from our place on the bench as everyone who had heard the news cheered. I smiled back before sharing a quick glance with Stiles. I knew exactly what we would be doing after school today.
Stiles and I skipped last period, stopped at the library to pick up a few books and then rushed back to his house to start researching. We poured over the information for hours. Anything I could find on Lycaon and werewolves, researching everything and anything that fit Scott's 'symptoms'. "I think we've got enough to convince Scott. Or at least we should..." My voice trailed off. I sat at the foot of his bed and organized all of my notes, printed articles and books, double checking everything. "You wanna call him or should I?" I asked, pulling my knees to my chest. "I will." Stiles replied and left a message for Scott to come over as soon as he got out of work. We fell back into research, Stiles was surfing the net again and I returned to hitting the books.
A loud knock at Stiles' bedroom door caused us both to jump before he hurried to answer it. From my place on the bed I could see Scott standing there, smiling like a doofus. "Get in. You gotta see this thing. I've been up all night reading - websites, books. All this information." Stiles huffed and moved to sit in his desk chair as Scott followed. Scott glanced at me quickly, smiling before responding. "How much Adderall have you had today?" He asked with a hint of a chuckle in his voice.
"A lot. Doesn't matter. Okay, just listen." Stiles confirmed my earlier suspicions and tried to steer the conversation back in its intended direction. "Oh, is this about the body? Did they find out who did it?" Scott posed again, taking a seat beside me. Jesus, he was so naively oblivious. I almost envied him. Almost. "No, they're still questioning people, even Derek Hale." That was news to me. "Oh, the guy in the woods that we saw the other day." Scott, work with me here buddy. I was almost certain that if Stiles didn't get to the point of this, he was going to explode. "Yeah, but that's not it, okay." I interjected. Causing both boys to look at me. Stiles with a look of gratitude and Scott with a look of confusion.
"What, then?" I sighed not exactly knowing how to answer Scott, but thankfully I didn't have to as Stiles stepped in. "Remember the joke from the other day? Not a joke anymore. The wolf - the bite in the woods." Stiles shuffled through some papers. "We started doing all this reading. Do you even know why a wolf howls?" We motioned between he and myself. "Should I?" Scott asked, an ever present confusion- it seemed- returning to his voice. "It's a signal. When a wolf's alone, it howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack." I explained quickly as Stiles nodded rapidly along.
"So if you heard a wolf howling, that means others could have been nearby. Maybe even a whole pack of 'em." Stiles continued, standing up and twitching, brandishing a page of research around as he spoke. "A whole pack of wolves?" Scott asked, eyes widening as he leaned forward. "No, werewolves."
"Are you seriously wasting my time with this? You know I'm picking up Allison in an hour." Scott responded as he stood up from his place at the foot of the bed. I followed his action swiftly. Picking up Allison? Like, new girl Allison? This wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. I wonder why he didn't tell me he'd asked her out? I shook my head quickly returning to the matter at hand, Scott's werewolf-y-ness. "I saw you on the field today, Scott. Okay, what you did wasn't just amazing, all right? It was impossible." Stiles sputtered, trying to get Scott to see reason. "Yeah, so I made a good shot." Scott moved to leave but Stiles stopped him in his tracks. I moved to stand beside Stiles as he continued. "No, you made an incredible shot, I mean - The way you moved, your speed, your reflexes. Y'know, People can't just suddenly do that overnight." He stuttered his way through the facts, his voice picking up speed as he went. "Then there's the vision, your senses, and don't even think we haven't notice that you don't need your inhaler anymore. Scotty-"
"Okay! Look, I can't think about this now. We'll talk tomorrow." I couldn't finish before Scott cut me off, a slight edge to his voice. "Tomorrow?! What? No! The full moon's tonight. Don't you get it?" Stiles panicked, urging for Scott to understand what was happening to him. "What are you trying to do? I just made first line. I got a date with a girl who I can't believe wants to go out with me, and everything in my life is somehow perfect. Why are you trying to ruin it?" Scott asked, annoyance building by the second. "We're trying to help Scotty. You're cursed." I tried to sooth the situation but only earned a disbelieving glance from our shaggy haired companion. Stiles rummaged through the print outs on his desk for a moment, coming across what he was looking for. "And it's not just that the moon will cause you to physically change. It also just so happens to be when your bloodlust will be at its peak." Stiles calmly explained from his desk chair. "Bloodlust?" Scott questioned, disbelief and sarcasm littering his tone.
"Yeah, your urge to kill." Stiles clarified. I raked my hand through my long, dark hair, moving to sit at the head of the bed. "I'm already starting to feel an urge to kill, Stiles." Scott said darkly, still not believing us. "You gotta hear this. 'The change can be caused by anger or anything that raises your pulse.' All right? I haven't seen anyone raise your pulse like Allison does. You gotta cancel this date. I'm gonna call her right now." Stiles read aloud, tossing it atop the printer and reaching across the bed to Scott's bag. "What are you doing?" Scott asked.
"I'm canceling the date." Stiles stated firmly, pulling the phone from his bag. What happened next I never thought I'd see. Scott grabbed Stiles by the arm. "No, give it to me!" He screamed, pushing Stiles into the wall. I leapt from my seat as Scott had his hand pulled back to punch our best friend. "Scott! Stop!" I shouted as he swung his arm back and took out the desk chair instead. His breathing was heavy as I moved quickly to stand between the two boys, checking Stiles over as I did so. He remained against the wall as Scott seemed to come to his senses. "I'm sorry. I - I gotta go get ready for that party." Scott mumbled, glancing once at me before moving to gather his things. "I'm sorry."
"Shit." I turned quickly at the sound of Stiles' voice as he hit his head against the wall. "We've gotta keep him from changing at that party Sty." I stated, moving to pull on my shoes. Stiles heaved a sigh and righted the desk chair. He stared at it for a few moments before turning the back to me. Slashed into the material were four claw marks. "Come on. Take me home so I can change, then we'll head to the party." I spoke softly, pulling Stiles' hands from the chair gently.
I changed quickly into a Lydia Martin approved dress, a leather jacket and some heels. I did a quick smokey eye and changed my lipstick and I was ready to go. "Don't be too late Lana." My mother called from the dining room table where she was grading papers. "I won't! Bye Mom." I called back, hurrying out the front door and to the baby blue Jeep in the driveway. It took next to no time to get to the Martin residence as Stiles broke a few laws in the process.
It was a typical high school party, people dancing by the pool or making out in any corner available, drinking and loud music. Stiles found some people he knew and started talking to them so I wandered outside to look for Scott and potentially a nonalcoholic soda. I spotted Scott dancing with Allison and still looking normal. "Wanna dance?" Some drunk lacrosse player asked, grinding his hips against my side. "No thanks." I responded taking a step back, only causing him to take one forward. "Greenberg, get lost. She's dancing with me." I turned at the new voice and was happy to see Danny. "Hey, handsome." I greeted as he pulled me with him away from Greenberg and into the winding mass of bodies. "You look amazing." He replied as we danced. "Hot date or something?" He smirked, leveling his hands at my waist. I shook my head. "Nope, but I figured if I had the displeasure of running into the hostess, I should at least pass the dress code- if nothing else." I laughed with Danny for a moment, before he spoke once again. "She respects you though. Last season Jackson would have been out more than two games if you hadn't been there to keep Coach from playing him." He smiled at me, knowing he was right.
"Sure, but she still hates me because I turned down her 'invitation' to popularity, thus damning me to social obscurity." I mock wept as my voice dripped with sarcasm. Danny shrugged, grinning again. "Some mysterious hottie is checking you out. Beside the fire." He turned us so I could see what he meant. I rolled my eyes, "Danny, someone checking me out would mean hell was freezing over, and it's unseasonably warm this evening." I smirked as I earned another laugh from the lacrosse goalie. Sure enough, however, there was a dark figure beside the fire watching me closely with hazy green eyes. I brushed it off quickly as I turned us again so that I could keep an eye on Scott. He was acting strange and took off into the house, leaving Allison alone beside the pool. "Hey, I gotta check on Stiles really quick, okay?" I spoke quietly to Danny. "Sure thing gorgeous." He smiled back, kissing my cheek and letting me go.
I followed the trail Scott cleared through the party until I made it to the front porch. Scott had sped away in his car with Stiles close behind him. "Great there goes my ride." I sent a quick text to Stiles telling him to keep me posted before spotting Allison in the driveway. "Hey, Allison." I called, as I walked toward her. She turned quickly at the sound of her name.
"Hey Lana, is Scott okay?" She asked, concern genuine in her voice. I gave a small smile as I tried to come up with some excuse to cover his ass. "I think so. He was so nervous about tonight." She smiled shyly.
"Really?" She asked, glancing down at the ground. I nodded, hoping I was conveying earnesty. "Yeah, he mentioned his stomach was hurting but I thought it was just nerves." Allison nodded. "I hope so. He just sort of took off."
"I'm sure there was a reason. Scott wouldn't leave unless it was really important or, like, he was afraid of getting sick and ruining the date." I smiled back to her, putting my hand on her arm for a moment in comfort. "Lana." A deep voice called from behind me. I turned quickly to find Derek Hale standing across the driveway. "Still need a ride home?" He asked, looking directly into my eyes as he spoke. Something in his intense look was telling me to take him up on that offer. "Um, yeah if you wouldn't mind. Do you need a ride Allison?" I asked, turning to face the dark haired girl. "Oh, I could ask Lydia and Jackson..." She trailed off. "Don't worry about it. Derek's my neighbor, I've known him my whole life." I whispered quietly to her. Afterward, she nodded her head and Derek lead the way to his car.
A black Camaro sat parked against the curb across the street from the house. He walked around the front of the car to the driver side and unlocked the doors, allowing me to open the door and slide the seat forward for Allison. "Thanks." She smiled to me, climbing into the backseat. I returned the seat to its original position and carefully climbed in, being mindful of the skirt of my dress. "So, where to?" Derek asked pleasantly, looking in the rearview mirror at Allison. The dark haired girl stuttered for a moment, flustered it would seem, before giving Derek her address. The drive was silent for the most part, the only sound the soft music playing from the radio and the shift of the transmission every time Derek changed gears.
When we finally pulled into Allison's driveway, I opened the door to move the seat and wished Allison a goodnight. "Thanks for the ride." She called into the car to Derek, who waved back. "I'll let Scott know he has some serious groveling and apologizing to do." I smiled to her as she laughed. "Thanks." She gave me a hug and made her way to the front door. I turned back to the seat, returning it to its place once more before climbing back into the car. "Do you need to know where I live?" I asked Derek once I was seated and buckled in. His lip twitched again like it had that day in the woods. My phone buzzed and I opened the new message to find it was from Stiles. 'Derek's the other werewolf.' I closed the message just as quickly as I had opened it. "You okay?" Derek asked, concern in his voice but an underlying hint of knowing. "You know, don't you?" Derek posed again when I didn't reply.
"Yeah, about Scott... and you." I answered, turning to face him in my seat. He nodded his head, eyes glued to the road with his brow slightly furrowed. "You won't hurt me. Scott might, it's his first full moon, but you won't." This caused Derek to turn his head, eyes meeting mine. "Why do you say that?" He asked, straight faced. "You haven't turned even though the moon's out." I replied. "Besides, you know my mom would kill you if you did." I chuckled lightly, earning a small smirk from Derek. "So you can smile. Good to know." I observed, turning to face the road and watching from the corner of my eye as Derek rolled his eyes.
We lapsed into silence for the next few minutes as Derek drove before pulling into my driveway. I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned to face him. "Thanks for the ride Derek." I said softly. He responded with a stiff nod of his head. I turned to open the door and stepped out of the car before turning back to him. "Be careful getting home." I paused for a beat. "And it's good to see you again Der. The woods feel empty without you around." He smirked again as I closed the door and made my way up the porch steps and the front door.
I had just made it up the stairs and to my bedroom before I got a frantic phone call from Stiles, who sounded terrified, about how he had lost Scott, who had shifted into a werewolf. "Do you want me to change and come help you look for him?" I asked, trying to calm him down.
"No, yes. I don't know. I'm just so freaked out Lan. Like, what are we gonna do if something happens to him and Derek's out there and he's the one that killed that girl and I just-" I had to cut him off. "I don't think Derek killed the girl they found in the woods, but whatever. I'll get changed and I'll help you look for Scott, okay?" It was silent on his end of the line for a moment before a mumbled 'okay' came my way. I hurried around my room, changing back into my clothes from school and running to the bathroom to take off my make up. Mom was already in bed, so I was sure to be extra quiet when I returned to my room. I opened my window and reached for the branch just outside. I scaled down the tree quickly with a practiced mastery and met Stiles at the end of the driveway.
We spend the rest of the night driving in circles around town looking for Scott. "Try the woods again Sty." I suggested, slumped over in my seat. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon as Stiles grunted in response and turned onto the back roads through the woods. A shirtless figure walked along the side of the road, drawing our attention. "Pull over. I think we found him." I urged Stiles as he carefully drove behind the young male. He pulled over beside him and to our relief it was Scott, in one piece and no hairy than usual.
I slide through the space between the seats into the back as Scott climbed into the passenger seat. The three of us drove in awkward silence for a few moments before Scott finally spoke. "You know what actually worries me the most?" Stiles shook his head, before glancing quickly at the new teenage werewolf. "If you say Allison, I'm gonna punch you in the head." He pipped, forcing me to choke back laughter. Scott heaved a sigh. "She probably hates me now." He turned his gaze to the trees flashing by through the window. "I doubt that, but you are going to have to come up with a pretty awesome apologize." I chimed from the backseat. "I told her you wouldn't just ditch her." Scott smiled sadly to me through the side view mirror. "Or you could tell her the truth- Revel in the awesomeness of the fact that you're a frickin' werewolf." Stiles bubbled, before noticing my glare in the rearview. "Okay, bad idea." He paused, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "Hey, we'll get through this. Come on, if we have to, I'll chain you up myself on full moon nights and feed you live mice. I had a boa once. I could do it." Stiles boasted, brainstorming positive ideas to get Scotty through this. "Yeah, and when- because it will happen- Stiles fails horribly, I'll be there. We can do this, Scotty." I placed a comforting hand on Scott's shoulder, ignoring Stiles glare as we drove on.
The two boys dropped me off at home, to climb back up the tree and into my bedroom before my mother could wake up and ring my neck for being out all night. I changed quickly into pajamas and fell back onto my bed. Scott was a werewolf now. And moreover, the kid I had lived next to for the better part of my life was also a werewolf. I knew this year was supposed to be different but I had no idea it would be this monumental. There was still so much to research and figure out, but that would have to be handled after I got some sleep. I needed to find books, maybe even reach out to Derek... And that's as far into planning as I got before I slipped under the welcoming veil of sleep.