Teen Wolf: Hidden
Chapter One: The Body of Evidence
The jarring sound of an alarm clock pierced Tyler Howard's' sleep fogged brain, leaving him disoriented and confused as the realization hit home that he was not trapped in a burning house certain he was going to die, but in his bedroom, wrapped tight in his sweat soaked sheets.
"Not again." he muttered trying to disentangle himself and drag himself back into reality. Despite his evidently poor night's sleep, Tyler felt well rested, and grateful that he had just been tied up in his sheets, and they weren't shredded, like so many other sets of sheets had been over the years.
"Seriously Ty? You're still in bed?"
Tyler's eyes blew wide with fear until he took in the other boys very familiar appearance, the short dark hair spiked with meticulous care to look messy yet well groomed, the smiling warm chocolate eyes, and those adorable dimples, not to mention a physique that made things stand up and take notice.
"Danny?" Tyler croaked out his voice hoarse from hours of mute screaming. A deeply concern that crossed the other boy's handsome features as he strode across the room, sitting on the edge of Tyler's bed.
"Hey Tyler, man, are you feeling alright? You look like you've seen a ghost," his voice soft and caring.
"I'm fine, just some messed up dreams, that's all...and God Danny, why are wearing that aftershave? You know what it does to me," Tyler gestured to his exposed waist, with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.
Danny laughed, giving Tyler a playful shove on the shoulder. "Because it's the first day back at school, and I was hoping for a little action...not from you so much..." He trailed off as he glanced at the clock on the wall sighing, "But we do need to get going, we're supposed to meet Jackson before class, and you know how he can get if we're late. Why don't you go get cleaned up and I'll find you something to wear,"
Tyler rolled out of the bed, stretching luxuriously as he noticed Danny's appraising eye, grinning, "Like what you see?" Danny rolled his eyes as he grabbed up a pair of clean boxer brief and threw them at Tyler. "Just get dressed you shameless tease," Tyler grinned pulling on the underwear smirking as he cooed,
"You sure you don't want any of this? A quickie before class?"
"As much as I would love to have a morning quickie, I am immune to the devil's power of your nakedness," Danny answered with a twinkle in his eye as he scouted the room, gathering up clothes as he went.
Tyler took that as a challenge, popping back out of the adjoining bathroom, leaning sensuously in the doorway his thumbs hooked under his waist band saying,
"Oh really? Shall we test that theory?" Tyler swiveled his hips inching down his underwear until a tee shirt and pair of jeans we caught him in his face.
"Get dressed already, you can attempt your meager powers of seduction later, maybe you should try it on Jackson, because you know he just loves the attention. He is everyone's type after all," Danny rolled his eyes and Tyler shimmied into his jeans, pulling on the tee shirt. Tyler couldn't help but admire his reflection as snug form fitting clothes grabbed and draped in all the right places, yet were exceedingly comfortable. This was going to be a good start to the rest of the year, he felt good, he looked good, everything was going to be good this semester, he just knew it.
"Come on Tyler, quit preening like Jackson, and let's go." Danny's voice called up the stairs. "Don't forget your backpack and phone," Tyler couldn't help but smile, Danny was such a sweet guy and his best friend, Tyler felt extremely lucky to have him on his side.
"Did you die up there or something?" Danny teased impatiently interrupting Tyler's train of thought as he shouted back,
"Yep, I died, and now I'm going to haunt you forever. Every time you think you're going to make it with some hot guy, I'll be there to shut you down" Tyler grinned as he bounded down the stairs. "Me and my amazing powers of blinding whiteness,"
Danny threw up his hands in mock horror. "Whatever will I do now?"
"You could always become a priest, they live lives of celibacy...ah who am I kidding, they probably nail more boys than you and I put together,"
Danny snorted a little shaking his head, "You are terrible. Come on ghosty boy, let's get going,"
Tyler double checked his pockets making sure he had his phone, his keys and his wallet, he was mildly surprised when he found he did have everything, and they fit comfortably in his pockets, that almost never happened. "Awesome," he smiled to himself locking the door,
"What's with you today?" Danny asked pulling out of the driveway.
"With me? There is nothing with me today. Although I suppose you are currently with me right now, but then again you aren't exactly with me, with me...so yeah hi" Danny gave a laugh, showing off his cute dimples.
"You are so weird some times,"
"Yep, but that's part of my devastating charm, and why you will always be madly in love with me," Tyler couldn't even get the joke out without laughing. Danny just grinned and playfully shoved Tyler's shoulder. "Oh yeah, I'll love you forever, like a bad case of herpes," They both laughed as Tyler managed to croak out between giggles, "You know it, I'm the gift that just keeps on giving," Danny just shook his head and kept driving. Ten minutes later they were pulling into the parking lot at Beacon Hills High School.
Tyler slid out of the car surveying the lot smirking, "Sure, we go through all of that trouble to get here early, and Jackson is no where to be found. Looks like he flaked out on you Danny-boy,"
Danny rolled his eyes as a silver Porsche glided into a parking space over by the bicycle racks. "You know Jackson, always has to make an entrance" Danny offered slipping his backpack over one shoulder heading toward their usual meeting place. Tyler watched as the Porsche's door flew open, followed by a cute boy, with sexy well styled short blonde hair, designer clothes and attitude that just screamed "Alpha Male", the fact that he was harassing a dark haired boy about something, did nothing to dispel that image.
"Yo, Jackson, let's go bro," a voice called out their usual group of friends, followed by Danny calling out, "Tyler, let's go already, you slow ass," Feeling slightly dazed Tyler made his way over to the group arriving about the same time as Jackson, who stuck out his fist towards Tyler, in what he was sure was meant to be a friendly gesture. Tyler suck out his own bumping his knuckles against Jackson's.
"Can you believe that McCall? He's so pathetic," Jackson sneered with disdain, the others seemed to echo his statement, only Danny, good, sweet Danny said, "Man, he's not that bad, you should just leave him alone,"
Jackson looked up at Danny with something akin to betrayal on his handsome features. "Oh I see what it is," Jackson smirked, "Danny's got a bit of a crush of McCall-"
"Well those cute puppy do eyes do set off that sexy ass rather well. I'd do him," Tyler threw out there without thinking, not that he was really trying to make a case for McCall, rather just trying to deflect Jackson's ire away from Danny.
"Howard, you'd do half the freshman class if you could get away with it," Jackson retorted.
"What can I say? I learned from the best," Tyler grinned "How is Lydia, by the way? When's the next showing of the Notebook anyway?" The rest of the group snickered as Jackson's look of death focused squarely on Tyler. "Good," Tyler thought, "I'd rather be the target of Jackson's wrath than have him going at Danny again." The bell rang, breaking the tension of the moment as the little group splintered off so that each could make it to their classes on time.
"You do know he's going to get you back for that? Probably at practice," Danny commented as they took their seats in the back of their English class.
"Practice?" Tyler asked dumbly as he pulled out his text and notebooks.
"Yeah, tryouts for first line are today. You are going to try out this year, aren't you?" The near pleading look in Danny's eyes nearly broke Tyler's heart as he groaned out,
"Crap, lacrosse. Yeah I guess I will, but if I end up riding the bench listening to Stilinski explain the finer details of male circumcision, you're going to owe me big time," Danny just gave him a wink as Stile Silinski and Scott McCall slotted themselves into desk not far away. Tyler shook his head trying to purge those disturbing thoughts from his head and reconcile the fact that he had just committed himself to try out for a sport he knew next to nothing about. Yet, for Danny, he'd at least try out and see what happened. He shrugged it off as Mr. Stevens began writing on the white board.
"As you all know, there was indeed 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 the semester," Tyler couldn't help but notice the exchange of looks between Scott and Stiles as Stevens made his little speech. For some reason, Tyler was convinced that they knew the Stevens was lying. Stiles' father was the sheriff after all, he would know if someone had been arrested or not. He glanced back at Scott who flinched like some one was screaming in his ear. Tyler's frown deepened as he scanned the room with his own senses, following Scott's gaze out the window, seeing a girl talking on her cellphone. Tyler focused his hearing to eavesdrop a little bit on the conversation.
"Mom. Three calls on my first day is a little over doing it...Everything except a pen, oh my God, I didn't actually forget a pen?...ok ok ok, I gotta go, I love you," the call abruptly ending as the Vice Principal, Mr. Thorne, joined her and escorted her into their class. Had Scott also listened in on the girl's conversation? Tyler watched him carefully as Thorne escorted the girl into the classroom.
"Class this is our new student, Allison Argent. Please do your best to make her feel welcome," with that the sharply dressed administrator strolled out of the room, allowing Allison to take a seat behind Scott. Tyler watched as McCall awkwardly offered Allison a pen, looking for all the world like a puppy bringing in the newspaper. Sure enough, Scott had to have heard her. Tyler frowned at the implications, only to have Mr. Stevens' punctilious voice cut across Tyler's thoughts forcing him back to the here and now.
"We will begin with Kafka's Metamorphosis on page 133," He spent the rest of the class alternating between taking half heard notes, and doodling in the margins of his notebook.
"Earth to Tyler, come in Tyler," Danny said quietly, causing Tyler to give him a funny look. "I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes, class is over man, we've got to go,"
"Oh shit. Sorry man, I don't know how I lost track of time so quickly. What class do you have next?" Tyler rattled off as he stuffed his belongings back into his bag.
"Let's see," Danny said looking thoughtful, "Next period is Spanish, world history after that, then a break, chemistry, followed by lunch, then band and weightlifting at the end of the day, right before lacrosse practice. What about you?" Tyler dug out his planner looking at the schedule.
"Looks like I have German next, world history with Westerhof, independent study with Muir, chemistry with freaking Harris, oh nice then I lunch back to back with a break, then weightlifting at the end of the day," Danny smiled, "Not too bad, looks like we have more than a few classes together this semester, although having lunch and a break back to back is really not fair,"
"Oh please like I even use the full period for lunch anyway," Tyler countered. "I usually finish up my lunch, then head to the library and work on homework. Which actually may work out so I don't have to take any of my homework home for a change. which will be nice if my uncle asks me to help at the hardware store after school," Danny just nodded as he headed into his Spanish classroom, while Tyler went into his own class.
The next hour went by in a flash and Tyler seemed fairly satisfied that he was going to do well in this class. He caught up with Danny between classes, easily falling into step with the slightly taller boy,
"How was Spanish?"
"Muy bueno. And German?"
"Nicht Schlect. Herr Singer ist sehr gut," Tyler responded with his rough German, shooting Danny a mischievous smile.
"Show off," Danny muttered taking his seat. "What can I say?" Tyler offered sliding into his own. "You have a thing for show offs, Jackson, me...I mean what does that say about your taste in men?" Tyler flinched and chucked as Danny wadded up a piece of paper and threw it at him.
"Gentlemen." Mr. Westerhof's voice boomed from the front of the room. Both Danny and Tyler turned bright red as they immediately faced the board. Westerhof nodded solemnly than began. "What you are receiving right now is of course your syllabus for this semester, read it on your own time. Sign the last page and turn it into me tomorrow at the start of class. Now with that formality out of the way, let us jump right into our session here. As you can see," Westerhof pointed to the board, "We will begin with a brief unit on Greek mythology..." He droned on while Tyler managed to take notes, feeling like the day was going impossibly fast.
It was almost as though he had simply blinked an eye and he was in the boy's locker room getting dressed for the lacrosse tryouts. There was an uneasiness in the pit of his stomach as he pulled on his helmet and picked up his stick.
"You! New guy!" The wild eyed and wild haired Coach Finstock bellowed as soon as Tyler stepped on the field. Tyler pointed to himself causing the coach to gesture frantically, "No the creepy homeless guy behind you, YES YOU! Get over here!" Already feeling out of his element Tyler jogged over to the coach listening intently. "I want you to head up the line for goal shots. McCall will be in the goal, so it should be easy enough, a nice confidence booster to start off the tryouts before we can see what you can really do. Now get over there and get ready," the coach abruptly turned away leaving Tyler dazed and confused as he took up his place at the head of the line.
Jackson came over shoulder checking Tyler as he said, "Don't screw this up Howard," before he fell in line a ways behind Tyler. Next Danny jogged up putting a friendly hand on his shoulder reassuring Tyler.
"Relax. Just remember what I taught you over the break, stay loose and focused. You can do this." With that Danny took up his own place in the line. Tyler scooped up the ball in his net thinking, "I can do this. I can do this," a whistle blew and Tyler took off running a couple of steps then flung the ball hard at the goal. It wasn't until after he had thrown the ball that he had realized Scott had been clutching at his helmet, like he was trying to get it off for some reason, only to have the lacrosse ball smack hard against his helmet knocking him back into the goal for a moment. "Shit. Sorry man!" Tyler called out hoarsely as the Coach shepherded him out of the way for the next player to take a shot.
Tyler trotted back towards the end of the line passing Jackson, who gave him a curt nod of what Tyler assumed was his approval, and Danny who grinned and stuck out his gloved had to fist bump as Tyler went by. Once in his place, Tyler watched as Scott seemed to focus better, then caught the next ball with ease. Tyler shook his head knowing what was going to happen next. Scott caught or blocked the next dozen shots, and even Jackson, the team captain, wasn't be able to get a shot past him. Everyone cheered at Scott's remarkable performance, even Lydia, which earned her a death glare from Jackson. Tyler just knew Jackson was going blow his top over this, especially since Tyler had been the only person to get a shot past Scott the whole time.
As Tyler, Danny and Jackson headed to the locker room after practice, Jackson was fuming, ready to skin someone alive, venting his spleen like it was going out of style. "...and YOU!" Jackson whirled Tyler around by his shoulder. "How in the hell did you manage to get one past him when I couldn't?!"
Tyler held his hands up in a surrender gesture "Hey man, I got lucky. I was keyed up being the first to go, and I'm not really sure he was ready when I threw it. I think he was messing with his helmet for some reason, but I didn't notice until after I had thrown the ball. Hell, I'm just lucky the ball even reached the freaking goal to begin with," That seemed to appease Jackson's wounded pride for the time being. A clap on the back from Danny seemed to indicate Tyler had done the right thing. Once they reached the locker room, they hit the showers without a second thought, chatting away like it was the most normal thing in the world, but Tyler was certain that had ice water been pouring from the shower head, it would have boiled off of Jackson's body, as he seethed with anger.
Tyler couldn't help but enjoy the surrounding view of teenage muscle as he finished off his shower and quickly got dressed, exchanging a knowing look with Danny as they readied to leave. Tyler shrugged as though saying, "What? Can't I appreciate a fine set of bodies without it being perverted?"
Once in Danny's car, Tyler sighed, "So Jackson's going to kill me, or reach new levels of douche baggery,"
Danny shrugged as he drove, "Jackson's Jackson. He always has to be the best you know. He is always trying to his parents, like he needs to be the best of the best for them to love him. You know its best if we just let him have his hissy fit, then he'll get over it...eventually,"
"And we're friends with him, why?" Tyler couldn't help but ask incredulously.
"Because he's not really that bad of a guy, he just needs a major attitude adjustment from time to time. Besides, remember what he was like when he caught us kissing in third grade?"
It was Tyler's turn to shrug, "Yeah, he decked me in the face, then ran off crying,"
"Dude, he was jealous because we didn't invite him to 'play' too,"
Tyler thought back, he did seem to remember that later that day, Jackson had walked over to his house, standing in the rain until Tyler had accepted his apology. Tyler gave out an involuntary groan. "Yeah, I had forgotten that. I suppose he's not all bad, but damn it he needs to remember, we're not the bad guys here," Danny just nodded as he pulled into Tyler's drive, only to find Jackson's Porsche already there. "Now what?" Tyler muttered as he got out.
"I think McCall's on something," Jackson said without preamble. "He has to be. There is no way in hell he could have gotten that good over night. He has to be on something, and I'm going to find out what it is,"
"Let it go Jackson," Danny slinging his bag over one shoulder. Tyler just leaned against the car with a sneaking suspicion he knew exactly what had changed about Scott McCall over night, but knowing better than to say anything.
"If he's getting juiced, I am going to take him down so fast his head will spin," Jackson monologued as Danny rolled his eyes clearly over this line of discussion.
"Seriously Jackson, you should just screw McCall and get it over with already, this kind of pent up tension and obsession just isn't healthy," Tyler quipped without even realizing what he had said until Jackson leveled his cold blue eyed gaze right at him.
"You'd like that wouldn't you Howard?!" Jackson shot back accusingly.
"I wouldn't mind enjoying the show," Tyler said simply, Danny shaking his head giving up completely, while Jackson's eyes blew wide with shock. "Oh for God's sake Jackson, I'd do you both if it would put an end to this crap," fortunately Jackson missed Danny's snicker as Tyler threw in for good measure, "Hell, I'd do Greenberg too if it meant we could end this discussion," Jackson snorted something between a laugh and an annoyed grunt.
"Howard, I knew there was a reason I liked you,"
Tyler shrugged, "What can I say? I'm a likable kind of guy. Besides, Isn't there some sort of initiation process, a little hazing that results in a happy handy for the team captain or something," Tyler grinned as he made his way to his front door, throwing it open, gesturing the others inside.
"You wish," Jackson offered with a smug half smile and Danny just shook his head smiling, "You are a terrible person,"
"You know it. And you know you want some," Tyler followed the other two inside tossing his bag on the kitchen table. "What's your poison?" He asked opening the refrigerator. Both boys just asked for water as they took seats at the table digging out their homework. Tyler brought back three glasses of water as he joined them at the table.
"So what special kind of Hell do you think Harris' class is going to be this year?" Tyler offered steering the topic away from McCall and lacrosse, before Jackson could start up again.
"It's Harris. He hates his job, and he hates his students, what do you think," Jackson commented bitterly. "I dunno about that Jackson, he seems to like you well enough," Danny answered back as he started writing out his homework answers.
"Hey, you know I'm everyone's type, maybe he has a thing for hot high school boys, you know that's why Mr. Hansburg was fired a couple of years ago," Tyler nearly choked on his drink as Jackson smirked looking satisfied. Danny just gave Jackson a "Get real," look while Tyler offered him a fist bump. "Can we please focus here?" Danny asked. Tyler grinned nodding. "This is what I came up with for question 1..."
They spent the next hour comparing notes and working through problems without incident, until Jackson stood, packing up his things. "I've got to get going, Lydia wants me to come over-"
"And watch the Notebook again," Tyler supplied with a teasing grin. Jackson just grunted and Tyler walked him to the door. "Meet up before first period?" Tyler asked, Jackson nodded muttering, "If I haven't died of boredom from that damned movie," Tyler just smiled as he watched Jackson pull out of the drive.
"I should get going too," Danny said pulling on his backpack.
"You don't have to, I'm making dinner soon, you're welcome to stay, you know that," Tyler offered pulling Danny in for a brotherly hug.
"Nah, you know how my mom gets if I miss family dinners, beside she's going to want to grill me on how the first day went. Pick you up tomorrow?"
"If you'd like. I'll even try to be dressed and ready to go when you get here,"
"That would be a first," Danny showed off his dimples as he got into his car and headed home. Tyler watched him go, noticing the first sprinkles of rain as a storm rolled in. A part of his mind couldn't help but wonder if that wasn't some sort of omen as to the days ahead of him.