Stiles' introduction to the supernatural portion of the population of Beacon Hills began with a late afternoon jog through the forest and Laura Hale.
Stiles was smart enough to know that it wasn't wise to be traipsing through the woods alone so late in the afternoon, but she had been feeling stressed and in need of a good jog.
Aforementioned jog ended up being interrupted by what sounded like an animal getting caught in a hunter's trap. Like something big had gotten caught, which she found suspicious seeing as it wasn't hunting season. Stiles had never been hunting, something about not being very good at being quiet- and patient. So she really couldn't be blamed for wanting to go snoop. And it was also illegal, and as the daughter of a cop, it was her duty to report any wrongdoings, such as hunting out of season.
There was no animal caught in the trap, and she couldn't stop her jaw from almost hitting the ground, nor could she stop the terrified yelp that escaped out of her mouth at seeing what had been caught.
Laura Hale was hanging upside down by a rope tied to a tree. And that wasn't what Stiles found the most shocking of this scene. No. What Stiles found the most shocking were the fangs, glowing golden eyes, pointy ears, claws, and the excess of hair on Laura's face.
Stiles was jarred out of her shock by the sound of rustling leaves, footsteps, and voices. Her amber eyes met Laura's flaming gold ones. Laura's eyes flickered from Stiles to the rope, and Stiles understood what Laura wanted.
She steeled herself, taking a deep breath, before quietly moving closer to Laura. It wasn't easy seeing as Laura looked like something out of a horror movie. Her fangs looked really pointy and her claws really sharp. It was when she was sufficiently close to her that Stiles became aware of a tiny detail.
"How am I supposed to free you?" Stiles asked, eyeing the thick rope. Her eyes narrowed in on Laura's claws. "Maybe I can use those. . ." She muttered to herself.
Obviously, Laura's pointy ears were very effective. "The rope has wolfsbane."
"Wolfsbane," Stiles repeated. "Right."
She eyed the tree, already picturing the scrapes, bruises, and torn clothing she would get for climbing it. She winced at the thought of broken bones. There really was no other choice. . .aside from leaving Laura, but Stiles would never be able to live with herself if she did that. Letting out a heavy sigh, she moved towards the tree.
By some miracle, she managed to keep herself from falling and bashing her head open. She did not, however, manage to avoid a few scrapes to her arms and hands, nor did she avoid the tearing of her jeans. She finally managed to make it close enough to where the rope was tied to Laura's leg. She didn't bother with stopping herself from cursing as she tugged at the knot. She was not a Girl Scout and she was pretty sure she was just tightening the knot.
"Twist the other way," Laura instructed. "Now go under and pull."
With Laura's instructions, Stiles managed to make quick work of the knot. Where Stiles would have dropped down on the ground like a bag of potatoes, Laura landed gracefully on her feet.
"We should go," Laura said. It was actually more of an order, but Stiles was electing to ignore that on the basis that Laura was probably right. Stiles did not do well following orders.
She paused on her way down the tree, her eyes straying to the voices a few meters away from them. "Right."
She could tell Laura to go on without her, a small act of defiance, but Stiles didn't feel very comfortable being alone in the night in the middle of the forest. Especially not after finding out that nonhumans existed. In the other hand, Laura was nonhuman so Stiles should maybe not go with her because she had seen enough horror movies and no thanks. Then again, Stiles was curious about the whole claws, fangs, and eyes thing and she was sure that Laura would appease her curiosity.
Stiles was beyond grateful she was a pro at running, being in track and cross country, because Laura was fast. Extremely fast. Stiles was sure that had something to do with Laura being nonhuman. Special. Nonhuman sounded wrong. Stiles will not be a speciest.
She ended up following Laura to the Hale house. Talked long enough that they were forced to answer her questions just so she would shut up. And began a beautiful friendship with Derek Hale.
Stiles was currently sitting on the dirty floor, leaning against a row of lockers, waiting for Derek.
She had just been making her way to where Derek had been playing with his basketball with a few of his friends, when she witnessed his encounter with Paige. Stiles knew Paige. Stiles liked Paige. Paige was sweet. So when Derek had turned around to look at her, Stiles had simply raised an eyebrow and pointed to the music room where the cello could be heard.
She had taken Derek's basketball, sent a dirty look to Derek's friends so they would scram, sat down at a far enough distance that she wouldn't hear Derek talk to Paige, and studied her nails while she waited.
And she waited. Honestly, she didn't think an apology could take this long. Maybe Paige shoved the bow of her cello down Derek's throat because he had been such a jerk. Stiles had been pondering going to Derek's rescue when he finally came out of the classroom, safe and sound.
"About time," Stiles said, standing up and brushing the dirt from her dress. "I thought Paige had killed you."
Derek rolled his eyes and took back his basketball. "Are you gonna come over today?"
"No. Have to go to Deaton's."
Along with finding out about werewolves, Stiles had also discovered that she had a 'spark.' When Deaton had informed her of that, Stiles had made a face, and turned to look at Talia. Talia had smiled at Stiles before explaining what emissaries were. Or druids. Personally, Stiles preferred the term druid because it sounded so much more supernatural. Then again, emissaries were tied with spies. Who doesn't want to be a spy?
"Still working with mountain ash?" Derek asked.
Stiles scoffed. "Please. That was lesson one, and it lasted less than five minutes. We're going over wolfsbane stuff."
Peter interrupted them before the conversation could go any further. Stiles still didn't understand why Peter would want to spend his days at a high school. Stiles didn't want to spend any time at the school and she was a student. Stiles had given up on asking Peter.
"Why are you here?" Derek hadn't.
"The other packs arrived earlier today," Peter answered. "Talia wants to make sure there's no trouble."
Stiles rolled her eyes. Derek and trouble? They didn't mix. He was such a puppy sometimes that it made Stiles want to drown in a puddle of goo. "There won't be any trouble because Derek does nothing but play with boys and balls."
Derek flashed her gold eyes while Peter snorted. "I'm just looking after both of you," Peter said.
"Whatever. I have to go to Deaton's," Stiles said. "Drop me off?"
Peter nodded before leading them down the hallway. Stiles shouldered her bag as she walked besides Derek, grimacing at the thought of all the homework she had.
"Were you here at school all day?" Stiles asked Peter as she got into the car.
Peter nodded. "Beacon Hills High School hasn't changed much."
"Then why do you keep coming? It's not mandatory for you," she narrowed her eyes. "You're not flirting with any underaged kid, are you?"
Peter scoffed. "Like I'd be attracted to any hormonal high school idiot."
After waving goodbye to Derek and Peter, Stiles made her way into the clinic. She wrinkled her nose at the smell before jumping on the counter and twisting around to jump down on the other side.
Deaton greeted her before getting down to business. "Today's lesson is going to be short."
"Because of the other packs," Stiles guessed.
Deaton nodded. "I need to be available if Talia requires my assistance."
"Right. Is it normal to have other alphas visiting?" She asked, because honestly it had been in her mind since Derek had told her about it. Stiles had honestly thought that werewolves would be a lot more like wolves; all possessive of their territory with no inclination to share.
"Sometimes," Deaton answered. "They come to seek Talia's guidance."
Yeah, Stiles was beginning to understand that. The Hale name carried some weight in the werewolf community, Talia Hale even more due to her ability to fully shift into a wolf. Stiles still hadn't been able to witness that, which she thought was totally unfair because it sounded really amazing.
There really wasn't much else she could get out of Deaton on the topic because the man was beyond cryptic. It frustrated Stiles sometimes, and made her want to slap him upside the head. She was all for some mystery, but so much of it was overkill, and she would usually go home with a splitting headache.
Thank God for Advil.
She drove to school the next day. Derek usually got a ride from Laura, or Peter if he was going to creep around the high school, which he usually did. They usually met up at the library. Stiles, who always arrived to school earlier than the other Hales unless they gave her a ride, would usually finish her homework or open up a book while she waited.
She pulled out a copy of the first Harry Potter book while she waited for him, and became so absorbed in the book that she flailed a bit when the bell for class rang.
It was on her way to class that she realized that Derek never met up with her.
After class, she spotted Derek shoving his books in his locker. He seemed to be in a hurry, which was strange because she knew he hated his next class.
"Derek," Stiles greeted him.
"Hey," Derek said, sending her a quick smile. "I've gotta go. Told the guys I'd meet up with them."
He rushed off before Stiles could say anything. Stiles brushed off the encounter and made her way to her next class. There were times when Derek would go meet up with his friends, and Stiles would meet up with her. . .acquaintances. She avoided Derek's friends due to the fact that they were too cocky and she would rather stick her foot up their asses.
Throughout the day, Stiles only caught small glimpses of Derek. Walking out of the bathroom, she spotted him making his way down a dead end hallway. She had followed him, but found the hallway empty. He'd been late to their fourth period class, and had barely managed to make it in time for their sixth. She hadn't been able to talk to him during class, and at lunch he had brushed off her concerns.
She didn't have the time to pester Derek about it. After school, she would stay to run on the track field. She'd go home long enough to shower, and maybe catch a quick bite to eat. Then, she'd make her way to Deaton's. After Deaton's, Stiles would do her homework and work on dinner. Sometimes, she would go to Derek's and do her homework there, but with so many werewolves in Beacon Hills, Stiles thought it'd be safer to stay home.
Besides, she was sure Derek wouldn't be home.
Stiles saw more of Peter than she did of Derek. When she did see Derek, he was always in a hurry or late for something.
His strange behavior tempted Stiles into launching a full on investigation on what Derek was up to, but she refrained, which she was extremely proud of. She already had too much on her plate to take the time to stalk her best friend.
Of course, there was only so much of her curiosity that she could hold back. And her curiosity peaked when Derek walked into class, half asleep. She took note of his twitchiness and the way his eyes would flicker around the room.
Yeah, Derek was up to trouble.
Stiles was on her way to the hospital.
She had called the station earlier that day, wanting to take some lunch to her father, but the receptionist had informed her that her father was on his way to the hospital. Stiles had had a mini heart attack at those words until she was told that he was at the hospital due to a homocide investigation.
That wasn't going to stop Stiles from making sure her father had a healthy lunch.
She had another mini heart attack as soon as she walked through the doors. Her father was face to face with a werewolf. And Stiles knew he was a werewolf like she knew her dad was going to complain about his lunch. And she knew he was an Alpha because he oozed the same predatory confidence that she had seen in Talia.
Her heart completely stopped beating when she heard her dad tell the werewolf to back off. She didn't even have it in her to be surprised when it actually worked. Her father was an Alpha werewolf whisperer! She vaguely wondered if that was hereditary. God, she felt light headed.
She tensed when her eyes met those of the werewolf. Despite of the fear she felt, she didn't let it show. Although she knew that he could tell anyway, but it was the principle of thing. Stiles will not be intimidated by an angry werewolf. Terrified, yes, but cowed, no. She would stick all the mountain ash she had up his ass if she had to.
Apparently, she wouldn't need to. The pack of werewolves began moving away.
"Stiles," her father began. "What are you doing here?"
Stiles tried smiling at her father. "Brought you lunch."
"Veggie burgers?"
Stiles grinned. "Veggie burgers."
Deputy Stilinski sighed. "You're cruel." He took the bag. "Go home."
Stiles nodded before turning around to make her way out. As she walked out, she locked eyes with the alpha once more.
Stiles was not paying attention to the lesson, and it was Derek's fault. She couldn't help but stare at his blissed out face with a weirded out expression. He had been staring at the same spot on the board for the past few minutes, hardly blinking.
She had wondered if he had been on any drugs or something, but had dismissed the thought because he was a werewolf. Werewolves metabolized too quickly for any drug or alcoholic beverage to take any effect.
Sending a quick look to the front to make sure the teacher wasn't paying them any attention, Stiles reached out and ran a hand in front of Derek's face. Whatever daydream Derek was in, he was in deep because he didn't even bat an eye. Maybe it was a guy thing? Guys could be really weird. And Derek was a guy. Stiles sometimes forgot that because he was Derek. Derek was just Derek.
She didn't see Derek again until lunch. He wasn't alone.
Peter was sitting across from him, eating Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Whatever Peter was telling Derek had him frowning. Stiles paused, watching them talk. She decided to interrupt when Derek's frown became more pronounced.
"Peter," she greeted. "Why are you always here? Don't you have a job? Or a life?"
Peter just grinned at her, eyes twinkling slightly. "I'm looking after my favorite nephew." He stood up and moved away from the table. "I'll be seeing you both later." He sent Derek a sharp glance. "Derek."
"Should we be worried about your uncle?" Stiles asked, opening her bottle of water and taking a sip from it. "Should I inform my dad about him?"
Derek just shrugged, a distant look in his eyes. It was obvious his attention was elsewhere, and that something was troubling him. Stiles was sure that something had to do with his conversation with Peter.
Just like she was sure that Derek would not be telling her what was troubling him.
Her friendship with Derek was great. He was her best friend, and she liked to think that she was his too. But it wasn't perfect, and it was still a bit new. She had only been aware about the Hales for a little less than a year, so trust was still being built between Stiles and the other Hales, including Derek. She understood that, but it made her a little sad sometimes.
Lunch was fairly quiet after that. Derek played with his basketball while Stiles ate and played with her fork in between bites. A few times, she had to bite her lip to keep herself from pestering Derek until he told her what was wrong with him, but forcing herself to keep quiet was making her twitchy. Maybe it was time for another dose of medication.
By the end of the day, Stiles was at her wits end. The thought of following him occurred to her, before she dismissed the idea because, hello, werewolf. And she had already tried that and it had failed.
So after a few minutes of pondering, she decided to go to Peter.
That was probably not a smart idea. Peter was a master of manipulation, lying, and evil schemes. Oh well.
It really wasn't hard to find him what with his penchant for hanging around high school kids. It was probably the only time that Stiles was glad about that. She still thought it was weird. It would always be weird.
"Peter," she said.
Peter flashed her a charming smile. "Stiles. How are you?"
Stiles could say a lot of things about Peter, not all of them flattering, but the bastard was attractive, extremely charming, and charismatic. Not to mention intelligent. No wonder he got away with a lot.
"I'm fine," she answered. "It's Derek I'm worried about."
"Derek?" Peter looked alarmed, however, he had that glint in his eye that said he knew exactly what Stiles was talking about. Stiles really disliked that look. "Oh, I assure you, Stiles," he smiled. "There is nothing wrong with Derek. Quite the opposite, actually. Derek should be feeling quite happy."
Stiles narrowed her eyes. "Don't make me get the wolfsbane and mistletoe, Peter. I will shove it up your-"
"You're quite creative," Peter smirked, interrupting her. "Why do you want to know?"
She stared at him flatly. "Because he's my friend."
"Well then, good enough for me," Peter said. Then he paused and looked around them for dramatic effect. "Derek's got himself a girlfriend."
Stiles blinked. "A girlfriend?" That's what the secretive stuff was all about. Really?
Peter nodded. "A human girlfriend." He paused again. "For now."
"Why do you say it like that?" She frowned. There was nothing wrong with being human. Stiles liked being human, and while she thought werewolves were cool, she had no desire to become one. "And what do you mean for now?"
"Not all humans react well to finding out about werewolves," Peter explained. "Derek seems to have gotten it into his head that if she is turned, then she'll never leave him."
Stiles stared at him, shocked. "What?"
Peter gave her a somber look. "He thinks they're perfect for each other. True love and all that."
"They're fifteen!"
Stiles was all about love, but she was somewhat skeptical about love at first sight in between two teenagers.
"Almost sixteen." Peter pointed out, as if that made all the difference. "But I understand. I tried to talk him out of it, but you know Derek. He can be quite stubborn."
"Did you?" Stiles asked, suspiciously. She didn't trust Peter. He was too good at lying and manipulating.
"Of course." He appeared to be quite offended. "Do you think I want to cause any trouble?"
"Yes," Stiles answered bluntly. She frowned. "Talia wouldn't bite just any human."
"No," Peter said. "But Talia is not the only alpha in town."
"Who?" Stiles asked, leaning forward slightly.
Peter leaned forward as well. "Ennis. He's just lost a Beta."
She frowned, mind racing. She bit her lip as she played with the hem of the plaid button up she was wearing. "When is he going to bite her?"
"Why would I tell you that?" Peter admonished. "Derek did confide in me, and I would hate to abuse his trust."
Stiles' frown became more pronounced. She couldn't lie to Peter. Not only would he pick up on the lie due to her heartbeat, but he was too good of a liar to fall for anything she might say. That just meant Stiles would have to up her game. Stiles could do that. She would just stick to the truth. "I'm curious," she finally said. "I'm curious about the bite."
Peter studied her for a few moments, before nodding. "He left her a note. They're supposed to meet up here at the school tonight." He grinned. "Pick you up?"
"Yeah."
It was a horrible idea and Talia might kill them.
Stiles was a horrible person, and if her father had been witnessing what she was doing, she would've been grounded and lectured until she had turned eighteen.
She hadn't meant to eavesdrop on a meeting between Talia, Deaton, and an unknown werewolf, but the opportunity presented itself and Stiles had been too weak and curious to not take it.
Her thoughts had been stuck on the slew of information Peter had given her, that Stiles had ended up accidentally knocking a few of Deaton's things down a shelf. She had been in the middle of picking them up when the aforementioned three walked into the room. Stiles had frozen from where she had been trying to reach one of Deaton's strange knickknacks and waited to be dismissed.
The dismissal had never been voiced, so Stiles had remained in the same position, assuming they didn't know she was there. And really, it wasn't like she could stop her ears from working once they had started talking.
Besides, she had no idea what it was they were talking about.
She didn't know who the Argents were, nor did she want to know them after Talia had called Gerard Argent a psychopath. And who even carried a sword these days?
Personally, Stiles was with Talia and Deaton with this one. There was no way that a truce would work with someone who was sword happy. Although, Deaton could've gone without the whole Scorpion and the Frog story.
The meeting finally seemed to have ended, and Stiles was just relaxing when Talia called out her name.
Stiles let out a meep of mortification as she felt her face flush. Her eyes widened in horror when she met three pairs of eyes. She really shouldn't have been as naïve to think that the two Alpha werewolves wouldn't notice her presence in the room.
"I'm so sorry!" She blurted out. "I didn't meant to eavesdrop, I swear! It just happened. . .and then story time. I got distracted." She gestured towards Deaton. "Sorry! I'll just leave now, yeah? Yeah."
She caught a glimpse of Talia's amused expression and faintly heard Deaton apologize for her.
God, it was a miracle she walked out with her life.
Being at school during the night was scary, and it was downright terrifying knowing that there was a werewolf skulking around the place. It was so clichéd, Stiles half expected a camera crew to be filming.
Stiles could hear Paige's footsteps and her voice calling out Derek's name. If Stiles could hear her with her human ears, she was sure Ennis, Peter, and Derek could hear her with their werewolf ears.
Peter had dropped her off at the entrance before telling her that he was going to park the car. Stiles was starting to think that she should've remained with him because being alone at night in the school was making her nerves shoot through the roof.
She jumped up in fear and surprise at the sound of Paige's scream. Shit! Shit! Damn! Where the hell was Derek? Or Peter? Shouldn't someone be out there explaining to Paige about werewolves? This wasn't an actual scary movie. Someone should be doing some explaining to Paige.
Her eyes widened in horror at the realization that no one was going to be explaining anything to Paige. They really were just going to throw her to the wolves, wolf, hope for the best, and explain everything afterwards. This really was a stupid idea and Stiles should've let Talia know.
Her horror increased a hundred time more when she realized that Ennis was chasing her. Toying with her. Werewolves weren't actual animals so what the hell?!
Stiles was just about to step out to try and help Paige when an arm wrapped around her waist, and a hand muffled her scream. She twisted around to see Peter standing behind her. He brought one finger up to his lips before removing his hand from her mouth. He kept the arm around her waist. It was strangely grounding and comforting despite the fact that it was Peter.
She shifted her attention back to the scene just around the corner when she heard various growls.
Derek had finally made his appearance, which not to sound like a horrible person, was pretty useless in Stiles' opinion.
Derek was a Beta. Ennis was an Alpha. Which meant that Derek was being thrown around like a rag doll. It was painful to watch so Stiles tried, in vain, to break free of Peter's hold, but was very much unsuccessful. Her helplessness caused tears of frustration to spring out of her eyes.
And it was too late.
The growling stopped and pained whimpers echoed in the empty hallways. There was no Ennis, no wolfed out Derek, just a bitten fifteen year old girl.
"Come on," Peter whispered, tugging at her waist. "Time to go."
Stiles was trembling, feeling an intense coldness down to her bones. She could feel her heartbeat threatening to beat out of her chest, and she could feel a large lump in her throat.
She was standing alone, swaying slightly, staring down the opened cellar door. She hadn't been able to follow Peter and Derek down there. Peter shouldn't have gone down there, but he had and Stiles hadn't even tried to stop him. She should have. Derek and Paige deserved some privacy.
Stiles wasn't stupid. She knew that the bite didn't always take, and when it didn't, it led to death. The bite didn't take, and Paige was going to die.
With wide eyes, Stiles watched as Peter came up. With a body. With Paige's body. Her breath caught in her throat and tears began to spill out of her eyes.
Going down the stairs proved to be challenge. It was dark, her eyesight was blurry, and she couldn't feel her legs. She paused at the bottom, squinting her eyes to get a good look at Derek.
Derek was curled up on the ground, leaning against the roots of a large tree, his face buried in his hands. Stiles ignored the dark liquid that stained one of the roots as she rushed towards him. She winced at the wet stain on Derek's shirt as she curled up next to him. It was still warm.
"Derek," she whispered, leaning further into him.
It was the only comfort Stiles could provide. Nothing she said could make things better, apologizing would be stupid, and pitying Derek would make everything worse.
After what felt like hours, Derek began slowly relaxing against her. She pulled away slightly, wanting to get a good look at his face. Her eyes widened when she caught a good view of Derek's eyes. Instead of their usual flaming gold, they were an electric blue. "Your eyes. . ."
Derek blinked at her. "What?" His voice pulled at her heartstrings.
"Your eyes are blue." Stiles had learned what the color of a werewolf's eyes meant. It had been one of the very first things she had learned about werewolves. Blue eyes meant the darkening of the soul due to the death of an innocent. It meant innocence lost. And they were strangely beautiful despite their dark meaning.
"What's wrong with me?"
Stiles shook her head. "Nothing," she answered.
And that was all she could say. There was nothing wrong with Derek. The color of his eyes didn't make him a bad person.
Derek will be fine.
Stiles will make sure of it because that's what best friends did.