My life has not been one of the most conventional things. But that has never stopped me from doing what I think is right or from helping others. Now sometimes my insatiable thirst for knowledge and my own reckless curiosity get me into heaps of trouble, but sometimes I just can't seem to help myself. I am often pulling my best friend Scott into said misadventures, but he always has my back and I always have his. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we are both kinda social outcasts. I like to think it's just cause we get each other. He's a dopey, spacy, asthmatic, while I am a spastic geek who is kinda out there and also has ADHD. Perfect fit right.

So when I hear dad on the phone with one of his deputies that they found a body in the woods, of course I have to go and tell Scott, and insist that we go and look for it. I was trying to get in the window, but I caught my foot on the trellis and end upside down. And of course we both scream. Manly screams, but screams none the less.

"Stiles, what the Hell are you doing!?"

"You weren't answering your phone." I say like it's the most obvious thing in the world, "Why do you have a bat?

"I thought you were a predator."

"A pre-, " Really, "Look I know it's late, but you gotta hear this. I saw my dad leave twenty minutes ago. Dispatch called, they're bringing in every officer from the Beacon Department, and even State Police."

"For what?"

"Two joggers found a body in the woods." I hop down and actually land somewhat gracefully, and get back up.

"A dead body?!"

"No, a body of water. Yes, dumb-ass, a dead body." Crawl up on the porch so that I can talk to Scott properly and bush myself off.

"You mean like Murdered?"

"Nobody knows yet. Just that it was a girl, probably in her 20's."

"Hold on, if they found the body, then what are they looking for?"

"That's the best part. They only found half." I know I shouldn't sound so happy about whoever it is that lost their life, but nothing like this has happened in years around here. Beacon Hills isn't exactly a thriving metropolis. "We're going."

So we hop in my jeep. I pat the hood lovingly before I get in. It was my mom's and dad promised it to me when I turned sixteen. I miss my mom a lot, but I think of her every time I am driving, so it makes a little easier and a little harder. I miss her so much most days but I manage. And now that I no longer have panic attacks, things have been going much more smoothly.

I drive us to Beacon Hills Preserve sign, and park. Completely ignoring the 'no entry after dark' part of the sign.

"Are we seriously doing this?"

"You're the one always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town." I walk behind him with the flashlight and pat him on the back.

"I was trying to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow."

"Right, cause sitting on the bench is such a grueling effort." We start making our way through the woods. Scott and I have come out here a few times, but not recently. After seeing the same trees time, after time, they get a bit old. But now everything looks new, and almost sinister. Knowing that there is half a body out there just waiting to be found, well nothing pumps the blood through your veins quite like it.

"No, because I'm playing this year, in fact, I'm making first line."

I keep a laugh to myself. We both were on the team last year, but neither one of us got to see any time on the field, except for practice. "Hey, that's the spirit. Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one."

He just laughs. He knows I want the same thing, but my brain has a tendency to start overthinking things once I get on the field. I am good with layups, and I can even shoot the ball through one of the practice hoops I keep in the back yard, but for some reason when I am in the middle of a game, and I have the ball, I always seem to freeze up.

"Just out of curiosity, which half of the body are we looking for?"

I pause for a moment, and then keep walking on, "Huh, I didn't even think about that.

"And, uh, what if whoever killed the body is still out here?

"Also something I didn't think about." But for some reason, even when Scott brings up valid points as to why we shouldn't be out here, we still keep walking.

"It's comforting to know you've planned this out with your usual attention to detail."

We are climbing a hill, and our breath is coming out kind of ragged, and yet my mouth cannot stop. "I know." It is almost more of a groan than anything.

"Maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight, huh?" he starts to wheeze, but I hear his inhaler, and keep going till we crest the hill. Then I fall flat almost tripping and Scoot lands beside me. I quickly turn off my flashlight; about thirty yards away we see lights moving around. It's the search party, and before Scott can stop me I am off and running. Or at least crouch/running. Scott tries to get me to slow down, but the excitement of discovery is running high.

I start to slow down when I can barely hear Scott anymore, and then I turn around to see where I'm going and see a light in my eyes, and a dog barking at me. So of course I freak out and fall; landing on the ground ungracefully.

Then before I can even stand up, there is my dad. Did I mention that my dad is the Sheriff? Yeah, I did forget that huh. So of course this not only means I am in trouble, but I am in major trouble. "Dad, how are you doing?"

Its dark but I can feel the glare with the squinty eyes, which is my dad's 'your-in-trouble-and-there's-no-getting-out-of-it' face. "So, do you listen in to all of my phone calls?"

"No." I know I've been caught, so my mouth does what it normally does. Speak before I can even think about it. "Not the boring ones."

"Now, where's your usual partner in crime?"

Being the awesome best friend that I am, I couldn't very well rat him out. "Who, Scott? Scott's home. He said he wanted to get a good night's sleep for the first day back at school tomorrow. It's just me. In the woods. Alone."

I can tell he doesn't believe me, and really I wouldn't believe me either. Wherever I am getting myself into trouble, Scott isn't far behind. "Scott, you out there?" There is nothing but a quiet buzz from the radio on dad's shoulder, the rumble of thunder in the distance, and the slight patter of rain everywhere. So he gives up and I silently hope that he will make it home okay without me. "Well, young man, I'm gonna walk you back to your car, and you and I are gonna have a conversation about something called invasion of privacy."

As we walk dad keeps talking but it isn't anything I haven't already heard. And we both know this isn't the last time it will happen.

When I get home, I text Scott and tell him to tell me when he gets home alright.

About one in the morning I am half asleep listening to some music, when my phone goes off. I look down at the screen and see its Scott, and without hesitation answer. "Dude, are you alright. Sorry I had to leave you there, but Dad wouldn't let me stick around. He even had a deputy follow me home and I couldn't risk sneaking back out. And it was raining, well more of a drizzle really. But It got kinda cold and I was really worried."

Scott knows that sometimes I ramble. And it usually mean I have either had too much Adderall, not enough Adderall, or nervous. "Breath Stiles. I'm okay, I think."

"What do you mean you think?"

"Well I was walking through the woods, and I got bit by something."

"WHAT!?" Of course I yelled, isn't that what you do, when your best friend gets attacked in the woods?

"Dude, seriously!"

"Sorry"

"It's okay, I got it to stop- Shit, my mom's up, talk to you at school tomorrow." The line goes dead, and I am left hanging. My mouth is open and I probably have the stupidest look on my face, but when someone drops that kind of bomb on you there are only a few rational ways to react.

Obviously not going to be talking to Scott again till tomorrow, and now my brain is going a thousand miles a minute so I go over to my computer and start trying to find what would have bitten Scott.

…

So the first thing I do when I see Scott is go up to him so I can see the bite. "So, let's see this thing." He pulls up his shirt and I make to touch it but he flinches and pulls away.

"Yeah, it was too dark to see much, but I'm pretty sure it was a wolf."

"A wolf bit you?"

"Uh-huh."

"No not a chance." Through my research last night I figured out it couldn't be a wolf.

"I hear a wolf howling."

"No, you didn't."

"What do you mean, 'No, I didn't'? How do you know what I heard?"

I laugh like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Sometimes I like to flaunt my genius off, even to Scott. I know it's not the most attractive thing, but hey, it's about all I got. "Because California doesn't have wolves, okay? Not in like sixty years."

"Really?" he gets this face on him that just screams innocent. How we became friends, I will never know.

"Yes, really. There are no wolves in California."

"He doesn't look like he believe me, but shrugs it off. "All right, well, if you don't believe me about the wolf, then your defiantly not gonna believe me about when I tell you I found the body."

My body jerks uncontrollably. Making me look more like a spaz than I manage to do when I am in control. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, man, I wish. I'm gonna have nightmares for a month."

"Oh, God, that is freakin' awesome. I mean, this is seriously gonna be the best thing that's happened in this town since… Since the birth of Lydia Martian. Hey, Lydia, you look… like you're gonna ignore me." I am so easily distracted. But I have to blame this on someone, and it won't be me. I turn back to Scott from the direction that Lydia walked past. "You're the cause of this , you know."

"Uh-huh."

"Draggin' me down to your nerd depths. I am a nerd by association. I've been scarlet nerded by you." But it all makes me think back to Lydia. She is a strawberry blonde smokin bombshell. I have a whole ten year plan to make her fall in love with me, and I have been crushing on this girl since the third grade. But she has no idea I even exist. Plus it doesn't really help that she is dating the captain of the lacrosse team. And both of them are ridiculously hott. So of course I don't stand a chance. Doesn't stop me from trying though.

When the first class of the day starts, and the teacher tells us that the police have a suspect in custody, it is news to me. But then again, dad didn't come home last night, and I haven't talked to him since our little chat through the woods. So it is entirely possible that it is true, but it could also just be a tactic by the teacher trying to get us to pay attention rather than day dream.

The rest of the day goes pretty smoothly, and then the new girl is suddenly hanging out with Lydia and Jackson. Hott and beautiful people heard together.

…

At Lacrosse practice I am not at all surprised when Scott is still on this tangent about being first line. I know it means a lot to him, but I know there is no way I am going to make it, and if he does then I will be left on the bench by myself. So I sit on the bench and watch the rest of the team practice. Not much I can do really so I just sit there and watch. And Scott doesn't get a good start. Until he catches one, then two, then three. And then Jackson steps up, and I can tell this will end badly. But then he catches it. And is even showing off and suddenly I think that he might actually do well this year. Good for him, bad for me. But I am too happy for him to really think about my own insecurities, well, at least until later when there is no one else around.

After practice we head out into the woods to look for the dead body, and Scott's inhaler. "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 can hear stuff I shouldn't be able to hear. Smell things."

"Smell things? Like what?" I don't really believe him. I think he is just trying to pull a fast one on me, to get back at me for leaving him alone in the woods.

He pauses for a second, "Like the mint mojito gum in your pocket."

I scoff and start to search for the supposed gum, "I don't even have and mint mojito…" Then I stop talking when I feel something and pull it out. And there it is. The gum I didn't know I had. I still don't believe him. He could have planted it there without my knowing. I just raise an eyebrow at him. "So all this started with a bite." I know how to mess with him right back.

"What if it's like an infection, like my body's flooding with adrenaline before I go into shock or something?"

"You know what? I actually think I've heard of this. It's a specific kind of infection."

He looks at me and deadpans. "Are you serious?"

That's when I know I have him. "Yeah. Yeah, I think it's called lycanthropy."

"What's that, is it bad!?"

"Oh, yeah, it's the worst. But only once a month."

"Once a month?"

It is taking a lot out of me to not start laughing at my own joke that he obviously doesn't get. "Mm-hmm. On the night of the full moon." And then I howl. How can I not? And true to fashion, he lightly hits my shoulder. "Hey, you're the one who heard a wolf howling"

"Hey, there could be something seriously wrong with me."

"I know! You're a werewolf!" The growl is more for my amusement than his. He gives me an annoyed look, but it is something that I get from everyone so I don't take it personally. "Okay, obviously I'm kidding. But if you see me in shop class trying to melt all the silver I can find, its cause Friday's a full moon."

When we get to the place that Scott is sure he fell and lost his inhaler there is nothing to be found, not even a drop of blood. As he is looking through the leaves I turn and see a guy standing there, and it is really creepy. I get Scott to stand and look a little ashamed. I know we shouldn't be out here, but well, you know…

Then as he walks closer I realize who it is. And that is when things go from creepy to freaky.

"What are you doing here?" Somehow he manages to make it sound more like and accusation than a question. "Huh, this is private property."

Of course it is. The old Hale house must be somewhere close by. "Uh, sorry, man, we didn't know." Totally knew.

"Yeah, we were just looking for something, but uh, forget it." Scott looks a little jittery and quite frankly so am I. Then Derek throws something at Scott and he catches his inhaler. Weird… Then he turns and walks away without another word. I am in shock of what just happened. My mouth is still hanging open. When did Derek get back into town? And why is he back after so long away? "All right, come on, man, I gotta get to work."

But Scott doesn't know who that was. "Dude, that was Derek Hale. You remember, right? He's only like a few years older than us."

"Remember what?"

"His family. They all burned to death in a fire, like ten years ago."

"I wonder what he's doing back?" Saying what I think. True to form. I'm still standing there nervously, like I am waiting for Derek to come back and start yelling at us to get off his property, so that means it's time to go.

"Come on."

After I get home I start thinking about Derek and who even though he was glaring the entire time, there was still a mysterious hotness about him. How the leather jacket looks right on him. And how I wonder how he smelled.

Wait… why do I care how Derek smells? That is just, bizarre. I shake it off and start doing some homework. It's not like I think about guys or anything. I mean I am in love with Lydia. It must just be an overall curiousness. Sure that must be it. What else could it be?

…

I wake up in the morning and take my usual morning routine, then go down and make breakfast for me and dad. After mom died, I kinda took over in the food department. It became clear after all the dishes the neighbors and friends brought us we gone, that dad would have us live on take out. And since I already lost one parent, I wasn't about to lose the other due to high cholesterol. While I may not be an amazing chef I can whip up a good meal or two. So this morning its egg white omelets with veggies, and a little bit of cheese. As I set the plates on the table, dad walks in on the phone and I hear him talk about the test results they sent off to and L.A. lab. I listen in, and after I scarf down my food I rush off to school to find Scott. My theory of him being a werewolf last night may not be just a theory…

When I get there Scott is about to go out on the field and I try to stop him. "Scott, wait up!"

"Stiles, I'm playing the first elimination, man, can it wait?"

"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 is still in too much of a hurry to get out on the field though. "Stiles, I gotta go."

"Wait, no! Scott! You're not going to believe what the animal was!" But it is too late, he is on the field, and there is nothing I can do, but watch. As usual. "It was a wolf." It's more for my benefit than his at this point. But no one listens to me. Usually for good reason, but now would be a really good time to listen to Stiles.

Once he is on the field things start slow again, and just like last time, he picks himself up and ends up racing down the field bypassing anyone in his way, even jumping over three guys, just to make the shot. And he made it. Everyone is cheering, and the coach calls him over, but all that is running through my head is, 'OH. MY. GOD… MY BEST FRIEND IS A WEREWOLF!' This is not good. Not good at all…

…

So when I get home from school that day all I can do is research everything there is to find about werewolves, lycaons, and lycanthropy. I bring home a few books from the school library and even head to the public library to see what they have. I read up on everything from wolfsbane, to silver, any and all information I can get within my fingertips. Sleep isn't even an option at this point and before I know it is three the next afternoon. I can feel the panic attack coming, but I force it down and keep reading. I print off a bunch of pages that I think might be useful and try my best to not freak out. Then I shoot a text to Scott telling him that he needs to get over here ASAP. I am in the middle of more research when there is a knock on the door and I jump in my chair startled. Slowly I approach the door and when I see Scoot on the other side I sigh deeply. "Get in. You gotta see this thing. I've been up all night reading. Websites, books. All this information"

I can tell he is slightly worried about me. It has been a while since I have been this freaked out. "How much Adderall have you had today?"

"A lot." Can't really be bothered with such minor details at the moment, I am trying to make a point. "Doesn't matter. Okay, just listen."

"Oh is this about the body? Did they find out who did it?"

"No, they're still questioning people, even Derek Hale."

"Oh, the guy in the woods that we saw the other day."

I flail around a bit trying to regain focus. "Yeah! Yes, but that's not it, okay?"

He laughs a bit like I am really going crazy. "What then?"

"Remember the joke for the other day? Not a joke anymore." I can tell he still doesn't get what I am saying. "The wolf, the bite in the woods. I started doing all this reading. Do you even know why a wolf howls?" And then I am standing. There is a slight buzzing going on in my head and I can tell that I am going to have one massive bitch of a head ache after I come down from whatever it is I seem to be on.

"Should I?"

"It's a signal, okay?" When a wolf's alone, it howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack." I know I am twitching a little but there is nothing to be done about that just yet. "So if you heard a wolf howling, that means that others could have been nearby. Maybe even a whole pack of 'em."

"A whole pack of wolves?"

Sigh again. Sometimes Scott is really dense. "No, werewolves." But I am serious. He can see that, but I think it freaks him out a little, but then he chooses to not believe me.

"Are you serious with this? You know I'm picking up Allison in an hour."

I try to stop him. If he really is a werewolf then he might be dangerous. "I saw you on the field today, Scott. Okay, what you did wasn't just amazing, all right. It was impossible."

"Yeah, so I made a good shot."

"No, you made an incredible shot." I put a hand on his chest and hold him back before I go for his backpack and put it on the bed to keep him here. "I mean, the way you moved, your speed, your reflexes. People can't just suddenly do that overnight. And there's the vision and the senses, and don't even think I don't notice you don't need your inhaler anymore."

"Okay! Dude, I can't think about this now. We'll talk tomorrow."

But he hasn't listened to anything I have said. "Tomorrow? What? No! The full moon's tonight. Don't you get it?"

"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?" Of course this is all about him. He is my best friend and I love him to death, but sometimes Scott can be a little self-involved.

"I'm trying to help. You're cursed Scott. You know, and it's not just the moon will cause you to physically change. It also just so happens to be when your bloodlust will be at its peak."

"Bloodlust?" Maybe it's starting to sink in.

"Yeah, your urge to kill." I am really worried about him. And I am running out of ideas here.

"I'm already starting to feel an urge to kill, Stiles."

I don't really know what else to do here. So I guess I will try for more 'facts'. "You gotta hear this." I grab one of the books I left bookmarked for info. "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 get up to grab his phone. "I'm gonna call her right now"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm canceling the date."

"No, give it to me!" he slams me up against the wall and I know I flinch a bit, but Scott has never been aggressive with me before. Sure we have play wrestled before, but he has never almost assaulted me. I just breathe in and out and try to calm myself. I refuse to have a panic attack. It will not happen.

It takes a minute for Scott to calm down and realize what he almost just did. And I can't meet his eyes. All I wanted to do was help, but I have no idea how to handle this situation. I know he feels guilty but I still can look at him. "I'm sorry. I gotta go get ready for that party." He grabs his bag and head for the door. "I'm sorry."

After he walks out I take a few deep breaths and slam my head back onto the wall Scott just had me pinned against. And a bit angrily I grab my chair and set it upright, then see the back. There are claw marks in the leather cover. I touch them for a second, and look to the door. I wasn't planning on going to the party, but then decide that I have to go. If for nothing else, to help Scott. Even though he is refusing it at every turn.

…

I get to the party and it is already in full swing. I think this is the first time I have been to Lydia's house before, but I am too focused on Scott to really think about it. I saw his car outside so I know he is here somewhere. When I finally do find him, he is talking with Allison. I stay on the edges of his sight, but always keep him in mine. If something goes down, I want to be there to help. At some point I lose sight of him, and some guys that don't hate me from the Lacrosse team start talking to me and I get distracted for a few minutes. ADHD, it's a thing. It happens.. And then I think, Shit, where's Scott, and that is when he comes walking through the hallway not really looking so good. I call out to him, but he keeps going like he didn't hear me. I start to follow him outside and he gets in his car before I can do anything. Then I see Derek step up and say something to Allison. Which is strange, because I didn't think that Derek who hadn't been in town for a while would know the new girl. But she seems okay so I let her go, and head straight over to Scott's.

His door is locked when I get there, and I try to get in. He tells me that I need to go check on Allison, and I say that she got a ride home. And he thinks that Derek is the one who bit him. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the little fact that Derek is the one who drove her home. His door slams shut and I can't get in, and he isn't responding. So I go and do the best thing I can. Go check on Allison.

I break a few traffic laws to get there as fast as I can, but I get there in less than ten minutes. And then I am ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door like a lunatic. Just wishing for someone to open the door. Finally a woman, presumably Mrs. Argent opens the door. "Hi, Mrs. Argent. You have no idea who I am. I am a friend of your daughter's. Uh, look, this is gonna sound kind of crazy, really crazy actually. You know what? Crazy doesn't-"

"Allison! It's for you." I was rambling, and like most peoples she couldn't wait for me to finish. But that is okay, because there is Allison, alive and in one piece. It is a shock really. She comes down the stairs and her mother leaves us to talk.

"Stiles, what are you doing here?"

"I, well you see, I, um…" It takes me a minute to collect my thoughts, but then I think of the perfect thing to say. "Um, Scott wanted to make sure that you made it home okay, and that he is really sorry he had to leave like that. He felt sick and didn't want to throw up in front of you."

She gives me this look like she doesn't really believe what I am saying, but decides to let it go. "Well thanks for coming. His friend gave me a ride home. But he owes me an apology."

"Duly noted." I stand there awkwardly for a moment more ricking on my heels and swing my arms back and forth for a minute, "Well I guess I should get going… Have a good night."

She just gives me one more weird look, "Night Stiles."

…

The next day I am driving around the back roads looking for Scott, he forgot to take is phone with him so he can't call. But if I know him then he is wandering around out there somewhere. I finally find him, and he gets in.

There is a bit of comfortable silence before he speaks up, "You know what actually worries me the most?"

"If you say Allison I am gonna punch you in the head."

"She probably hates me now."

I get this really gross feeling in my stomach realizing that if these two continue to date, I am going to have to deal with a lot of stupid lovey dovey crap. "I talked to her, and as long as you give her one amazing apology, I think she will forgive this one transgression. Or you could just tell her the truth and revel in the awesomeness of the fact that you're a fricken' werewolf! Okay, bad idea. But don't worry, we can get through this. I can chain you up myself on the full moon nights, and feel you live mice. I had a boa once. I could do it." He just scoffs but this is why we are best friends. I get Scott into trouble and then I help bail him out. This time might have gone a bit too far, but it doesn't change the fact that I will help him out however I can.