It had been nearly a month since Scott McCall had seen Derek Hale morph into a true wolf, and he was beginning to wonder if the man had vanished for good, perhaps aiding the Calaveras in hunting down his nemesis Kate. It didn't help that his friend Stiles brought him up every day, unable to keep his inquisitive thoughts to himself.

"I mean, the guy's a big, bad werewolf. Except he isn't a werewolf anymore. He's like, a really, really bad true wolf. Maybe he's living with other wolves. Maybe he's in the woods naked, forever primal."

Scott sighed. One would think he was already used to the constant chatter that signaled that Stiles was nearby. Then again, one would also think that werewolves, kanimas, and banshees didn't exist in the human world. He raised his hand, signaling to his best friend to stop talking.

"...but maybe he's outside of the house, you know? Maybe him and creepy Uncle Peter are spying on us, just like they always do."

"STILES!" Scott yelled, hearing a hint of a roar escape his throat. Stiles froze, his mouth hanging wide open. Scott swallowed. "Sorry dude. Its just that we should probably head out." He indicated towards his bedroom clock.

Stiles nodded vigorously. "Yeah dude, yeah. I…yeah. Let's go." He let out a high-pitched laugh. Scott grinned and grabbed his lacrosse stick, strapping it to his backpack. Stiles yanked him by the arm. "C'mon. Lets just take the jeep."

…

Xavier popped his trunk, and slung his duffel bags over his forearm. The key was in the mailbox, exactly as his father had told him before his flight departed to America. He slid the key into the doorknob and turned it slowly, as if he didn't expect it to work. The lock slid easily, letting out a very loud click as it unbolted. Xavier was curious as to why the lock was so loud, but he turned the handle and focused on dragging his bags in.

The Argent household was empty, but it was just as big and just as fancy as he was told. He marveled for a few seconds, then proceeded to the garage. Finding the switch underneath the garage door controls, he flicked it and watched, unsurprised, as Chris Argent's hidden weapons compartments in the walls opened, revealing they were all empty.

Yanking out his cell phone, he dialed his father.

"X? I assume the house is in good order?"

Xavier took a breath before answering. "Yes sir. I'm probably going to get some stuff before Monday."

He could hear faint shuffling in the background, like his father wasn't the only person listening to the call. "Is Matt there?"

His father grunted in response. "That's not important. Your brother is fine. He's busy, just like you are. You'll find that your papers are all in order for enrollment at Beacon Hills High. Just try to have some fun, blend in." He then hung up.

Xavier snorted softly. Thanks Dad. He trudged out of the front door, once again thinking about the lock as it clapped shut behind him.

…

Coach Finstock seemed to have even less patience for Stiles' than Scott did that morning. Drumming his knuckles on Stiles' head for added effect, he outlined his rubric for the upcoming economics project. "You will work in groups of two, but someone may want to pair up with both Stilinski and McCall because they're basically half a student each! And Greenberg, if I see you in this class again, I'll drop the curve for your last exam!"

Scott rubbed his eyes, and then returned his gaze to his girlfriend Kira. Looking beautiful as always, it provided a much better view in class than Coach Finstock's waving arms did. She caught him looking and waved, smiling huge and waving almost as wildly as Finstock.

Scott chuckled inwardly. As long as he had his friends, he could deal with Coach Finstock and his worries about Derek.

…

Mondays suck. Scott parked his bike, but he waited for Stiles and Kira before walking to the school double doors. "Hey you," he grinned as Kira pecked him on the lips.

She smiled coyly at him and the two linked arms, walking into the school halls with Stiles struggling to keep up. As they passed the main office, Scott's ears picked up an unfamiliar voice coming from the inside.

"…yes sir. I just moved in…yeah, today is fine. Might as well start on a Monday, right?" His eyes followed the sound, settling on a young teenager shaking the hand of the principal. He was of average height and a tad on the slender side, with a youthful face. He was Chinese. How Scott knew, he couldn't explain.

"New kid," Stiles murmured. His eyes followed Scott's gaze. "Knowing our luck, he's probably super powerful and is a male kitsune.

Kira laughed and threw an elbow into Stiles' chest, getting a slight weeze in return. "Don't be crazy. Kitsune means trickster, not Asian. And I don't know of any males who are kitsunes. They prefer females, beautiful ones." She clapped her hands over her mouth, mortified at what she just said.

Scott nodded. "Stiles, dude, don't jinx us."

…

Slogging through the day wasn't hard. With the exception of history, all of Xavier's classes were fairly easy. Mr. Yukimara was just a hardass teacher. I mean, what the hell? Since when is history hard? Xavier thought ruefully.

He was never good at history in school because he had spent way too much effort in learning the alternate histories of werewolves and other supernaturals when he and his brother were under the tutelage of his parents. It was the only history that mattered.

He went to his car right after his final period ended, tossing his bag into the passenger seat. As he slid his frame into the car, he noticed a group of students seemingly watching him. Not pausing in his movement, he turned the ignition and turned on the radio. As he drove out of the parking lot, only then did he allow himself a glance. It was two boys, and two girls. The boys were perhaps slightly taller than he was, and both sported guarded, wary expressions. The girls were beautiful, one Asian with long shiny hair, and the other with flaming red hair. So that's McCall's pack.

…

"He knew we were watching him." Stiles, Lydia, and Kira all quickly turned to him, questioning looks on their faces. Scott nodded his head repeatedly, chewing his lip. "I just know."

Stiles exhaled slowly. "New kid is another crazy. Anyone wanna guess who or what he is?"

Lydia spoke. "We follow him. Right?"

Everyone stared at her. "What? Isn't that what everyone does these days when a super-creature shows up around here?"

…

The second the bell rang, Scott was out the exit and sitting next to Stiles in his beat up jeep. The new kid-Xavier-didn't know what car they drove, so they figured it was an advantage.

Malia Tate emerged from the rear of the car and clambered in through the open back.

"Christ, Malia. What were you doing, cutting your nails?" She grinned widely and kissed Stiles before he could complain further.

"I'm here babydoll. Nice to see you too." She quickly stopped talking as Xavier exited the building and got into his own vehicle, parked in the exact same location as the previous day. "Who is this creep?"

"New kid. He's quiet, smart." Scott heard the words coming out of Stiles' mouth, but he kept all his focus of the other boy. Xavier drove slowly out of the lot. Slowly, but with assurance. Stiles quickly followed in the jeep.

…

"What the hell?" Scott leaned forward in his seat, straining against the seat belt. Xavier had parked the car and was now on the doorstep of Allison Argent's once unoccupied home.

Stiles had taken the care to park the car a block down, but Scott could easily see that Xavier had a key and had no problems getting into the large house.

He felt a pang. Kira was his girlfriend, and he loved her. But he had also loved Allison, and he missed her. He had always wondered whether he would ever love Kira the way he loved Allison. He had wondered if he could ever learn to live freely without her. Now he was being reminded of those fears.

…

Scott paced restlessly in his best friend's room. "Why is a guy we never heard about living in the Argent's old mansion after being empty for months?"

Stiles mulled his answer before responding. "Dunno bro. Maybe it was just for sale and we didn't know. Maybe he bought it."

"No way in hell. Lydia and her folks know everyone in this town. If that house was being sold, she would have known about it. Plus, we haven't seen Mr. Argent since…" His voice trailed off.

"Since Derek?" Stiles finished for him, an edge to his voice. "Think maybe there's a connection." He whipped around in his computer chair, sliding to where his rolling marker board stood. He scribbled down a few things. Scott saw him write "Xavier" and "Derek-Wolf," circling both phrases.

He felt exhausted, and it wasn't even late. They had just returned from the Argent's house. Scott had refused to call it Xavier's house.

They heard Malia bouncing up the stairs and sure enough, she burst into the room, holding a huge bag of chips in her hand. "So, Xavier has a fresh crib. What's so crazy about that?"

Scott bristled. Stiles mumbled something about Allison to her in a low tone. Malia kept chewing, her face unmoving.

Scott stood up. "I don't know any more than the rest of you. Maybe we should stop worrying about this." Ignoring Stiles' raised eyebrow, he headed for the stairs. "I'm sure something will end up making sense."

…

Stiles watched his friend leave the room. He turned to his girlfriend. "He's freaking out. He still thinks about her."

Malia grinned mischievously. "You need to stop thinking about him." Without another word, she pushed him against the wall and began kissing his neck.