Pulling his car to a stop, Danny glanced out his windshield and noticed the cloudy weather. If it rained later, he'd be miserable because Coach held practice rain or shine while he stood beneath an umbrella. Coach decided to force him and several unlucky starters to see what the freshmen were made of later. He was the Cyclone's only goalie, so he had to be at all the tryouts. Danny lowered his head to the steering wheel, groaning to himself. "I want to be sleeping right now."

He put his car in park and removed his keys, spotting another car pull in beside him. The entire lacrosse team parked in the same section ever since they had cars to drive. Danny slid out and held his backpack on one shoulder and his lacrosse bag on the other. "Tell me you are coming later. I can't stand the freshmen," he muttered, glancing to a fellow player.

"No way! Have you been listening to the news? It's going to storm later. Coach is crazy if he doesn't cancel tryouts."

"I don't think he cares."

"I know he doesn't care. It just sucks to be you. It's the first day back anyway. I'm exhausted from waking up so early. I'm used to sleeping in."

"The freshmen are going to sit the bench. I don't see the point. Coach won't make a second team for them, and there's barely enough teams for us to play. If the team doesn't completely stink, we aren't even playing kids in high school," Danny explained, rubbing at one of his eyes. He could faintly remember being plowed by a football player that resembled a gorilla on steroids; it might have been the other way around. Waking up with a splitting headache and sore body was the worst part, but they won the championship match. He had a feeling this season would not be easy, considering they held the title. "Why did they change it to a full day? The first day is supposed to be half," he protested, walking towards the entrance.

"McCall sucked, but now, he's captain. There could be hope for some of the freshmen with last year's seniors gone. I'm just playing, so I can get a scholarship. My grades are not going to cut it."

"You know McCall is something else. Lacrosse is the only thing our school has. All of our other teams suck. More recruiters are going to come to our games now. I guess it's a good thing we won. The other schools are coming after us though."

"Woah, look at those bikes!"

Danny stopped beside his friend and grinned at the sight of two motorcycles. "How much do you think they are worth?"

"More than we could afford."

"I think Jackson could have managed. He drove a Porsche. He never did give me that car." Danny muttered, crossing his arms. His best friend finally escaped Beacon Hills and moved to London with his family. Danny felt happy for him, knowing something would be missing this year. Jackson needed a change of environment though; he could tell something had been bothering him last year. If he could have helped more, he would, but Danny settled with giving his friend space. Although, Jackson did make up with Lydia towards summer; it didn't take him long to leave them behind. It was probably for the best. He'd have to find new people to hang out with now.

"No, Jackson's parents could have bought the entire town. I'm really surprised they lived here with all the money they had. I just wish I had a bike like that."

Danny rolled his eyes and began to walk away. The sound of another motorcycle approaching made him look over his shoulder. A green bike parked near the front, and he recognized McCall when he slipped the helmet off. Was everybody getting new rides for junior year? He turned back and quit staring, remembering how Jackson would tease him about having crushes. The captain had nice looks, but he was not his type nonetheless. "Taylor, wait up," he called, watching his friend disappear inside.

He entered and sighed when Taylor was nowhere in sight. "Thanks, man," he mumbled and walked to his locker. Danny opened the lock and stuffed his lacrosse bag inside with great difficulty, forcing it into the empty space. The lockeroom was located on the other side of the school, and class began shortly. Closing the metal door, he wondered if he would be able to open it again because the bag's sheer bulk. A flier taped to the pale, blue locker down the row caught his eye, and he read it quickly. Since when did their school have a Cross Country team? Danny saw Coach's name across the bottom and knew the entire lacrosse team would be roped into this nonsense as well; Coach Finstock threatened them with failing grades if they refused to listen. He stood in goal mostly and could use more exercise though.

Danny reminded himself to ask Coach later and walked to class. He met a few friendly faces, waving at other members of the team. A lot of them had changed over the summer, and he wished his had been more eventful. Last summer was consumed by his ex, but they weren't together anymore. He really missed having a friend constantly around; their relationship would never have worked out in the end. His teammates seemed to have met a few ladies over the past few months, and he could see the stories of having sex and horrible lies already.

Chemistry II took his first block, and sitting through Mr. Harris' class was not his ideal start to a day. Mr. Harris took pride in getting his students in deep trouble, so Danny wisely stayed on his good side. He began a project over the summer with his teacher's assistance to insure extra credit and leniency.

"Hello, Danny."

He jumped and glanced to the large desk near the whiteboard. "Hey, Mr. Harris. Have you had a good summer?"

"Yes, I have surprisingly. I can't believe I have to return and teach a new class of buffoons. How is the project going? You said you were still researching the last time we spoke."

"Well, chem isn't the most exciting subject. I'd rather stay home too," Danny explained, crossing his arms awkwardly. He never knew what to say around Mr. Harris. "I found some interesting information that backs up my theory. I'm still missing something, so I'll show you the minute I figure it out."

"Great, I wish I had more students like you. I might be able to stand teaching then."

Danny nodded and retreated to a desk by the windows, dropping his backpack beside him. Why did he come up with such a challenging project? He had been bored to tears over the summer, but his extra credit work gave him headaches after a few moments of focusing. It seemed to boost his teacher's confidence in him though, and he preferred teacher's pet over painful detentions. Mr. Harris has been known to keep students until dark due to classroom disruptions. Stiles complained quite frequently about the man's evil heart and desire to torture teenagers.

He was the first in the classroom and hardly cared. Homework usually occupied him in the morning because of advanced classes, but he'd wait until class began. The amount of rules and syllabuses were always overwhelming, making him feel like he might nod off at any second. Danny's thoughts drifted when his brown eyes met the window. Strange things have been happening in Beacon Hills over the past year or so. He wished he had explanations for them. Who knew so much trouble could happen in a small town?

The mountain lion attacks were nightmarish until the police blamed Derek Hale and cleared his name just as fast. They eventually stopped until sophomore year when more people were attacked and killed. Sophomore year turned into a blur after he broke up with his ex, and Jackson acting weird made it harder on him. Despite Jackson's attitude to others, he could speak his mind and get things off his chest. He hated seeing in his friend in such a distressed state; he even put a restraining order on Scott which Danny never understood.

Another incident completely flipped the school around. If Erica turning into a supermodel overnight wasn't bizarre, then the murders and accusations flying around made everyone paranoid. There had to be stranger things in the world; he just didn't have the answers to all of his questions yet. Danny remembered Matt, the photographer, and how he drowned in the river next to the police station. He attended the funeral because Matt played on the Cyclones, yet not many people were there. It left Danny with an odd feeling inside because Matt would never be scoring goals again. Why did he go into the river though? Was he attacked, or did he do something stupid and hit his head? Everyone completely forgot after he passed, and the school didn't bother with a memorial.

Isaac, another player on the Cyclones, had been accused of murdering his abusive father just after school started. The sheriff cleared his name and allowed him to come back to school shortly after. Danny felt wary around Isaac after that as if the accusations had been true all along. He didn't believe Isaac hurt anyone, yet Isaac came from an unstable household. His father could have warped his mind, making him snap one night.

"Hello, Danny!"

Danny turned his head and narrowed his eyes at Taylor. "Where did you disappear to?"

"What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing! You just left me, so where did you do go?"

"I walked my girlfriend to class. I was hoping to keep it secret."

"Since when do you have a girlfriend?" Danny asked, puzzled. He looked down to his wooden desk, tracing his finger across the surface. It was harder for him to grow close to anyone because he liked men. His ex cheated on him with a woman, and they had been together over half a year. He really thought he found the person that would stick with him through everything. After breaking up, Danny wasn't sure if he'd ever find another man like his ex; he had been so perfect. Everyone at BHHS knew he was gay, but they lived in a small town. It was difficult to find someone attractive that could like him back at the same time.

"I went to a party, and we started talking. I got her digits," Taylor explained, giving Danny grin.

"I hope she knows what she's getting herself into. I bet it doesn't last a month," he muttered, propping his head up.

"Oh, we'll see about that."

The bell rang and announced summer's end. He looked over the faces in the classroom and saw Scott and Stiles on the other side of the room. How did their Captain get into this class? Lydia sat at the front of the room which didn't surprise him. She could easily be the smartest student in the school. Mr. Harris began to speak, pointing at several guidelines on the whiteboard. On the edge of his peripheral, he watched McCall and Stiles whispering urgently. They always had something to talk about, and when he eavesdropped, their conversations were pretty random. "Mr. Stilinski!"

Danny returned his attention to their chem teacher, noticing his irritated expression. Both of them had been talking, but Mr. Harris loathed Stiles with a passion. If Stiles didn't provoke him, maybe he wouldn't get into so much trouble. They chose to have their weird conversations during chem, and Mr. Harris refused to put up with it. He shifted his position and glanced to the clock. Only one minute had passed before the threats for punishment began.

Rubbing his eyes, Danny felt like he began to fall asleep towards the end of class. The bell rang loudly and woke him, preventing him from getting his ass chewed by Harris. He stuffed several papers into his backpack and stood to leave, following the eager crowd to the door.

"Danny."

He paused and retreated a few steps. "Yes?"

"I'd really like you to show me your project on telluric currents. I plan on giving the class a project early on, so you'll be exempt from it. Try to finish it by next week if possible, and I might give you extra credit. It's not often I come across a student like you."

"I'll go to the library after school," he promised, sighing with relief. Mr. Harris graded projects heavily; being exempt from doing one was a dream come true.

"Alright, you have class. I don't feel like writing a late slip right now."

Danny took his signal to leave and walked into the hall quickly. He pulled out his schedule and set off to English next.

The day passed dully and slowly. His backpack appeared like it might burst from textbooks at any moment. The reading and signing papers later would be extremely annoying. Once he reached his locker, Danny remembered the oncoming storm and Coach's tryouts. He wanted to go home so badly that he forgot all about it. "Why?" Danny asked himself, seeing Scott walk towards the entrance with Stiles. Of course, neither of them had to stay behind and put up with Coach. He began to open his locker when Danny recalled something else. "Damn it."

Readjusting his backpack, he moved back into the crowd and walked slowly to the library. Danny didn't feel like looking through massive books at the moment, but he was worried about Harris revoking his offer. He entered the double doors and scanned the shelves of books. Several people were hanging out instead of going home. The clock told him that he didn't have long to sift through the library before Coach made him run laps. Despite their small school, their library was contained in the largest room in the school. To him, it was very impressive, and a lot of their funding went into the extensive library. BHHS surprisingly offered tough programs that required the collection of books; it trumped the town library easily.

"Currents," he muttered to himself, heading in the direction. Danny walked past a book shelf and watched in surprise. A boy stood near the history shelf with his twin brother right next to him, looking over the references. Danny was surprised because he had never seen them before, and they were both attractive. His heart skipped a beat when one actually turned and watched him, hinting a faint smile. The moment ended as Danny collided with a freshmen and nearly made him drop his books. "Sorry," he stammered, steadying the boy. How embarrassing! He felt his skin grow warm; he hadn't been this embarrassed in awhile. Danny took a deep breath and told himself to fix the situation immediately.

He walked over to the boy and forced himself to look him in the eye. "Hi, I'm Danny," he said, feeling like an idiot.

"I'm Ethan," Ethan replied, crossing his arms. "I'm new here. You could probably tell though. We've been getting some stares. I'm taking Beacons Hills doesn't have many new kids?"

"No, we don't get a lot of new people. The new people tend to be the most interesting though. It's just something different in a small town. We like excitement here."

"This is Aiden by the way," Ethan added, elbowing his brother.

Aiden turned and waved before returning to his book search.

"You like excitement? We've heard a lot of weird stuff happens here." Ethan continued, leaning against the shelf.

"I honestly don't know what goes on here. I know the town is hiding something, and it might come clear to everyone soon enough. I'm sure the police will find answers."

"Like how those two people died?"

"You heard about that?"

"We heard it wasn't the only two. Do you guys have a wild animal problem?" Ethan asked, chuckling.

Danny knew it was ridiculous himself. If the deaths were caused by wild animals, they had a serious problem on their hands. It's like they couldn't live their every day lives without another death turning up. "A mountain lion killed some people awhile back, but Mr. Argent killed it. I honestly don't know. I just hope the police figures out something before somebody else get hurt," he insisted, frowning. "You just moved here, and we're talking about this. Are you joining any teams? You guy look like you could handle lacrosse, and you'll meet half the guys here. Scott McCall is the captain, so you can talk with him."

Ethan seemed a little surprised at the news, nodding slowly. "We saw a flier for cross country. How do we talk with Mr. Finstock?"

Danny smiled at Ethan's question, feeling glad he knew Coach for once. "I have to help Coach with lacrosse tryouts later. You guys could come with me and talk to him," he offered.

Shaking his head, Ethan turned to ask his brother a question. Aiden was already having a conversation with Lydia Martin.

"That didn't take long," Danny mumbled, tilting his head to watch them.

"Yeah, Aiden is a flirt. First day and he's already hitting up women. We would go, but it's supposed to rain later. We came here on bikes, so I don't want to be soaked. We also have to help our Dad unpack the house. He's crazy about having everything perfect."

"Wait, are you talking about the bikes out front? Those bikes?" Danny asked, recalling the two motorcycles.

"Yeah, those bikes."

"They are really nice. It must have taken you forever to save up."

"Nah, our Dad is just generous. We don't ask much of him, and it's really fun to go riding."

He watched as Aiden walked away, trailing after Lydia like a puppy. She already has him wrapped around her finger. With Jackson gone, Lydia is left without a boy toy. "I feel sorry for your brother," he began, laughing.

"I do too. I tell him from time to time, but he never seems to care. I better go get him before he gets into trouble," Ethan said lightly, starting to walk away. He paused and looked back to him. "Danny, can you show me around school sometime? Aiden has been asking directions from women all day, but I'd actually like to find my way around. You know what he's up to. Oh, and you need to take me to your Coach. Cross country sounds fun. See you around!" Ethan added, jogging after his brother.

Danny nodded and let out a long breath when Ethan left. He turned disaster into a new friend; he wasn't sure how he did it though. As he looked around, the library seemed to clear considerably, and his phone started to ring.

"Hello?"

"Danny, where are you? Tryouts start in a few minutes."

"Shit! I forgot. I'll be right there."

Danny hung up and raced over to the science shelf. He scanned the titles and stuffed two books into his backpack without checking them out. The librarians wouldn't notice they were missing, and Coach would have his ass if he wasn't ready on time. Sprinting through the halls, he apologized if he bumped into anyone and stopped outside of his locker. He hit another spot of trouble when his lacrosse back got stuck in his locker, yanking and pulling to get it out. Danny nearly stumbled when the bag came free, and he slammed the locker with a pounding heart.I'm so dead, so very, very dead.

He wondered how fast he ran because the distance to the lockeroom passed in seconds. Bursting inside, he threw his bags to the floor and started to get dressed in his practice jersey. Coach entered the room while he was lacing his cleats and began to explain the purpose of the tryout, meaning Coach was simply going to weed out the freshmen. By the time they were heading to the field, he strapped his pads on and cursed himself for losing track of time. Thankfully, Coach had his sights on the freshmen, so his late appearance went unnoticed.

Jogging out to the field, he saw Coach already set up a drill and walked over to the goal. He slipped his helmet on and gripped his lacrosse stick tightly.

"Danny, none of them better score, or you'll be the one running!"

"Yes, Coach!" he called back, gripping his stick tighter. The sound of revving motorcycles drew his attention though, and he looked over his shoulder. Two riders sped out of the parking lot, hugging low to their bikes. A peal of thunder rang out above; they must be trying to beat the storm. They were out of sight in moments. A ball smacked him in the chest and brought him to attention, scaring him half to death.

"Danny! You're lucky he doesn't know what he's doing!" Coach yelled, blowing his whistle for the drill to continue.

Shaking his head, he told himself to focus on the incoming lacrosse balls. He didn't feel like running today.