The Beacon Hills police station was fairly quiet at seven in the morning. She didn't know what she had expected but it certainly wasn't this - in her nightmare, the station had been overly crowded with wild criminals who had been picked up during the night and was now resisting arrest, doing everything in their power to attack her. Dreams like those had been more common since the dosage of her sleeping medication had lowered after she was discharged – she never knew just how much she'd come to appreciate dreamless sleep until the nightmares came back even though they were significantly less violent than before. Instead of wild criminals, a female officer sat behind the front desk. As Riley approached, she could tell that the officer was doing paperwork but she looked up when she noticed Riley coming closer.

"Hi," she smiled. "What can I do for you?" Riley looked at her hands and tried to will them to stop shaking but they wouldn't. The sleeping pill was wearing off and she hadn't had her morning coffee yet. The effects of the anti-anxiety meds wouldn't kick in until about another half hour but Riley desperately wished, they'd work right away – maybe then she would actually be able to hear something other than her own heartbeat.

"I'm supposed to talk to Sheriff Stilinski," she explained hoping her voice didn't shake as much as her hands did.

"Is he expecting you?" The woman questioned. Riley nodded.

"Yeah," she said. " I'm Riley Harmon. It's about an assistant job." The officer checked the calendar next to the folder with the paperwork she'd been working on.

"Okay," said the woman and rose. "Follow me." The heels of Riley's boots sounded louder than she liked as she followed the officer through a set of door's and into the primary area of the precinct. A couple of deputies who seemed too tired to be doing police work sat at their desks, seemingly trying to look alive and busy. Riley could smell the coffee from the small kitchenette on the other side of the room, and she had to fight the need to sprint over there to pour a cup for herself – you would think that five months without coffee would make her less addicted and it had but the smell was strong in the small room. Her mouth watered. The officer took Riley to a door that had Sheriff written on it in impossibly big letters. She knocked and a muffled sound came from the other side of the door, the officer entered with Riley right behind her. Sheriff Stilinski sat at his desk with his chin propped down on the base of his hand, which rested on the desk. He had an exhausted and somewhat conflicted look in his eyes – Riley couldn't tell if it was stress, age, or a case that made the Sheriff look as tired as he did. The Sheriff stood and approached Riley who remained close to the door so she could flee if she needed to, but Sheriff Stilinski offered a friendly smile and dismissed his officer so they could talk in private.

"Your father speaks highly of you," said the Sheriff after proper introductions. Riley was a little shocked to hear that her father had something positive to say about her, they hardly ever spoke and family meals were always painfully awkward and silent. She made a mental note to thank him later.

"So the job," the Sheriff began. "You're interested?" Riley nodded; afraid her voice would betray her if she spoke before swallowing the lump that seemed to be stuck on her vocal chord.

"Sure," she said. "I just want something to keep me occupied so I won't get too wrapped up in my own mind again." And something to keep her mind off Eichen House, but she didn't say that part out loud, she didn't want to him to think she was insane. Sheriff Stilinski nodded knowingly and when Riley started picking at the blue nail polish, he offered a friendly smile. He opened his mouth to say something but the door behind Riley burst open hitting her in the process because she hadn't moved an inch since she entered the room. A barely familiar brown-haired boy seemed shocked to find another person besides the Sheriff in his office.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't know anyone was in here. Well besides him," he said pointing at the Sheriff. Riley rubbed her shoulder where the door had hit her hardest, it didn't hurt much but enough that it would eventually turn into a bruise under her thin skin.

"It's okay," she said.

"This is Riley," he said. "She'll be my new assistant." The boy furrowed his brows and exchanged a look with the Sheriff who stared right back. It seemed like they were having silent dialogue and Riley just stood there quietly with shaking hands, and felt very much out of place.

"Riley," she jumped at her name. "This is my son, Stiles, he'll give you a ride to school." Stiles opened his mouth to protest but a stern look from his father made him close his mouth.

"He doesn't have to," Riley said. "I can get there myself."

"Don't be ridiculous," Stilinski said. "Your father said you don't drive."

"I can drive, I just don't have a car. I have my bike."

"Please tell me that bike has an engine," Stiles said, the look in his brown eyes almost pleading Riley to say that no, it wasn't a regular bike but a really loud one, the kind that made her jump out of her skin every time one passed her on the street.

"Jesus," Stiles said rubbing his eyebrow. "I'll give you a ride and drop you off here after school."

"O-okay." Riley cursed herself from the station and back to her bed where she could hide under her covers, and try to forget that she had stuttered. Would this embarrassment ever end?

Stiles owned an old blue jeep that sounded like it would break down at any given moment, the radio didn't work, and Riley was almost positive that several of the seats were held together by duct tape alone. Both teenagers were quiet for a long time on their way to the school, Stiles seemed lost in thought and Riley didn't dare speak. Her hands were firmly placed under her thighs so Stiles wouldn't notice just how much they shook, the anti-anxiety meds were starting to work but no matter how high her dosage was, it seemed like her hands never entirely stopped shaking. Only when she was alone or felt a hundred percent safe but that was a rare experience so she'd gotten used to it.

"I've never seen you at school before," said Stiles. Riley detected suspicion in his tone.

"I transferred from Devenford Prep six months ago but left shortly after. It's my first day back." Stiles' broad shoulders relaxed and he cast a quick glance in her direction.

"Where'd you go?" This time it was curiosity that's noticeable in his tone of voice. Riley contemplated whether or not to tell the familiar stranger about her trip to the loony bin, she didn't like the idea of that rumor going around school and all the stares that would inevitably come along with it. Stiles seemed like someone with a lot of secrets, someone who never fully trusted anyone so maybe he needed someone to be honest with him, and not give him a reason to be suspicious.

"Eichen House," she finally said. After she said it, she remembered that a stay at Eichen House made her look suspicious no matter what. Stiles' eyes went wide as if a memory flashed before them, and Riley noticed that his breaths became somewhat shallow. As someone who constantly battled symptoms like that, she'd learned to notice when it happened to other people but she'd also learned to know when it was okay to push and when it wasn't. This didn't seem like the time so she didn't say anything.

"Really?" He asked after about thirty seconds.

"Yeah."

"How was it?"

"Uh terrifying," she said and then smiled for the first time all morning. "But it helped." Silence filled the car again and Riley was relieved that Stiles didn't push her to talk about why she'd been admitted to Eichen House.

"Are you cold?" Riley furrowed her brows at him.

"No, why?" Stiles gestured in what must have been the general direction of her hands but it looked more liked he'd gestured towards the window. Riley suppressed a laugh.

"You're sitting on your hands."

"They're shaking," Riley explained. "They always do. Almost, anyway."

"Oh." Riley sighed and spent the rest of the car ride looking out the window. She wasn't entirely sure she was ready to go back to school despite how relieved she'd been to be released from Eichen House after five months. There were many stressors involved with school especially since she had a lot of work to catch up on even though the school had provided her with assignments while she was gone. The jeep rolled into the school parking lot and Riley couldn't get out of there fast enough, so she practically tripped over own feet getting out of the jeep and fell face first onto the pavement. Stiles jogged around the jeep to help her up but not before she'd noticed the grin on his face.

"You okay?" She nodded and rubbed her hands together to get the dirt off. "Wow, you weren't kidding about your hands. How long's it been going on?" They walked up the school steps together.

"I'm not sure," Riley replied. "The first memory I have of it is a couple of weeks after I moved here with my parents. I have no recollection of it before then."

"Huh," Stiles said, his dark brows knitted together.

"Thanks for the ride but I have to go to my locker to pick up some books for class, I'll talk to you later." Riley didn't wait around for a reply but more or less sprinted down the hallway and breathed out heavily once her head was stuffed halfway into the locker. Just as she was finally getting herself together and her breathing had steadied, she heard a familiar voice call her name. Riley poked her head out from behind the locker to find none other than Hayden Romero standing a couple of feet away with a very confused Liam Dunbar next to her. A wide smile spread on her face as Hayden ran over and threw her arms around Riley.

"I can't believe you're back," she said once she let go. When Riley first transferred she'd been seated next to Hayden in their history class and the girls had become fast friends. Hayden was the only one besides her parents who had visited her at Eichen and Riley appreciated that, it had made her feel less alone – less of a freak.

"I'm sorry I haven't come by for a while, things have been crazy."

"It's fine," Riley assured her friend. "Hi Liam." Liam, who had finally caught up to Hayden, stood awkwardly beside her. Riley and Liam knew each other from Devenford Prep, though not well, the two had still been friendly. He offered a wave.

"Where'd you go?"

"That guy Stiles asked the same thing," Riley said. "I was at Eichen House."

"You were at Eichen House?"

"You know Stiles?" Hayden and Liam asked in unison. Riley chuckled.

"I was and I wouldn't exactly say I know him as much as I know who he is," Riley explained. "His Dad pretty much forced him to give me a ride as if my bike would kill me on the way here." It was the first joke she'd made since getting out of Eichen and the smiles on Hayden and Liam's faces made it all worth it. It easiness and the joke was a good sign that the meds had kicked in and her hands had more or less stopped shaking – it was only a slight tremor now. Before either of them could question her further, the bell rung and they all had to race off to their shared English class.

"We have to tell her," said Neal Harmon. He looked at his wife whom their daughter took after more so than him. Dark brown hair, striking brown eyes with a stare as intense as the blazing sun, and a smile that made his knees go weak. The difference between his wife and daughter's eyes was the fear. Where Riley's stare was intense, it was also fearful and paranoid.

"We can't," she insisted. "It will drive her insane."

"It already has!" Neal let out an exasperated groan. "Diane, she's our only child. We have to protect her, and the only way we can do that is to tell her." Riley had left not two minutes earlier and the couple was already fighting about the secret they kept from the most precious thing they had. When they had learned about the presence of werewolves at her private school, they had discussed a transfer to the public high school to which Riley had agreed. Anything to reduce the pressure but she'd had a breakdown soon after.

"It's a curse, Neal," Diane said. "My mother and I were lucky."

"But Riley wasn't," he said more calmly. "She's already been to Eichen House and who knows what horrors she saw there. You know about the power outage a couple of weeks ago which can't be good." Neal and Diane were painfully aware about the underground supernatural ward at the notorious Eichen House but they didn't have a choice when it came to Riley. It was the only place in Beacon Hills that offered constant observation and care for people who were mentally unstable and after Riley's nervous breakdown, they could not put it off any longer. They had been forced to admit her.

"Let's just give her a couple of days to adjust to a normal routine," Diane suggested. "Let her catch up on school, let her make friends, let her start her job – just let her settle in before we tell her. These past five months might have actually helped." Neal did not like it even the slightest bit because he knew that keeping this big part of Riley's identity from her would cause her nothing but pain and make her inherently vulnerable, not to mention that when she inevitably found out, she would be angry with both of them. It was with a heavy sigh that he agreed to his wife's wish to keep their daughter in the dark.

A/N: I originally posted this OC story to AO3 but figured I would post here, too. You can read more about the OC's of this story over on my tumblr (stydiaokaybye). Feel free to leave a review to let me know what you think, I'd very much appreciate it. Feel free to talk to me anytime. Thanks!