Stiles carefully unwrapped the cheap scale he had purchased from the local Dollar Store near his house. As if buying the thing wasn't embarrassing enough Stiles had forgotten that he would actually have to step onto it just so he could know exactly how fat he was. He was afraid of what the scale would say, he didn't want to know.

With a shaky sigh he divested himself of the baggy plaid shirt he had worn that day, and sluggishly removed his jeans, leaving his clothes in a wrinkled pile on the bathroom floor. Reluctantly, the boy hesitantly stepped onto the scale.

145

Fighting back tears Stiles quickly stepped back off again. He had barely eaten a proper meal that week, how could he have only lost 2 pounds? At this rate he would never reach his goal. He exhaled slowly, disappointment tangible as he snatched his clothing off the floor and shuffled back into his bedroom.

"Its on a Friday night Stiles"

"Don't bother."

"Your...illustrious personality"

"Its written all over your face"

"We probably wont need you anyway"

Flicking off his light, Stiles crumpled into bed his stomach growling from lack of nourishment, he hadn't eaten that day. Your such a fat ass, He told himself, You can't even go 5 minutes without a meal can you? He was disgusting.

In the seconds before he drifted off into a fitful sleep, in that place between asleep and awake, Stiles thought about Neo and he wondered what she was doing at that moment. More importantly, he wondered if she was hungry too.

At exactly 8 pm Stiles alarm woke him up and out of his slumber. Stiles had promised his Father he wouldnt go out tonight, but he was going to the Pack meeting anyway. Dressing in his trademark plaid shirt and hoodie, with a pair of jeans that probably cost less than Jackson's line up (and they cost him $40) Stiles walked out his front door terrified that he would be discovered by his Dad.

He'd felt horribly guilty the moment he stepped out of the house, even though the Sheriff wasn't even home he felt as if he knew that Stiles was sneaking out anyway. Ever since the whole Werewolf thing statred his relationship with John had become increasingly strained. He supposed that the Sheriff wouldn't have had such a problem with Stiles disappearing acts as much if it wasn't for the fact that Stiles was gay. He'd had a hard time accepting it and he was convinced that Stiles spent his nights having gay sex in alleys and strung out on crack.

Stiles didn't want to risk taking the Jeep and he needed the exercise so he decided to pull out his old mountain bike that much like his other most prized form of transportation, originally belonged to his mother.

The sun was close to setting. Glancing at his batman watch, the only present he'd gotten for Christmas that year besides the Iron Man T-Shirt he had gotten from Scott, he realized that he only had five minutes to make it to Derek's but it would take him at least another ten minutes to get there. With renewed vigor he pedlled as fast as his scrawny legs could go, praying that Derek wouldnt be angry with him.

He was greeted at the door by a woman he had never seen before. She had pretty grey eyes and ginger hair. He face twisted in confusion and disdain when she saw Stiles outside the door of the loft.

"And who are you?" She snarled and sniffed at the crook of his neck,"A human?"

"My name is Stiles" he swallowed nervously,"And Derek told me to come to the Pack meeting tonight"

"He invited you?"

"Um yes? Who are you exactly?"

"Derek, control your girlfriend, shes being a bitch" Peter knocked the distasteful woman out of the way and opened the door wide enough so Stiles could walk into the loft. The woman sniffed, hostility and malice flowing off her in droves, and with a whip of her short hair she retreated back to the couch plopping down next to a disgruntled looking Derek.

Thinking nothing of it Stiles took a step towards where the others were sitting/standing only to be gently pulled back by Peter."Dear nephew, would you mind if Stiles and I had a moment alone?" Peter smirked "We have some business to discuss".

Confused, Derek uttered a noncommittal grunt of consent and Peter dragged the young boy up the spiral stairs to a spare room he had never entered before. The older man ushered the boy gently onto the bed and paused for a moment as if testing to see if the others were listening.

"Stiles, I know how you feel about Derek-" Peter began

"That woman, she was his girlfriend wasn't she?" Stiles whispered "I-Is the meeting really that important?"

Stiles was starting to feel a bit light headed. Peter's concerned face was going in and out of focus, He couldn't breathe. "P-Peter, I don't think I can-" The boy gasped for air. The older man held his shoulders firmly, "Stiles, breathe... Its okay you don't have to stay".

"I can't-" Stiles took a deep steadying breath, "What did Derek want me to do? Tell me and Ill get it done, I promise"

Peter sighed, he couldn't stand seeing the young boy in pain but he knew Derek and the Pack didn't deserve his help because of they way they had been treating him lately. If only Derek could just admit how much he wanted him, Peter thought, All it would take was one word from him and the Pack wouldn't tease the boy as much. But sadly the Alpha was an idiot and Peter doubted that he would ever get his head out of his ass.

"The woman you saw, Victoria, she's been tracking down a family of Dragons that killed and fed off of several members of her old Pack" Peter began reluctantly, "And the trail lead her straight to Beacon Hills-"

"Wait a second, did you just say Dragons?"

"Yeah that's what I said, Kid" The older man chuckled "That's why we need your help, we barely know anything about the damn things let alone how to fight them"

"But why do you want to fight them if they haven't done anything to the Pack?"

"They will, if there's one thing I do know about the bloody things, its that they don't mind the taste of Werewolf down their gullets"

Stiles swallowed thickly, a trickle of fear going down his spine. He couldn't let that happen to his Pack.

He wouldn't let it happen.

The walk down the stairs and past the rest of the Pack was awkward to say the least. Stiles looked visibly shaken and Peter was more than a little concerned. The two men hurried past the Pack and slipped outside not bothering to tell the others what had just transpired. Before Stiles could proceed to his bike he was stopped by the older man.

"Stiles, are you sure that your going to be alright?"

"Peter, you don't have to believe me" Stiles smiled brokenly "But I'm telling you that i'm fine, I really am"

Peter shot the boy a disbelieving look, and quickly opened his mouth to protest but Stiles placed a hand gently onto his shoulder. "Thank you for caring, but i should really get home and get started on that research, Goodnight Peter".

The boy placed a feather light kiss upon the older mans forehead, and rode off into the cold frigid night.

Stiles stomach lurched with dread when he saw his father's patrol car parked in the driveway. He wasn't supposed to be home till midnight, what am I going to do? As quietly as he could manage Stiles slowly unlocked the door and attempted to retreat to his bedroom.

"Where were you?" John growled, lounging in his armchair "I told you that you couldn't leave the house tonight"

"D-Dad um, your home early" Stiles trembled, knees knocking together, "Well you see I was with Scott, He needed help with an assignment an-"

"Liar."

Stiles ducked as an empty whiskey bottle was thrown his way. His father threw it with little precision so Stiles wasn't that afraid of getting hit by it anyway. But that didn't change the fact that the Sheriff had tried, and that hurt more than the bottle ever could have had it actually connected. Startled out of his drunken stupor by the small cry that his son had emitted, John's eyes widened once he had realized what he had just done. The man stood awkwardly and attempted to make his way towards his son.

"S-Stiles...I didn't mean to-"

Visibly shaken Stiles stumbled past his haggard Father before he had the chance to apologize for what he had done.

"Liar."

Liar, Liar, Liar , Liar, LIAR!

His father was right.

Curling further down into the broiling hot water, Stiles reached over to the radio he had placed near the bath, turning it to one of his favorite stations. He just wanted to block out the voices in his head.

When the rain is blowing in your face

And the whole world is on your case

I could offer you a warm embrace

To make you feel my love

His eyes burned from holding back the tears that were just dying to be released from his sad amber eyes. He wouldn't cry, he told himself, he refused to let himself go like that.

Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.

Sadly, a stray tear escaped, and once that tear passed his cheeks the dam broke and the rest of the tears came.

When the evening shadows and the stars appear

He cried for his mother. It was his fault she had died.

And there is no one there to dry your tears

He cried for his father. It was his fault he couldn't stop drinking.

I could hold you for a million years

He cried for Derek, and all the things he had done and the person he could never be. He cried big ugly wet sobs as he gasped fitfully for air, nearly hyperventilating as his body heaved with grief and the aching pain of loss.

To make you feel my love

But mostly he just cried.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxxx

You look terrible. Did something happen?-N

Stiles glanced down towards the scrap of paper that Neo had pushed towards him. He let out a heavy sigh. Was it really that obvious that he had spent most of last night crying in a bathtub and the rest doing research on Dragons? Grabbing his abandoned pencil near the end of his desk Stiles wrote his new friend a quick response, hoping that Mr. Harris wouldn't notice them passing notes during his lecture on Aristotle.

Is it really that obvious?-S

Well...yeah. I'm sorry i brought it up.-N

Stiles grinned loosely, he was grateful that Neo was concerned enough to ask him if he was okay. However, he didn't think that he was ready to talk about it just yet. Besides he hardly knew anything about the girl.

Your fine its not your fault. i dont really want to talk about it though-S

Oh alright then.-N

Before Stiles could jot down an appropriate response the bell rang and Neo grabbed her messenger bag and walked towards the door. Stiles reached for his own bag, stuffing the notebook he had been using inside and hurried after the girl.

"Hey Ne!" He called "Do you want to sit with me during lunch?"

The wild haired girl stopped in her tracks and turned around hesitantly, a blush staining her mocha skinned cheeks. Stiles faltered slightly. He hoped that he didn't say anything to offend the girl.

"What did you just call me?" Neo said softly

"Um, I called you Ne" Stiles looked down, seemingly more interested in his shoes than the current conversation.

"No ones ever given me a nickname before"

"So you don't mind?"

"No"

"So does that mean we can have lunch together?" Stiles grinned.

"Of course"

With renewed glee Stiles linked their arms together and dragged the shorter girl towards the cafeteria. Still embarrassed and more than a little ashamed of his actions the previous day, Stiles was afraid to face the Pack so he lead Neo to a secluded table near the corner of the lunchroom. "We can sit here!" He smiled.

"Why aren't we sitting with your friends?" Neo questioned, looking over towards the table full of rowdy wolves that the boy usually sat with.

Stiles swallowed nervously, he had hoped that she wouldn't notice his lack of interaction with Scott and the others that day.

"We... haven't really been getting along that well lately" He winced "Its not that important, besides Iv'e been wonderng something-"

"Your wondering why you've never noticed me before aren't you?"

"W-Well not exactly...yeah"

"My sister tells me that I'm cursed"

"Cursed?"

"She says that I'm just on the right side of beautiful, but I'm horribly boring and I can't hold a conversation to save my life"

"That's not true!" Stiles huffed, "I like talking to you"

Neo looked surprised by the boys outburst, as if he was speaking another language. She murmured disbelievingly.

"Do you really?"

Well, it was true that Neo wasn't the most exciting person that Stiles had ever met, but for some reason he found her quietness to be a part of her charm. He always had to be so...high-strung around the others, so they wouldn't get bored of him and toss him away like he was sure they should have done a long time ago.

"Its hard to explain, and it might sound weird because I don't know you that well. But when I'm with you I feel like...like I don't have to pretend anymore." Stiles admitted.

"Are you going to eat lunch today?" She asked suddenly

"No" Stiles murmured, "Are you?"

"No"

Stiles and Neo walked to Art class together, chatting silently along the way. When they entered the classroom It wasn't Ms. Clark seated at her desk, it was a different woman. A thin woman with red hair.

Stiles froze, It was Victoria, the woman from yesterday. Derek's girlfriend, he thought bitterly. Refusing to give the woman the satisfaction of knowing just how shaken he was by her unexplained presence Stiles continued to his seat. He was halfway there when he realized that Neo wasn't behind him anymore.

He glanced back towards the doorway, wondering what she was doing. Neo was still frozen in the doorway, a look of alarm fixed on her face. Confused, Stiles started towards her only to realize exactly what his friend was looking at. Her eyes were anchored to Victoria's, her arms shook as she clenched them tightly to her frame. Bewildered as to what Victoria could have done to cause such a reaction from his friend, Stiles' gaze flew to the ginger haired woman, holding back a breath of surprise at what he saw.

Victoria was staring right back a Neo, with a malevolent glint in her eyes and a positively wicked smirk perched on her lips.

Neo sat stiffly in her seat for the rest of the period, refusing to speak and throwing nervous glances towards Victoria every few minutes. Stiles was still a bit miffed but his mind was as quick as ever, and he knew that there was only one explanation for what he had just seen.

Ripping a page out of his notebook Stiles jotted down a quick note to Neo, and hoped that Victoria wouldn't catch on to the fact that he knew what was going on. Satisfied with his message Stiles folded the note up and flicked it towards his friend.

Startled, Neo carefully unveiled the note given to her and as she read a look of terror twisted up her pretty features.

Neo, does the word dragon mean anything to you?-S