Alex awoke…normally? Huh. This usually didn't happen to him. Normally he'd wake up almost on the verge of tears. Alex was a little confused, but grateful nonetheless. He thought back to the previous day's events and remembered what had happened. Someone had talked to him. Someone who wasn't a douchebag or who didn't pick on him. Alex got up from his bed and walked over to open the blinds. The morning was one of his favorites, a mild morning from the rain the previous night.

The morning was misty and not necessarily gloomy, but serene. The grass was glistening with morning dew and the sun was obscured by pale clouds, making the sky appear a very tainted blue, almost gray. These morning were his favorites because his mother used to love them just as much as he did, maybe that's why he likes them so much also. She would always wake up and just look out the window with a small smile on her face, this usually proceeded with the making of a delicious breakfast.

Alex snapped from his little memory and proceeded to start morning routine. Thank god today was a Saturday, no school which meant; no assholes, no douchebags, no monotone teachers, no stupid jocks, which meant no Jackson, with his perfect face and beautiful eyes and lips that— Nope I am cutting this train of thought right now before it gets out of hand, Alex thought to himself as he began to shower under freezing cold water. He stepped out of the shower and began to get dressed, wearing something casual he picked out a simple white short sleeved Henley and dark blue denim jeans and a black short overcoat, he might be struggling for money now but it wasn't always like that, he had bought nice clothes before. He pushed his messily strewn hair back off his forehead and smiled at the mirror. Ready for work.

Alex picked up his cell phone and headed out the door and began on his way to the music store. He still had about an hour until his 9 o'clock shift started so he decided to take the long way to work. He began walking out by the edge of the woods. Alex walked at a leisurely pace down the pathway stepping on the brown fallen leaves loving the crunching noise they made as he stepped on them.

As Alex walked near the end of the edge of the forest, he saw a couple figures making their way out of the woods. A second glance showed him that it was some of the members of the Hale pack more specifically; Stiles, Derek, Scott, Isaac, and Boyd. Alex picked up his walking speed a little and tucked his head down trying to avoid eye contact, or any type of acknowledgement to be precise. No such luck as Stiles came up and greeted him.

"Hey, Alex right?" Stiles asked with a questioning smile on his face "Told you it wasn't poisonous." Alex noticed the others looking at him questioningly as if to say 'who is this and why are you talking to him?' Alex just smiled shyly and nodded his head. "So what are you doing up so early on a Saturday?" Stiles asked incredulously. I could ask you the same question, Alex thought to himself. He figured they were probably just patrolling the forest for the night, what with the Alpha pack and all that jazz. Alex simply responded with "Work." Stiles gave a little look of surprise and said "Oh, well I don't want to make you late with my inconsistent blabbering, so I'll let you be on your way now" Alex simply nodded quickly in response.

Before Alex could walk away Scott spoke up and said "Umm, Bye Alexis." Stiles looked at his friend with a 'what the hell is wrong with you' face and slapped the back of his head. "Dude what the hell his name is Alex" Scott looked confused for a second and Alex just smiled shyly "Oh I thought his name was Alexis because that's what Jackson called him in the hallway yesterday." Stiles looked pensive for a moment before asking Alex, "You know Jackson?" Alex just registered Scotts and Stiles' expressions before responding with "You could say that." "What is that supposed to mean?" Asked Isaac, Alex just realizing that he was still there. Before Alex had a chance to respond his watch's alarm went off signifying that he had ten minutes until his shift started.

Derek decided to speak up and say "Your guys' dumb questions are going to make him late for work, we should get out of his way now." The group looked at Derek then back at Alex before Stiles said "Oh right, well anyways we'll see ya around, bye" Alex merely mumbled a goodbye as he began walking off on his way to work.


"Who was that?" asked Derek as soon as the boy was out of earshot. "Oh, that was just a guy I met at school, it might not have been under the best circumstances though." "What do you mean?" asked Isaac. "Well I was in Harris' class being bored as hell because of his boring lecture about who knows what and I faked having to go to the bathroom really bad so he would let me get out so i—" Isaac crossed his arms and gave Stiles a look that said 'get on with it'. Stiles sighed and said "Basically I saw him get pushed around by some bullies and when I walked into the bathroom he was there with a really nasty bruise on his forearm."

"So he's being bullied?" asked Scott "You don't think Jackson does things to him too does he? Because when I told Jackson about the pack meeting yesterday he was standing by his locker and said bye to him with this voice that sounded as if he hated him or sumthin'." Stiles had his face in a stoic expression and then said "Well I sure hope not." For the first time since the encounter Boyd said "Why does this matter to us?" Derek gave him a look as if to say good point.

Stiles scoffed and said "Maybe not to you but to me it does. I know what it's like to get bullied by assholes. Maybe not so much physically but with words… I just know how it feels like and it's not good. Nobody should be insulted at just because their misunderstood, so I figure I should help the guy and maybe get to know him."

Derek gave smiles a smirk and said "Well aren't you a noble one?" Stiles responded with "Hell yeah I am, I'm awesome" Derek rolled his eyes "And modest too." Stiles just stuck his tongue out at Derek "Shutup, you love me." Derek smiled fondly at him and said "I do" as he walked over and put his arms to his waist. And with that the rest of the group rolled their eyes and groaned as Scott said grumpily "Oh my god guys it way to freaking early for this." "I second that" complied Isaac.

Stiles just gave them all a 'fuck you' face and went in towards Derek to leave an exaggerated kiss on his lips, parting with a loud 'Mwah'. "I love you" said Stiles smiling "I love you too" responded Derek smiling back at him. Isaac raised both his hands in the air annoyed and said "I'm done, I'll see you guys later" Scott gave Stiles a small shove and walked off with Isaac and Boyd. Stiles looked back at Derek and said "Comon Sourwolf, I feel like cuddling now." Derek just rolled his eyes and followed Stiles obediently.


As Alex walked towards the path to towards his job he replayed the previous events in his head. It looked like Stiles was the only one willing to even talk to him, the rest of the group just eyed him curiously as if he was some freak, albeit he kind of was but they shouldn't have to know that. And Boyd didn't even say a single word while he was there. Alex decided to not think too much of it and focus on the day's future events.

He would start his morning shift and work until it was time for his lunch break, he would continue working and then start his double shift, he needed all the money he could get. Either way he didn't mind working a double shift because he actually enjoyed working at the music store. People were usually friendly when they walked in, all you had to do was pretend you like the music they were into or the instruments they liked and they would instantly take a small liking to you.

Alex made himself a small reputation with some of the usual customers that bought sheet music or things and trinkets for their instruments. Although most of those customers were semi-old adults that wouldn't help his teen rep, but who cares, people are people. He wouldn't lie and say that he didn't care that people think he's a freak, but the walls he's been setting up for who knows how long help him to ignore the shit that spews out of people's mouths.

Alex arrived at the store and went to check in and put his nametag on. Luckily the store didn't require any uniform of sorts just that they wear a nametag with their names on it. He was the only employee for the day as it was a Saturday and not many people were needed. Alex went to the back of the store removed his jacket and greeted the manager who was usually in during the mornings and sometimes popped in during the day. "Goodmorning Paul" greeted Alex. The manager was a nice old man in his early fifties. Alex had taken a liking to him and him to Alex for their mutual likes in music. What also made him really cool is that the he didn't mind if Alex used the instruments or tinkered with them a bit.

Alex plucked a guitar off the rack and sat behind the register waiting for customers to start coming in, they usually did starting much later in the morning but he's there waiting anyways. Now there's one thing that Alex absolutely adores doing more than even art. Music. His mother had taught him in his early years to play a plethora of instruments including; guitar, piano, violin, flute, drums, and bass. It's one of those things that he just became naturally good at. The love his mother had for music was passed to him making him always genuinely interested in new styles of music.

Alex began to pluck at the strings absently until he found a tune that he liked. He began playing the intro to "Cough Syrup" one of his favorite songs. The tune of the music was absolutely beautiful and he could relate to what the lyrics said and how he wished that sometimes he could just drown out the world if even for a little while.

After he started playing the tune a bit he started quietly singing the intro. He was drowned in the beautiful lyrics of the song. Playing and singing just ignoring all the clusterfuck that is his life. He imagined the better times when he still had his family. One day…, Alex thought, one day I'm just going to try and get away from all of this. As the song progressed so did his confidence and he started singing louder with a clearer voice that was in perfect harmony with the strings of the guitar. He was so into the song he didn't even notice that he had an audience.

Alex jumped and abruptly stopped singing and playing ducking his head down and trying to be small. When he looked back up Stiles was there staring open mouthed at him. "Dude…" Stiles said "Your voice is amazing, and your guitar playing skills are beautiful." Alex blushed and gave a small smile before wondering why Stiles was even here and asking "Why are you here?" "Oh well Derek had to take care of some things and I kind of wanted to come check out some of the CD's you guys have. I know nowadays everyone just download everything and listens to them on their iPods and things, but sometimes I just enjoy listening them off the CD you know?" Alex responded with "Yeah, I do" before Alex could stop himself he asked "Can I ask why?"

Stiles' face fell for a second before he responded "My mom." Oh right, it seems that they actually do have something in common. "Oh" Alex responded dumbly. "Well yea anyways, she loved listening to old tracks and before… you know she, she liked to spend time with me just listening to them while we made pancakes or something silly like that. It's kinda stupid now that I think about it." Alex quickly corrected him "It's not stupid" Stiles looked dumbfounded for a second "Oh, well thanks" he said with a smile "So who taught you how to play like that?" "My mom" responded Alex. "Oh she must be really good singer than too, judging by your voice" "She was" Alex responded sadly. "Was?" asked Stiles. "She's, she's dead." Stiles looked taken back for a second before replying "Oh, well there's one thing we have in common I guess, albeit not a good thing but…" "Yeah, I guess we do" Alex said with a small chuckle.

"Umm, do you need help finding anything specific?" asked Alex. "Uh, yeah I was looking for a certain band. Think you guys might have some of their stuff?" "Uh maybe, just tell me the name and I'll look it up for you" Stiles told him the name and found that the store did have some of the band's music. Alex motioned Stiles to follow him to the section where all the CD's were. He searched for a second before coming back up with a small bucket of CD's. Stiles looked like a little kid in a candy bin while he looked at the CD's inspecting all the songs written on the covers. Alex told him to pick out the ones he wants and to come up to the register when he's ready.

Alex placed the guitar he had back on the rack and picked up another one. He began to absently tune it while Stiles picked out CD's. A couple guitars later Stiles came back with about 8 different CD's "These were my mom's favorites" he said. Alex looked at the CD's and smiled at all of them "Yeah these are really good my mom used to love this one" he said pointing to a certain cover. Stiles paid for the CD's and stuck out his hand in a thankful gesture. Alex looked at the hand uncertainly for a second before shaking it. After the interaction Stiles and Alex gave their goodbyes and Stiles headed out the door.

The rest of the day passed by in a slow blur. Customers would come and go asking questions about certain things, some as silly as asking if the light meant the keyboard was on and others as serious about how many chords this and that had. Alex was able to answer all of them skillfully due to his knowledge in most of the stores instruments. One mother came in with her daughter while Alex was playing a happy jingle on the flute. The little girl looked awed for a second before walking up to Alex and asking how he did that. "Practice" responded Alex. The little girl begged her mom to buy her a flute because she wanted to be as awesome at the flute as the boy in the white shirt.

The woman complied to her daughters wishes and purchased a brand new flute and some mouth pieces that Alex recommended as well as beginners learning books and sheet music for the little girl. The mother was a little skeptical of the price at first but Alex picked out the things that weren't too expensive but still good. He told her that they didn't need all the fancy things that were usually "required" and that with enough practice the girl would be playing like a pro in no time.

The mother smiled and that and the little girl giggled. The woman thanked Alex and headed out the door with a squealing little girl. Alex headed to the back to begin putting things away for the day. An hour later it was time to close up and Alex ushered the few people in the store out the door making final purchases. He went to the back and grabbed his coat and removed his nametag. He walked out the door giving one final inspection inside before taking out some keys and locking the front door. One of the things the manager trusted Alex to do was to lock up at closing time.

Alex looked up at the sky and observed the pumpkin colored sky. The evening was slowly coming to an end and Alex decided that he really wanted to go home and have a cup of coffee. He began slowly walking down the path home. Glancing at his watch he began a little trek into the woods, wanting to smell that autumn odor.

As Alex inhaled deeply he smelled the odors of the trees and grass, but there was another lingering smell that he couldn't place, it didn't smell natural in this area. And no he wasn't a werewolf but his sense of smell wasn't terrible either. He decided to ignore it for now and continued his walk in the woods, when he stepped in something squishy with a wet noise. He looked down at his feet and took a step to see that he had stepped in a poorly concealed animal carcass, by the looks of it a mauled rabbit. He bent down to his knees and looked at the skin a little closer. There were large puncture wounds on the skin, around the carcass where feathers strewn around.

Alex picked up one of the feathers and observed it. It could've been an owl, if an owl had feathers the size of my whole arm. Alex quickly snapped his head up as a loud screech filled the air. He looked down at the carcass and remembered back to the smell he couldn't place earlier. Now with the situation made clear for him he realized the smell was boiled eggs. He quickly broke out into a run heading in a direction away from the town. Now that the creature had signaled that it knew Alex was there it wouldn't end its chase.

Alex dashed through the woods boots crunching on the leaves and twigs while branches and bushes scraped his face and hands. Another piercing screech filled the air and Alex picked up his running speed. The sound of flapping wings filled his ears as his blood pumped faster and faster. He wasn't afraid he was just worried that the thing would find innocent people, and no way was he letting that happen. Alex stupidly tripped on a root and stumbled for a second. His little slip up was enough time for the monster to act and huge claws grabbed his back and picked him up, the floor becoming wider as he was lifted up into the air.

Before they could get too high up Alex reached back and pulled a talon on each foot back twisting it and breaking it. The monster made a pained screeching noise as it let go of Alex. He fell to the floor rolling on his legs making a small roll on his back to avoid a bad injury. Alex continued running until he came to the edge of a small road. He ran out to cross the road but midway a loud horned blared and the blue jeep swerved to the side, stopping on the edge off the road.

Stiles stumbled out of the car and yelled "Dude, what are you doing running in the middle of the road?" Before Alex could respond a loud screech filled the air once again. Stiles felt shivers run up his spine and he asked "What the hell was that?" Once again before Alex could respond he was pushed by a blurry object sending him tumbling to the floor. "Stay back!" yelled Alex in a voice with authority. The creature flew on to the center of the road and towered a good three feet over Alex's five foot ten height.

Alex quickly dashed to the side as the monster lunged at him beak first. He bent down and picked up a sharp long stick almost as tall as planning to use it as a javelin type weapon. The monster screeched again and Alex swerved to the side sweeping the stick low in a wide half circle causing the monster to trip and fall. The monster was quick and lithe and recovered swiftly from its stumble and flew low back in the air. It stopped in the air looking down at him and dashed forward bringing its talons up when it was near enough Alex.

Alex anticipated the move and put the stick out in front of him horizontally stopping the monster as its talons were intercepted by the stick. Alex stuck his leg out and kicked the monster on its stomach causing it to stumble back. Alex took this as his chance to take the stick and swing widely whacking the monster on the head. The monster screeched and began quickly jabbing and slapping with huge wings. The conflict became a game of dodge and hit as Alex weaved and swerved past talons, beak, and wings occasionally swinging the stick leaving a bruise on the monster.

The monster began to visibly tire from all its constant thrashing and Alex took this as his opportunity to end it. He swung the stick hitting the monster on the head once more, he proceeded to swing the stick low again causing them monster to once again trip and fall on its back. Before the monster had a chance to react Alex brought the stick down with force and stabbed the thing clean through the heart with the stick. The monster made a loud screech as its eyes paled, a moment later it exploded in a small cloud of feathers.

Well at least there's no nasty cleanup, Alex thought to himself. He looked to the side and saw Stiles standing by his car mouth agape with a dumbfounded look on his face. "What. The. Hell. Was. That?!" Stiles asked raising his voice on the last word. Alex ignored his question and quickly said "Harpies travel in flocks, we have to get out of here before it's too late." "H-Harpies?!" Stiles asked with a surprised look on his face. "Yes" responded Alex "now let's go before the—" Alex was abruptly cut off as the sound of multiple screeches filled the air. "Oh shit" Stiles gasped. "Damn" Alex cursed "go hide behind your car and touch the wheels." "Touch the wheels?" Stiles asked incredulously. "Yes, the wheels now GO!" Stiles quickly ran to his car at Alex's loud voice and put his hands to rubber of the tires.

Alex ran back to the center of the road waiting for the flock to approach, hopefully it would be a rather small flock of only 6 or 7 harpies. His guess was pretty close as 8 harpies flew in from the same direction and screeched when they saw Alex. The harpies all stopped midair for a second before screeching again and plummeting towards Alex. Alex lifted his hands midway across his chest bringing his right hand in a small arc and hitting his left hand lightly. He rubbed his hands together and small sparks started to sizzle across his palms.

When the sizzle quickly became large streaks of lightning in his palms he brought his hands out in front of him in a swift motion with a small thrust at the end. Streaks of lightning flew from his palms in beautiful flashy colors, dying his surroundings in hues of white, blue, and yellow. The first arc of lightning hit the center harpy and it went from there. A chain reaction of colliding energy began to go from harpy to harpy. The transferring energy looked like a web of electricity as the harpies began to get electrocuted screeching with their heads thrown back. When the electricity dissipated the harpies were left in the air smoking from singed feathers and burned skin. They all screeched once more before quickly flying off back into the forest.

Alex ran back to Stiles and put his hands on his arms asking "You okay? No burns?" Stiles didn't even respond. He was frozen in shock staring at Alex with this look on his face that screamed 'what the hell was that?' Alex shook him and called his name once more. Stiles was brought back to his senses as Alex shook him and said "You need to come with me. Now." Alex didn't argue as Stiles dragged him to the passenger seat of his car pushing him in and driving off down the road.