I arrived at school early and went to the office to hand in my absence explanations. The secretary looked at me quizzically but I ducked out before she could grab the principal. I took my time walking to my locker and stopped a moment when I forgot my locker combination. I dropped my back pack and grabbed my agenda where I had written the three numbers down.

As I shoved everything back into my bag and got up, I heard a sound. I turned around slowly but no one was there except for two teachers chatting as they walked down the hall. I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair. I was starting to get paranoid. I opened my locker when I heard it again.

It sounded like something being dropped but I couldn't get much else from the short snippets of possible noise. I took a deep breath and went back to my locker trying to make as much noise as possible to drown it out. I didn't hear it after that but it couldn't hurt to be careful. I got my books for my first three classes and closed my locker gently. I walked towards my History class slowly, peering around every corner.

I noticed that other students were arriving at school and I tried to make a beeline to History but was stopped by something that caught my eye. I slowly backed up and looked out a window. Payson sat on a bench talking to two cheerleaders. Either he was lying about his girlfriend or he seemed so pathetic, the cheerleaders felt bad for him. I was going to go with the first one since they sat on either side of him and he said something that made them both laugh. For a freshman, that boy had game. I smirked as I headed towards class.

I had gotten to History ten minutes early and got all my missed work which luckily was just two worksheets and a lot of reading out of the textbook. In my other classes, I wasn't as lucky. Math had a worksheet from every day, front and back. Intro to Economy and English was a lot of notes that needed to be copied. I was exhausted by lunchtime which I already wasn't looking forward to.

I saw Lydia walk by my locker and she smiled as she came over to me. "Where have you been Stilinski?" I shut my locker and we began walking to lunch.

"I was helping Derek with a little project of his" she squinted her eyes at me and I clenched my books tighter so I wouldn't smile. I was really glad to see Payson lingering outside of the cafeteria with a different girl; this one had bright purple hair and a guitar strapped to her back. I grabbed his arm and dragged him along with us so she would be distracted.

"Who's this?" Lydia asked.

"Hey, I'm Payson" he said as he wiggled out of my grasp and cut me off to shake her hand. "And you must be an angel" he smirked as their handshake lingered. I cleared my throat and yanked him back discreetly. Lydia skipped past us, a blushed tint now covering her cheeks. I could've punched him but knowing that he was ten times stronger than I was probably wouldn't leave me with the advantage.

"What the hell are you doing?" I knew my face was hot with anger but Payson just scoffed.

"What do you mean what am I doing? I'm living the high school life, blending in. You know, exactly what I'm supposed to do!" His eyes flashed yellow and I took a step back in surprise. He was angry.

"Whatever problem you have, stay away from her! Got it?"

"I think so. Now am I joining you or do I have to find a table where the love of your life isn't sitting?" He spun around and walked inside before I could even respond. I regained my posture and followed him into the cafeteria. He had gone straight to my table and was taking a seat next to Lydia. Now, I was fuming!

I tried to act calm and collected but the truth was I was shivering. This wasn't going to work. As soon as school was over I was calling Derek and he was sending back his sad attempt of a pack.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. I got two packets to finish in science, a project to do in Astronomy and preparation for a French test tomorrow. I didn't even sit with them at lunch. I couldn't! I felt ashamed and I didn't know why. Maybe it was because what Payson had said was true. I was pining over a girl who would never even consider going out with me while he swooped her off her feet with one line.

I walked to my car with my hood up and got in slowly. Once I was inside, I dialed Derek's number.

"Hello?"

"Derek. I really need to talk to you about Payson. He's…."

"Stiles, whatever you're going to say, can you say it to me in person? We have a bit of a situation here and I need to focus!" He sounded irritated and tired. I looked at my pile of work then out the window where I saw Payson sitting against the school with his headphones plugged in.

"I'll be right there."

When I arrived at Derek's loft, I hadn't expected to find Peter sleeping on the couch and Kylie on a tablet sitting by the door. "Where is everyone?"

Kylie looked up from the device surprised and smiled. She got up quickly and threw the tablet on top of an awakened Peter. The Franz's went out for a bit and Derek is upstairs. I got home ten minutes ago!" I walked past Kylie and ran upstairs.

I stormed into Derek's room and noticed Derek lying on his bed without his shirt. I guessed he was sleeping because his naked abdomen rose and fell at a steady pace. I inched slowly out of the room but stopped when I heard a movement. I turned back around and peered inside. He now sat up with his head in his hands. "Take a picture! It'll last longer!" He sounded genuinely tired so his harsh words lost most of their threat.

"Sorry. I thought you were sleeping. I didn't want to disturb you."

"Well, you did! I was just trying to get some sleep before everyone got back." I stepped into his room again and shut the door behind me so Kylie wouldn't sneak up.

"Well, Kylie's already home. She said she's been home for ten minutes so at least you got some sleep." I tried to make a joke but he glared at me and the bags under his eyes drooped. "So, I thought you said there was a situation here?"

"There is. The Franz's want to leave. They think I'm working them too hard which I guess I am. They don't even have to be here. They're only here to protect me and that doesn't seem fair. I mean, who's protecting them?"

"You are, aren't you?" He looked up.

"I guess. I haven't been doing a good job of looking after them. I let them leave for a while; go on a date or something. But if they leave, all I have is Kylie." He hung his head in defeat as he lazily got off his bed. He walked to his closet and pulled a green V-neck over his muscular body. I let out the breath I had been holding and realized I was super tired too. I walked over to his bed and took a seat on the edge.

"What am I going to do Stiles?" I looked at him confused. Why was he asking me? He should be going to Scott for guidance. I mean he was actually a werewolf. I was just Stiles; a dispensable human that got pushed around for other werewolves delight. I thought back to the real reason I had come but thought better of bringing up Payson when it was already a possibility that him and his family could be leaving soon. Derek sat down beside me and we both stared at his plain white wall.

"Well, I would start training Kylie and maybe get Scott on board as well. And Derek, if I can help in any way, just let me know." He looked at me and flopped backwards on the bed. I sat awkwardly for a few minutes until I heard the peaceful snoring coming from a man that needed sleep. I slinked out quietly and tip toed downstairs. Kylie was sitting in her makeshift room and she stuck her head out as I walked by. "Are we going to hang out tonight?"

I saw Payson listening through his faded beige sheet and walked over to Kylie. "Not tonight. I have a lot of work to make up but as soon as I'm done we'll hang out, okay?" She nodded and lay on her bed. I think I heard sobs as I shut the door behind me.

I had only finished my English and part of my math the night before. I handed in what I could and my teachers didn't hold it against me. I was really surprised. Teachers were supposed to be cranky and heartless. Well, at least my teachers were supposed to be. They probably saw the bags under my eyes and realized I had work from other teachers to do as well.

I contemplated skipping lunch but knew it would just give Payson more opportunities with Lydia. Plus I had to face Scott eventually. I walked in, surprised to see my lunch table completely full and all staring at me. I stopped and stared back, not really sure what was going on. My breathing became staggered and my knees were buckling. I looked around and noticed other people staring too. I thought I had something on my face or shirt and touched my face lightly, feeling conscious. I gulped incessantly and started looking at everyone at once.

I dropped to my knees and gripped at my neck. No one helped. They just stared and stared and stared. My books toppled out of my hands and I fell over. I gasped for air and felt the edges of my sight go dark.

Luckily, it was just a dream.