Part Three

***I do not own Teen Wolf nor do I own the characters***

Stiles had gotten up and dressed for school, and even driven to school. He sat in the parking lot, confused about last night and not remembering how he got to school just now. He scrunched his features, talking to himself with violent hand motions.

"He showed up at my house…..We snuggled? No, sourwolf doesn't snuggle….what was that?...Maybe it didn't really happen….but then where did the blood come from?" Stiles had continued the ranting as he had left his car, walking into the school. He looked like a crazy person, wving his hands around and asking himself questions. He didn't even notice Scott and Kira approaching him in the hall, talking as they stopped in front of him.

"STILES!" Kira shouted at him. He blinked, looking around and realizing that he was standing in school and his friends were looking at him as though he was possessed again. He hooked his thumbs under his back pack straps attached to his body, the weight of his books and questions heavy on his shoulders. He smiled at Kira, wearing a short school girl skirt and a black punk shirt.

"Don't you perpetuate some kind of Asian stereotype by dressing like that?" Stiles asked, hoping that the implication of an insult would distract Kira from asking questions about who the 'he' was that Stiles was talking about. When he realized it had done the trick, he looked at her and simply said, "That is what other people would say if they didn't know you, but I do know you and you look like the fantastic little fox you are." Kira smiled back at him, knowing he was dodging the ranting.

"Thank you Stiles, Scott can you please explain this whole 'list' thing so that we can all understand." Kira looked at Stiles, motioning towards him in the conversation of understanding.

"Why is it so hard to believe? This is Beacon Hills! There are so many creatures here, it is impossible to figure out if anyone is actually human. Why is a supernatural hit list so hard to understand?" Scott explained in hushed tones. " Stiles, back me up here"

Stiles looked at him, "What?"

"Apparently Lydia figured out the cipher to this supernatural hit list that has like…all of our names on it. It sounds like a bad horror movie! I just don't believe it." Kira shook her head and turned on Scott.

"You are a fox, I'm a wolf, Maliea is some strange were-cyote, Jackson was a Kanima, Kate is back from the dead, Allison hunted my kind, and there is killer out there with no mouth, and you think that the hit list is hard to believe?" Scott was yelling at her as quietly as he could, confused about Kira's disbelief in the matter.

"I just don't see how this can be real!" Kira said.

"Maybe that's the point Scott, there is too much supernatural activity in Beacon Hills. Maybe that is why this hit list exists. Someone thinks that there is too much going on, and wants to give power of the town back to the humans." Stiles added quietly. Kira and Scott stopped arguing and looked at him.

"Well, I mean I get that. But like who uses a hit list and sends it Lydia?" Kira asked him. Stiles shrugged.

"Well maybe we should ask her where it came from. We could go find Danny and ask him to trace the IP?" Stiles suggested. Kira kissed him on the cheek.

"Brilliant!" She said.

"Yeah I can go find Danny, Stiles you talk to Lydia, don't you have class with her this period?" Scott asked. Stiles nodded.

"And now, so do I. My mom made me transfer to calculus. Sorry Scott." Kira linked her arm in Stiles' and lead him away from Scott to class.

Stiles had taken the time in class to update Lydia on the plan to have Danny trace the IP address, and had made it through the rest of the day without anyone asking who the mysterious 'he' was that Stiles had been ranting about earlier that day. Stiles drove home, fumbled the key into the lock and entered his house. He slumped up the stairs, backpack on his shoulder and went to his room. He dropped his back pack by his desk and pulled the note off his computer.

Stiles,

Working late. There is pizza in the fridge. Love you.

Dad.

Stiles sat down at his desk, stared at the black screen of his sleeping laptop. Now that he had time to think again, he felt the anger, confusion, sadness and longing bubbling in his stomach. He felt the need to destroy things, scream, cry, or anything that would let this feeling out.

"Damnit Derek!" Stiles screamed as he stood up and threw his pencil onto his desk. It wasn't the violent outburst he had really wanted but he felt better for screaming. He ran his fingers through his hair and turned to walk out his room, the extra energy surging through him. He collided with another body on his way out of his room, falling backwards, and hitting the floor.

Stiles looked up and saw the looming figure of Derek Hale standing over him. He dropped back onto the floor, arms spread out as his head smacked the carpet with a thud.

"What did I do now?" Derek asked Stiles, watching the teenager splay out on the floor in utter defeat.

"Everything." Stiles said, draping his arm over his face, covering how ashamed he was to run into Derek.

"Wow, thanks. I am guessing Scott told you that there is a hit list out there right?" Derek asked, taking his shoes off and sitting on the edge of Stiles bed. Stiles lifted his head.

"Maybe. Yes. Why does it matter to you? You probably commissioned it" Stiles said, head thumping the floor again.

"Right because I would put my own name on the hit list…and yours." Derek replied. He knew he had gotten Stiles' attention, he watched the younger teen sit up and hug his knees to his body loosely.

"What? Who would want to kill me? I'm just a human? How is that even fair I mean you guys have super strength and freaky fast healing! If I get hit or cut, it takes me forever to heal!" Stiles was ranting in anger, and Derek just let the boy keep talking even though it annoyed him. He knew that sometimes Stiles needed to wind up before he could calm down and focus.

"I have the list if you want to see it. Maybe we can figure out who is next so we can help them." Derek suggested, pulling the zip drive from his pocket and tossing it to Stiles, who caught it and was up, plugging it into his computer in seconds. He moved so fast he almost missed his desk chair.

Stiles loaded the list and saw familiar names and numbers next to them.

"I'm guessing this is what the killer gets paid per person offed?" Stiles pointed at the numbers next to the names. He hadn't realized Derek was next to him. He could smell Derek. Lumber, vanilla, and a musk he couldn't place.

"Yes, see here's you." Derek pointed out Stiles' name on the list. Stiles looked at his name in comparison to the others.

"What?!" Stiles shouted. Derek looked at him confused at the outrage. Stiles looked from Derek to the computer and back again. "$15 to kill me! What the hell? And you guys are like $250 a pop! And look at this Lydia is more than that and so is Kira! Come on this guy underestimates how valuable I am." Stiles was back to ranting.

Derek's features turned stern and he looked like a statue, "That is what you are angry about?"