Hi again :)! Finally Chapter 3 is up! This one was tough to write out for some reason; I went through a severe bout of writer's block to where I just stared at the screen for minutes at a time having no idea what to write down! I guess I knew I wanted conflict, but wasn't necessarily sure what dialogue to write down. Anyway, it's here, so please let me know what you think; compliments AND constructive criticism are both much appreciated :). And now 'Human' by Christina Perri is going to play in my head every time I think of Stiles, lol :P! It is a good song though, and it inspired my chapter title ;). I'm not sure now when the next chapter will be ready, but I'll set an official deadline of 7/17 to remind myself of it XD.

So, the idea of Stiles putting on an act to be sort of a dark horse was actually inspired by a story called "Hidden Thoughts" by MagicMysticFantasy :). It's really an interesting perspective on the character's thought processes throughout all these events of the series, so if you'd like to, check it out :D! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf, nor any of the aforementioned inspirations :).

Chapter 3: Only Human

Scott parked his motorcycle in front of the Stilinski house. He debated a little on his next move and determined the most effective way to reach his friend. He walked up to the door and rang the bell.

Sheriff Stilinski soon opened the door. "Hey Scott! Nice to see you actually at the door for once."

Scott smirked. The sheriff knew him too well. "How's Stiles doing?"

The sheriff's face melted into an expression of concern. "I guess he's ok. Though when he came home, he did seem to be a little stressed and preoccupied. Is everything all right? Did something happen?"

Scott immediately thought back to the glowing red eyes and his conversations with Stiles. "No, nothing happened," he lied, "I just wanted to drop by and see how things are going."

Stilinski still looked skeptical, but he decided to shrug things off for the time being. "He's up in his room," he smiled, and he opened the door further so Scott could step inside.

"Thanks!" responded the teen, and he proceeded up the stairs to his best friend's room. He considered knocking, but decided to forgo that idea and instead opened the door and walked straight in.

"Dad, I'm fine, I just don't feel like talking right now-" Stiles started to say, but he cut off when he rolled over in his bed and saw who was at the door. He bolted up and drew his covers further around him. "Scott? H- how did you get in?"

Scott couldn't help giving him an incredulous look. "Seriously? You have a front door you know."

Stiles blushed, realizing the stupidity of his question. "Well, you don't normally walk in through the front door…"

"Well, I know if I tried coming in through the window you wouldn't let me in," Scott said pointedly. Stiles scoffed in reply. After a minute he simply stated, "You're right."

Scott slowly stepped towards the other teen. "Look, I know this is scary; it's no picnic for me either. But I think I know what's going on, and from the sound of it, it's pretty incredible."

"So I heard."

Scott stopped, confusion slowly spreading across his face. "Wait, what do you mean you heard? You were too far away."

Stiles looked up with his own surprised expression and then scoffed again when realization hit him, "Oh, of course, OF COURSE you knew I was there. Stupid powers…"

"Dude, I heard another heartbeat, and to be fair, I can pretty much smell you from a mile away," Scott teased before shaking himself back on track. "But that's beside the point. The only way you could've heard us is with the hearing of a…" he trailed off as a thought struck him. He stared at Stiles, eyes wide with wonder. "You did hear us, didn't you?"

"Every stupid word of that stupid story, enough to know that the stupid story isn't just a stupid story at all," Stiles muttered bitterly.

Scott didn't notice his friend's dark tone, lost in his own astonishment. "It's really true then. Everything about that story, even the myths and legends, they're all actually true!" He turned to smile at Stiles, but his face fell when he saw that his enthusiasm was not matched. "Stiles, what's the matter? Don't you know what this means?"

"Yes, I do know what it means, and I wish I didn't," Stiles spat out.

A slight twinge of frustration bit at Scott. "Dude, what's up with you lately? I don't get how you're so upset by this!"

Stiles sat up, forgoing his blankets. "Scott, I told you from the beginning; I don't want this! I don't want any "alpha bond" or "special powers" or anything like that; I just want my best friend, my normal best friend." He stopped when he said that, realizing the impact of those words. "No, I don't mean you being normal, I-"

"I know what you mean," Scott stated firmly. He paused for a minute before he continued. "What about everything you've done in the past few weeks? What you did for Parrish, what you figured out about those doctors…"

"I'm happy Jordan's able to embrace his abilities, that's it."

"Then why don't you embrace yours?"

"Scott, you still don't get it! Just because you're supernatural doesn't mean I am. I'm HUMAN, Scott. I don't have any abilities- I don't need any abilities -because I'm only human."

"God this has NOTHING to do with you being human! I was human!"

"Yeah, till you were attacked by a bloodthirsty lunatic!"

Scott had to take a moment to calm himself down; this was getting way out of hand and way off topic. He sat down forcefully on Stiles's bed and looked straight into the teen's eyes. "Do you remember what I said at the beginning of school?"

Stiles sighed. "I'm the genius and you're the athlete," he reiterated, and he had to resist a guffaw at that. "So what?"

Scott took a deep breath. "Stiles, I know you're not a supernatural creature; I know you are human. But you're not an ordinary human; you never were."

Stiles opened his mouth to protest but Scott stopped him. "When I say you're a genius, I'm not kidding. You're EXTREMELY smart, sometimes even smarter than Lydia." He winked, and Stiles let out a snort. "Stiles, you have the best instinct I've ever seen a person possess."

"Really? Yeah, I could totally tell by the number of times you've listened to me." Stiles stared at the alpha pointedly.

Scott sighed in amused embarrassment, "I know, sorry, I'm working on it."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am!"

"Oh give it up already!" Both started laughing now, and the tension present before was gently releasing. Remembering the situation, the two boys returned to their solemn moods, though both were considerably more relaxed. After a moment, Stiles spoke. "Well, speaking of instinct, I was right."

"Right? Right about what?"

Stiles looked up at his friend. "You were the one who did this. Subconsciously, but you still caused it nonetheless."

"Stiles, what are you talking about?"

"Last night, when you slept over."

Scott remembered the night and tried to make sense of it in this context. "I was just making sure you were ok. I mean, I wasn't ok. To be honest, I was sort of feeling alone. I needed to talk to someone…" Realization dawned on him. "That was it, wasn't it? The "act" Deaton was talking about?"

Stiles didn't nod, but Scott knew what his answer was. "We both felt alone and scared out of our minds; I guess it'd make sense for us to find each other," Stiles explained.

"And you had just helped Jordan, and I told you how important you were to the pack, to me…"

Stiles faced his best friend again as a realization came to mind. He was so stressed and confused about everything, but he didn't really consider how Scott felt about it. He remembered the thoughts running through his mind from that previous night, about how Scott always believed in him and refused to see him as anything less than extraordinary, about how the two of them were sort of like phoenixes for each other, about how no matter who else was involved now, Scott and Stiles had formed a pack of their own from the day they met... And that's when pieces of the puzzle slowly started to fall into place. "We've never been just best friends, have we?"

Scott gave a small smile. "No, we haven't. I mean, we ARE best friends; nothing can ever change that. But at the same time, "best friends" seems to be a HUGE understatement, considering all we've had to go through."

Stiles gave a dry laugh. "No kidding, one tragedy after another…" He was silent for a moment before speaking again. "I'm sorry I got mad at you."

Scott's smile seemed to relax a little in relief. "It's ok," he assured simply, "And now that you've vented out all of your anger, you can tell me the truth."

Stiles frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, the real reason you're upset about this."

"You know why I'm upset; I told you!"

"Stiles, even if you become the most skilled at keeping your heartbeat steady, I'm pretty sure I could still tell when you're lying. And I know you're lying right now. Out with it; why are you really upset?"

Stiles focused on staring at a wall, trying to ignore the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"Stiles."

The teen took a deep breath and spoke, voice slightly shaking. "I- I'm not…"

"Not what, Stiles?"

Another breath. "I'm not a leader, ok? I- I can't be an alpha. You're the alpha, not me."

"What are you talking about? You definitely are!"

"Scott, how many people have you killed?"

Scott paused, startled by the question. "W- what?"

"Answer me; how many people have you killed?"

"I- none."

"Ok, well I've killed a lot more people than none."

Scott could see where this was going now. "Enough of this. That wasn't you! That was the Nogitsune!"

"Which I let possess me! Look, maybe I can help the pack figure stuff out and all, but I'm a mess; I can't lead the entire pack…"

"STILES!" Scott yelled, causing Stiles to jump back in shock. "Don't you get what Deaton said? The girl in the story was able to be a leader because she was seen as one, because she already WAS one! Stiles, you're already a leader; you've been leading since the day I was turned!"

"Scott, what the heck are you-"

"When I was turned, I didn't even believe what was happening. You were the one who found out I was a werewolf, and YOU were the one that helped me understand and get through it. I have my own beta now, and I STILL have no idea what I'm doing! But I know I can always count on you to help me figure it out. Stiles, you're my brother; I trust you more than anyone else in the world. I need you to lead this pack with me…our pack."

And finally, a few of the tears in hiding started trickling down Stiles's face. After a moment, he could think of nothing else but to pull the werewolf into a brotherly hug. Scott noticeably relaxed in his brother's embrace. "So, is that a yes?" he inquired hopefully.

Stiles sighed with a mix of fondness and slight exasperation. "It's an understanding," he stated frankly.

Scott chuckled, "I can live with that, for now." He patted the teen's back before they broke apart. They sat for a little while in silence, both now leaning against the pillows of Stiles's bed.

Soon Stiles broke the silence. "Sooo, these powers…"

"Stiles, it's ok; we don't have to worry about that now."

"Well I'd prefer not to get any more surprises."

Scott sighed, "Fair. Well, according to theories, apparently we're the only ones who can figure out what exactly these powers are. I guess it'll just take a little time."

"We already know one of them is me getting super hearing."

"Uh huh."

"And the lie detection."

Scott laughed at that. "I'm kind of already able to do that."

"I mean me."

"Wait, what? What lies have you been hearing?"

"You're hiding something."

"No I'm not!" Scott exclaimed, but despite himself he could sense a change in his heart rate that he was trying so hard to control.

Stiles barely cracked a smirk. "Oh, you're totally lying right now. All right, your turn to spit it out."

Scott stared in astonishment that quickly transformed into an expression of guilt. "Ok, there is one other ability that I've kind of figured out."

"Yes?"

Scott took a deep breath. "Sensing emotion."

"Sensing emotion? You mean smelling it?"

"No, not exactly. When I was listening to Deaton's story, I was personally excited. But I also felt…panic. But that didn't seem right; though I was feeling the emotion, it seemed like it was coming from someone else." He turned to the other boy. "Stiles?"

Stiles shifted uneasily. "Yeah, I was a bit freaked out by everything."

"Exactly. Somehow, I could tell what you were feeling, no chemo-signals required."

Stiles groaned lightly. "Gosh, I feel so exposed now." Scott chuckled, and soon another thought entered Stiles's mind that made him perk up. "Hey Scott, were you by chance thinking of Kira at all in Deaton's office?"

Scott scrunched his eyebrows as he tried to remember. "Uhh, I dunno; why would I be thinking of Kira?" After thinking a while, the answer struck him. "Oh wait! Yeah, when Deaton was talking about how accepting Mina was, it reminded me of how Kira reacted when she found out I was a werewolf. I guess I was thinking of that. Why do you ask?"

Stiles immediately slouched back into his original position. "No reason."

"Stiles, that's not going to work anymore."

"Fine, I may have seen an image of Kira flash through my head. Only for a second, but it was confusing nonetheless."

Scott was intrigued. "What did you feel?"

Stiles looked at his friend in confusion before replying, "I dunno, some odd sensation of giddiness I think."

Scott snorted despite himself. "That sounds about right."

Stiles placed his head in his hands. "Ugh, this is way too weird."

"Don't worry," said Scott, giving a reassuring pat on the back, "we'll get used to all this eventually." Stiles looked up with a skeptical expression, but Scott ignored him. After some time, the werewolf spoke again, another epiphany settling into his head. "Hey, do you realize what this means?"

"Uhh, Scott, déjà vu…"

"No, there's something else. Think about it; we have this "alpha bond" with all these extra powers that only WE know of."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, what if this is like a major advantage for us, for the pack? If even Deaton claims this is just a myth, then that means no one else realizes what we're capable of!"

As offset as he was by Scott's enthusiasm, Stiles couldn't help but feel a sudden and surprising spark of excitement of his own. He tried to shake himself back to reality. "Ok, now you're getting a little carried away…"

"No I'm not. Think about how helpful it would be to get to do things that no one else thinks we can do. We'll be sort of like a dark horse!" Scott grinned, proud of his analogy. "That's how you've been pulling it off all this time, right?"

Stiles shook his head, startled. "What? Pulling what off?"

"Sometimes, you make it seem like you're not as smart as you actually are, just so no one will expect you to find out the things you find out. And I have a feeling that's why Lydia used to put on such an act herself." He stared at Stiles pointedly, and the other teen sighed. He couldn't argue with that.

"I guess…you do have a point," he finally admitted.

Scott beamed at his best friend. "Look at that, we're making progress."

Another smirk twitched at the corner of Stiles's mouth. "Shut up."

The two boys sat in another bout of silence, both pondering the many crazy events that had happened since the start of Senior Year. This time, Scott decided to break the silence. "I know this is all new and weird and confusing, for both of us. But from the looks of it, there's some serious stuff coming to Beacon Hills, and I have a feeling we're going to need all the assets we can get."

Stiles stared at the ceiling, thinking back to that horrible scene in the hospital and the battle they had to fight against Peter and Lydia almost dying from a wolfsbane-laced sword. "Yeah," he said softly, "Perhaps we do."