Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. The Rocky Mountain Wolf Rescue and Conservation Society doesn't exist as far as I know. If it does; I mean no offence with the fictional representation of it in this fic.
Timeline: This starts during episode 1, the morning after Scott is bitten, and during the first day of school.
Stiles' Jeep came to a jerky stop in the school parking lot with a squeal of protesting brakes. Char shot out of the passengers door like her ass was on fire. She swung the door closed, and marched off towards the school without looking back at Stiles.
"You're welcome!" Stiles cried out from behind her. Char bent her right arm up to her side and flipped him off, not stopping in her hurried saunter.
Char didn't get why Stiles seemed to dislike her so much. Maybe hate was more accurate. Stiles was supposed to be her easy going, goofy younger cousin. But, ever since she got here, he had been rude and stand off-ish. Like she was some sort of enemy. She didn't get it.
If he was so concerned with her stint in Juvvie he could easily look up the case online. There had been countless stories done in the local papers, and Stiles had mad computer skills; It would be more than easy for him to find any info he wanted. He hadn't even asked her about it. He just assumed she was some kind of junkie/criminal and went with it.
Char rolled her eyes at herself. There was nothing she could do about Stiles. She would just have to wait until he worked out his issues with her on his own.
Just outside the entrance Char slowed looking for a sign to lead her to the Office. She couldn't see any.
"Hey," came a smooth voice from her left. Char turned to see a tall tan boy with dark hair and eyes. He was smiling at her like she was the answer to the meaning of life. She couldn't help smiling back with just as much enthusiasm. "You lost?" he asked her.
"Yeah," she replied, as he stopped a few inches away from her. Normally she would raise a fuss about personal space, and make him back up. But him being close to her felt right. Natural. She shook her head swiftly, and stuck out her right hand. "I'm Charlotte, I'm new," she said.
He took her hand and shook it warmly. "I'm Danny. Nice to meet you," he said, not letting go of her hand.
Char didn't let go either. She felt a warm tingle touch her fingers, and roll up her arm like a soft wind. Her magic responded, and sent a welcoming heat back across their joined hands to Danny. They both shivered a little in a visceral joy.
"Wow," breathed Danny, as Char tried to catch her breath. "If just a touch causes such a reaction, I almost wish I wasn't gay," he whispered to her.
Char laughed softly, shaking her head again. "We're matched in magic," she said quietly, trying not to be over heard. "That doesn't mean we would make a good couple. Best friends though? Hell yeah!"
"I've only heard or read of something like this; I never dreamed I'd ever witness it, let alone feel it," Danny said with quiet awe. "It's like our energies click together all on their own. Like they were made to interact."
"And I kinda know what you're gonna say before you say it," Char continued. Danny nodded, agreeing with her. Silent communication. Awesome.
They smiled at each other, eyes sparkling. Char hadn't felt this happy or this comfortable around anyone since she had last seen her brother Duke. She felt she had known Danny all her life, and like she would know him until the day she died. She didn't know how to even describe this feeling between them. Perfect understanding, maybe? Yes, it was like a perfect understanding of the other person. Two pieces of a puzzle; Their souls went together.
Danny cleared the sudden lump from his throat, released Chars hand, and jerked his head in the direction of the front entrance. "You're looking for the Office, right? Come on," he said.
They didn't say anything else. They didn't need to.
So much for her tried and true plan of not making friends. Char had a feeling that Beacon Hills was going to cause her beliefs, rules, and theories about life to turn completely on their heads.
As she and Danny were turning to walk up the stairs to the entrance, Char heard her name being called, and turned to look.
"Char!" called a masculine voice. Turning Charlotte saw Stiles standing next to his best friend Scott, and walked across the couple of feet separating them. Danny cocked a brow.
"Stiles is my cousin. I'm staying with him and his dad," she said in a quiet aside.
"Hmm?" she asked, as they reached the two boys.
"Are there wolves in California?" asked Stiles.
"Huh, no," Char replied. "There hasn't been a wolf pack in California for more than 60 years."
"Hah, see?!" Stiles exclaimed to Scott.
"How would she know anything about it anyways, man?" demanded Scott.
Stiles scoffed, "JD is, like, a wolf expert! She's spent the last four summers at, like, the worlds most predominant wolf observatory!"
Char was a bit speechless at Stiles' wording. He made it sound like The Rocky Mountain Wolf Rescue and Conservation Society, was some kind of high tech telescope on the top of a mountain. And last she heard it wasn't 'the worlds most predominant,' anything.
"And," Stiles continued enthusiastically, "she has, like, dozens of scientific books about wolves!" Stiles' hands flew through the air as he spoke, to illustrate his point.
Not all of Char's books on wolves were scientific, but she knew better than to try and correct Stiles on things so inconsequential. It wasn't worth the aggravation. Char smiled and nodded.
"If there were any wolves in California, and anyone important knew about it, then Shelly, she's the director at the RMWRCS, would have inevitably been informed, and she would have called to tell me. There aren't any wolves in California," Char reiterated.
"Hold on," interjected Danny, holding up a hand. "Why are you calling Char, JD?" he asked Stiles. Charlotte didn't question how Danny knew to call her Char. It was just part of their weird bond. They just knew certain things about each other.
"Uh," Stiles started, getting a crafty glint in his eye. "It stands for 'Juvenile Delinquent,' which is my new nick name for Char." As Stiles took in a breath to tell Danny why this was so, Char grabbed his left ear, and twisted.
"Don't even think about uttering a word of that to anyone, especially here at school, or you will regret it!" Char growled at Stiles, as he shrieked, flailed, and tried to pull away.
"Ow, ow, ow," he cried. "Okay! Okay!"
Char released him. "One word," she breathed at him ominously. She would hardly be able to get a fresh start here if Stiles went and told everyone that she had been in Juvvie in North Carolina. She didn't want to have to deal with all the rumors and gossip that would explode around her if this got out. A part of her knew she couldn't keep it secret forever, but she was hoping that she would be established enough when people found out that they wouldn't immediately condemn her. If she had shown herself to be a good law abiding citizen, hopefully people would give her the benefit of the doubt.
Danny reached out and grabbed her hand, tugging her towards the school. "C'mon, Char," he said softly. "If we don't get to the office soon we'll both be late to class."
Char turned and walked away from Stiles and Scott, and into the school. She didn't look back.
After getting her schedule and locker number, Char and Danny turned to leave.
"Wait," cried a stern male voice from behind them.
They turned to see the Principle rushing out of his office. "Are you Charlotte Kiernan?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," Char said respectfully.
"Come into my office, right now!" he scolded.
Char followed the hastily retreating man into his office, Danny at her heels. They sat next to each other in front of the large desk, that took up most of the available space in the office. The Principle shut the door and took his seat behind the desk, folding his hands on the top, and looking at Charlotte sternly. He noticed Danny then.
"Mr. Mahealoni," he stated gruffly. "Why are you here?"
"I'm a family friend, and I'm showing Char around today," said Danny casually.
The Principle looked at Charlotte. He knew she knew what this was about, and if she didn't mind Mr. Mahealoni hearing this discussion then he didn't either.
"Very well then," he said. "You know why you're her don't you Miss Kiernan?"
"Yes, sir," said Char. It was foolish to hope this was a meeting to welcome her to the school. If she was still a student here by the tardy bell, she would be surprised. She knew men like this Principle. He was a self righteous prig, and there was no help for it.
"I will not tolerate any kind of violence in my school, young lady! Your records are most alarming, and even with your Uncle being the Sheriff, I don't know if I can let a criminal into my school!" he half yelled at the two teens.
"Have you read my transcripts, sir?" asked Char calmly. She was hoping she could reason with the man. She had a right to a public education, just like everyone else did. The only thing making this man want to keep her out of his school was rumors and gossip. There was no factual reason to keep her out. He was like everyone else. He saw that she had been in Juvvie, maybe even found out the reason was for violence against another student, and assumed she was a criminal. After all it's not like she was defending herself when the violence occurred, or anything. Note the sarcasm.
The man behind the desk grunted, and opened the folder on the desk in front of him, shuffling for a moment, and then stopping to read. He grunted in distaste.
"A's and B's huh? Nearly perfect attendance. Who did you have to threaten to get this set up?" he asked.
"No one, sir," Char said, attempting to swallow her growing anger. "I've always worked very hard in academics. Which is why being held back is so devastating to me," she said, trying to remind him that she was already being severely punished. "I'm going to have to do the whole year over! Not just the part I missed while I was in the hospital, and the Youth Correction Facility. With everything that's happened, and all the school I missed, I'm going to be two years older than everyone around me, after my birthday in a few days. Everyone's going to think I'm a complete moron!" she said, nearly shouting by the end. Char closed her eyes trying to breath, and reign in her anger.
"Time in the hospital?" asked the Principle bewildered. Then he looked like a light bulb went off in his head. "Oh! You must have been injured during your stay in the 'Youth Facility,'" he said snidely, with audible quotation marks around the last two words.
"No, actually," she said, trying to keep her temper from exploding all over the office. Her jaw was clenched, and her hands were strangling each other on her lap. Danny reached over and untangled her hands, before claiming one in his and giving it a supportive squeeze. "It happened during the same incident that got me put there in the first place. An incident that, may I remind you, happened off of school grounds. I have never had any problem with violence in school," she said, giving a reasonable approximation of calmness.
"But it was violence against a fellow student! I won't tolerate any such thing here!" he decried.
Char was finally calm. Her rage had reached the cool burn stage, and her voice was quiet, if menacing, when she next spoke. If the Principle had known her at all, he would have gotten his fat ass out of that chair, and run for his life. Danny had pulled her hand over into his lap, and was clutching it between both of his, trying to keep her sane, and remind her where she was.
"If a fellow student," she hissed lowly. "Ever tries to rape me, and then kill me again, rest assured I will keep that in mind." She was glaring ferociously at the Principle now, she couldn't help it. "And then," she continued, unknowingly bearing her teeth in a macabre parody of a grin. "I will again, do whatever is necessary to preserve my own life, and my own body. Regardless of what you think!" She was panting by the end of her tirade.
The Principle was looking at her in horror shaking his head, his face pale, and still sweaty from his earlier righteous anger. His mouth opened and closed several times, but no coherent sounds issued forth.
"If anyone, ever took the time to read the charges, and the counter charges then I wouldn't end up in these useless meetings, defending my right to a public education simply because I had the audacity to fight back when I was assaulted! Which is the same reason Ian tried to kill me, by the way. Because I had the gall to fight back, and didn't just 'lie back and let it happen,'" there was a distinct growl in her voice. She could feel her and Danny's magic rising in response to her anger and distress. She was too upset to do anything, and she was glad Danny was there. Although he seemed upset too, he was much less upset than she was, and was able to try and wind down the energy, and keep it contained.
The Principle was trembling softly in his chair.
"You listen to me," Charlotte growled out. "You are not going to tell anyone about this. I don't want everyone knowing what happened. And you are not going to hinder me in my education, or in my life in any way. Do you understand me?!" her voice had an unnatural resonance and harmonics, but she didn't notice.
Danny did, and he tried to keep the magic back. He really, really did! But he had no experience with this level of power; At all! The magic was looking for an outlet, and it seized on everything after 'You listen to me,' and infused it with unnatural will.
The Principles face went slack, and his eyes glassy. He replied robotically. "Yes, I understand," he said.
And suddenly Char jolted back to herself, and realized what had just happened. She jumped up out of her chair, and sprinted to the door, pulling Danny behind her. They ran past a confused looking secretary, and out into the hall. Char ran aimlessly for about twenty feet, and then screeched to a stop to turn to Danny.
"Did we?!" she hissed at him.
"Yes," he said.
"And he's?!" she continued.
"Uh huh," said Danny.
"Holy shit!" she said in disbelief.
"I completely agree," said Danny.
"I didn't say anything damaging did I?" Char asked urgently. "Just that he shouldn't tell anyone, and not interfere with my education, right?!"
Danny nodded. "I don't think it will do any real harm, but we need to figure this shit out before something bad happens!" he said.
They looked into each other's wide eyes, and suddenly they both burst out laughing. They laughed so hard they had to lean on each other for support, and they didn't stop until their sides were aching. They panted trying to catch their breath after the release of so much tension. Everything felt lighter now. Not so dire, and gloomy.
"We'll have to go out and do some rituals, to burn off some of the magic, and get a feel for the differences in our powers. Maybe this weekend? Or some night this week, we could meet in the woods behind my house," she told him, still leaning against his arm.
"Yeah," he replied. Danny reached in his pocket and took out his phone, "Here," he said, and Char stood up straight taking out her phone and exchanging it for his. When they were done adding themselves as contacts, they switched back.
"About?" he nodded back towards the Principles office.
"Later," Char told him, shaking her head. She knew he wanted to know what that all was about, about the 'Incident,' with Ian, and she might actually tell him. She had never discussed the whole thing, and her thoughts about it, with anyone. But Danny was…Well, Danny. She knew she could trust him, with everything. With all of her. It was very rare for people to find someone they could truly trust, and be themselves with. Charlotte didn't plan on taking it for granted.
"Homeroom?" he asked, and Char shook out of her thoughts and handed over her schedule. She wished there was time to go to her locker, but if they didn't scoot they were going to be late. "Come on," Danny said, and Char followed him through the halls to her first class.