Chapter Ten:

"Hey," Stiles whispered, leaning over to talk to Scott.

They were sitting together in chem, copying notes from the whiteboard about why TNT was such a popular explosive. Stiles honestly didn't know how one teacher could make TNT so boring. There could at least be a diagram of an explosion or something! But no- just chemicals and bonds.

"Yeah?" Scott answered, not looking up from his notebook- which he was scribbling in furiously. Scott had really bad hand writing.

"Toby texted me." Stiles whispered, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Yeah?!" Scott asked excitedly, turning away from his work- his voice rising a bit.

"What did he want?" see- this is why Scott was Stiles' best friend- he was just as excited about these things as Stiles was!

"He wanted to talk- said he missed me." Stiles grinned and Scott grinned back.

"Dude you are so in!" Scott fist-bumped with Stiles- but the glory didn't last long, not when the teacher- Mr. Russell, had turned around with a beady-eyed glare.

"McCall, Stilinski." He sighed, putting down his white-board marker to go and walk over to the boys.

"Ohhhh!" the class went- as they always did when Stiles and Scott got in trouble.

"Why is it, in every class you two insist on conversing so loudly hmm?" Russell was peaking over his glasses, looking smug- like catching students in the act of conversation was the best kind of high.

Scott and Stiles both shrugged in an exaggerated way- their natural reaction to being caught out by a teacher.

"Meridian- McCall. Switch!" Russell demanded, nodding his head to both Scott and Holly Meridian- a pretty, Native American girl that Stiles had only had one or two conversations with ever- despite living in the same town with her his whole life.

Scott grumbled and muttered the entire way as he slumped over to the seat Holly had previously taken up- plonking himself down next to some dude with a really creepy smile and a lazy eye.

Holly smiled and waved shyly as she took her place, sitting next to Stiles.

Stiles shifted in his seat- uncomfortable. He wasn't really good around people he didn't talk to…and this girl had a look in her eyes- kind of like that look Allison had. Hot and dangerous.

Mr Russell smiled sadistically, like he could sense Stiles' discomfort- and moved back to the front of class, clearing his throat in the overly-dramatic way he always did right before an announcement.

"Now class- take a good look at the person sitting next to you." Oh no- NO! Stiles knew what was coming!

"This person is going to be your lab partner for the rest of this semester."

Stiles and Holly stared at each other…

…

Shit.

"Home sweet home." Stiles declared as he opened the door and ushered Holly inside, away from the biting cold.

They'd decided it was easier to just get an early start on their project- and that Stiles' house was the easiest since Holly lived out in the woods miles away from school. Apparently her parents were 'really one with nature' or something. But she'd looked funny when she'd said it- like it was some kind of inside joke.

Whatever.

"Wow- your bedroom is…uh…" Holly commented as they entered through the door and into Stiles' room- Stiles room that was full of crime scene photos, lycanthropy books…and a shitload of mind-maps pinned all over the walls.

Books on mythology were piled up along the walls, taking up a lot of room, as well as random scrolls, maps and weird little trinkets he'd borrowed from Deaton to study.

His bedroom looked like some weird medieval fantasy bombshell.

"Uhh- I'm a really dedicated dungeons and dragons LARPer?" Stiles shrugged and went over to his desk, sitting down and opening his laptop.

He didn't miss the raised eyebrows he got from Holly.

"So- ahh, let's get started then, shall we?" Stiles asked awkwardly and Holly just rolled her eyes- reminding him very much of Cora.

So, they spent the next hour and a half going over what they knew about chemical formulas in beauty products, and researching even further into the science of it.

They argued too- for a moment, when Stiles wanted to extend the research into Listerine- but Holly wanted to go into perfume instead- eventually Holly won though, after she glared at Stiles and almost made him piss his pants.

The girl was scary! She had these eyes. Like, dark brown…and somehow almost red? In any case they were creepy as hell. And for some reason- her perfectness- her tall, thin, body and flawless tanned skin…it made it worse.

"You know, you're kind of scary." Stiles blurted out from where he was lying belly-up on his bed- Holly was typing away at his laptop, in his desk chair- and he was lazing around reading books.

"Yeah?" Holly asked swivelling the chair around- she looked amused, her eyes glittering.

"Yeah- you've got this whole Alpha female thing going on- it's very intimidating." Stiles said truthfully, grinning at her.

Holly chuckled and opened her mouth to say something- but then froze tense- her head snapping towards the window.

"Holly?" Stiles asked, setting his book down, confused at the sudden stop.

Suddenly Stiles heard a noise- and he too snapped his head towards his window- which was slowly sliding up.

Holly was up on her feet and growling- freaking growling- by the time Derek Hale made his way in through the window.

"Hey Stiles I need you to-" Derek stopped his introduction, suddenly sniffing, and then he stiffened, muscles going taught as he slowly turned his head towards Holly.

He growled and his eyes turned red as rubies.

Holly growled back and flashed amber-orange eyes and- seriously!? Can someone in Stiles' life be human?! Please?!

"What the fuck?" Stiles asked, looking back and forth between Derek and Holly, noticing the way the room had become tense with hostility.

Derek stepped forward teeth and claws at the ready, looking likely to lunge- and Stiles freaking leaped in front of him.

"Oh no! You Hale, are not killing a high school girl, nope!" Stiles complained, pushing against Derek's shoulders until he backed down, retracting his fangs and claws- but not his red eyes.

Stiles whipped around to the still growling Holly.

"And you miss! You're a werewolf too?" He accused, pointing his index finger harshly at her.

Holly looked…insulted?

"Oh my God, ew! No! I'm a Were-Coyote! Jesus! Werewolves are gross." She poked her lounge out at Derek and flicked her long black hair behind her shoulder elegantly.

A…what now?

"Werewolves are the gross ones?! Are you serious! I'll have you know that-" Derek started growling when Stiles slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Calm down- or I'm kicking you out." Stiles warned, glaring at the Alpha.

Derek glared back, but nodded, and when Stiles withdrew his hand- he kept his mouth shut.

"So..." Stiles started, a thousand thoughts swimming in his head, "Were-Coyotes?"