Stiles stood at her bedroom door listening to her father on the phone with one of his deputies, Tara. They were talking about the arrival of the state police and how two joggers that had, unfortunately fort hem, came across half a dead body in woods during their run. Stiles quietly shut her door and hopped onto her bed when she heard her fathers' footsteps coming from the living room and into the small hallway her bedroom was in.
Noah Stilinski gently knocked on his only child's door, waiting a moment before opening it hesitantly.
"Stiles?" He questioned as he stepped through the doorway, he had always tried to respect his daughter's privacy so long as she was open and honest with him, which she was… most of the time.
"Yeah, dad?"
"Uhm… look, I got to go. Something came up and I'm needed at the office, I know we were supposed to be spending time together…" Noah trailed off with a sigh as he met Stiles understanding look, the same look she had whenever he had to bail on movie nights or family dinners because of work.
"It's cool, next time." Was the same reply he always got, Stiles gave him a small smile before continuing, "Seriously, go. It's fine."
Noah left without another word and as soon as Stiles heard the cruiser start up, she grabbed her phone and fired off a quick text to Scott, telling him to get ready as she was on her way over. Scott, naturally, ignored her as she tugged on her purple converse and red hoodie before leaving in her jeep.
While driving to the McCall household, Stiles continued to bombard her best friend with texts and calls he either ignored or declined. She huffed in annoyance before deciding to send a quick text to her favourite redhead; Lydia Martin. Said redhead was probably combing every inch of her wardrobe for the perfect outfit for the first day of school tomorrow.
'Finally, something interesting happening here'
What Stiles didn't know was how dragging her best friend out into the woods that night would change both their lives for better and for worse.
Stiles pulled up outside the two-storey house and looked at her phone once more, Scott was still ignoring her probably doing something related to lacrosse, but Lydia had replied a few minute ago.
'What are you talking about Stiles?'
'Someone was murdered and cut in half' She replied as she climbed out of the jeep, leaving her keys in the ignition.
'Okay, gross. Please tell me you are not going looking for the dead body?'
Lydia's reply dinged as she got to the front door and knocked, she quickly typed an answer while moving around the porch to find the handy hole she used to pull herself on to the roof.
'Yup! As soon as I get Scott'
'Who's Scott again? And you should really stop listening to your dads' conversations'
'Yeah probably and Scott McCall? My best friend.'
Stiles huffed a breathless laugh as she stumbled over the shingles of the roof while answering and slipping the device into her jeans pocket. There was a creak from the porch below her and Stiles crept to the edge of the roof to see who it was, hoping it to be Scott as his mother was on the night shift at the hospital. Stiles gasped as her foot slipped from under her and she fell forward off the roof and came face to face with a baseball bat… and Scott screaming in fright.
"Woah… woah!" She cried with wide eyes as Scott stuttered in swinging the bat at her face. "Why do you have a bat?"
"Stiles?" He huffed, "I thought you were a predator!"
"A predator, seriously?" Stiles replied with a laugh before swinging down from the roof. "Anyway, you'll never believe what I overheard. My dad left nearly twenty minutes ago for a search of the preserve. They're bringing in everyone, including state police."
Scott shook his head a little at his friends' giddiness, his brows furrowing in confusion.
"Why would they do that?" He asked, regretting it immediately when Stiles grinned manically.
"Two joggers found a body in the woods."
"Like… a dead body?" Stiles' grin fell into a deadpan look at Scott's ridiculous question, as if her dad wasn't the sheriff.
"No, a body of water," She stated with heavy sarcasm. "Yes, idiot a dead body. But the thing is they only found half."
Stiles practically skipped through the woods, easily hopping over protruding roots and large rocks that Scott tripped and stumbled over.
"Hey… do you know what half of the body we're looking for?" Scott called as he tripped over another tree root. Stiles huffed; he was never usually this talkative when they were doing something they shouldn't because it would distract Stiles from the minor details that were easily overlooked.
"Nope."
"Do you know where your dad will be searching." He gasped as they reached a steep incline.
"Uhm… No. I didn't ask."
"And what if whoever left the body is still out here?" Scott wheezed, stopping to pull out his inhaler and using it. Stiles nearly scoffed at the paranoia in Scott's tone.
"Didn't think of that either." She mumbled rolling her eyes and making her way up the small hill, with a still wheezing Scott behind her.
"Good to know you kept your typical attention to detail… Hey Stiles, maybe the severely asthmatic should be holding the flashlight."
But Stiles had already disappeared over the crest of the hill and immediately dropped to the soft dirt as she saw flashlights in the distance. She swore under her breath, glancing back when Scott finally reached her. Stiles jumped to her feet to pull him away from the search group without backtracking.
Assuming Scott was still following her despite the lack of light on their side, Stiles took off in a dead sprint hoping to get away from her dad and back to her jeep. She stopped for breath when the lights were out of sight and whipped around with wide eyes when a twig snapped behind her. Stiles stumbled back into the dirt when she was met with a snarling scent dog but sighed in relief when she saw the sheriff looking down at her in disappointment.
"Calm down Maddox." He ordered the dog, whom instantly quieted. "Everyone back to the search, this little delinquent belongs to me."
"Hi dad…" She sheepishly reached up to rub the back of her neck as her father stood over her.
"So, do you listen to all of my phone calls?"
"No," She lied unable to meet his gaze. "Well, not the boring ones."
Noah looked around with his flashlight as if he only just noticed she was alone.
"Where's your usual partner in crime?" He asked, fully expecting Scott to stumble out of the trees.
Stiles shrugged one shoulder carelessly, "Scotty's at home, he wanted to get a good nights' rest before lacrosse try outs tomorrow."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, so irresponsible of him." Stiles joked with a half grin; her father was less than amused.
Noah grabbed Stiles but the collar of her hoodie and carefully escorted her out of the preserve muttering about privacy and 'need-to-know' business.
When Stiles arrived home, she sent Scott a quick text, apologising for leaving him alone in the woods with no way home before changing and getting into bed for the first day of sophomore year.
It wasn't until the next morning when Scott replied that it was alright, but he had something important to tell her. She didn't answer choosing to get ready instead.
Stiles grabbed a pair of jeans and tank from one of the drawers of her dresser before undressing and throwing on her random outfit. She quickly stuffed her feet into a pair of black combat boots and grabbed a flannel from the wardrobe.
She grabbed her bag and dumped her books inside and leaving her bedroom heading for the kitchen where she found a half full coffee pot with a sticky note from her father stating he had to leave early. Stiles shrugged having already expected it and instead of moping, pulled out her phone and replied to Lydia's insanely early morning request for gossip on Stiles' nightly venture.
'Didn't find out much. Got caught'
'And how did your dad take you eavesdropping?'
'Surprisingly well; kinda like he does every time I get caught'
'Lucky you. I do hope you have at least tried with your outfit this morning''
'Please. As if I ever really try to look noticeable for 6 hours of school'
'Mm, true, I guess. You could at least smile more and be less sarcastic'
'Me sarcastic? Never'
Stiles took a quick glance at the time before grabbing her bag and shrugging on her flannel before leaving for school.
The drive to school only took fifteen minutes, Stiles immediately spotted Scott waiting for her next to the bike rack where he had just chained up his bike. Stiles pushed her door open and grabbed her bag before jumping from the jeep and hurrying over to him with a half grin.
"Hey Scotty, what's up?" Scott grimaced a little gently tugging the hem of his T-shirt up to show a bloody bandage. "Oh man that… that's gross. What happened?"
"Something bit me last night. I think it was a wolf." He stated his face serious as Stiles snorted.
"Seriously? A wolf?"
"Yes, I heard a wolf howling." Stiles shook her head almost mockingly as they headed towards the school steps.
"No, no you didn't." She informed quickly continuing when he opened his mouth to argue. "Dude, there hasn't been any wolves in California in like eighty years or something."
Scott frowned deeply, running a thumb over his bottom lip in thought.
"Well would you believe me if I told you I found the other half of the body?"
Stiles jerked her focus back on her best friend, her jaw falling open slightly as Scott nodded saying something about how he was going to have nightmares from it. Stiles' eyes slowly fell away from Scott's mumbling as a certain strawberry blonde beauty strutted towards them.
"This is awesome… I mean obviously not for the dead chick but it's probably the best the thing to happen in this town in…forever." Stiles commented lightly her honey brown eyes meeting the peridot green of her favourite frenemy; Lydia Martin.
The two girls had been competing academically since first grade. Over the years it became a friendly battle of wits and they became close friends, relying on one another for years until Stiles – with a little help from Jackson Whittemore – made an unforgivable mistake. Freshman year ended with the girls friendship being tense and full of biting, snarky remarks, thankfully they had spent the summer reconciling and making amends.
"Hey, Stiles. Ready for the new year?" Lydia asked as she slowed her long strides to catch the answer. Stile felt the corner of her mouth tug upwards in a half grin.
"Bring it on, Lydia." The girls shared one last cocky look before Lydia disappeared into the school. "Come on Scott, we should get to class."
The duo made their way to their first English class, Stiles thought on what Scott found while eyeing the syllabus critically. The teacher stood at the blackboard while informing the class that they should be focusing on the lesson as the police department already had a suspect in custody. Stiles rolled her eyes; she was well aware that there was no suspect as they were still looking for the second half of the body to ID the victim.
As she flipped open the textbook, ignoring her teachers pointed look the principal's assistant waltzed in with a pretty, curly haired brunette behind him.
"Class, this is Allison Argent," he introduced the girl as she waved timidly at the class. "Please make her feel welcome."
He left without another word and Allison made her way to the only available seat which was behind Scott. The puppy eyed boy turned to her, offering her a pen with a dopey grin.
The first day passed in a blur of teachers outlining the semester plans and talk of the dead girl in the woods. When the final bell rang, and Stiles met Scott at his locker she had a pounding headache and wanted nothing more than to go home but she had agreed to go back to the area where Scott said he found the body after he tried out for lacrosse.
"Hey Scotty." She sighed leaning against the locker and closing her eyes for a minute. Scott mumbled something back that she didn't quite hear.
"Can someone please tell me how new girl is here for five minutes and already hanging with Lydia's group." A new voice interrupted Stiles' peaceful silence, so she snapped her eyes open and half grinned at the dark-skinned girl she remembered sat in her chemistry.
"Cause she pretty." She stated plainly. "Beautiful people herd together, I guess."
She didn't mean it as an insult to anyone that didn't hang around Lydia, per say. It was simply something the red head had said to her during free period in the library when Stiles brushed off her invitation to join her for lunch. Nevertheless, the statement had caused the other girl to bristle slightly.
"There are a lot of beautiful people in this school that don't need to hang around the queen of self-absorption." The comment caused Stiles to chuckle a little and shrug.
"I never said there wasn't but biologically speaking, we seek out those who subconsciously mimic ourselves or what we wish to be like."
They spoke a little more before Scott pulled on the cuff of her plaid shirt, indicating that he was leaving for the first practice game. When they got to the field, coach Finstock was doing what he always did; shouting orders at the team as Stiles tried to talk Scott out of going for first line.
"Not to be completely selfish but if you get first line then who will sit on the bench with me during games and talk trash about Jackson?" She pondered as she followed him onto the field with a small pout.
"You're not even on the team Stiles, you could do homework or something. Besides it's not like you actually care about the sport." Scott fired back sending her a grin as he looked up to the stands. "And Lydia will be at the games anyway, you guys could talk."
"Not the point Scotty. What if you need your inhaler or something in the middle of practice or a game?" She had noticed that Scott hadn't pulled out his inhaler or became short of breath once today which was unusual.
"I'll be fine, Stiles. You worry too much."
Her sarcastic reply was cut short when coach tossed a goalie stick in Scott's arms, informing he was to help give the team a confidence boost and not to take any in the face. He walked off while blowing his whistle in Stiles ear as a warning to get off the field.
"You don't worry enough." She quipped seeing his terrified face. "Oh, and don't look now but new girl has just arrived."
Stiles then ran off the field to the bench the extra players usually sat at and waited for practice to end. Her phone lit up beside her with a message, she glanced at the screen expecting it to some unimportant notification.
'Someone is brutally murdered, and you think it's a good idea to go out into the woods. Are you insane?'
Stiles could practically hear the sarcasm as she read and re-read the text wondering why Braeden was texting her anyway as she typed a reply.
'like you wouldn't have'
It wasn't like she expected her mother's old friend to take a break from doing whatever it is mercenaries do to speak to her. It just wasn't in Braeden's nature to look out for others when there weren't several zeros on the end. Despite having known the dark-skinned woman most of her life, Stiles had only met the ex-federal marshal a handful of times since her mother's death. She spent the rest of practise alternating between staring intently at her phone and watching Scott beat Jackson at his own game.
It wasn't until practice was over and Stiles had dragged Scott back to the preserve to retrace his steps from the night that Braeden answered with one word and a smiley face.
'touché '
'You're such a weirdo Brae' She answered while half listening to her friend talk about how amazing he was on the field, like she wasn't there to see it.
"I don't know… it was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball." Scott said as she stuffed her phone back in her pocket. "Then there's the other things…"
"What other things?" She asked curiously, Scott spun around to face her with a half-hearted shrug.
"I dunno. I can… it's like I can hear, see and smell things that I shouldn't."
"What kind of things?"
"Like the mint mojito gum in your pocket."
Stiles almost laughed at the absurdity of the claim but met Scott's challenging look and dug through her pockets until she found a single stick of gum.
"Okay… how did you…?" Scott shrugged in response, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"What if it's some sort of infection like my body is flooding with adrenaline before I go into shock?"
"You I think I've heard of this before," Stiles began grinning at the opportunity to mess with him. "Yeah I think they call it… lycanthropy."
"What is that? Is it serious?"
"Oh definitely." She nodded with faux seriousness. "But only once a month."
Scott's face fell as she howled mockingly, he shoved her a little in annoyance, but Stiles only laughed.
"Come on, Scotty. You're the one who said you heard a wolf howling. But if you happen to see me in shop class melting all the silver, I can find it's because this Friday is the full moon."
Scott went further ahead until he reached the area he was attacked in and kicked up some of the leaves.
"I swear this was the place. This is where I saw the body then the deer came running and I dropped my inhaler."
"Maybe the killer came back and moved the body."
"If he did, I hope he left my inhaler those things are like eighty bucks."
Stiles went to answer when a chill went down her spine and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She slowly turned around and took in their surroundings feeling like she had eyes drilling into the back of her head.
"What are you doing?" A voice suddenly demanded, and Stiles froze a small shriek erupting from her throat when she saw a guy dressed in all black standing a few feet away from them. "This is private property."
Stiles remained silent, both hands clasped over mouth as she tried to figure out why the guy looked so familiar while Scott apologised. He suddenly tossed a small object through the air before walking off. That's when Stiles remembered there was a picture of the guy from several years ago in the school's trophy case.
"Dude that was Derek Hale!" She stammered meeting Scott's confused expression she continued. "Do you not remember like six years ago? His whole family burned in a fire."
"Huh, I wonder what he's doing back." Was all Scott could say as they made his way back to the jeep and Stiles dropped him off at work.
Driving through the town Stiles noticed a small store squashed between a solicitor's office and a small boutique. It was a plain and ordinary store front with black cursive letters declaring it as a bookshop of ancient text and apothecary, Stiles found herself stopping her car and inside the store without knowing why she was there.
Instead walking back out of the cramped and musty smelling room she decided to walk around. The front of the shop held shelves upon shelves of ancient, leather bound tomes with peeling letters decorating the cracked spines. Several of the books held the names of various mythological creatures such as werewolves, witches, hellhounds and banshees.
Curiosity getting the better of her, Stiles gently plucked one of the texts about witches from the shelf and opened it. The first few pages described how unreliable characteristics written from the mundane perspective where wildly out of proportion and various methods of hiding in plain sight from 'the ones who hunt us."
Stiles was enraptured by the words that almost came to life on the pages and painted different scenes around her. The passion behind the words and illustrations sent sparks of electricity up her fingertips that she didn't notice the woman enter from the back nor did she notice the slack jawed expression on her face as Stiles' eyes glowed a shockingly vivid purple.
The shop owner was so surprised that she dropped the jar of monkshood she had been getting ready to deliver. The glass jar shattering into dozens of pieces startled Stiles into slamming the book shut and snapping her head up so fast she felt her neck crack.
"Oh! Uhm… I'm sorry." Stiles quickly apologised to the short, grey haired woman who fumbled a little at the sight of her. "I didn't mean to… you know…"
"No worries, dear." The woman replied softly, she nodded to the tome in her hand with a sly grin. "Taken an interest in an ancient craft? I can guide you but I'm afraid that's all I could do, I'm Annie the owner."
Stiles glanced at the book in her hand swallowing thickly as she still felt the rush of sparks dancing at her fingertips, skimming through the words of another had ignited something deep within her, something she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to learn about or feel again. So, ignoring the urge to ask about it more Stiles shook her head.
"Actually, I was more curious about werewolves."
The look of disappointment didn't go unnoticed by the young teen, but she chose to brush it off and listen to the woman's recommendations for more in depth information about the creatures. She bought a couple of the books for appearances and left after helping to clean up the broken glass, after arriving home Stiles dropped the werewolf books next to her laptop and forgot about them. Until the next day when she overheard her father talking to the medical examiner as she was leaving for school.
She barely saw Scott during the school day but when she did her tongue felt like lead and she couldn't bring herself to ruin his excitement for Lydia's party. Instead she voiced her worries to Braeden. Braeden was just as curious as Stiles and always knew what to say to make everything clearer. She never enforced Stiles to follow her opinion as law but encouraged her to use the information to the best of her abilities and form her own ideas, much like Stiles, Braeden preferred to make her own rules and not a let anyone deter her from her path.
The ex-marshal had no idea what to do with the information as the evidence was contradictory but when Stiles brought up the bookshop she had visited, she huffed a small laugh and suggested that the answer might be in one of the tomes she bought.
"Hilarious Brae, really. Werewolves are mythological folk lore, they don't exist." She sighed through the phone as she made her way to the lacrosse field with Lydia and Allison a few feet ahead of her.
"And? Witches are perceived as folktale but there have been many accounts of them existing throughout history. The Salem witch trials only being the most well-known."
Stiles groaned and rubbed her forehead before daring to voice what she was implying.
"Are you saying that I actually toy with the very real possibility that all manners of supernatural creatures exist?" She clarified and she could almost feel Braeden's smug grin of satisfaction.
"Hey, Scott heard a wolf howling and we both know there are no wolves in Beacon Hills. And I'm not suggesting you do anything; you make the decision on what you believe."
Stiles groaned again. "Okay but just for clarification, what would you do?"
"I never rule anything out. Not until I had all the facts." She hummed back. "I would also suggest you talk to your guidance councillor before you do anything reckless."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll do that. I need to watch this scrimmage thing."
"I don't see why you do, Mischief. You hate sports."
"Because Scott is my friend, Brae and I want to show him that I believe in him."
"So, it's not because you like him as more than a friend?"
"No! Gross, why would you ask that?" Stiles almost shouted but it was too late as Braeden had hung up after the first word, snickering at Stiles' disgust. Shaking her Stiles sat next to Scott whose leg continued to bounce with anticipation. "So, I heard my dad talking to the M.E earlier and…"
"Stiles I can't talk about this now; I'm playing first eliminations." He cut her off and ran onto the field as coach blew his whistle and started rounding everyone up.
"Well that went well." She mumbled, focusing on how Scott played throughout the mock game her worries becoming more and more realistic.
Stiles raced home, running several stop signs and thanking every deity she could name that none of her father's deputies pulled her over for reckless driving. Slamming into her bedroom she scooped up the bag with the books and instantly cracked them open.
What felt like minutes had been hours of reading, researching and note taking and Stiles finally felt confident enough in her findings to call Scott over. He arrived with a dopey grin and relaxed posture.
"Finally, get it in here." She demanded. "I have to show you what I found."
"Is this about the girl in the woods? Have the found out who did it?"
"No." She snapped; it was a murder in the middle of the night not a convenience store robbery. "This is about you. You remember the joke from the other day, about the bite and the wolf? Well I started doing all of this reading and do you even know why a wolf howls'?"
"No." Scott shrugged. "Should I?" He asked while flopping down onto Stiles' bed.
"Yes, it's a signal. When a wolf is alone it will howl to signal its location to the rest of the pack, so if you heard one that could mean there is a pack nearby."
Scott sat up straight with a serious look on his face, "A whole pack of wolves?"
"No, I mean a pack of werewolves. Now hear me out; everything you've been doing all the weird, crazy reflexes and the heightened senses. It all started with that bite."
Scott shot up to his feet, anger spiking through him suddenly.
"I can't believe you're wasting my time with this. I have to go; I'm picking up Allison in an hour." Scott moved towards the door ready to leave. "We'll talk tomorrow."
"What, no!" Stiles shot back. "The full moon is tonight, and it will also be when your bloodlust will be at its peak."
Her words caught him off guard and for a moment he believed her before he shook it off and lashed out in anger.
"What are you trying to do Stiles? I've made first line; I've got a date with a girl that I can barely believe wants to go out with me! Why are you trying to ruin this!" He shouted ignoring the way she flinched at his tone.
"Scott you've got to listen to me, okay? 'the change can be caused by anything that raises the chosen's pulse'." She read from the book before meeting his deep brown eyes. "I haven't seen anything raise your pulse the way she does. You've got to cancel this date before someone gets hurt."
After a short struggle over Scott's phone Stiles ended up pinned against the wall with a sharp pain biting into her shoulder and a furious Scott glaring at her with a raised fist. Instead of punching her like she expected, Scott swiped his hand through the air and knocked over the leather computer chair instead. He muttered a small apology before running out of the house and back to his to get ready, the thought of Allison overshadowing the fact he attacked his best friend.
The party was in full swing by the time Stiles got there and she easily spotted Scott and Allison dancing by the pool in the middle of the crowd. After Scott's vicious attack on her chair Stiles went into the bathroom to get ready for the party when she noticed the scratch marks on her shoulder where Scott grabbed her. The cuts where shallow and hopefully wouldn't scar or get infected but Stiles had cleaned and wrapped them just to be sure.
Whenever she caught sight of the newly in love couple, Stiles felt a jolt of pain course up her arm and into her shoulder leaving her with a numb arm by the time Scott ran off panting and stumbling to his car. Without thinking Stiles drove after him to make sure he was not going to hurt himself.
Scott was in the middle of shifting when he explained that he believed Derek was the one to bite him and kill the girl in the woods, Stiles took off in her jeep, heading to Allison's house praying that she hadn't been hurt.
After giving the downtrodden girl a semi believable excuse about Scott having an asthma attack, she spent the rest of the night driving around the preserve looking for the newly formed wolf to emerge from the trees.