Disclaimer: teen wolf does not belong to me in any way, shape or form. Thank you so much for the continued support, especially to Blu3b3rryT3a, ellie.wright101297, Guest and Scottken for reviewing. I know it's not been long since I updated (like a few days) but I was on nightshift, got bored, started this and then finished it at home tonight after my weird sleep schedule lol anyways, I hope you all enjoy this next installment and please keep reviewing and supporting, thank you :)

To her complete surprise (and annoyance), she was woken up not long after eight the next morning.

A Saturday morning.

The incessant knocking was sending shocks through her body, so loud that even covering her head with her pillow wasn't working. Nothing drowning out the thumps of bare knuckles against wood, combined with the high pitched chime of the doorbell bouncing off the walls.

"Oh my god" she muttered in frustration, throwing the pillow off her face and groaning as it knocked over the lamp on her bedside table, "I am coming!"

Her yell clearly wasn't enough to deter whoever was at the door, the impatient determination of the knocking seeming to get quicker as she growled under her breath, throwing back the covers and stomping down the stairs, her bare feet striking the floor with loud slaps.

She could barely see, her eyes still bleary with sleep as she reached the front door and turned the key, yanking it open and getting hit with the harsh brightness of the low, early morning sun.

"Oh... hi" the voice said in surprise, "um, sorry, did I wake you?"

She squinted, throwing a hand up to cover her eyes, her wild knotty hair covering her face, but was still able to recognise the fidgety silhouette of none other than Stiles Stilinski.

"Stiles" she muttered through gritted teeth, "what the fuck? It's a Saturday. Of course I was sleeping. What the hell are you doing here? I saw you less than twelve hours ago"

He held up a binder, trying to keep his smile light and playful but was unable to stop the sheepish look that twisted his features.

"Chemistry project, remember? We got paired up"

She glanced down, totally unamused at the binder, and then back to his face, her annoyed stare making him gulp nervously.

"Last night you said 'see you tomorrow' which I thought was you implying you wanted to work on the project today, y'know, as it's due Monday?"

"So you thought it was a good idea to turn up, unannounced, at 8am?"

"I did text. Several times in fact. You didn't answer"

"Oh jeez, I wonder why" she remarked sarcastically, "maybe because it's a Saturday morning and I was sleeping"

"Yeah" he winced, "I kind of gathered that now"

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

He shrugged, rolling backwards and forwards on the balls of his feet, "I was wired after last night. Couldn't shut off"

She was beginning to soften a little, eyes adjusting to the light as she dropped her hand and side stepped a little, holding the door a little wider.

Stiles seemed confused, his brows furrowing at her movement and she just rolled her eyes, extending her arm out sarcastically.

"Well?" she asked, "are you coming in or not?"

His expression screamed 'holy hell' as he looked at her like she had six heads, letting out a nervous laugh.

"In your house? Again?"

"It's just a house Stiles" she muttered, "not my vagina, calm down"

He flushed a little, still not used to her unfiltered way with words as he shrugged.

"Sorry. Just assumed you'd want to go to the library or something"

Despite her tolerance level for Stiles being much higher than for most, she was tired and cranky and annoyed at getting woken from her blissful slumber, especially considering she didn't get a decent sleep most nights anyway, and he wisely didn't argue, stepping into the foyer.

"Wasn't Scott a part of this group project too?" she asked, shutting the door behind him.

"Yeah but he sucks at Chemistry. Thought we could make a start without him" Stiles explained, allowing himself a few seconds to gaze around the magnificent entrance to her home, still amazed by the sheer size before finally allowing his eyes to settle on her, finally realising her state of undress.

"Should I be flattered or creeped out you want to spend time alone with me?" she joked, folding her arms across her chest.

She watched him swallow, eyes seemed much wider than usual as he hyper focused on her stare, his freckled cheeks becoming an adorable pink.

She knew why straight away.

All because she was simply standing in front of him in some short short flannel sleep shorts and a white vest top.

She smirked, immediately brightening up at his embarrassed and uncomfortable stance, wondering what else he expected at eight o'clock in the frigging morning.

"I'll go get dressed" she smirked, rolling her eyes playfully as she made her way to the bottom of the staircase, turning around to cock a brow at him, "well? Are you coming?"

He gulped, pointing to his chest before his eyes glanced up the staircase, like she was suggesting he go into unknown dangerous territory, sort of like a minefield.

"U-Up there?"

"I mean, you're more than welcome to hang out by the shoe rack, but my room is much more comfortableo" she said with a smirk, beginning to make her way up the stairs and it took him a few seconds to respond, nodding to nothing but thin air and clumsily following her up.

She didn't know why he got so clumsy and nervous around something so simple, but it amused her none the less, constantly finding herself hiding her smile when he acted like that.

It was just a room. Literally, just a room. But then again, maybe he hadn't been in many girls room before.

She padded along the hallway and into the room at the very far left, keeping the door open and waiting for Stiles.

He hovered over the threshold, looking like a nervous puppy as his quick eyes flitted around, soaking up the image of her bedroom like it was the most fascinating thing he had seen.

"Oh my god" she muttered, her patience running out as she simply grabbed his wrist and pulled him in with a smirk, "you need to chill out. It's just my bedroom"

He clumsily flapped about for a few seconds, getting his bearings as he tried to shake the anxiety from his limbs, swallowing back the twitchiness.

"Heh... it's... it's nice" he murmured, scratching the back of his neck as he allowed himself to glance around, "very... earthly"

"Oh, I'm sorry" she smirked, "did I disappoint? Did you expect glittery pink walls and fluffy pillows?"

"With you? I never have any idea what to expect"

Her playful smirk faded into a delicate, genuine small smile, quietly pleased with the assumption.

"I'll jump in the shower. Take a seat, snoop about, I don't care" she shrugged, "just don't break anything"

He nodded helplessly, watching her like a puppy dog as she slipped into her en-suite and pushed the door over, not enough for it to click shut, but enough that it left just a sliver of a crack for him to be able to peer through it he was nosey enough.

The shadows of her moving around kept catching his eye, leaning sideways to see her darting from one side of the bathroom to the other and, only when he caught glimpses of her bare skin, did he jump back and slap himself across the face.

No Stiles, don't go there.

Once he heard the shower turn on, he felt safe enough to allow his eyes to peer around the room, soaking it all in.

Her room was big - really big - a king size bed placed against the wall, adajacent to large arched windows that opened up into one of those small balconies, covered in thin white nets that were draped back.

The walls were a light sage green, framed pictures decorating the wall, rustic oak furniture spread around the room. A vanity table next to her bed, a large mirror standing atop it with random bits of make up strewn across it. On the opposite end of the room, a desk with her laptop and notebooks spread across it. Built in wardrobes were opposite the window next to the bathroom, the doors slightly open so he could see an array of colours.

Next, her bed.

The bundle of covers were in disarray, half falling off the bed in her haste to answer the door, a pillow fallen on the floor next to a knocked over lamp.

Surprisingly, no brown boxes still filled with unpacked things. He supposed she had finally accepted the move to Beacon Hills, despite how she felt about it.

He walked around her bed and towards her desk, looking at the mess. She seemed like a cluttered person, much like himself. Things not organised in a neat order.

His eyes fluttered upwards to the pinboard above the desk, his gaze drifting across photos pinned to the board. People he didn't know smiling at him, Kayla featuring in most of them.

Some, he guessed, were her family.

Others, he supposed, her friends from back home.

Regardless, in all of them she seemed happy.

He thought he had seen her happy here, but evidently not. Her smile was never as wide, her eyes never quite as bright as they were in these photos. A brief moment captured in a split second, conveying so much happiness - a true free spirit.

It was like, here - in Beacon Hills - she wore a mask. A pretend facade of being okay. He had bought into it. Assumed she was okay. In his defence, she did seem okay. But, in comparison to these photos, he could tell she actually wasn't.

It was actually kind of heartbreaking, really.

He heard the shower turn off and, in his surprise, quickly turned around and accidentally knocked over a pot of pens, the different coloured markers spilling across the cream coloured carpet.

"Shit" he cursed, dropping to his knees to hastily try and collect the pens, hurriedly shoving them back in the metal pot but they kept springing out, bouncing off the carpet and rolling further away.

He looked like he was on ice skates as he shuffled forward, grabbing the pens hastily as he slid across the carpet and just managed put them back in the pot and stand up as she opened the bathroom door, hot steam rolling into the bedroom.

"Didn't I say not to break anything?"

He could hear the smirk in her voice before he even turned to face her, holding the pen pot to his chest as he spun around, trying to think of some half hearted excuse as to why he was nosing around her desk but the words died in the back of his throat as he saw her.

She was wrapped in nothing but a fluffy white towel, the material grazing the tops of her thighs, long hair dripping wet as clear water droplets cascaded down her bronzed skin, his stare hyperfixating on the complete lack of clothes.

"Oh… um… I just… I was, um… heh-"

He was tripping over his own tongue, his brain coming to a complete stand still as he tried to formulate a coherent sentence to respond to her but, yet again, he was making an idiot of himself.

"This isn't… I didn't… I-oh god-" he cut himself off, his clumsy hands accidentally knocking into each other as he hit the pot of pens from his grip, the contents spilling out all over the floor yet again.

"You really need to learn to relax" she chuckled, her eyes dazzling in amusement as he turned a beetroot red, dropping to his knees to pick up the pens, "we're friends. Friends see each other in a state of undress all the time"

"I wasn't-I didn't mean to look-" he stuttered, keeping his eyes diverted downwards as he hastily picked up the markers, "I just didn't expect… expect that"

She seemed to take pity on him, carefully kneeling down opposite him, her bare wet knees indenting into the carpet as she finished picking up the remaining pens, slotting them into the pot and smirking at him.

"Stiles?"

"Hm?"

"Are you always this awkward?"

He exhaled a snort, trying - and failing - to play it cool.

"Ninety nine percent of the time, yeah"

"Well, how can I make you feel less awkward?" she asked, both still kneeling on the floor, "because if every time we hang out you verge on having a stroke, I don't think our friendship will last very long" she added with a chortle.

It still surprised him she even considered friendship with him out of all people. He didn't really have friends. He had Scott. That was basically it. Why would some random girl ever want to be friends with him?

"Heh... maybe-maybe by wearing clothes?"

His simple, innocent suggestion sent her into a fit of the giggles, throwing her head back and laughing freely.

Just the sight of her happy made him smile, his embarrassed awkwardness beginning to ease up.

"Right" she muttered inbetween the laughs, "well, that I can do"

She was still chuckling under her breath as she unfolded herself, standing up and holding out a hand to help him up.

Wordlessly, he accepted, letting her pull him to his feet as he tried to repress the memory of the last two minutes, wishing he could just play it cool without acting like a total douche, but she didn't seem to mind.

"I'm sorry" she smiled, "I forget I can be too much sometimes"

"No" he immediately said, "don't think that. You're just enough"

Her expression melted into something close to appreciation, seeming grateful for his words. Words that he completely meant.

Was she full on? Yes. But she was a breath of fresh air. Carefree and free of societal expectations and pressures. He enjoyed how unrestricted and unfiltered she was. She said what she thought, without apology. It wasn't often - or ever - he had met someone like that.

"Tell that to my mom" she said lightly, but he sensed the brewing bitterness in her tone, "apparently-" creating air quotations with her fingers, "-I'm a handful. Or two. Or ten"

"You don't need to apologise for being yourself" he shrugged, relaxing a little more, able to focus on more than just the fact she was still standing in a towel, "I can handle it"

That playful smirk returned, her green gaze swimming with delight.

"You think you can handle me?" she grinned, "is that a challenge?"

His cheeks flared bright red again, knowing play flirting was just a big part of her personality, but he still felt overwhelmed by it, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"Relax" she teasingly slapped his chest, "I'm just messing with you. Now turn around" she spun her finger around in a circle, "I need to get dressed"

He silently turned around, shaking his head at himself as he heard her snigger, gently padding around her room, opening drawers and her wardrobe to find some clothes.

He was on hyper alert, unable to see her so his other senses seemed to kick into overdrive, listening intently to the sound of her bare feet curling into the carpet, the scrapes of hangers being pushed along the rail, the soft thud of clothes being thrown on the bed and, most shockingly, the whoosh of her towel hitting the floor.

Okay Stiles, he chanted to himself, just relax. Don't think about the fact there's a naked girl behind you... don't think about the fact there's a hot naked girl behind you... don't think about the fact you're in the bedroom of said hot naked girl...

God dammit. He was working himself up. Why did he always do this to himself? Why couldn't he just be normal? God... she must really think he was an incompetent idiot.

He shook himself from his overthinking, realising she was calling his name.

He quickly spun around, seeing her dressed in a simple pair of denim shorts, a cropped baggy v-neck jumper settling around her waist, her midriff on show.

She waved an arm out towards her bed as she brushed her knotty wet hair, the smell of strawberries and cream floating to Stiles' nostrils.

"Sit down. Relax. I need to grab a coffee if I have any luck in staying awake. Can I get you anything?"

He was startled by the invite to relax on her bed, expecting to maybe sit at her desk or go downstairs to the kitchen, but he tried to play it off as best he could, pretending the idea of sitting on her bed wasn't a total knee jerker.

"Uh... ju-just a water, please?"

"A water?" she asked incredulously, "you want a water?"

"If I have coffee, I'll just be more of a hyperactive mess. Trust me, you don't want to see that"

She chuckled as she placed her hairbrush down on the vanity table, nodding and agreeing with what he said.

"Okay. One water coming up"

She left her room, heading to the kitchen and he breathed a sigh of relief when she was out of ear shot, smacking himself on the forehead.

"Idiot" he cursed, "a water? So lame"

He shook his head at himself, muttering obscenities under his breath as he carefully perched himself at the end of her bed, immediately sinking into the mattress.

"Bet this mattress costs more than my entire house" he muttered under his breath, allowing his hand to skim over the sheets that still seemed a little warm, her body having been curled up here less than half hour ago until he rudely woke her from her sleep.

He didn't know what drove him to turn up, unannounced. He just wanted to see her, maybe try and bond a little outwith school or some supernatural life and death situation.

Why? Because she intrigued him, as simple as that.

Ever since she said those first words to him in Chem class, he was fascinated. It was like her energy called out to him, making him what to know more.

Plus, she was involved in all this supernatural choas... a girl with secrets. Of course he was fascinated. He would be a fool not to be.

He heard her coming back up the stairs so tried to make himself look innocent (which he was, he had done no more snooping), trying to sit and look relaxed as she came back into the room carrying a large white mug and a bottle of water, chucking him the latter.

He fumbled to grab it, the bottle - expectantly - slipping from his grasp.

It seemed his clumsiness amused her as she snorted out a laugh, placing her mug on the bedside table as he leaned down to pick up the bottle of water.

"Thanks" he remarked playfully, "don't think I can tip with service like that though"

She shrugged, throwing herself next to him on the bed.

"Worth it though"

He inhaled sharply at the feel of her body so close to his, the scent of strawberries and cream getting stronger.

"So, what's this project on anyway?" she asked, "I wasn't listening"

"Uh, well-"

"Actually, on second thoughts-" she waved her hand, "-don't tell me. I may be tempted to jump from the balcony"

She reached sideways for her mug, the steam from the black liquid drifting up and wafting the strong scent of bitter coffee up his nostrils, making him want to sneeze.

"Oh wow, that's strong" Stiles remarked, plugging his nose, "you actually drink that stuff like that?"

She cast him a sideways glance, her lips already moulded around the edge of the mug as she took a few sips.

"Yeah" she muttered, like she didn't understand why he was quizzing her on her coffee habits, "why?"

"Nothing" he laughed, "just surprised you don't need a shovel to get through that sludge"

"Ha-ha" she remarked, playfully elbowing him as she took a few more sips before placing the mug back down again, "well, if someone didn't force me out of bed at 8am, I might not need it"

He felt a little hot under the collar but was definitely relaxing more, getting more comfortable in her presence.

"Touché"

She laid back on her bed, her legs swinging off the edge as she looked up at the ceiling, placing her hands across her bare stomach.

"How is Scott?" she asked, "really?"

"He's... adjusting surprisingly well" Stiles shrugged, "although, right now, I don't think he really cares about anything other than Allison. A meteor could come flying out of the sky and wipe out half the population, and he'd just be obsessing over Allison"

"Yeah" she laughed, "dude is whipped"

"So whipped"

A thoughtful expression twisted her features as she kept glancing up at the ceiling, mulling over something he was none the wiser of.

"Did, uh... did Scott tell you what Derek showed him last night?"

Stiles gulped, the conversation he had with Scott on the phone sparking in his mind.

"Yeah. It sounded just as bad as you described"

She turned to look at him, giving him a once over before tugging on his arm so he was laying down next to her, his back hitting the mattress with a gentle thump.

"I haven't been to see him, y'know" he heard her say, her stare a little vulnerable and sad, "my uncle Peter. I haven't been to see him. Not once. Not even since moving here"

The awkwardness at laying on her bed next to her suddenly flew out the window, turning to watch her speak.

"That makes me a pretty sucky person, huh?"

"Not at all" he reassured straight away, "he sounds in a bad way. It wouldn't be nice to see him like that. Were... were you close?"

She gave a half hearted shrug, her eyes glazing over slightly as she spoke.

"Not extremely. My dad and him seemed to have a lot of unresolved tension. Don't get me wrong, they were cordial and respectful, but there was something going on between them. I think that's why we only visited every summer for a few weeks"

"You don't know why they didn't get on?"

"No idea. It's been that way for as long as I can remember. I don't even think my dad visited him in the hospital before he... well, before he died"

"But uh..." she continued, "regardless of who actually started the fire, whether it was the Argents or not, Scott needed to know exactly what the risks are to being a werewolf. I hope it opened his eyes a little"

"Well, I think it worked. Colour him terrified" Stiles chuckled, "I had to talk him down from an anxiety attack"

"Poor Scott" she commented lightly, "he's a good guy"

"Sickenly good" Stiles agreed, "like, bordering on nauseating"

She threw him a sideways smile, her eyes tracing their way across his face, studying his expression with delight and amusement.

"Stiles?"

"Yeah?"

He didn't know what she was going to say because her phone beeping suddenly went off which broke their eye contact, Kayla reaching for her phone next to her and raising it above her face to read.

She grunted out a displeased groan, throwing her phone back down.

"Uh... everything good?"

"Yeah. Just Brian being a pain in the ass. Lydia must've given him my number. I'm going to kill her"

"And... and you're ignoring him?"

Her gaze twinkled with amusement as she smirked at him, their previous heavy conversation forgotten about.

"Believe it or not, yeah. I know-" she dramatically exclaimed, her tone bordering on sarcastic, "-give me all the awards. I'm actively turning down dick. Wish I did that before the last guy. Would've saved me a boatload of trauma"

Yup. There it was again. Her unfiltered comments that, somehow, still surprised him.

"Heh... well uh... good for you. You can do so much better than Brian"

"You think?"

"I know"

For the first time since he met her, she actually seemed a little... overwhelmed by his words, like she was surprised he truthfully thought that about her. But then, how could he not? Of course she deserved better than Brian.

She deserved the world.

A/N) yay another chapter haha wanted just a Stiles x Kayla focused chapter because, hellllloooo bonding haha all new content here. Enjoying developing their relationship :) so I hope you all liked and please please review and I shall see you all soon :) x