After two weeks of packing, nightmares, getting school sorted and spending as much time with his dad as possible. Stiles has packed up his bags, said goodbye to his dad, taken a flight to Virginia and is currently sitting in a private car that the Lockwood's had waiting for him at the airport when he arrived.
To say that Stiles was a little weirded out about being driven around was an understatement. The man helped Stiles put his luggage in the back of the car and opened his door for him. It made Stiles feel a useless, which really wasn't a great start to this new chapter of Stiles life.
As the car drove past the 'Welcome to Mystic Falls' sign, Stiles felt his anxiety skyrocket. How the hell was he supposed to act normal? How was he supposed to make friends if he couldn't even act right? This was a bad idea. Stiles just wanted to go back home and feel the warm, safe, and loving embrace of his father.
Before Stiles even realised it the car was pulling up to a house. No, not a house. The place was a freaking mansion. The house was massive. It was larger than Lydia or Jackson's houses and that was saying something. The house itself was two stories, made of brick and had many windows, but it had these long pillars framing the front of the house making the whole place give of an aura of elegance and wealth. Or maybe that was just because of the massive water fountain in the middle of the equally massive front yard. Either way Stiles felt cheap.
As the car pulled up to the front of the mansion Stiles noticed three people standing in front of the large double doors. A boy his age, dark brunette hair, strong facial features that he obviously received from his father from what Stiles was seeing. The man standing in the middle of the three of them looked put together, he was in a formal wear and had an obvious air of authority around him. Finally, Stiles looked at the woman...his aunt...if Stiles was being honest with himself Stiles could point out all the features she shared with his mother, features that Stiles himself shared. Instead, he was lying to himself and thinking that the woman looked more like Lydia's mother than his own.
Stiles' door opened causing him to look up and realise the driver had already stopped the car and gotten out, opening his door before heading towards the back of the car for Stiles luggage.
Stiles got out of the car and breathed in a deep breath, letting the fresh air push his anxiety down and walked over to the three people.
God Stiles felt so worthless compared to these people. It didn't help that two of them looked like they would rather be anywhere but here.
"Hello Mischief." The woman, his aunt says.
"Stiles." He finds himself blurting out.
"Excuse me?" She asks confused.
"I...I go by Stiles now, after...after mom died, I started going by Stiles." He stammered out causing his cousin, Tyler to roll his eyes and ask.
"What on earth is a Stiles?"
"Tyler!" His aunt scolded but Stiles couldn't help but laugh.
"It's okay, you are not the first person to ask that question" Stiles directed at Tyler.
Stiles can't help but notice that as his aunt scolded Tyler verbally, Tyler's father put his hand on Tyler's shoulder and squeezed. It was exactly the same gesture that Stiles own father did to him but where Stiles relaxes into the gesture, Tyler tenses.
It seems that while Stiles has been watching the gesture his aunt has been talking, "and Tyler can show you to your room, your bags are already there. Then he can show you around the school. You won't be starting today but you can get everything sorted out at the office and get your school schedule. Sound good."
"Yeah, that sounds great Mrs Lockwood." Stiles says.
"Please Stiles, call me Carol." His aunt exclaims.
"Okay, Carol." Stiles agrees.
"Great, now Tyler please show Stiles his room." Carol orders Tyler.
"Yeah sure, follow me."
Tyler starts walking into the house and Stiles rushes up the steps leading into the house in order to keep up. The doors open up to show a large room with a piano and stairs leading up to a landing...or does it count as part of the corridor? To the left Stiles can see a sitting room and to the right what looks to be a ball room?
Stiles doesn't have time to figure that out as Tyler starts walking up the stairs. Stiles rushes to follow him causing him to only see a flash of what looks to be a glass wall with glass doors leading out to an enormous back garden. They turn left at the top of the stairs.
"Mum and dad's room is in the right wing of the house and mine and your room are in the left wing of the house. Mum thought that having my own space would help me become independent." Tyler stops in front of a room and point at the closed door. "This is my room. You will not enter unless I give you express permission, okay?"
Tyler honestly sounds vaguely threatening but Stiles has dealt with worse threats, so he just rolls his eyes and says, "Obviously, that's you space dude. I understand privacy."
"Really? Because I remember you being a curious little shit who would invade anyone's privacy the moment you thought it was necessary." Tyler says calling Stiles out for his past behaviour.
"Yeah well, being curious bit me in the ass one to many times." Stiles admits.
Tyler raises his eyebrow, incredulous.
"I went looking for the other half of a dead body with my best friend and he got attacked by a wild animal." And then turned into a werewolf, Stiles doesn't say.
Tyler looks at Stiles with sympathy for a second before he keeps walking down the hallway, all the way down the end and opening a door.
"This is your room. I picked it out, it's the largest room we have in this wing besides mine of course." Tyler explains.
"Dude. This room is bigger than my living room." Stiles says while looking at the room. The room like the rest of the house is modern with a slight old timey feel to it. The room is mostly white except for one accent wall that has some black decorative detail on it. The room has two more doors which Stiles opens to reveal an on suite and a walk-in closet.
"Mum said that you can add anything to the room to make it feel more homey for you but to please not put any posters up." Tyler informs Stiles.
"I don't even have any money, how exactly am I going to be buying any posters worth putting up." Stiles says dismissing the idea of decorating the room.
"Actually, I heard mum and dad talking about giving you your own credit card." Tyler admits.
"What! They don't need to do that." Stiles exclaims.
"Dude, I don't know what your home situation is exactly, but I do know that you are going to be staying here for as long as my mum wants you to stay, so why not enjoy all the benefits of living with the Lockwood's while you're here." Tyler says gesturing all around him.
"Fine...but I am not going to be one of those people that once they get money, they spend it all." Stiles decides.
"Sure dude." Tyler says smirking at him. "I'm going to let you get your stuff unpacked and then we will drive to school."
"Aren't already supposed to be at school?" Stiles finds himself asking before Tyler leaves.
Tyler just backs out of the room winking at Stiles.
After Stiles has finished unpacking his stuff, Tyler takes them down to the school. It's already lunch time by the time that they arrive. How Tyler's parents were okay with their son skipping half a day of school was obvious as neither parent seemed to be available as they were both talking into their phones about something called a founder's kick-off party.
Tyler showed Stiles to the school office, where his received his school schedule, a copy of the school's rule book and his locker number and combination. After that Tyler showed him around the school and pointing out all of Stiles' classrooms and what classes they happen to have together. Before Tyler declared that he was going to take Stiles to somewhere he thought they could 'chillax'.
Which was how Stiles found himself surrounded by what looked to be Mystic Fall's druggie population. How they were able to get away with this on school grounds Stiles had no idea.
Tyler gets greeted by cheers before someone hands him a joint. He promptly takes a hit off it before walking over to a sofa where another boy is already sitting and listening to music. Stiles follows him like a scared duckling.
Tyler offers the boy the joint.
"Nah." The boy immediately denies.
"What's your problem?" Tyler sounds angry. "What about you? Do you want some?" Tyler asks Stiles.
"No thank you." Stiles really doesn't like the situation he has been put in.
Tyler turns back to the boy and raises his eyebrow at him.
"I just don't want any." He admits.
"All right." Tyler says suddenly calm before going sombre, "They say she OD'd."
"That's what I don't get, she was doing okay." The boy sounds distraught.
"Apparently not." Tyler says.
"How did she end up buried in the woods? That's what I don't understand." The boy admits.
"By whoever was with her when she OD'd." Tyler guesses.
"Yeah...but you leave her, you don't take the time to bury her."
"You do if you're the one who helped her shoot up." Stiles says causing both boys to look at him.
"Sorry, who are you?" The boy asks.
"Stiles, Tyler's cousin. My dad is the sheriff of my small town and I used to always get into his files, so I got to see a lot of cases..." Stiles trails off feeling a little uncomfortable.
"I'm Jeremy and it couldn't have been that because she didn't do heroin or cocaine. She only did weed and prescription drugs." Jeremy explained to Stiles.
Stiles just shrugged in response before Tyler says, "Maybe she saw something and...hell man, I don't know."
The conversation stops there as Stiles watches as both boy's deal with their grief differently. Tyler with drugs and Jeremy with questioning everything, trying to find someone to blame for his friends passing.
After spending the rest of the day hanging around the school, Tyler drove Stiles back to the Lockwood mansion. Where Carol immediately told both boys to go and put on the suits that Carol left in their rooms and then come back down as they would have to be leaving soon to get to the founder's hall.
Stiles went up the stairs and to his new room, where on the bed, he found a suit jacket, trousers, white iron pressed shirt and a dark purple tie with a matching pocket square. For a splash of colour, a voice in Stiles head that sounded a lot like Lydia said.
Putting the clothes on Stiles walked out of his room and saw Tyler doing the same thing. They both walked back down the stairs, where Carol proceeded to gush over how good both looked before pushing them both in the direction of the car that was waiting for them. It seemed that Tyler's father was already at the founder's hall.
Once they arrive at the party Carol tells both boys to have fun before promptly going off to look for her husband.
Stiles and Tyler seem to find the man first as he is talking to a woman and who looks to be her son.
"I'm so glad you could join us tonight." Even to Stiles ears the man sounds fake.
"It was nice of you to reach out to us." Then again, the woman sounds just as fake as the man in front of her.
"This town is one big family, when we lose a member we all have to come together." Tyler's father says before taking both of their hands and shaking them slightly.
"Matt." The man says to the boy with a nod.
"Mayor." Matt replies with his own nod.
The mayor, which Stiles had no idea about looks at him and Tyler before walking into the building. Tyler moves to follow, and Stiles goes to with him before Tyler says, "Wait here I will be right back."
"Well, I guess dead kid rates a special greeting from the mayor, huh?" The woman says bluntly causing Stiles' eyebrows to jump up his forehead.
"God, mom!" Matt sounds embarrassed.
"I need a drink." She says before walking past Stiles and into the building.
"Hey, I'm Stiles...Tyler's cousin." Stiles awkwardly introduces himself.
"Oh, hey I'm Matt...Tyler's best friend." Matt says.
Before it can get any more awkward Tyler comes back with a full bottle of alcohol.
"Check it out!" He says excitedly.
"Your dad is going to beat you down if he catches you." Matt says which only goes to affirm Stiles suspicion that the mayor is abusive.
"Yeah. Let him try." Tyler says cockily.
Matt is looking at the bottle before he seems to make his decision, "Screw it." He then proceeds to take the bottle and take a large drink from it.
Stiles leaves the two boys shortly after that as they both keep trying to get him to drink despite Stiles having already said twice that he didn't drink.
That was how Stiles found himself awkwardly standing at the edges of the party by himself. Feeling a little overwhelmed Stiles starts moving to try and get out of the place and get some fresh air. It's as he is doing this that he accidently bumps into a man.
"I'm so sorry." Stiles says before looking up. The first thing Stiles notices is the man's eyes, they are so blue. Next, he notices the way the man is smirking slightly, causing Stiles to realise he is still holding onto the man, "Sorry." Stiles says letting go and stepping back.
"No problem. It happens." The man says while smirking wider at the flush of red that has overtaken Stiles' face.
The man's voice is just as cocky and self-assured as the man's smirk causing Stiles to take a few more steps back.
"Right, well sorry. Um I'm going to go." Stiles gestures to behind him before walk in a completely different direction, straight towards the fastest door outside which was unfortunately straight through the dance floor.
Damon looks away from the person who bumped into him and starts walking over to his original target.
"You know I love a woman in uniform, but I have to side with this one. You look...you look smashing." Damon complements Liz causing her to laugh.
"Thank you, Damon. Cheers!" Liz says before clinking her glass against Damon's, "I needed that. You know I had my doubts about you at first but like everyone else on the council you've won me over."
"Thanks Liz. It's really nice how welcoming the council has been. Hey, who is that?" Damon says while pointing towards the boy that bumped into him.
Liz looks over and notices a boy that looks obviously uncomfortable and is desperately trying to get through the crowded dance floor and outside.
"Yeah, I know who that is. Carol showed me a picture of him a few days ago so that I could keep an eye out for him." Liz admits.
"Why? He's don't dangerous, is he?" Damon asks confused.
"Oh, God no. He's her nephew and apparently, he went through some sort of traumatic situation, so he will be staying with Carol for the rest of the school year. I think she said his name was Stiles on the phone this morning." Liz explains.
"Who names a kid Stiles?" Damon asks making Liz laugh lightly.
"I believe it's a nickname."
"Well, I'm glad he's not dangerous. I like my life here in Mystic Falls. Starting to feel like home again."
"Well, you're not gonna like what I have to tell you. Jonathan Gilbert's claims check out. Blood bank, the missing people, all of it's true. We might have a problem."
Once Stiles gets outside, he sits down in a chair and promptly tries to breathe through his panic attack.
A vampire. He just bumped into a vampire.
The only reason he knows it's a vampire is because he could see this dark black aura surrounding the man when he finally stepped further away from him. And the only reason he knew what that aura meant is because of the nogitsunes memories flaring up inside his head.
He can't breathe.
He's trying but it's just not working. His lungs won't work.
"Stiles." He can vaguely hear a voice speaking from beside him.
"Stiles dear please talk to me. Tell me what is wrong." That voice, Stiles recognises that voice.
"Mom?"
"No sweety. It's Carol." Hearing that breaks something in Stiles' heart shocking him enough to stop the panic attack.
"Oh, sorry...I'm fine." Stiles says after getting his breathing rhythm back.
"No, you aren't sweetie. But that's okay. Your allowed to be a little broken right now. I shouldn't have made you come to this party. I just thought something a little normal may be the thing that you need." Carol says, sounding upset with herself.
"It wasn't the party." Stiles tries to explain, "There was this person, and they didn't do anything, but they reminded me of...and I just..."
"It's okay, you don't have to explain. Why don't I call the car and you and I can go back home and eat some ice cream?" Carol suggests causing Stiles to laugh.
"I can't drag you away from this party after you worked so hard on it...but I would really like to go back to yours." Stiles admits.
"Okay, I can do that for you."