Heroes & Sidekicks

"Sometimes sidekicks make the best heroes."

Author's Note: Hello! This is an idea I've had rolling around in my head for a while. It takes place right about where the second season ended. I have a lot of it outlined and written so I'm aiming for frequent updates. Hope you enjoy it. For those of you who have read my Supernatural story, I apologize for the lack of updates I lost my notebook, but I'm hoping to get back to it and finish it soon. If you get a chance to review, I'd be very appreciative!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or any of it's characters.

Prologue

It had been an abnormally quiet week in Beacon Hills and it was starting to make Stiles itch. There was something about it that just unnerved him. It hadn't been quiet since before the night that his best friend, Scott, went out to search for a missing body and Scott returned as a werewolf. Since then his life had been a crazy whirlwind of hunters and kanima, of homicidal teenagers and terminally crazy grandparents, and let's not forget the werewolves—what felt like more and more werewolves taking over his tiny town everyday led by psychotic red-eyed alphas.

It had been only months since Scott was turned and weeks since Stiles had started feeling like he was drowning in wave after wave of overwhelming supernatural situations. Weeks since he wasn't terrified that either he or someone he loved would be killed. Weeks since he felt as if he could breathe. Finally, he had surfaced—the kanima was gone and the danger momentarily evaded, but Stiles couldn't stop the vigilance. The sense that any minute he could be pulled back underwater.

Stiles had lived sixteen years of calm before the crazy storm had finally hit, but this time he didn't think the lull would last so long. It had only been a week of calm, but Stiles wanted to be prepared for a hurricane.

"Dude, are you even listening to me?" Scott's voice broke through the rapid fire thoughts zinging in Stiles' head.

"Just because I'm not looking at you doesn't mean I'm not listening to you." Stiles responded quickly. He squinted as he turned away from the shop windows that they were walking past to where Scott's head was bobbing in and out of the sun.

"Then what was I saying?"

"The usual. I miss Allison blah blah blah, werewolf troubles blah blah, horrible plan to get her back blah." Stiles flashed a quick smile and raised his eyebrows. "Did I miss anything?"

"It's nice to know that I have your support."

"That's what I'm here for." Stiles said, walking backwards ahead of Scott.

"I was kind of hoping for some input."

"Are you actually going to listen to me this time and follow what I say?"

Scott considered the question. "Probably not."

"Then what's the point?" Stiles said and spun around just in time to push through the glass door of one of the shops.

"So you can feel like the smart one." He called after Stiles. Scott looked at the sign above the door and sighed before following Stiles inside. The bell rang through the dusty shop, signaling to Stiles that his friend was close behind.

"That's not even in question." Stiles answered as he started scanning shelf after shelf of comic books.

"When you said you wanted to stop somewhere you didn't say we were coming here." Scott whined, choosing to ignore Stiles' comment.

"If you want to drive yourself around and avoid my errands, I suggest you get your own car. Until then, don't mock." Stiles stated while walking down an aisle he seemed all too familiar with.

"I'm just saying—you really want to make lacrosse captain next year you might want to cut down your hours at the comic book store."

Stiles paused and looked back at Scott. "Fair point." Stiles began walking again on a strategic path to the back wall. "Though, I've been thinking about that. Despite the championship game, do I really have a shot? I mean between you, Isaac, Boyd, and Jackson our team is littered with were—" Scott shoved him slightly in a warning for him to watch how loudly he was speaking. Stiles looked around and rethought his words. "Okay…with lunar enhanced individuals who have superhuman athleticism." Stiles finally reached his destination and scanned the wall for the new issue of his favorite comic. He found it and grabbed a copy before turning back to Scott. "But to be fair you guys seem to be unable to make it to practice or even school half the time so maybe you'll get kicked off the team and I won't have to worry." Stiles grinned and looked around for Jimmy—the owner who usually gave him a discount.

His eyes flitted quickly around the whole store, but before he found Jimmy they landed on a girl across the way flipping through the stacks of older comics. A look of curiosity spread over Stiles face which concerned Scott.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Do you recognize her?" Stiles nodded at the girl without ever looking away from her.

Scott looked back at her and smirked. "No, do you?" Stiles shook his head no and Scott gave his approval in the simplest of terms. "She's hot."

"Yea, way too hot to be in here. At least not without me having seen her before."

"What? Hot girls aren't allowed to be into comics?"

"No, not the ones in this town. Otherwise I'd be getting a lot more action."

"More? You mean any?"

Stiles didn't respond. Instead he let his eyes slide back to her—absorbing the sight of her sleek, brown hair that gleamed in the sun streaking through the window. She was just the right height with legs that seemed perfect in her tight jeans. He tank top showed off toned arms and a flat torso. He even thought he caught sight of a tattoo sprawling across her upper back but he couldn't make it out. She had curves in the right places and yet Stiles was drawn to her face. Her eyes were so bright that Stiles could tell they were lightly colored from a distance—some kind of blue or green but he couldn't be certain of which. They were beautiful either way. She had the kind of skin that made you want to touch it and a nose that was small, but seemed almost crooked, like it had been broken before. This only served to make her features more interesting, not any less attractive. A light spatter of freckles covered the brim of her nose across her high cheekbones. She was more beautiful than she had any right to be—as though she had completely bypassed the awkward stage of puberty. Stiles didn't want to look away.

Scott smacked him on the arm to get his attention. "What are you so concerned? I thought you were still hung up on Lydia."

Stiles shrugged. "Well yea, but I'm not blind."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Can we get out of here?"

Stiles nodded and made his way toward the register. He held a quick conversation with Jimmy as he bought the comic. On the way out of the store, he chanced one last look at the mystery girl so he'd remember her face.

It was as though she could feel his gaze, as she caught his eyes with her own shortly after he looked over. Instead of sneering or scoffing and walking away as was the typical reaction Stiles received from girls, she held his gaze and flashed a friendly smile. Stiles was so surprised that he walked into the ends of one of the shelves, knocking several comics to the ground in the process. He scrambled to pick everything up as Scott looked on in slightly amused horror. Once the last comic was in place, Scott yanked Stiles up and led him towards the door. Stiles snuck one last look at the girl before being shoved out the door. He saw her eyes dart away from him and back to her reading material, but even with just the slightest of glances there was no doubt about the wide grin that was left on her face.

He briefly wondered, if not hoped, that he would be able to see her again and maybe erase that first impression, but was completely unaware of how soon he would get that chance.