Hey there Teen Wolf and others in the fanfiction community! Name's marahh and I just recently got into Teen Wolf. Fell in love with the plot, the horror/mystery/suspense of it all, how unique the werewolf lore is, and obviously the beautiful Stiles Stilinski! Anyways, this is my second fanfiction ever (my first is a Supernatural entitled "Gimme Shelter" which if you're into that, check it out) so please, if any of you have suggestions on how I can make this more true to the show and improve, comments and PMs are welcome (just make them constructive)!

Okay, well here it is... and my OC is the only thing I created (though I may change so details of the show to help her mesh in well with the brilliant Season 1 plot!). Okie dokie, read and enjoy! (And comment if yah got the time)! :)

ONE: HOME

The woods were dark with the exception of the pale blue moonlight breaking through the dense canopy of trees overhead. The faint beams of light only highlighted the thin layer of swirling fog carpeting the forest floor. Everything was silent. There were no crickets or birds chirping, and even the low whistling wind had gone quiet, as if waiting for something dreadful to happen.

I was running. Running as fast as I could as my heart thumped wildly in my chest. The cool earth felt amazing on my bare feet as I weaved easily between the thick trees in the darkness. Bounding over a few fallen logs, I quickened my pace.

Something had caught my attention from a few miles away. At first I thought it was the sound of a quiet stream flowing somewhere within the forest, but as I got closer, I realized that it was not the sound of water, but rather that of blood bumping through someone's veins.

I stopped. The bright fire of the campsite intimidated me. Cowering in the shadows, I watched a man stirring a pot over the brilliant flames, and under ordinary circumstances, the heavenly scent of bubbling potato soup with freshly caught rabbit would have made my mouth water, but not this night. No, I was far too interested in the man.

He was in his upper forties and appeared to be in decent health. With broad shoulders, muscular arms, and squat frame, he seemed solid, and from the looks of his heavy and somewhat dirtied jacket and rifle, I knew that he was a hunter.

Inching closer I stepped on a branch, causing the man's head to snap up, weapon in hand, and for me to stop in my tracks. His dark brown eyes searched hopelessly into the darkness, and for a second I wondered if he spotted me.

After a moment or two, however, the hunter's attentions returned to his soup, and I gently picked my foot up from the snapped twig. Mentally chastising myself for my clumsiness, I circled his camp patiently.

His back was to me as he ate, and I could hear his starving stomach gurgle as he devoured his meal. I knew how he felt. I was hungry too. It felt like forever since I had eaten anything substantial.

My mouth moistened and I could feel myself salivating at the thought of my meal to come in just moments. I wanted to savor the moment. Really live in it.

So, I inhaled deeply and took one more moment to collect myself. Readying my body, I prepared for my assault as excitement and primal joy swept over my entire tensed body.

Then, in one swift motion, I leapt from the thicket in which I concealed myself so cleverly and let out a deep, blood-chilling howl, giving the hunter just enough time to spin around in horror as I sank my teeth into his flesh.

"Charlie!" a familiar husky voice barked as I felt my body being jostled awake.

Snapping out of my horrific nightmare, my eyes popped open as I shot upright on my mattress, almost smacking my forehead against my older cousin's.

Panting, I went to wipe the sweat from my brow, only to realize my entire long-sleeve t-shirt was drenched in perspiration.

"You okay?" his green eyes looked deeply into my own, his thick black eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," I nodded, steadying my breathing.

Looking me hard in the face, I knew he wasn't buying it: "You're lying. You dreamt about it again."

"No, I didn't," I growled defensively, throwing my covers off and heading to my dresser, avoiding his intense gaze.

"You're eyes were blue," he responded flatly, causing me to stop rummaging in my drawers. "When you woke up, they were blue," he specified some more due to my silence.

"I'm not deaf. I heard you," I yanked some clothes out and slammed the drawer shut, shaking all of the contents on top of my dresser.

"Hey, don't get pissy with me cause you're losing control," he snapped as I turned around and shot him an irritated look.

"I am not losing control," I felt my chest tighten, internally panicking a little.

Was I losing control?

"You almost turned in your sleep," he stood up, following me into the hallway and towards the bathroom.

Spinning around, I looked up at him with a frown: "Derek, drop it, okay?"

As my cousin clenched his stubbly jaw, I knew that he was trying to remain patient with me: "You want me to drop it?"

"Do I need to say it in Spanish, or would you rather me sign it to you?" I quipped sarcastically with a hand on my hip.

"You can't keep repressing it. You need to learn to control it," Derek crossed his muscular arms, clearly not appreciating my mouthing off.

"I'm not gonna get worked up and wolf out on you, okay?" I raised my brows, sincerely meaning it.

Since I was first given the Bite by my late Aunt Talia, I had an uncanny amount of self-control over my abilities. I kept my heart rate low and emotions in check, transforming whenever I so pleased. I actually enjoyed being a wolf, oftentimes spending a whole week in that form, but that was before a year ago…

"Charlie, we got a lot to deal with right now, and if you…"

"Derek!" I snapped, cutting him off. "I'm okay. So stop worrying about me blowing our cover."

And as my cousin opened his mouth to respond, I went into the bathroom, closing the creaky door right in his vexed face.

Were my eyes really blue when I woke up?

Maybe Derek was right. I hadn't turned since the incident and I was certainly out of practice with controlling it. Not to mention how stressed out we both were after catching wind that an Alpha killed Laura and bit some random kid. And if that weren't complicated enough, Derek dragged me back to our old place with the brilliant idea of enrolling me in Beacon Hills High School to 'keep an eye' on some dorky sophomore like a damned babysitter.

Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled as I showered and got ready for my first day as a normal high schooler. I was always a bit of an outsider. People made me uncomfortable, especially people my own age. All of their shallow judgments, social expectations, raging hormones… it all gave me a headache. So why did I suddenly feel so nervous?

Sighing, I stared at myself in the cracked mirror. Being home-schooled since I was seven, I never had to worry about what I looked like, but now I felt my stomach churning over whether or not a lanky girl with wavy, raven black hair, and the oddest pale gray eyes would be considered acceptable by her peers.

Not that I ever cared much about fitting in, finding conformity one of the worst evils in this world, but I couldn't help myself from tussling my hair some more and putting on a bit of eye makeup. Then, throwing on a pair of black skinny jeans and a black tank, I slipped my mom's white gold wishbone necklace around my neck.

Frowning, I examined the end product in the mirror, turning a bit. Adjusting my bra one more time, I made my boobs as perky as possible and stood back. Awkwardly tall and skinny in build, I gnawed on my lip and decided that this was as good as it was going to get for today. So with that, I swallowed my usual breakfast of Vicodin and Xanax and grabbed my white leather tote bag, grumpily heading downstairs.

"You ready?" Derek asked as he leaned against the doorway.

Grabbing my black leather jacket, I arched my brow at him and responded: "As ready as I'll ever be…"

"Just stay under the radar and keep an eye out for a Scott McCall… he's in your grade," my cousin began to reiterate plans that we all ready went over about a million times.

Holding my hand up, sassily silencing him, I said with an air of boredom: "And he's on the lacrosse team… I know…"

"Don't give me an attitude and let's go," he gave me a pointed look as he grabbed his keys.

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused.

Thick black eyebrows furrowed, Derek seemed just as perplexed as I was: "I'm driving you to school?"

"Yeah, cause a black Camaro is gonna help me keep a low profile," I responded flatly. "I'll just walk."

"You're running late and it's your first day," he spoke sternly. "You can walk home…"

Pouting, I looked up at him, but my cousin stood firm.

"Fine," I grumbled, folding my arms and following him out the door. I was looking forward to a long, quiet walk to clear my head and calm my nerves, but that apparently wasn't going to happen.

God, as if today wasn't going to be miserable enough…

"Don't look so excited," Derek tried to tease, breaking my concentrated sullen stares at the zooming scenery.

Glancing over at him, I noticed a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Easy for you to say… you're not being forced into adolescent Hell," I fumbled through my bag.

"Oh, lighten up, it won't be that bad. Just be your charming self," he grinned, knowing full well I was not the best with first impressions… or seconds… or thirds for that matter.

Although it was nice to see him smiling for once, I did not appreciate his amusement at my expense.

"I still don't get why I can't just help you track the Alpha… I'm sure this Scott kid will be fine," I grabbed a cig from my bag and lit it.

Green eyes darting over to me, Derek gave me a harsh look as I puffed away my jitters.

"You shouldn't smoke," he gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying ignore the fact that I was stinking up his beloved car as a passive aggressive dig for sending me to school.

"Yeah, cause my werewolf lungs can't handle smoking," I retorted sardonically.

"Could you put it out?" his knuckles were turning white as my future prison came into view over the horizon.

Staring at the school glumly, I puffed away, ignoring Derek's angry glares.

"You'd listen to Laura if she told you," his voice was deep as he pulled up to the front of the high school.

"Well she's not here, is she?" I bitterly shot back, and as those words left my lips, the harsh reality that we had just buried my closest cousin finally set in.

Turning to look at Derek, I could see a range of familiar emotions flashing across his face, namely grief and rage. He loved Laura as much as I did, and feeling a lump growing in my throat, I immediately felt guilty for opening my mouth.

"Sorry," I spoke stiffly, flicking my cig out the open window and reaching for the handle.

"Keep your shit together, okay? Stay in control," he gruffly commanded, ignoring my genuine, albeit poor apology.

Rolling my eyes, I gave my cousin one last nod before hopping out of the car, and as my trembling legs made their way up the steps of Beacon Hills High School, I heard Derek's Camaro take off, leaving me utterly alone.

Derek was right. By the time I met with the principal and got all of my paperwork filed, I had missed my first class, which I was oddly bummed about. English was my favorite subject, and much to my chagrin, my second course was Chemistry.

Ticking clock assailing my eardrums, I sat there, impatiently picking at my dark purple nail polish while I waited for the vice-principal to show me to a Mr. Adrian Harris' classroom. The bell had rung about fifteen minutes ago, and as if being the new girl in school wasn't intimidating enough, walking in halfway through class was certainly making my anxiety worse.

"Miss Hale?" the middle-aged man with graying hair appeared from his office.

Standing up, I forced a pleasant smile, but from the look he gave me, I knew he could tell it was completely fake. Looking me up and down, as if sizing me up, I sensed he didn't like me all ready. Maybe it was all the black… Laura always said my wardrobe made me seem like some sort of delinquent…

Extending my hand in an effort to amend my shitty first impression, I tried to hide my obvious hatred of authority, and as he peered at me from over his glasses, he gave me one, firm shake before walking towards the door.

"Follow me," he called over his shoulder, causing me to scramble and gather my things.

Jogging a bit, I caught up with the tall, heavy-set man in a well-worn suit.

Without even glancing at me, the vice-principal spoke scoldingly: "I hope you were notified about our attendance policy."

"Yeah, I was," I stared ahead with a less than attentive expression.

"Good, so then you know we don't tolerate tardiness without an excusable reason," his voice was firm.

Rolling my eyes, I bit my cheek. Of course I knew their stupid rules… I just spent the last half hour having them jammed down my goddamn throat…

"Miss Hale," he said sharply, snapping me out of my own thoughts.

Looking up, his resentful expression told me he that he had saw my less than enthusiastic nonverbals.

Swing and a miss with the second impression…

"We understand you are new, but we will be holding you to the same standard as the other students. Any misbehaving and you will be penalized," his dark blue eyes stared steadily into mine.

Feeling my temper flare up due to his condescending tone, I tried my hardest to appear apologetic: "I understand."

"Good," he knocked on a closed door before opening it and ushering me inside.

"Mr. Harris… class," the vice-principal pushed my sheet-white, slightly nauseous body to the front of the room, "This is Charlotte…"

"Charlie," I cut him off before I could stop myself. I always hated my name and made certain no one ever called me by it.

The room was dead silent as the vice principal and Chemistry teacher looked at me in annoyance.

Glancing around at the twenty-some-odd teenagers gawking at me, I felt my face flush as I stared back down at my black-heeled booties. Strike three…

"She just came from New York City," the vice-principal continued stiffly, "So I expect you all to make her feel welcome."

Shooting me one last, warning look, the vice-principal then left me alone, standing front and center and hoping I would evaporate into thin air.

"Charlo…" Mr. Harris quickly caught himself, "Charlie, please take a seat."

Nodding, I ran my hand nervously through my thick black hair and clacked my way down the aisle. Why in God's name did I think wearing heels was a good idea?

Ignoring everyone's stares, I sat at a table beside a tan, lean boy with dark brown eyes and even darker brown hair.

And as Mr. Harris picked back up on his lecture, causing all of the students to slump back into their seats, the boy leaned over and whispered: "Hey, I'm Danny."

Glancing at him, I looked him up and down. He was smiling warmly at me, and although I usually hated new people, something about this kid made me a bit less callous than usual.

"Charlie," I responded shortly, turning my attention back onto my notebook.

"So you're from New York, huh? That's awesome," he continued, clearly not deterred by my obvious disinterest in conversation.

"Yeah," I mumbled, flipping to a blank page, intending to doodle rather than take notes. I took Chemistry two years ago and sucked at it, so I didn't see a point in even trying.

"What made you come to Beacon Hills? Kind of a small town," he scribbled sloppy notes in his book quickly before looking back at me.

Tapping my pen on the table, I tried to remain patient and sound polite: "My family and I used to live here."

"Oh, wow okay. So…"

"Mr. Mahealani," Mr. Harris' scolding voice drowned out the rest of Danny's sentence.

Looking up with a mischevious grin, Danny apologized, all the while chuckling with an attractive and muscular blonde boy sitting at the table beside us. As if sensing my stares, the boy's blue eyes landed on mine, smile fading as he decided whether or not I was worth an introduction.

"This is Jackson," Danny explained pleasantly, while his friend and I continued to look at one another skeptically.

Giving me an unconvincing smirk, which quickly faded from his handsome face, Jackson leaned forward and said in a hushed voice: "Party this Friday after the scrimmage."

"It's at my place!" a pretty strawberry blonde girl with bright hazel eyes said in a bubbly tone of voice, flirtatiously smirking at Jackson.

"Sweet, okay," Danny nodded, brown eyes quickly darting to see if the teacher had noticed their side conversation. "You should come," he addressed me.

Glancing at his two friends' staring faces, I could tell that the invitation wasn't meant for me. Thankfully, I took no offense because the idea of being stuck with a bunch of drunken teenagers was not on my list of priorities.

"Ugh, thanks, but I have plans," I lied, turning back to my doodles.

"Look at you! Plans all ready," the attractive boy of Hawaiian descent beamed enthusiastically, all while the reddish-blonde teen obviously ease-dropped.

"Danny! If you and Charlie don't stop talking I'm gonna send you both to the office!"

Danny's bright smile immediately faded under Mr. Harris' scrutinizing gaze as I shrank into my seat and picked at my nails.

How did I always get myself into trouble?

After a few minutes, my embarrassment subsided and I got the courage to look back up again. Thankfully, no one's eyes were on me, allowing me the freedom to scan my new environment.

Within seconds I realized that Jackson, Danny, and some other boys in the classroom were all wearing the same red and white athletic jacket, leaving me with the assumption that they were all part of the same sports team.

Great. Nothing irritated me more than a bunch of mindless meat-headed jocks. Well… maybe besides their ditsy girlfriends…

Eyes traveling to the bright window, I stared lazily at the parking lot, telling myself I only had to get through five more periods of this crap, and then I could walk home, smoke a bogie, and have a nice after-school snack. And by snack, I meant a blunt…

Feeling the hairs on the back of my neck prickling a little, the sensation of eyes boring holes in the back of my head caused me to turn around. Pretending to read the broken clock on the wall, I allowed my eyes to skim past the fair boy who was staring at me. He had short, dark brown hair and was wearing a flannel. The moment I looked in his direction, his face flushed a blotchy shade of pink as his light brown eyes widened and quickly darted away.

Turning back around, I could hear the boy's leg quickly tapping against support beam of his lab table, and I couldn't help but grin a little about how flustered he got.

Call it my sadistic side, but I always got a kick out of making people squirm. Maybe it made me feel more in control, but it put me at ease having that sort of effect on someone right off the bat.

Thankfully, the bell soon rang, signaling the end of class and bringing me a small feeling of exhilaration. I was free for the next fifteen minutes.

Gathering my things, I left the classroom as soon as possible, bidding Danny and his two less friendly counterparts farewell and making a beeline towards my locker.

The hallways were packed, filled with the loud chatter and laughter of merry students, making my chronic headache even worse. I had always been plagued by migraines, especially when the full moon was as close as it was, and the chaotic and ear-assaulting noises of Beacon Hills' corridors made me desperate to get to the pills in my locker.

Temples throbbing I tried the padlock. It wouldn't open. Frowning, I put the combination in another time, but again, the lock wouldn't open. Huffing in irritation, I debated whether or not to just yank the damned thing off, but Derek's disapproving voice soon sounded throughout my head, shooting down that idea.

"Need help?" came a female voice from beside me.

Looking a few lockers down, there stood a brown-eyed girl with dark brown, almost black hair.

"I got it," I responded monotonously, but realizing I probably came across rather cold, I decided to add: "But thanks."

Nodding the girl continued to go through her locker whilst I tried, and yet again, failed to open my own.

Feeling her stares, my eyes shifted over to her direction again. Still peering into her locker, there was a small smile on her face, dotting her cheeks with dimples.

Biting my lip, I ignored her quiet amusement at my struggles and ran a frustrated hand through my hair.

"You gotta jiggle the lock a little," she called over to me.

Looking back over at the awkwardly smirking girl with arched brows, I let her continue speaking: "I had trouble with it too, but apparently the school hands out crummy locks that you need to knock around a little bit."

Wordlessly taking her advice, I jostled the lock and low and behold, it popped right open.

"Thanks," I muttered, forcing a fabricated smile, which seemed to be convincing enough that the girl warranted it as an invitation to approach me.

"I'm Allison. I'm new here, too," she extended her hand.

Looking at her hand and then her pleasant grin, I participated in the handshake and introduced myself flatly: "Charlie."

"Is today your first day, too?" she asked me as I switched out some of my books and threw the pill bottle into my white Prada bag.

"Yup," I said shortly, zipping my bag and shutting the locker.

Turning to leave, Allison was still standing in front of me, as if waiting for my continuation of the conversation.

"Well… nice to meet you," I dismissed myself.

Heading down the hall, I then heard her call after me: "Charlie, wait!"

Groaning a little, I turned around as she jogged to catch up to me.

"What class do you have next?"

"Ugh, art," I responded thoughtfully.

"Great, me too! We could walk together," Allison suggested merrily. "You know, so we don't get lost."

Contemplating whether or not to just outright tell her I didn't feel the urge to bond over the fact that we were both new, I also realized I had no idea where I was going. In no rush to publically humiliate myself even further by being late again, I then curtly nodded, giving my consent to walk with the curly-haired brunette… a gesture I had a feeling I'd terribly regret.

The rest of the day went by surprisingly fast. Maybe it was the extra Vicodin… or maybe it was having someone to talk to. Oddly enough, the more I talked with Allison the more I warmed up to her. Not saying we were going to be BFFs and have slumber parties, but I definitely found her more interesting than the rest of the mindless drones that littered the halls of Beacon Hills.

She was smart and didn't talk too much, and not to mention she clearly didn't mind how stony I was. No, Allison Argent was definitely a tolerable human being, and the fact that she found me equally worth the effort to talk to made be feel a little bit better about being stuck attending public high school.

"You sure you don't want a ride?" Allison asked from beside her car.

"No, I'm good. I like to walk," I shrugged, adjusting my bag on my shoulder.

"Okay… well I'll see yah tomorrow, then," Allison smiled.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow," I tried to appear warmer than what actually felt natural, and before she could say anything further, I quickly turned on my heel and strode through the parking lot.

For the sake of time, I decided to cut through the athletic fields and take the back roads home, but as I rounded the corner I immediately bemoaned my decision, for I bumped straight into Jackson and the whole lacrosse team.

Looking down his nose at me, Jackson's aloof blue stare had the most judgmental of vibes, causing me to ball up my fists as anger bubbled up inside of me.

Cocky jerk… who did he think he was looking at me like that?

"Charlie," Danny stepped forward with a bright grin, strangely taking my mind off snapping the lacrosse captain's neck right then and there.

"Hey, Danny," I mumbled, weakly smirking, only to have it fade completely once I noticed at least fourteen pairs of eyes fixated on me.

"Who's this?" a tall, freckled boy with blue eyes and brown hair asked with a brash grin.

"This is Charlie. She's from New York," oddly enough Jackson was the one to respond, his eyes never looking away from my emotionless face.

"So, Charlie from New York," the cute blue-eyed boy stepped forward, grinning as he scanned me lustfully, shaking my resolve not to snap right then and there. "You gonna to watch us practice?"

Staring straight up at him with a dead-serious expression, I simply replied: "No."

"What? Why?" the boy pouted as his teammates sniggered at the blatant shut down.

"Cause maybe she has a life?" Danny piped up, causing them to laugh harder, and even I had to crack a genuine smirk.

"Oh come on, Lydia will be there with a few of her friends. Watch Greenberg play," Jackson eyed me closely, seeing if I would easily cave under peer pressure.

Testing the new girl. So typical…

"Who's Lydia?" I asked, figuring it was the preppy strawberry blonde that fawned all over him in Chemistry.

The whole team seemed to share a collective gasp of astonishment, and as I looked around at their somewhat stunned faces, I gazed back at Jackson, awaiting some sort of explanation as to why some strange girl would entice me into watching them play some silly sport.

"My girlfriend… you met her today in class," he spoke defensively.

"Oh, right," I feigned my realization, catching Dan's small smirk at the whole exchange. "Well, tempting as that is, still sticking with a no. But thanks," I flashed my characteristically snarky grin before folding my arms and walking through the slowly parting team.

Some of the boys whistled, others whispered to one another, and a couple even muttered something about my being a 'cold bitch'. What caught my attention, however, was the familiar face of the boy that I caught staring at me in Chemistry.

No longer wearing a flannel, the oversized padding and uniform covered his tall, thin frame, and as I walked by him, I made sure to look him directly in the eye.

Twitching a bit nervously, he looked away and stared at the top of the building, as if it had captured his attention the entire time.

Finally breaking through the seemingly endless sea of testosterone, I continued on my long journey home without turning back. As I strode away, ignoring the incessant whispers of the team, I felt a familiar prickle on the back of my neck, as if someone's large brown eyes were following my every move, and for some reason, I couldn't help but smirk.