AN: Hello everyone! I don't really have much to say here, I hope you enjoy the story because I certainly enjoyed writing it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf but I think you already knew that.

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Chapter 1: From Wales with Love

On the other side of the room, the alarm clock went off sounding like a meltdown at a nuclear factory, and Beth's eyes shot open. She lurched across the room to turn off the infernal device before it woke the entire neighbourhood. Her sleep heavy and cumbersome fingers fumbled with the buttons before she finally found the right one. The silence that followed was heavy. She sank down on the desk chair, resting her head on the cold surface of the table, willing her eyes not to fall shut again because if they did she would fall asleep again regardless of her uncomfortable position.

With a groan, she staggered to her feet and turned on the light, which made her squint her eyes. She had only lived in Beacon Hills for three weeks but already her room showed a distinct Beth-ness; the cream walls were decorated with countless photographs, which hung from strings with pegs. Some of them were Polaroids and some were printed from the computer. Up against one of the walls was a shelf system with camera equipment of varying degrees of age and functionality. In the corner lay an old Nikon F2, that Beth had bought intending to repair until it was clear that her talents lied in photography and not repairing cameras.

The door to her room cracked open and she looked blearily at the head that peeked through the crack.

"Dad sent me to check on you to see if you're up. He also told me to throw your alarm clock out of the window, although he used some more expletives."

Chloe opened the door wider when it was apparent she didn't have to use it as a shield. Her rumpled appearance made it clear that she had also just gotten out of bed; her normally straight and shiny hair was mussed and tangled and her eyes was still crusted from sleep.

"That alarm clock is the only reason I'm still not a drooling mess." Beth stifled a yawn behind her.

"Who says you're still not a drooling mess?" Chloe asked playfully and swiped at Beth's face.

Beth dodged and gestured rudely at Chloe with one hand while wiping her mouth with the other. She could hear someone making breakfast downstairs, and a delicious smell of bacon drifted up from below. In the kitchen she was met with the sight of her father standing before the stove, juggling what looked to be three different pans all at once. He already looked ready for the day, even though it was abnormally early in the morning, or abnormally early for a teenager who'd just enjoyed three weeks of blessed time off school. His hair, just as curly as Beth's, laid perfectly coiffed on his head.

"'Morning dad," Beth said as she stepped over and peered into the pans. "Are you making a full English breakfast?"

Jaime only spared her a glance before he diverted his full attention back to the cooking. "Good morning, Beth. We wanted to give you a good start on your first day of school." The baked beans had begun to smoke a bit and he quickly removed the pan from the heat.

Chloe had walked in after Beth and gotten two mugs from the cabinet, which she was filling, with coffee. "I Googled Welsh breakfast but that's with fish or something, so I vetoed that."

Beth accepted the mug proffered by Chloe. "It's shellfish, actually. But this is great, it is. It smells just like home."

Jaime sent her a small smile as he tipped the fried eggs over on a plate. He hadn't said anything, which wasn't unusual as he wasn't very talkative in general, but he seemed anxious to make sure Beth was happy living with him. She didn't intent on giving him any reason to think otherwise.

"I trust you slept well?" Jaime asked in his measured voice.

Beth jumped up on the kitchen counter and watched Jaime cook. When she was younger, she had never understood his somewhat formal way of speaking, not just to her but to everyone. Other fathers called their daughters pet names and other terms of endearment, but Jaime had always been very reserved. It wasn't until she got older that she understood it was just one of his many peculiarities. "Like a rock. You'd really think I would've been too nervous to sleep last night, starting in a new school and all."

In that moment, Louie sauntered through the doors. If Jaime looked ready to take on the day, Louie looked like he was ready to take over the world. He hurried over to the kitchen table and started to gather some stray papers. "Good morning girls. I'm sorry but I can't stay for breakfast, but I just got a call from Berger that I need to come in right away. The police found something in the woods last night and they want me to cover it."

"The woods? What did they find?" Beth asked while kicking her legs out, almost kicking Louie as he went past.

"If I told you it'd spoil the surprise," Came the muffled answer. Louie was trying to wrestle his day planner into his bag while simultaneously showing a piece of toast into his mouth.

"It'll take us like five minute to hear in school anyway. I swear this city is the worst at keeping secrets." Chloe got up and helped Jaime carry the food to the kitchen table.

Louie went over to Jaime and gave him a quick kiss. "I don't know if I will be home for dinner. It sounded pretty serious so I'm probably going to pull some overtime if I want the story ready for the morning newspaper." Louie turned towards Beth and Chloe. "Now girls, I know you've just had a long break but now playtime is over. Beth, you've never gone to an American school so this is literally the most important advice I can give you: cafeteria food sucks. The dough is made with sawdust and the macaroni used to be some poor kid's arts project. Stay away from the meatloaf."

Beth snorted. "The food at my old school wasn't exactly four stars either."

"Well then you won't have problems digesting whatever is in the mac n' cheese. Oh, and also, Chloe, please don't bite anyone, okay?"

Chloe threw a dishrag at him. "Aren't you in a hurry? Please?"

"Indeed I am. Have a great first day!" Louie ducked out of the kitchen and a few seconds later, they heard the front door close.

When all the food was ready, they sat down to eat. The beans were a tad runny but otherwise it tasted pretty much like an English breakfast.

"Are you homesick yet?" Chloe asked and nudged Beth in the leg. Jaime sent her a look over the rim of his coffee cup.

"Well, not really. As you said this is an English breakfast. If it had been a Welsh, I'd be absolutely inconsolable." Beth nudged her back. "But I am mostly excited, really. I've never actually gone to a new school - I mean a school with all new people."

"You already know a bunch of people, so it's not like you'd have to eat your lunch in the bathroom. Lydia seemed very excited that you were moving here." That was true. Beth had met Lydia five years' prior when Jaime and Louie had been invited to dinner at the Martin residence. They were the same age and since then they'd meet every time Beth was in Beacon Hills. Three days after Beth had moved to Beacon Hills, Lydia had showed up at the front door and whisked Beth off to meet her friends, with varying success. Beth had liked most of the people she met, with the exception of Lydia's boyfriend, who was probably the one it was most important that she liked, but Jackson made it exceedingly easy to dislike him.

When they finished breakfast, Jaime started to clear the table. "You better get ready now or you're going to be late for school."

"Dad, I do believe you are right." Beth got up from the table and stretched her arms over her head.

"I call dips on the shower," Chloe yelled and skipped towards the door.

"No! You'll use up all the hot water again!" Beth hurried after her but nearly lost a finger in the bathroom door. "I can't believe there's only one bathroom in this gigantic house!" She yelled through the bathroom door. The Sandoval house was big, though there were only two toilets and one shower, which normally wouldn't have bothered Beth, as the house she lived in in Wales had been small and cramped. The main difference was that she'd lived alone with her mother, and now she had to share a bathroom with someone who kept using all the hot water.

On the other side Chloe laughed. "It wasn't a problem before you moved here, honey. I'll be quick I promise."

After Beth's shower, she had barely had time to get dressed after the shower before there was a knock at the door. "Are you decent?" Chloe yelled from behind the door.

"Not particularly, really." Beth yelled back.

Tentatively the door opened. Chloe peeked inside before she opened it completely. "Oh, good. I wasn't sure if you were talking about not being dressed or just you in general. But get a move on I want to get to school early to catch up. Also, that is cute. I approve." She nodded towards the dress Beth was wearing; an off-white, pinstriped dress that was a gift from her mum before she moved.

"Oh thank god, I was afraid I would have to change," Beth said while rolling her eyes.

Chloe walked forward and brushed invisible dust off Beth's shoulders. "They grow up so fast," she said with a thick voice. Beth only just stopped herself from burying her elbow in Chloe's gut. "But for real, though, we gots to go."

"Oh, wait a moment!" With a flourish, Beth grabbed her camera bag from where it was lying on the shelf. It was a Polaroid camera she'd gotten from Jaime and it was her most precious possession.

"Say cheese!" Beth said, holding it out in front of them. The flash went off and with a whirring noise and the camera spat out a picture. She grabbed it and put it in a small pocket on the camera bag.

"Okay grandma, can we go now? If you're not down by the front door in 5 minutes, I'm leaving without you." Chloe spun around and disappeared out the door.

It took Beth exactly eight minutes to gather all her stuff and get down by the front door; she knew because Chloe had yelled increasingly annoyed updates on exactly how long it took Beth to get ready.

"I need to go to the office first, actually. If you'd kindly show me the way that would be fantastic." They walked towards the school, which was just across the road from their home.

Chloe sighed loudly. "Urgh, fine. I'll show you the way but I can't be late. You have an excuse because you are new, you can just say you got lost, but I refuse to have the record for fastest detention in a new school year. Honestly Beth, it's the first day and you're already dragging me down. I should just push you in front of a car."

"Your dad told you not to bite anyone, I'm pretty sure pushing someone into oncoming traffic is off limits too."

"Urgh, he says that all the time. I don't know who told him he was funny but they lied to his face."

They arrived at school early enough that many students hadn't yet arrived. Beth really hadn't been particularly nervous about starting in a new school, but standing in the car park she worried at the sleeves of her black leather jacket until Chloe's stilled her hands.

"Look, Beth, it's not like you don't know anyone here, right. You've been to Beacon Hills once a year since forever and you've met a tonne of my friends and-and you know Chloe freaking Sandoval and if that doesn't give you an in with basically everybody then I don't know what will." Chloe sent Beth a warm smile until something distracted her over Beth's shoulder. "Actually, there's Lydia. Already a friendly face." She turned Beth around and practically shoved her over towards Lydia who was standing by a silver beetle. "Ask her to show you where the office is," she said as she was already on her way to a group of people standing beside the school entrance.

"You're a rotten sister!" Beth yelled after her but kept walking towards Lydia.

She'd didn't remember a time she didn't know Lydia. Their parents were friends and it made sense their children would get stuck together. They didn't become friends proper before Beth found the joy of photography and they developed a sort of mutual beneficial relationship: Lydia loved the attention and Beth loved the muse.

In place of a greeting, Lydia looked disapprovingly down at Beth's feet. "Sneakers, Beth. Really?" She herself wore a formfitting, expensive looking coat and the sunshine made her hair look glossy.

"Yes sneakers. They're very comfortable," said Beth and wriggled her toes. Lydia scowled at her and Beth answered with a blinding smile.

"They look like they've been prescribed by a podiatrist."

"Those shoes are bitchin' so I will take that as a compliment. Oh, what do you think of my dress?" Beth swirled around with her arms outstretched.

Lydia looked at her outfit with a calculating look. "It's acceptable, I guess. Not a fan of that jacket though, it makes you look like you just got out of an Iron Maiden concert."

"I'll take it," Beth said jovially and gestured towards the entrance, "shall we?"

Lydia smiled an almost predatory-like smile. She spun around until she faced the school, and started walking as if she was on a runway in Milan and not outside a high school in California. Even the wind seemed to favour her, as it provided a gentle breeze that made it look she was in the middle of a Kanye West music video.

Beth followed a step behind her, not wanting to interrupt Lydia as she asserted her dominance over the school populace. Besides, she could never hope to match Lydia's powerwalk.

Two guys were standing in front of the entrance to the school, right in the way of Lydia's march. One of them sported a mop of dark hair and the other an unfortunate buzz cut and a novelty t-shirt.

"Hey Lydia!" the shorthaired one said after Lydia's retreating form. She made no move to show she had even heard the boy.

When they got inside the school, Beth skipped up to walk beside Lydia. "Uh, I need to go to the office first. I need my schedule and stuff like that."

Lydia turned so her red hair whirled around her. She sighed as if showing Beth to the office was a heavy burden. "Fine. It's down that hall and to the left. There's a big sign in front that says Administration, so even you wouldn't be able to miss it."

"Wow Lydia, that cuts really deep. It's almost like you're trying to hurt me." Beth walked backwards down the hallway Lydia indicated, a playful smile on her lips. "You know I don't think you can sit with me a lunch anymore."

Lydia rolled her eyes and sighed as if she was dealing with a problem child. "Go to the office, Beth."

Beth saluted and turned around so she wouldn't fall over her own feet, and as she walked, she took the time to look at the school. It looked just as rundown as her old one, which was somewhat comforting. The students looked the same and she could hear the same type of "how was your holiday" questions albeit with an American accent.

She opened the door to the office and was immediately met with a sour-looking secretary who didn't so much as look up from the screen as Beth stepped up to the counter. "Take a seat, please." She droned, sounding bored out of her mind. Beth raised her eyebrows over the secretary's attitude but nodded once and turned around to look for a place to sit. Behind her were some chairs pushed up against the wall, one of them already occupied by a dark haired girl who looked like she was about to burst from nervous energy. Beth threw herself into the seat beside her.

"Phew, I am so relieved that I am not the only new student here. It's bad enough starting in a new school but in a completely different country too is just a bit nerve-wracking."

The girl startled at the sound of Beth's voice. "Is it that obvious?" The girl combed her hair with her fingers and smiled nervously at Beth.

"A little bit. You're sitting in the administration office on the first day of school, looking just a tad … green. You're either new or you've already gotten in trouble and no offence but you don't look like a dastardly troublemaker."

"Oh, uh, well I'm not. A troublemaker I mean." the girl's smile became a little more genuine and Beth mentally pumped a fist in the air in triumph. "So, uh, what are you in for?"

Beth grinned. "Got five to eight for releasing the frogs from the biology classroom. That's something you Americans do, right?"

The girl laughed, which made the secretary shoot them an angry look over her monitor.

"I'm Beth, by the way."

"I'm Allison. Where are you from?" It looked like some of Allison's nerves had left her and she had turned so she faced Beth.

"Wales, though my dad has lived in Beacon Hills for years so I've visited about every summer and my sister goes to the school too."

"I imagine it's less intimidating starting here when you actually know somebody in this town," said Allison and looked around the room with a pained expression. Some of that aforementioned green colour returned to her cheeks.

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm just really good at hiding how utterly terrified I am," Beth said and sent her a reassuring smile, "fake it until you make it, right?"

Allison nodded and took a calming breath. Somewhere in the school, the bell rang and she frowned. "Um, an administrator was in here just before you, but he had to take care of something."

"I think that not having our schedules and not having a clue where to go is a good enough excuse being late." Beth leaned back in the uncomfortable chair and chatted with Allison until the door opened and a man entered.

"Miss Argent and Miss Vinther, I see you've become acquainted. I'm sorry for the delay but there were matters I had to attend to." He grabbed two folders from behind the counter. "This is your schedule and a map of the school where your lockers are marked. My name is Moris Cooper and I'm the school's administrator. If you have any problems, you can come to me. Follow me, please." He gestured towards the door and both girls got up.

"Miss Argent, you said before that San Francisco isn't the place you grew up." Mr Cooper looked at Allison while they walked.

"No, but we lived there for more than a year which is unusual with my family," Allison said, looking just as nervous as she had when Beth had first entered the office.

"Well, hopefully Beacon Hills will be your last stop for a while. And for you too, Miss Vinther. You may not remember me but I met you a couple of years ago when there was an unveiling of the sculpture your father made for the school."

Beth tried to think back but it had been four years ago and she'd been introduced to a lot of people that day and none of them really stood out.

"Your dad's a sculptor?" Allison asked looking at Beth with curious eyes.

"Yeah, but he paints more than he sculptures, I guess." As Beth talked she tried to take note of the way to the classroom, but after the first few turns, she was totally lost.

"Ah, here's your classroom," Mr Cooper said and gestured towards a closed door. Through the glass pane, Beth saw a mousy teacher standing by a blackboard. When Mr Cooper opened the door and interrupted the teacher, he did not look enthused.

"Class, this is our new students Allison Argent and Bethan Vinther. Please do your best to make them feel welcome." With that, he headed out the door. Fortunately, there were two empty seats and Beth grabbed the first one that was in front of the dark haired guy she had seen earlier. She tried to smile at him but by the looks of it, he only had eyes for Allison.

Beth sat down and got her notebook and pencil case. She fiddled with the worn spine of the book Chloe had loaned her. She could hear her teacher drone on in the background in a voice one could only describe as uninspiring, so she sat back and let the over-analysis of the Metamorphosis wash over her.

… … … … … …

Beth walked with Allison towards their lockers, which were almost right next to each other.

"Sweet, I've never had one of these," Beth said as she peered into her locker, "this day is just full of new experiences. What should I put in it?"

Allison looked at her from two lockers over with a bemused smile. "Whatever you want I guess, but I think the intended purpose is school books."

"Urgh that's boring." Beth closed the locker and leaned her shoulder against it. She saw something that made her eyes glint with glee. "Hey Allison, don't look now but I think someone is looking at you."

Allison straightened up and peeked stealthily through her long hair at the dark-haired boy from their English class. The downright bashful smile she sported was pretty telling what she thought of him. "He borrowed me a pen." She said while biting her lips to hide the smile.

"Ooh, you know that means you're married!" Beth said with a cheeky grin.

"Beth!" Allison admonished but she still laughed, even when red appeared on her cheeks. "Honestly."

"What did she do now?" Like a creature out of a Dracula adaption, Lydia appeared as if she stepped out of the mist. "Never mind. That jacket is absolutely killer. See Beth, not everyone has to dress like they have a leather fetish."

"It's one jacket, Lydia, it's not like I've come to school in assless chaps."

Lydia pointedly ignored Beth. "So, where'd you get it?"

Allison looked between Beth and Lydia, a slightly confused smile playing in the corners of her mouth. "My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco."

"And you are my new best friend." Lydia said with easy confidence that came from never having anyone really oppose her.

"No!" Beth croaked, and clutched her heart. "Does this mean I'm not even a contender anymore? Shit Lydia, you're breaking my heart."

Lydia sent her a derisive smile. "You were never even a consideration, sweetie."

Beth's mock-horrified look was wiped away when a cloud of man-perfume announced the presence of Jackson who descended on Lydia's face like a leech. "Oh, hi," she said in a flat tone. Because of her friendship with Lydia, she couldn't be openly antagonistic towards Jackson, but by God, the boy made it difficult to remain civil.

"Hello," said Allison a little unsure which was understandable enough, since one of her conversational partners was just unceremoniously snogged in a school hallway.

Lydia [reattached] herself from Jackson. "Oh, this is Jackson." She sent her boyfriend a playful look. "I didn't catch your name, actually."

"I'm Allison," Allison said and gave a small wave. She was holding her messenger bag in front of her kind of like it was a shield.

"We're in English together," Beth added, wanting to be a part of the conversation somehow.

Jackson spared her a look that clearly said that he didn't care, and turned back to Lydia. Beth had to fight the urge to stick out her tongue at him.

Lydia also pointedly ignored Beth. "So, this weekend there's a party."

"A party?" Allison asked, looking like she wasn't quite sure what to say to that.

"Yeah," Jackson said, "Friday night. You should come."

"Beth is the photographer," Lydia said with confidence. "She has all those cameras and now they can finally come to good use."

"I am? When exactly was this decided?" Beth leaned forward and shot Lydia a questioning look. "Because I don't remember agreeing to be your personal photographer."

"It was decided when you can't go two minutes without taking photos of whatever mundane thing is happening. Honestly, it's kinda sad how you use your camera as a security blanket. You know as well as I that you would spend the entire party behind a camera anyway, and now you're just in my employ."

"Great, does that mean you'll pay me?"

"No," Lydia snapped and turned towards Allison, "so what do you say?"

"Uh I can't. It's family night this Friday. Thanks for asking."

Beth felt a pang of disappointment as she liked Allison and the party would be infinitely better if she were there to block out the Lydia/Jackson snogging session that would surely commence.

Apparently, Jackson was disappointed too. "You sure? I mean, everyone's going after the scrimmage."

"You mean like football?" Allison asked innocently. Beth wanted to shake her head vigorusley. Jackson felt very fondly of his lacrosse and there was a high possibility of an angry rant if he heard any perceived slight against it.

"Football's a joke in Beacon," Jackson spat. "The sport here is lacrosse. We've won the state championship in the last three years." He sounded so smug that Beth almost gagged.

"Because of a certain team captain," Lydia said, never turning down a chance to brag. She adjusted Jackson's hair while practically letting him carry her entire weight.

"Well, we have practice in a few minutes. That is, if you don't have anywhere else to go." Jackson turned towards Beth. "I know that it might seem confusing for your but in America, sport is sort of a big deal and we have to practice-"

"Piss off water-boy; I know what bloody practice is." Even though he only tried to get a rise out of her, she still raised her hackles at his condescending tone.

Lydia clicked her tongue in disapproval at the two. "And Jackson-" she shot him an acidic look- "is going to be late. So come on. Allison?" She waited for the girl to nod before she turned on her heel and marched down the hallway somehow making even the click of her heels sound angry.

When they arrived out at the field, the players were already running around on the field, swinging their sticks.

"Jackson wasn't kidding when he said lacrosse is the sport at Beacon," Allison said, as they sat on the bleachers. They were surrounded by student who, like them, had shown up to watch people play lacrosse.

"Yeah, I thought showing up and watching people practice sports was only something I did." Beth sat behind Allison and Lydia but was leaned forward so she could hear them over the loud whistles and yells from the players.

"You really like sports that much?" Allison asked with a smile.

"There was a local rugby team and I swear I was their biggest fan. Actually, I reckon I was their only fan because they really sucked."

Lydia flipped her hair over her shoulder and almost hit Beth in the face. "Well, this team is not some backwater soccer team. Winning actually matters here." She sounded so smug that you'd think she'd herself singlehandedly won the championship.

Beth was in the middle of a heated explanation on the differences between real football and rugby when Allison interrupted them. "Who is that?" She nodded towards the goal, where number 11 was standing looking back and forth with a somewhat lost look.

"Him? I'm not sure who he is," Lydia said, "why?"

"I thought you were the queen bee of this school, aren't they supposed to know all their little bee-lings?" Beth asked with a cheeky smile, and Lydia responded with an unimpressed look.

"He's in our English class," Allison said with a small, shy smile.

"He loaned her a pen!" Beth said excitedly, this time earning an annoyed look from Lydia.

"How wonderful," she deadpanned and turned her attention back on the lacrosse pitch.

Down on the field it looked like number 11 was having some issues. "Um, he doesn't look too good." She leaned forward again as if she could get a better look at the guy who had grabbed his head as if he was in pain. "Shouldn't we-" she didn't finish her sentence before a lacrosse ball nailed him in the face. The only reason he didn't wind up with a broken nose was due to the helmet. There was scattered laughter around them.

After a couple of seconds, he got up again and stood ready at the goal. Beth winced as the next guy swung his stick but amazingly, enough Allison's pen-dealer caught the ball. Even buried under layers of protective gear she could see the other player's confusion. On the bench in front of the field buzz cut guy gave a surprised yell of encouragement.

The next player threw the ball closer to the ground but as before, the dude caught it neatly. He repeated that feat a couple of more times, until the small crowd were cheering for him.

"It seems like he's really good," Allison said with a slightly dreamy expression.

"Yeah, really good," Lydia said, looking more surprise than amazed.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't knowing all the best lacrosse players your thing, Lyds?" Beth asked from behind them.

"Don't call me that," she said absentmindedly. "That must have happened over the break, there is no way that I didn't notice him last year."

"Someone must have eaten all their Brussels sprouts," Beth mumbled but she, like Lydia and Allison, wasn't paying attention to what came out of her mouth as Jackson had just stepped forward, looking like a scorned king ready to challenge a usurper. It was a tad overdramatic for high school lacrosse.

Beth held her breath as the ball soared towards the goal. Not surprisingly, the ball got stopped before it met its destination and around her people started cheering. Even Lydia stood up to cheer, but Beth was only confused for a second and a half before she saw the challenging look she shot in Jackson's direction. "That's healthy, that is," Beth mumbled, but it was drowned out in the ruckus. On the bench, the dude who she could only describe as strangely elastic looked to be having a celebratory seizure.

"I'm going to talk with his friend," Beth said and got up.

Allison's hand shot out and grabbed Beth's wrist. "Why?" She asked and looked at Beth with alarmed eyes.

"To find out who he is and, according to Lydia, which creature of the night he sold his soul to, to be this good at lacrosse." Beth gently pried Allison's fingers away from her wrist. "And besides, I am nothing if not aggressively friendly." When Allison's hand was gone, Beth turned around and climbed down from the bleachers. After a little difficulty getting past people without knocking them down, she plopped down on the bench beside buzz cut.

"That's your mate there, isn't it?" she asked and leaned forward, adopting the same stance as him.

The boy yelped louder than should have been necessary, which made Beth rear back with a confused look. He opened his mouth but it looked like his brain still hadn't caught up completely.

"Y-yes he's my ma-I mean friend." He looked at her like he wasn't quite sure she was sitting there.

Beth waited for him to elaborate a bit while she stretched out her legs in front of her. When he just continued to gawk she realised she had to prompt him a little more. "And his name is?"

"Scott!" Buzz cut almost shouted. Across the field, Scott's head snapped up as if someone had called his name. "Yeah, his name is Scott and you-you're Bethan right? We have English and Chemistry together." He still sounded utterly confused but now he at least seemed to have rediscovered the use of words without having to be prompted.

"Everyone calls me Beth, except my grandmother who thinks it's disrespecting Welsh culture. I'm fairly certain she has written me out of her will." She smiled at him but he just nodded thoughtfully, like they were discussing global politics and Beth hadn't just made a terrible joke.

They looked at each other for couple of long, awkward moments before Beth asked, "so what's your name-"

"I'm Stiles." They said at the same time.

They both stopped abruptly and Beth pursed her lips while they silently observed the players. She wasn't lying when she said she was aggressively friendly, she could talk with pretty much anyone, but for some reason the awkwardness of trying to talk with Stiles made her forget every conversational topic she had stored in her brain.

Stiles' was tapping a confusing beat on the bench. It seemed like he had to have some body part moving, lest the nervous energy would build up and he would rocket off to the moon. She crossed and uncrossed her ankles, desperately trying to find something to talk about. If there was anything Beth didn't do well, it was long uncomfortable silences.

"I don't even know the rules for Lacrosse," she said as she leaned her head back to enjoy the sun with her eyes closed.

"Wha-?"

She cracked open an eye and looked at Stiles. Instead of tapping on the bench, he was turning a lacrosse helmet repeatedly between his hands.

"The rules for lacrosse. I don't know them. I don't think I've ever watched a game of lacrosse even though I do watch a lot of sports. And we're not just talking the regular football and basketball, we are talking obscure shit." She stole at look at Stiles again and he looked at her with narrowed eyes. "A bunch of my mates and I once took the bus to Gloucester- that's in England -to a cheese rolling competition."

There was an unbelieving snort from Stiles, and she opened her eyes and levelled him with an even stare. He was leaning back on the bench and by the looks of it, only an exceptional equilibrium kept him from toppling down. "On top of a hill the cheese is released-" She stopped to truly admire the circumstances that led to her saying that sentence. "-and people leg it down trying to catch it."

"Is that true?" He asked, his voice somewhere between laughter and scepticism.

"No, I've never been. The rest of it is true, though. It's my life's dream to catch that darn cheese."

A smile spread across Stiles' face. "No ending world hunger or-or I be ridiculously famous? You want to catch a runaway cheese." He snickered into his fist.

"Hey, don't you dare criticise my one true dream. I can get there with patience and hard work."

Stiles looked a little unsure about what he should say. "I-uh … at least it's doable I guess."

Beth nodded eagerly. "With low goals there's less chance of disappointment," she said cheerfully.

"So, has Scott always been a bloody ninja at Lacrosse?" Beth asked when they'd been quiet for a time.

Stiles furrowed his brows as he watched his friend dance around obstacles like a ballerina. "No, definitely not. He has asthma but he hasn't used his inhaler today at all." He was leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and tapping a finger on his chin.

"You can grow out of that, can't you?" Beth leaned forward too, to try and make eye contact with Stiles.

The coach blew the whistle and the players gathered in a huddle. Evidently, practice was over because the audience started to get up and move towards the school.

Beth got up from the bench. "Well, that's my cue I guess. Nice chatting with you, Stiles," She said with a smile and a little wave.

Stiles waved back absentmindedly but it was like the mention of his friend had snapped him out of any form of thought not concerned with Scott, who was standing in the middle of the field shaking his head like his ears were full of water.

When it became apparent that Stiles wouldn't answer, she threw up her hands and started towards Lydia and Allison, who were waiting for her by the bleachers.

"Did you find out his name?" It seemed that Allison herself realised how eager she sounded, because she immediately tried to backtrack. "I mean-"

"His name is Scott and he used to have asthma but that it's maybe gone, apparently." Beth shrugged and lay an arm over Allison's shoulder as they walked back to the school.

Allison wasn't fast enough to hide the infatuated smile that spread on her face at the mention of his name. It was incredible how fast she had gotten smitten, and by the looks of it, Scott had caught the love bug too.

"Did you talk about anything else? You were down there some time." Allison's hopeful voice made Beth smile.

Beth's smile turned to a grin. "Cheese, mostly." Allison snorted loudly and shot her a confused look. "Seriously, instead of asking me, who, by the way, has all of this information from a second hand source, you could just go and talk to him." She gave Allison's shoulder a little squeeze.

"Oh no, I'm not going to do any dating. I am going to finish high school without distractions, that's the plan."

"I just want to say, for the record, that you were the one who brought up dating. It's 2012 Allison, people are allowed to have friend of a different gender without the need of a chaperone."

Allison snorted and bit her lips. "You don't know my parents at all. I'm pretty sure my dad would prefer if I only have friends of the female persuasion."

"Oh, it's so much easier when you're bi and both your parents know. They can't very well ban people in general from your room, so I've never really had that problem. Besides, I seriously can't imagine my dad or Louie setting any sort of restriction on who can come to my room and not."

"Louie is …?"

"My dad's husband and my sister's father. My family situation can seem a bit complicated for the uninitiated."

"I am initiated and I still find it confusing," Lydia said. Her eyes were glued to her phone but apparently, she had been listening to the conversation.

Allison pursed her lips. "Okay, so your mom-"she paused to shoot Beth a questioning look.

"I actually have nine fathers."

"No you do not," Allison laughed and gave Beth a little push.

"You don't know that! I could be like that Arnold Schwarzenegger movie."

Allison laughed and waved her hand in the air as if she was trying to wipe out their current conversation. "Okay, we are getting off track. So your mom is Welsh."

"She is indeed. They met each other in London when my mom was working part time in a gallery my dad's painting was showing. When that didn't work out, he moved to California and met Louie. Actually, my maternal grandfather is Danish, so my roots are spread out over four countries."

"Four?"

"My dad's Mexican. You know where your family is from? As in before they were American."

Lydia had apparently found the conversation too boring because she had diverted her full attention back to her phone. "My family is from France. Argent means silver, actually."

"That's pretty cool. Do you know much about them?" They had reached the school and were walking through the halls.

"Not really. My parents never really talk much about them, only that it's a very old and influential family."

"Maybe you're actually royalty and your family escaped the reign of terror." Beth who up until now still had her arm slung around Allison's shoulder had to let her go so they could navigate the crowded hall.

"Lots of noble families escaped so that wouldn't be that special." Allison dodged two guys who were carrying some kind of papier-mâché monster. It seemed a little early to be doing projects for art class.

"Damn, I thought we had a French princess in our midst."

"Sorry to disappoint," Allison said with a cheeky smile before they all split up towards the different classes.