Act 1: Daydreams

PART ONE

Scott and Stiles had only to stop at their lockers before leaving school. The plan was set in motion from here on: find the "beast" and win the hearts of millions. Well, not necessarily 'millions,' but the population of Beacon Hills would be nice. And respect, respect would be nice as well.

Before the two could even take their first steps out of class, they heard Jackson Whittemore call to them. Jackson looked just as smug and entitled as usual, with his perpetually cocky sneer on his perfect Abercrombie&Fitch face. Stiles knew it was somehow more directed towards him than Scott.

"Are you two headed for another night of moronic fun?" Jackson asked, walking past the pair, just slowly enough to engage in a conversation. Scott and Stiles wished he would have kept on going, but he didn't, so they tried their best to ignore him. They wanted to be especially deaf to his insults today, in order to mentally prepare for their life altering night. "Or, are you going home to write romantic poetry on your sexually deprived lives?"

Scott scowled at Jackson's comment. Stiles was prepared to fire back, but Lydia Martin joined them. Lydia Martin, Jackson's perfect little girlfriend since freshman year. She walked up and knitted her arm with his. Together they looked like they popped out of a Macy's catalog. "Aw, leave them alone Jackson. You know that the freaky outcasts end up being the notorious serial killers Lifetime movies get inspiration from." The couple snickered together before strutting down the hallway.

Once the boys reached Scott's locker, Stiles dramatically slammed his head against the metallic door next to Scott. "Why is being that 'freaky outcast' she makes fun of, the only way to get any attention from someone like Lydia Martin?"

"You could be more like Jackson and buy her love." Scott turned his head to look down the hallway; he saw the couple making out in front of the double doors, forcing students to walk around them. Scott pointed to them. "It worked pretty well for him."

"I guess I could be an insufferable jerk, but the whole athletic-sports-captain-thing is totally out of my range of abilities." Stiles saw Scott silently laughing at his turmoil. "I'm in serious, agonizing, excruciating pain right now, and you're laughing your ass off. Thanks pal."

"No, it's just... I don't get what you see in Lydia. Yeah she's hot, but she's a total bitch." Scott scratched his head as he emptied his backpack. He was exchanging his schoolbooks for a flashlight, two water bottles, and a thermos of soup.

"Being hot compensates for being a bitch. No exceptions."

"Not in her case."

"Totally in her case! Lydia freakin' Martin is God's gift to me. One day she'll realize that and we'll have breathtaking sex. Then mind blowing sex. Then, just a lot of sex."

"Yeah, good luck with that Stiles." Scott shut his locker shaking his head in disapproval. The two teens made their way outside to Stiles' jeep.

"Just wait Scott," Stiles started the car once they were seated. "When we find the thing in the woods, we'll be famous. Then I'll have Lydia and you'll have Allison following you around like a lost puppy, begging for your love." Stiles laughed looking at Scott's expression.

Scott contemplated the thought, a smile on his face. His expression slowly dropped once he began talking. "Yeah, no. I don't think Allison would beg for anything, let alone my love. She's too amazing to do something like that. "

"Once we're heroes, you'll have plenty of amazing girls looking your way. Trust me."

·

Their plan wasn't nearly as well thought out as they had assumed. The past few weeks, hikers had called in complaints about some thing walking around at night. Then people reported seeing it during the day. Supposedly, the 'beast' in question was some kind of bear-wolf-possibly-eagle hybrid. No formal description was recorded. Stiles' father, the sheriff, had sent out some of his best men, and half of the Beacon Hills Hunter Association [better known as the BHHA] to fish this thing out of hiding, but to no avail. So of course, these two unarmed 17 year old boys thought they could find the mystery monster.

They wandered around for two hours before Scott got Stiles to admit they were lost. Worse yet, they were lost in the woods they'd spent their lives exploring. The two would never really get over that self-imposed shame.

"It's getting dark."

"I know that Scott." Stiles knew Scott was right, but he didn't want to admit how bad the situation was, especially to himself. Stiles loved his torrid ability to deny the worst situations life threw him. Unfortunately, it only caused him and others around him more problems.

"This was a stupid idea. It's getting dark, and my mom's gonna kill me if I'm not home before she is."

"Yeah, but it would have been cool if we had found the thing, whatever it was." Stiles sighed, completely and utterly defeated. Not only had his plan failed, he also felt like a five year old lost in a house of mirrors. "Just seeing it would have been cool too."

"Yeah." Scott looked around their surroundings one last time before facing Stiles. "Maybe we should call your dad? He could find us pretty quickly."

Neither of the boys knew exactly where Stiles had parked his jeep.

"No way." Stiles said, his eyes growing wide. "He'd never let me live it down."

"Then what should—"

"Scott?" Scott heard a sweet velvety voice call out to him. There wasn't a moment's hesitation. He knew it was Allison Argent. As she was walking towards the pair, she quickly threw something behind a rather large Pine tree. The boys couldn't identify the object, but it looked a lot like long stick. "What are you guys doing out here?"

Scott only stared at her. He always turned into a blubbering mess when it came to Allison. Stiles took charge before the strange inarticulate noises Scott usually made emanated from his mouth. "We were just, uh, taking a hike. In the woods."

"Just hiking in the woods? On a Tuesday afternoon? Without any hiking gear?" Allison laughed disbelievingly. "Really Stiles?"

"We... uh..." An audible breathe intake. "Yeah." Scott said. Stiles swore he saw a little drool drip from the lovesick boy's mouth.

"You guys aren't lost are you?" Allison smiled at Scott's odd response.

"Maybe." Stiles said, running his hand over his head, feeling the tips of his hair. "Only a little bit though."

Allison gave them another little laugh before pointing behind them, "Your jeep is about half a mile north from here. I passed it a couple of minutes ago."

"T-thanks." Scott sort of managed to say without sounding like a complete idiot.

"Of course. So, I'll see you two at school." Allison waved at the guys, before walking back the way she came.

Once she was out of earshot, Stiles turned to Scott. "What was she doing out here?"

Scott shrugged, still staring off at Allison's path in awe. His eyes retraced every step she took, committing them to memory. "Besides saving our ass? I don't know, we probably should have asked."

Stiles shook off the thought and followed Allison's directions. She was right. His jeep was only a few minutes away. By the time they reached the vehicle, the sun had set and Scott had pulled the flashlight out of his bag. He playfully shined the light on Stiles face.

When Stiles made his way into the driver's seat he purposefully thumped his head against the steering wheel. "We're idiots," he whispered, more to himself than Scott.

Scott sat in the passenger's seat and responded anyway. "Yeah, but odds are we'll grow out of it. Hopefully."

Stiles groaned. With his keys in hand, Stiles was about to start up the jeep when they heard a loud howl from outside the car.

"What the hell was that?" Stiles asked. Both he and Scott stared out the passenger side window.

"I don't know, but it sounded really, really close." Scott quickly turned to Stiles. He spoke before staring out the window again. "Should we go out there?"

Stiles violently shifted, almost jumping out of his seat in order to get a better view. "I don't know... Yeah. Yeah, we should. I mean, it's probably the beast-monster-thing, right?"

Scott shrugged, looking at Stiles again. His expression told Stiles he was just as freaked out as he was.

No. Stiles refused to be scared of some dog howling at the rising moon. Stiles jumped out of the jeep, with an unsurprising amount of maladroit.

"Where are you going?" Scott said, trying to go for a whisper, but failing miserably. The last thing he wanted was for the monster to find them. "Stiles!"

"We came out here to find the son of a bitch, and I'm not leaving until we do."

Scott seriously considered staying back in the car, but his conscience got the better of him. It always did.

"I think it came from.. this way." Stiles lead the way, heading east of their original location. "Okay, never mind. Maybe it was that way?"

Stiles spun around, but ending up going in the same direction as before. Scott silently questioned why he'd put his life in Stiles' hands.

"Let's just go back Stiles. Just being out here gives me this seriously creepy feeling."

They heard the noise again. It was definitely a kind of howl, but it couldn't have come from a wolf. It was too loud, and it almost sounded like actual words.

Scott and Stiles stopped and completely shut down when they heard another howl, arms bumping into each other. They stood glued to their spots, hardly breathing. The howl was too close.

"Okay, you were right Scott, let's go back."

The sound of crunching gravel circled around them. The boys tried to find the source, turning their heads in every direction. Scott and Stiles grabbed on to each other for dear life.

"I'm so sorry, Scott." Stiles started. "This is all my fault."

"Don't say that."

"But it's true."

"Yeah, but you don't have to say it."

They stood there for what seemed like an eternity. Their minds racing with all the possible ways they could die. What would Scott's mom say? Melissa McCall would probably be disappointed. Her only son dead, but at least then all ties to his father would be cut. Scott understood why she resented him so much. But what of Stiles' dad? Well, he'd die without Stiles. Who'd feed him properly? Or maybe they would both be fine?. Maybe their parents would be relieved to have their troublesome sons out of their lives. No more embarrassing parent-teacher conferences, or waiting up after they missed their curfews, no more sickening vegetables for dinner.

Scott and Stiles somehow convinced themselves death was the only option. They felt each other's body relax as the low guttural growling began. The predator was undoubtedly going for the kill. They could only hope they wouldn't feel anything.

Scott yearned for a quick end. Maybe the monster would strike somewhere fatal and that'd be that. Scott felt a cold sweat drip down his forehead. He'd begun coughing and nervously wheezing, a dangerous and very painful combination. He really needed his inhaler. While Stiles hoped he'd die from shock, before the monster even touched him. Sure, his chest would hurt, but at least he wouldn't feel anything claw at his flesh, tearing him to shreds. Actually his chest did hurt, the world was closing in on him and breathing was only getting more difficult. This was definitely a panic attack. Stiles clenched his hand over his chest.

Despite their pains, they simultaneously closed their eyes and let the monster approach them. Their bodies tensed up one last time.

·

It all felt like some kind of sick dream, except for the part where they woke up in the woods. That was all very real and very uncomfortable. Scott and Stiles were sprawled next to each other, awoken by the rising sun.

They sat up and studied their surroundings. They heard the nearby creek, its water running over rugged rocks and tiny fish splashing around. Scott used Stiles' shoulder as an extra balance.

Stiles' nostrils were hit with a small musky smell, followed by a young bird landing beside him. The bird was so close he could nearly touch him. He'd never seen a little sparrow act so chummy with a human before. Stiles could feel the bird's eyes on him, like he was trying to communicate something.

Scott spoke, interrupting the bird's eyes. "What the hell happened last night?"

Stiles turned towards Scott, standing up as he did so. Scott followed in suit. "I don't know, but my dad's gonna kill me." Stiles' father had five rules, staying out all night was breaking rule number 2.

Scott got this suddenly introspective look on his face before agreeing about his mother. They were ready to run back to the jeep, until they heard crunching twigs nearby. They held their breaths and listened closely.

A young man walked towards them and they instantly recognized him as Derek Hale. He stood before them, silent and waiting. Scott and Stiles looked to each other, than back to Derek. Still, nobody said anything. Derek's eyes shifted from one teen to another. Scott and Stiles looked to each other once again, unsure of what to make of the situation.

Stiles could feel the awkward tension building and spoke first. "Uh, hey. You wouldn't happen to know what happened to us last night, would you? We just kinda woke up here."

Derek slowly approached the teens. "The two of you were attacked by an animal last night."

Scott and Stiles looked themselves over, then each other. To their knowledge, they were perfectly fine. They certainly didn't feel like they'd been attacked by anything.

"Are you sure?" Scott asked. Derek roughly yanked Stiles' shirt up. He earned himself one of Stiles' famous death glares. "Holy shit, what the hell was it?" Scott asked, partially covering his mouth.

Stiles looked down at himself and saw the large bandage over his torso and the cerise color of blood that had seeped to the base of the adhesive over night. "Shit, I can't even feel it." Stiles said, poking at his side.

Scott lifted his shirt as well and saw less blood on his part, but a bandage just as large. "I don't feel anything either."

Derek shrugged at the two. "It's probably the adrenaline. The pain will hit you in an hour or two."

The two boys remained silent. Derek flicked his eyes to the left. Scott and Stiles followed his gaze. "You left your jeep in that direction."

By the time Scott and Stiles looked back, Derek was gone.

"I feel like we've been Batman'd." Stiles said, whispering. Scott nodded and the two proceeded to run to Stiles' jeep in record time.

·

They met back up at school a few hours later.

"How did your mom react?" Stiles asked, leaning over the lab table in Chemistry class. He should have been working on his experiment, but figured his partner had it covered. Today, instead of the usual glares and insults, his partner was being pretty kind. Stiles might even say she was being flirty. He wasn't used to this kind of treatment, but he wasn't about to nip it in the bud either.

"It was pretty weird." Scott said, turned around from his table to talk to Stiles. "She thought I was at your house. She was surprised I even came home at all."

Stiles' mouth fell slack. "My dad had the same reaction. Why would they think we were at each other's house?"

Scott lowered his voice. "I don't know, but she said I called—"

"McCall, can you please leave Mr. Stilinski to fail on his own," their chemistry teacher, Mr. Harris, placed his hand on Stiles' lab table, leaning in closer to the boys. "I can assure you, he doesn't need any help."

Stiles snorted, much louder than he intended to and Scott turned back to his table. He'd rather not suffer the wrath of their ill-tempered teacher. Harris shot Stiles a dirty look before walking back to his desk. Scott tried to get back to the lab work, but Stiles interrupted him once again.

"I haven't felt any pain yet, have you?"

Scott thought about the question for a moment, touching his gut. He turned back once Harris focused his attention on another student. "No, not at all. That's weird right? I mean, I know Derek said the adrenaline was masking the pain, but maybe not?"

Stiles shrugged. "The brain to body connection will probably kick in once we see the cuts. Then it'll probably hurt like a bitch." Scott nodded.

·

After class Scott and Stiles went to the restroom to remove the bandages.

"What the hell?" Stiles watched Scott remove his first; there was nothing except a little smeared blood. He ripped off his own to see the same thing. Scott poked Stiles, testing the skin.

"So, Derek was lying?" Scott asked.

"I guess? But, why?"

"Why go through all this trouble to mess with us? That's pretty creepy." Stiles nodded in agreement.

"We have to find him. Let's go after school." Stiles said, putting his shirt back down.

"Or we could never see him again? I'd be okay with that." Scott leaned against a sink. "Derek's weird. I mean, I know his house burned down, so he kind of has a free pass, but..."

Stiles looked to Scott, "His house didn't just burn down, most of his family died in that fire. Dude's probably messed up in the head, but he found us in the woods and is probably the only person who could explain this."

Scott nodded, then added, "But I have work right after school."

"Then I'll go." Stiles said and Scott nodded again, before leaving.

Alone in the bathroom, Stiles lifted his shirt and looked into the dirty mirror above the sinks. The adhesive left only thin red lines imprinting on his skin and a smidge of what was maybe blood, but besides that he was perfectly fine. Something wasn't adding up. Even if Derek had made up the attack and faked the injuries, why couldn't he remember last night? When he tried all he saw was a blurry grayish image, then a lot of white.

Stiles bit his lip, still looking at himself, and then his body went stiff. He heard footsteps and a thumping noise—no, it was a heartbeat? Stiles listened carefully, confused, but fully alert. For some reason his brain kept saying Jackson, but...

Jackson walked into the boys' restroom, stopped in the doorway, and glared at Stiles. Jackson pointed out the door. "You know the girls' room is that way, right?"

Stiles dropped his shirt and scowled before leaving. He hated Jackson.

·

Scott wouldn't have believed Stiles' heightened hearing story if he hadn't had his own experience. Gym class was a bitch for Scott, but not today. In fact, Scott broke the school record for the mile with an impressive 3 minutes and 46 seconds. He told Stiles in the final moments of their English class.

"Is that really fast?" Stiles asked. Despite Scott's terrible asthma and lack of general coordination, he knew more about sports then Stiles would probably hear in his entire life.

Scott smiled at Stiles ignorance. "The world record is 3 minutes and 43 seconds."

"No way. How could you almost beat the world record?"

Scott's smile grew even more. "I don't know! I didn't even feel out of breath. I probably could of kept going if Coach Finstock hadn't stopped me." Scott looked down at the floor, grin still on his face. "Allison saw. She seemed pretty impressed."

Stiles would never understand how Scott managed to pull off that adorable, happy, puppy-dog face and still not have a girlfriend.

"Now we have to find Derek." Stiles said as the final bell of the day rang. They walked out to the parking lot. "He's got to know what's happening to us."

"Will you be okay without me?" Scott asked looking nervous.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"So I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah." Stiles waved to Scott and watched him ride away on his one speed bike. He sat in his jeep, realizing he had no idea where to start. Where exactly did Derek Hale live?

Stiles rested his head against his steering wheel. He could hear all these voices. A boy heavily breathing, some girl was freaking out in restroom, another boy fighting with his father, a couple arguing, and Lydia Martin cheering on Jackson during lacrosse practice. He sat in his spot much longer than he should of; an alarm went off in his cell phone. Stiles remembered he still had work in an hour.

"Damn." Stiles started the jeep, and decided he'd just drive near the woods for a couple of minutes. If he found Derek awesome, if not, well, he tried.

A/N:: Sorry for any and all spelling/grammatical errors this is not beta'd..

The story starts off a little slow, but it'll pick up eventually and it will contain slash and hetero parings. And before I forget to mention, I'll be updating every Thursday!