"Scott, I am not bringing it."

"But-"

"No."

"Stiles, back me up."

"Come on, Riley, it's just in case!"

"Yeah, it's not like you're actually going to kill him."

"And what if I do?"

"You won't."

"Probably."

"Stiles!"

"Sorry."

"Look guys, I am not bringing my bow and arrow to possibly shoot someone!" I screech and stop abruptly at the end of the last hallway in the school. I feel a weird silence enveloping us and look around, only to see that most students are now looking in this direction.

I shrink back, feeling awkward, and Stiles says, "Nothing to hear here, get on with your lives. We're not talking to you anyways."

Amazingly, everybody does whatever they had been doing before I yelled and I look around, impressed, and my eyebrows raised.

"Nice," I comment.

"I've been told," says Stiles casually, nodding his head. "So? Are you gonna bring it or not?"

I sigh impatiently and give in. "Alright, alright. Now, how and when are we getting to the lake house?"

Scott answers, saying, "My bike, tonight. I'll pick you up."

When I get home from school, I remind my parents about going to the lake house today. I was told yesterday by Scott about it so I was also able to tell my parents as well. They said yes, although I had to remind them again. I also had to sit for half an hour while I listen to their lecture on rules and stuff.

Now, I'm searching my closet for what to wear tonight. Yes, I know it's not actually a party, but you always gotta look good.

In the end, I choose a white cropped top, a leather jacket that I wrap around my waist first because it's not even cold at the moment, and skinny jeans. As I look at my reflection on my full-length mirror, I am satisfied with my outfit and finish it off with boots. My outfit seems simple enough and doesn't look too much at all, so I just relax as I wait for Stiles and Scott to come over.

Only a few minutes pass when I hear the the familiar roaring of a motorbike pull up outside my house. I frown in confusion as I ponder why he's early, get up from my bed, walk to my window, and peek through the curtains. When I conclude that it's really him, I pull the curtain back and get my bag which I sling over my right shoulder. Actually, it's a maroon backpack that I've used for school when I was younger... but how else am I supposed to fit a weapon in here without it being obvious?

When I get out of my room and shut it close, I see my dad walking down the hall, probably going to answer the door.

"Dad," I call him and he turns around. "It's just Scott, I can get it."

"Sure it's him?" he questions and I nod. "Okay, but if a ghost from one of those horror movies you used to watch comes and gets you, don't blame me."

I roll my eyes and groan at him playfully. "Dad, I'm not scared of them anymore! I swear."

"Not even..." he pauses then takes a loud steps towards me, "Anabelle?"

"Ugh," I say, remembering that creepy doll from The Conjuring. "Alright, she's still scary. Okay, end of convo. Bye."

"Bye, have fun," he tells me before heading back to his room.

I scoff with a faint smile on my face then run down the stairs, hoping I haven't made my cousin wait too long.

I swing open my front door and Scott's just standing there, waiting impatiently. I could tell that he had been looking at my window because his head was tilted upwards.

"Finally. Do girls really take that long?" Scott asks dramatically and pulls me along to walk next to him.

"For your information," I start as we approach the bike. "I was ready five minutes before you guys came."

"And why did I still have to wait?"

"My parents, duh," I say obviously, stepping over and sitting on his motorbike. Scott gives a knowing nod and hands me a helmet, starts up the engine, then we drive away.

→ → →

"This is a really nice lake house," I compliment when I take out my helmet after some time of just sitting behind Scott on his bike motionlessly.

"Thanks," says Lydia, who just came walking towards us. I send her a small smile as I shake my hair a bit to fix it.

"I just talked to Kira, she's on her way, she said everything's going fine," Scott says, looking mostly at Stiles. Besides him and Lydia, Malia is also here; she and Stiles currently leaning next to each other on the latter's jeep.

"Yeah it's not that," says Stiles seriously and for some reason, he looks at me. "I asked around about Liam." Uh oh... "I know why he got kicked out of his last school."

"Why?" I ask instantly, taking a step closer to him.

"This is gonna be bad, isn't it?" Scott says weakly.

"He kinda got into it with one of his teachers and uh, kid's got some serious anger issues."

"How serious?"

"Well that's his teacher's car after he took a crowbar to it," Stiles explains, handing me his phone. I stare at the picture of a wrecked car in disbelief and concern as Scott also looks at it worriedly from behind me.

Is Liam really capable of all that? Was the issue that bad for him to ruin his teacher's car? And who is he, really? All I know of is the friendly guy who acts as cool and normal as ever with not only me, but Mason, Garrett, Violet, and all his other friends I'm not exactly close with it, but I know. The only time I only really saw him lash out was last night when he hit Scott and punched Stiles... but I describe that as a defense mechanism because he was kidnapped by two juniors from his new school.

After exchanging a few more words and dropping the subject, we enter the lake house through the front door and find ourselves in the living room.

"So Scott, what exactly happens to a werewolf on a full moon?" I ask my cousin curiously as we shut the door.

"They get all wild and just can't control themselves," he sighs.

"So what's gonna happen to you?"

"I learned to control myself a long time ago and I'm now an alpha. If you're like Liam- newly bitten- you just really can't control what you do because you've just been bitten and is new to this. That's happened to me before."

"And Liam was just bitten yesterday," I state, plopping down on the last armchair.

"Yeah," sighs Scott.

"And he's got anger issues," I add, leaning back.

"Yeah," he sighs yet again.

We sit in a long silence, anxiously waiting. After a while, though, Scott announces that they're here.

"How did you-" I start to ask.

"Werewolf, remember?" Stiles answers instead, patting my shoulder and I nod, understanding.

"Riley, you mind going out and meeting them there?" Scott says to me.

"Nope, it's fine," I reply, getting up from my seat.

He sends me a smile, but I can see that he's thinking hard because it doesn't quite reach is eyes. I ignore that thought and continue towards the door, open it, and see Kira and Liam walking my way.

"Where is everyone?" he was asking suspiciously.

"They're here- it's a small party," Kira says peppily.

"But you said everyone-"

"Oh, look, it's Riley!" says Kira, faking enthusiasm.

I put on a grin and approach them. "We better hurry for the party," I say giddily, linking my arm with his. He let's out a quiet chuckle, but still looks unsure about getting inside, so I continue with the facade. "Woo!"

"Yay, party," Kira catches up, doing the same as me. And then we finally swing open the door once again and step inside, and an odd scene meets my eyes.

Scott, Lydia, Malia, and Stiles are all standing next to each other in a straight line by the couch, and their position reminds me of How I Met Your Mother when they have interventions.

I sneak a glance at Liam, watching as his face drops and his eyes widen slightly, flitting back and forth at the people in the room.

"Sorry," I murmur apologetically and guiltily at him when he looks at me.

"I thought you said you didn't have anything to do with this," he hisses at me.

"I don't- well, not really. Not at first, anyways. I'll explain later," I say quickly, hoping he'll understand.

Liam sighs then says, "They attacked us," as if that explains everything.

"I know, just hear them out," I plead.

"So what the hell is this?" Liam asks, facing the four.

"Think of it as an intervention," answers Stiles. "You have a problem, Liam." Well that's one way to put it.

"And we're the only ones who can help," Scott finishes.

And then the supernatural creatures begin explaining what they exactly are. It takes a while for Liam to process what they say, but in the end, he gets it.

"Werewolf. He starts with Scott. "Were-coyote..." He looks at Malia who nods. "... banshee..." Lydia gives a look of approval. "Fox?" he finishes with a question, looking at Kira standing behind him. Close enough.

"Kitsune," she corrects him. "But fox works."

When she's done talking, Liam looks back at the four standing in front of him and asks Stiles, "And what are you?"

"Uh, for a little while I was possessed by an evil spirit- it was very evil."

Well that's something new. It's quite shocking, but I guess I'm going to have to get used to it.

"What are you now?"

Stiles replies awkwardly, "Better." And then Liam faces me once again. "And you, Riley?"

"The only person in the room not directly connected to any supernatural thing," I reply simply. "Well, except that my cousin is Scott, but that doesn't really change things. As of now, I've just been told by everyone to carry my bow and arrow just in case something happens," I end calmly but shoot my cousin and his best friend a look.

"Right, you did archery," Liam then mutters quite inaudibly. Then he tilts his head to the chains, asking, "Those for me?"

"No," says Malia. "They're for me." And for the second time, I see an actual inhuman thing happen in front of my eyes; Malia's very own eyes glow bright blue on command, and I try to mask my awe.

"How did you do that?" Liam asks nervously, his brows furrowed.

"You will learn," Scott reassures him. "But first, you need to get through the full moon."

"The moon's already out," Liam says, his temper evidently rising.

"And you're starting to feel something, aren't you?" states Scott knowingly.

"I feel like I'm surrounded by a bunch of psychotic nut jobs," Liam continues angrily, but everybody else stays calm. "You guys are out of your freaking minds! I don't know how you did that eye thing, and I don't care! I'm walking out the door right now, and if any of you try to stop me, I swear to God I'm gonna-"

Suddenly, he stops his yelling and places his hands on his head, groaning and leaning forward and looking like he's in pain.

"Liam, what's wrong?" I ask slowly, carefully taking a step forward.

"You don't hear that?"

I look to Scott for help and see him closing his eyes in concentration. They snap back open, and just then, the sound of cars arriving become louder by the second and I panic slightly, wondering why they're here.

"Did you tell someone about this?" Lydia asks, her arms folded over her chest.

"My friend, Mason," Liam answers with difficulty. Both Scott and I kneel down, me next to Liam and Scott in front of him, but I honestly have no idea what I should do and should be doing.

"Wait, Mason?" I ask and Liam nods furiously. "No wonder."

"You guys said it was a party," Liam defends, looking at me.

"So who did Mason invite?" Stiles says, looking out the window from his spot by the couch as the sound of people talking gets louder, too.

"Everyone," I state the obvious with a sigh.

Liam starts to lose control, scratching the floor and now having claws instead of normal hands. I've only ever seen them once from Scott, but it's very clear that they're not the usual hands anymore.

"The floors," Lydia's eyes widen at his actions, walking to him swiftly. "Get 'em of the floors!"

Liam lets out a loud growl, making me jump back a bit in surprise and for Lydia to stop abruptly.

"We need to get him to the boathouse!" yells Scott over the noise. He supports Liam and Kira quickly does the same. I look around, having nothing to do.

"What do we do with the people outside?" I say loudly.

"Find a way then come down to the boat house!" orders Scott, his voice fading as he and Kira walk away with Liam.

When they leave, it's now Malia who starts to lose control.

"Stiles," she says.

"Yeah?"

She too let's out a roar, her eyes glowing bright blue again. He realizes what is happening and makes her stand up to bring her away. "Basement now, now, now."

"What am I supposed to do with the hoard standing outside the door?" Lydia says, pointing to the entrance.

"Lydia, who throws the best party in Beacon Hills?" Stiles asks rhetorically.

"What?" says Lydia, shocked that he would actually ask that. "Me, obviously!"

Stiles and Malia both give a knowing look at Lydia and Stiles continues. "Okay, then throw a party. And who is actually friends with all those idiots?"

This time, the three turn to me, and I shoot them all a look. Okay, a few of them are obnoxious, but some aren't, like Mason and Liam- notice that I left out a certain couple that I still have suspicions about. Oh, and I don't know everyone out there yet, let alone be friends with them.

"There you go." Then Stiles drags the were-coyote out of the room, and Lydia groans, looking back and forth.

"Ugh, come with me," she demands, pulling me towards he door. I stumble in my shoes as I go after her and she immediately swings open the door.

I am met with the faces of a bunch of other freshmen, including Mason, Garrett, and Violet.

"Hey Riley," Mason waves and Garrett and Violet grin at me.

"Friends with the juniors, huh?" says Garrett, looking impressed.

"Nice," Violet smirks.

"So, uh, are we in the right place?" asks Mason politely.

"For the party?" Garrett adds slowly.

Lydia purses her lips for a moment, then says, "Absolutely."

The entire crowd whoops and cheers, automatically entering the lake house.

"I'll be in the boat house," I whisper to Lydia who nods swiftly and looks annoyed at the people, then I squish myself through the crowd as casually as I can to get down to Liam, Scott, and Kira. I make sure to bring my backpack, so I lift it up from the seat I left it on before exiting.

Luckily, when I leave the noise from inside the house, I spot the boat house outside right away and run as fast as I can towards it. When I come closer, I can already hear the pressured conversation between Scott and Kira, and Liam's growling as a werewolf right now.

"Tie his hands!" I hear my cousin instruct when I jog inside. My hair is now all messy and matches my slightly frightened look on my face because Liam is currently on top of Scott and trying to maim him. Kira looks around hopelessly and when I spot a paddle from a boat, I drop my bag on the ground beside me, then make a dash towards the paddle and grab it.

Before I can really think of my actions, I swing hard, aiming for my friend's head just as he lifts his hand. I do so and when I hit his head, he stops moving at once and falls to the ground.

Kira and Scott look at me in surprise and I say in panic, "Oh shit, I didn't kill him, right? Oh my god." Then in unison, we drop to the floor to examine Liam. My heart pounds loudly and rapidly as I wait for any of them to answer.

"No," Scott finally says, still breathless. "He's out cold."

I sigh in relief, changing my position on the floor and taking note that Liam is still breathing, quite heavily after all that happened a moment ago.

"I think Stiles is having better luck," Kira guesses.

We then drag him back to the post and wrap the chains around, tightening them much more. We make sure they're firm before moving backwards and sitting in silence as we observe him.

I have no words as we just watch Liam's now normal breathing as he sleeps. He looks so innocent and peaceful, making me wonder how he could really have anger issues and how he's going to get through this. Then again, Scott overcame this, and he's here to help Liam, so I think it won't be so bad.

"He looks so young," Kira observes.

"He is, he's only 15, Riley's age," says Scott solemnly.

"So what are we going to do about him?" I ask, looking at him sympathetically.

"We're gonna help him," Scott answers determinedly.

"What if he doesn't want our help?" Kira questions.

"He will."

Another deafening silence happens for quite some time, the only sound of our breathing heard in the silence- not even the faintest bit of the party music coming from the lake house can be heard from here.

"What?" Kira suddenly asks Scott who had been staring at her, breaking the silence.

"You hear the music from the house?"

"What are they playing?"

"Electronic," he replies with a grin.

"I wish they still played slow songs at parties," says Kira wistfully. "At my old school we used to have a few."

"Why do you like the slow ones?" Scott asks interestedly.

"I was always better at slow dancing."

Noticing that the conversation between only the two of them is getting more personal and intimate, I announce, "Yeah, um, I'll just go out for some fresh air." I don't think they paid full attention to what I said, but I'm sure they know that they have their privacy now.

I awkwardly leave the boat house, remembering to get my bag containing my bow and arrow, and then walk around aimlessly outside, kicking the leaves and stones on the ground.

Suddenly, a different music from the usual party ones plays; and it's coming from the boat house, not the actual house. It's a slow song.

I suspect they're dancing or he's saying something deep to Kira, and I feel extremely awkward already just thinking about it and just being in the vicinity.

A minute or two of me walking slightly further away passes, and I have this gut feeling because it becomes eerily quiet again. I look back the boat house and narrow my eyes as I look at it, and they widen when the glass window shatters and something jumps out of it. But it's not a something, it's a person, and it's not Scott- it's Liam.

I don't even have time to react as he charges towards me until he jumps, his hands on my shoulders and roughly pushing me down. The air is knocked out of me and I can't scream.

"L-Liam!" I exclaim, catching my breath. "Stop, listen to me!"

He just keeps on growling and baring his teeth, and I am hopeless as I stare into his now glowing yellow eyes. Then when I think that I am actually going to get hurt because he raises his hand to scratch me, I stick my hand out as a reflex to at least attempt to stop him.

And it works.

No, I do not have super strength or anything like that, but when I catch his wrist as he's about to scratch my face off, he stops his growling, and his face slowly goes back to normal for a moment.

"Liam," I repeat cautiously, still catching my breath and hand still on his wrist. He scrambles off of me and moves away, looking around in fear and confusion.

"Riley!" I then hear Scott shout, his footsteps sounding louder and louder. Liam then suddenly yells in pain, I think, but it's obviously because it's a full moon right now. While clutching his head again, he runs off further into the forest and I see his face transform once again as he has no control over it.

"Riley! Riley, did he hurt you?" Scott comes running towards me frantically.

"N-No," I say, adrenaline still pumping in my veins. "I'm alright."

"You got your bow?"

I look side to side and spot my maroon backpack lying by the trunk of a tree and I nod at Scott.

"Good. I'm gonna go look for Liam now. Ready your bow just in case he comes back or if you find him, alright? Remember, he'll heal anyways, but I hope you don't have to use it."

I just nod because I don't get the chance to answer since he bursts into a run and in a mere five seconds, he's out of sight and deeper into the thicket of trees.

I get up shakily but force my legs not to be that way, and pick up my bag, unzipping it and taking out my bow and sheath of arrows. It's amazing how they could fit in here, but I still have a hard time taking them out- even harder than when I first tried to fit them in here.

When I finally take them out, I leave the backpack there, not wanting to bring it around. I load the bow nervously and start walking. I have no idea what to expect if I have to shoot since I've only really done archery as a hobby. I'm quite alright with it during target practice, but in real life situations? Who knows.

I follow the way Scott passed in a much quicker pace, almost running. I'm honestly clueless at the moment.

And that's when I hear the familiar growling and struggling. My heart races again and I run with my bow at the ready and stop at the edge of a slope, only to see Scott trying to stop Liam from hurting him.

When I jog down, Scott gets the chance to sit up, but Liam pushes him onto the tree trunk in anger and madness.

"What did you do to me?" Liam demands him roughly.

"Liam, stop!" tries Scott.

"This is your fault! This is all your fault! This is your fault!"

In the spur of the moment, I release the arrow but in the last second, I direct it to the tree trunk above Scott's head. Luckily, it doesn't hit any of them, and their attention goes to me. Liam is still growling angrily though, and Scott is still trapped there.

"Liam, stop now!" I yell as strictly as I can while keeping my bow pointed at him, another arrow already loaded.

He quiets down and his face relaxes, but he's still not completely back to normal.

"I-I can't," he grumbles. "He did this to me!"

He just growls lowly and I already brace myself for the worst, but suddenly, something bright comes flying, hitting the trunk of the tree right next to my very own arrow. It explodes, causing a blinding light that makes me step back in surprise, wondering how that happened and who did that.

Liam shouts, getting up on his feet, slightly tripping for his eyes are closed and something with that weapon earlier affected him.

I watch in fear for him when he runs away yet again, but I have to make sure my cousin is okay, too. I turn back to him and he's alright, still sitting down. A look of realization and surprise comes over him as he stares off into the distance, and I swiftly follow his gaze.

Meters away from us, on top of a slope, stands a strong-looking man with graying hair, and a crossbow pointed at our direction. In a while he lowers it, and I get to see his unfamiliar face.

He then starts walking towards us casually, swinging his weapon side to side and Scott asks in awe, "How did you know?"

The man lends Scott a hand first, bringing him back on his feet then answers simply, "I got your text."

Scott smiles gratefully and happily at the older man, and I am left standing on the side, not knowing why is going on for the millionth time.

"Oh, Argent, this is my cousin, Riley," Scott introduces, still looking amazed that this man is here.

The man turns to me with a look of curiosity. "Chris Argent."

"Riley Bales," I repeat, hesitantly taking a step closer.

"Where did you learn to use that?" he questions, eyeing my bow and arrow.

"Oh, uh, just a few archery classes as a hobby," I explain, looking down at it as well.

"Hmm." the man nods. "You've got potential. Keep it up."

Argent said it neutrally so I don't know whether to thank him or not.

"Now," Argent continues seriously and speaking to the both of us, beginning to walk, so I have no choice but to follow him and Scott. "There's a clearing just north from here." He starts giving Scott directions and instructions, and to be honest, my cousin looks quite lost.

"What are you gonna do?" he asks Argent.

"He's your beta, Scott," he replies knowingly. "The better question is: what are you gonna do?"

Scott sighs disappointedly. "He won't listen to me."

He and Argent seem to have a connection, almost like a father-son kind of thing, so I take a few steps away to give them space.

"He will if you start using your own words," I hear Argent advise.

At that exact moment, a yell comes out from somewhere in the forest, and we all know it's Liam. I instinctively begin pacing forward already, not bothering to look behind me. Liam lets out another painful scream and I try to find where he is, but it's difficult since I'm not a werewolf and don't have these abilities like the others do.

I then sprint as fast as I can with the energy I have left, simultaneously loading my bow again. I ready it for the second time tonight as I run, and with the adrenaline of the situation, I don't feel as scared to be in the woods at night.

Shockingly, I actually find a clearing with Liam in it. Odd and unfamiliar objects lie around him, also emitting a bright light, but he's still groaning and yelling, and I don't know why.

I make my towards him swiftly, dropping my weapon on the side as I think that there's no real need for it- Liam seems too vulnerable right now, anyways.

"Liam," I call out in concern and he looks up, breathing heavily as he tries to block whatever he's hearing with his hands. "It's okay- you're okay."

"I'm not..." he manages to get out. As he continues holding his head, crouched in the middle of the clearing, I approach him even more until I'm right next to him. I carefully put a hand on his shoulder and he winces when I do, startling me as well, but I mask it and kneel down with him. He finally relaxes, his screams put to an end.

"What's happening to me?" he then asks me hopelessly, looking to me for an answer- I notice that his eyes are back to its normal blue, and that is a good sign, at least. When I hear the sound of crunching leaves, he and I look up to see Scott cautiously coming closer, and I look to him for help again.

"The same thing that happened to me," Scott replies honestly, looking down at the poor boy. Behind Scott, Argent has also caught up, watching the scene patiently and with no noise.

"They can't know about this," Liam's voice cracks, looking down. "My mom, my step-dad... I can't do this to them again."

I think we can all almost feel his pain right now. But then Scott voices what I want to ask. "What do you mean 'again'?"

"I got kicked out of school," he finally admits to us, practically on the verge of tears. "And I deserve it. The way they looked at me- when they saw what I did to that car..."

He trails off, not able to continue.

"Liam, it's okay," I tell him once again. My other hand finds its way to Liam's as a comforting gesture, and I am mildly surprised when he accepts it, holding it tightly as he cries, looking anywhere but at us.

"They can't see me like this," he then repeats, his body shaking from his crying. "Like... like..."

"Like a monster," Scott finishes for him, a knowing look on his face. Even though Liam does not reply, it's enough for me to know that that's what he meant.

Just then, Scott straightens himself up slowly, and I look at him in confusion.

"You're not a monster," says Scott, completely serious. "You're a werewolf. Like me."

→ → →

It's getting late at night, and we're still out in the woods. Argent decided to talk to Scott alone, and Scott told us that we can head back as soon as we want, which we should be doing already. Instead, we're just aimlessly strolling around by the lake, still covered by the trees, but we can see the boat house.

As we walk, I don't ask questions like "are you okay?" or anything like that, because if I were in his position, I actually wouldn't want to be asked that. It can get annoying.

We've been next to each other in a comfortable silence these past few minutes, and he finally speaks up, and I am thankful so I don't have to ask him how he's holding up or how he's doing.

"I don't want to tell any one else about all this," he suddenly tells me. "I'm afraid of how people will react."

"Like who?"

"Like my parents, Mason, my other friends... I'm afraid that they'll leave."

I don't know what to say at his confession, so I stay quiet.

"You wouldn't leave, right?"

I am taken aback by his question and halt. "Of course not," I say truthfully. "I'm still here, right?" he sends me a grateful smile before looking down at the ground thoughtfully. "I would never do that."

"Thank you," Liam then says with a sigh, stopping in his tracks as well.

"What?" I question, not if he said that because I told him I wouldn't leave.

"For what you just said. And the fact that you're still here."

I look at him, still puzzled, and wait for him to possibly continue.

"My other friends don't know about me being a werewolf, Scott and his friends are basically stuck with me, and I haven't even known you for a month and we all just found out what I can do, yet you're still... well, here."

I can't help but smile widely at Liam's words and how he was so genuine about it. "Like I said, I wouldn't leave," I repeat, folding my arms over my chest. "I'm here right now because I chose to be here and to help you."

It happened so suddenly but it wasn't a quick motion- he slowly puts his arms around me and engulfs me in a very safe and nice hug which I am a bit surprised at. Nevertheless, I unfold my arms and return the action right away.

"Thanks, Riley Bales," Liam says, voice muffled, and I can even feel his hot breath on my neck as he speaks.

"No problem, Liam Dunbar," I say almost teasingly, and I can practically feel him smile at that. For now, at least, things can be normal, and when they're not, we'll just find a way to solve it- hopefully, we wouldn't be using Scott's plans, because like Stiles said before, they suck.