RAINDROPS SPLATTER onto the windscreen of his car as Jason Young drives his two teenagers into the town of Beacon Hills. In the backseat, Erin and Evan gaze out of a window each, both slumped back into their seats with very little hope that this will be a good place for them. Ever since they had been small children they had never truly gotten to know anywhere their feet had touched. As soon as it seemed like they could begin to like a place, they were moved onto the next. Home had never been a place, it had simply been each other.

Their fathers job as an investigative journalist meant that he went wherever the next story took him. It also meant barley any friends or meaningful relationships. It affected both the Young siblings in very different ways. For Evan it meant retreating into himself: depression, anxiety. A sad boy who often found himself a target at every new school they went to. For Erin it meant striving for nothing but the best. So much so that each new school they went to she would work vigorously to catch up and be on top, sometimes to the point that the stress made her sick.

Of course, Jason himself was too wrapped up in his work to notice that he was the main cause of his children's problems. He liked to think of himself as a good father, but it was simple delusion. He cared to a certain extent - tried to a certain extent - but he overlooked so many obvious issues that had brought his children a lot of heartache that could have been avoided by a simple conversation or understanding embrace.

He was never meant to be a family man. He'd had kids under the illusion that his wife would be a full-time stay-at-home mom while he focused on his budding journalism career. And she was just that— the most amazing mother either of them could ever wish for. With a heart so full of love that when she died, it felt like part of them did too. Neither had ever been the same since.

"It's just up here on the left. Pretty nice street, huh?" Their father looks in the rear view mirror at them both as he speaks, but he's met only with a hesitant smile from Evan.

"Oh, come on! It's better than the last place, anyway." Jason states with a laugh, which earns him an eye roll from Erin. The last place had been a studio apartment in downtown New York. The crammed space wasn't that hard to beat. At least here they would all have their own rooms for a little while.

"Yeah, dad. I-It looks nice," replies Evan, whose voice sounds full of sadness even when he's saying something positive.

"Really?" Erin leans forward and glances out the window onto the dimly lit street, perfectly curled blonde locks being tucked behind her ear. "I don't know about that. After a while they all just start to look the same. Should I even bother unpacking or will we be fleeing off to the next place in a weeks time?"

Evan turns to his sister and gives her a disapproving look, as if to tell her to stop being so hard on their father, but of course she ignores it. Evan was the type of boy to be kind to even those that had wronged him, while Erin pushed away even the people she wanted close. In fact, she pushed anyone away who wasn't her older brother. She thought it better to not create bonds if she was only going to have to leave them behind anyway. It had made many of her teenage years very lonely. She was just better at hiding it than Evan was.

"I told you, sweetheart, I've put down a deposit and paid six months rent upfront. There's something big going on in this town, I can feel it. And we're not leaving until I get to the bottom of it."  Their father seems certain, but it wouldn't be the first time he'd been wrong about a hunch of his. Erin simply won't believe it until enough time passes by.

"If you say so," hums the blonde, folding her arms across her chest as she sinks backwards once again. As she does, she glares at her brother for a brief moment before her expression softens. To the world she was a bitch. Too closed-off. But to Evan she was a lifeline; his fiercest protector. For Evan, Erin would burn the whole world down a million times over.

They pull into the driveway and their father switches off the engine before turning to look at them, an excited glint in his eye. It's a glint that makes his children slightly nervous. "You ready?"

"As we'll ever be," chimes Erin, almost sounding sweet. She nudges her older brother, gesturing for him to get out of the car just before she does so herself. A heavy sigh falls from perfectly pink lips as she holds onto the car door for a moment as she glances up at the house she hopes they can call home for a little while.

The car door slams shut as she steps away from the vehicle and takes a hesitant step closer as her dad and Evan begin to grab some of their belongings from the back of the car. As she turns to go and help she pauses, noticing the police car that drives towards the house next door.

With careful eyes she watches on, noticing the older male in uniform step out of the car, shortly followed by a tall, skinny boy who seems to be watching her too.

"Uh, hey there. Are you moving in?" The older man asks, causing Erin's father to dump the remainder of the bags with Evan, who struggles to keep them all within his grip.

"Not for long," mumbles Erin with a straight face, no sign of emotion big or small. But her tone says it all.

Jason tuts, quickly making his way over with a big, fake grin plastered on his face as he moves Erin slightly to the side. "Hello there. Yes— yes we are. Am I to assume you're our new neighbours?"

The stranger furrows his brows and nods slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, it looks that way. I'm Noah and this is my son, Stiles."

Stiles, she thinks to herself, nose scrunching as she takes in his appearance. What kind of name is Stiles?

"Hey!" The boy beams with an awkward smile, a single wave given that Erin blanks while Evan, of course, tries to return it despite the fact that his hands are full. Erin notices and quickly makes her way over to help, slinging her own bags over her shoulder with ease.

"Well it's good to meet you both. I'm Jason. This is my daughter Erin and uh, this is my boy Evan." He almost sounds proud as he says it, and for a second they almost feel like a normal family. But they never will be, not really. They haven't been complete in many years.

Stiles makes his way over to the two teenagers as the elders males engage in boring, adult conversation. Evan smiles brightly while Erin does everything that she can to avoid any interaction at all. She doesn't mean to be so cold, it's simply the way she's learned to cope. A way to protect herself.

"So, uh... will you guys be going to Beacon Hills high school?" He questions, polite enough to attempt a conversation.

Stiles doesn't see it, but Evan takes a deep breath, trying to conceal shaky hands as he prepares to reply. He's not so used to people being nice. Most people notice his sensitivity right away and use it against him. "I think so. Uh, dad kinda has us moving around a lot so it just— it depends on how long we're here for."

"Oh, really?" Stiles is curious, eyes trying to focus on the boy who is actually speaking to him, but they can't help but to wander towards the girl who is seemingly in a world of her own. "Why d'you guys move around so much?"

With the question, he finally gets Erin's attention, but not in a good way. If looks could kill he'd be dead on the spot. "How about you mind your own business?" It's more of a demand than a suggestion. Quickly she grabs a few of the bags from Evan'a grip and makes her way towards the house.

"Uh.. okay then. Sorry I asked," Stiles calls after her lowly, letting out breathy laugh. Of course, she once again ignores him.

"I-I'm sorry about her, uh she's ... she's not really a people person." Evan can't help but to apologize on his sisters behalf, his heart sinking a little as he watches her go. He wishes she would allow people to see her for the person that she really is, the person he knows and loves like no other. He wishes she weren't so afraid to connect.

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm used to girls not wanting to talk to me." As Stiles replies the two boys share a quiet chuckle, much to Erin's annoyance. It had been a brief few minutes, but she can already tell that the boy next door was going to cause her problems.

Finally out of earshot from their conversation she makes her way up the stairs and examines all of the rooms on offer, finally deciding on the last room on the left, seen as it's the biggest of them all. She knows that Evan won't mind and simply doesn't care if he father does or not.

Bags are carefully placed onto the floor and she slowly turns to take in the plain room with boring magenta walls and a double bed placed in the centre. In her mind she pictures it how she would like it, but she knows not to be too hopeful for the chance at being able to redecorate.

Clean, white converse pad across the floor as she strolls over to the bed and sits down at the edge, letting her body fall backwards as a huff escapes her mouth. Blinking, she stares up at the ceiling and listens as her brother and father finally enter the house, saying their goodbyes to the neighbours next door.

Her mind can't help but to wander to what it would be like if her mother was here right now. Erin knows that she would love a home like this, one she could fix-up and breathe life back into. But she pushes the thoughts away and buries them deep before a single tear can from in the ducts of her eyes. With a slight sniffle she sits up and fixes herself, refusing to break. Despite being the younger of the two, Erin had seemingly always been the stronger one. But sometimes the pretence was a lot to keep up.

"Erin, come down here! I'm gonna order some food." As her fathers voice booms from below she can't help but to cringe. It was always like this in the first few days anywhere new. It would always seem like he was so excited, like maybe they'd finally come together and build some kind of life. But it was always short lived and she knew that within a matter of days he'd be snapping with stress and they'd all be walking on eggshells.

"I'll be down a second," she tells him as she stands to her feet and pats down the navy jumper that covers her top half.

It's only when she takes a few steps forward that she notices the boy next door in the window across the way, taking off the red plaid shirt that he wore and setting it down on his own bed. He turns, a nervous smile forming when he notices her.

Great, she thinks to herself— his room is right across from hers. This can be good. He seems too eager to engage and she doesn't like it. She'd never admit it, but it makes her nervous. She prefers when people fall for the cold act instantly and leave her in a miserable peace.

Stiles Stilinski waves at her for the second time that night, and despite some normal-teen part of her wanting to wave back, she refrains.

She fakes a smile of her own and walks toward the window, reaching for the curtains that are pulled apart. Her smile drops and she tilts her head before she pulls the curtains shut, blocking out any view he has into her bedroom.

An unsteady breath is released as she shakes her head and makes her way downstairs to her broken family.

She can't help but to think that this Stiles will be a massive pain in her ass.

She really has no idea just how much he's going to impact her life; how much she's going to impact his.