Tessa sat on the couch in the sheriff's office listening to Stiles and his dad. "I know his family left town around the time Theo was nine or ten. His older sister died in an accident when he was eight."
The sheriff let out a sigh. "Please go to school."
"Dad, this kid's a werewolf."
"Your best friends are a werewolf and a demigod. You are dating a werecoyote. I still don't know what Kira's supposed to be. When the flying monkeys come soaring through this station, you will have my undivided attention. Until then, just go to school."
Tessa chuckled. "This isn't The Wizard of Oz. Stiles, why can't you just accept the fact that Theo returned to Beacon Hills to go to school?"
Stiles shot her a look. "Because something isn't right!"
Sheriff Stilinksi sighed and Stiles glanced to his dad, confusion on his face. "What did you do?"
"What?" he asked, glancing down at his uniform and back up. "What do you mean, "What did I do?"?"
"There's something different about you."
"What are you talking about?"
Stiles began sniffing his dad like a dog. "What is it? What's different?"
Tessa pulled him back. "Stop being weird. We need get to school."
The sheriff let out a groan. "For the love of God, Stiles, just go to school. Your friend is right."
Stiles pointed to his dad. "I will go if you promise to do a full background check of the Raekens."
"No. You know what? Just because I'm the only law enforcement officer who knows anything about this, does not make it my responsibility to do something every single time you have a minor suspicion."
Parrish entered the room. "And he's not the only one."
Stiles turned to Parrish. "Could you do a background check on the Raekens?"
Parrish nodded and smiled.
The sheriff frowned. "Parrish!"
On their way to school, Stiles glanced to Tessa. "How come you don't believe that something is off with Theo?"
"Because not everything has to be supernatural related."
"Tess, come on. Do you really believe that?"
"Yes."
"Speeding ticket signed by Theo's dad eight years ago."
"Okay. Implying what, exactly?"
"Who speeds?"
"Almost everyone. How many tickets do you have?"
He smirked. "None."
"And how many tickets would you have if your dad didn't bail you out?"
"Seventeen."
"Point taken."
The two got to the school and walked to the front doors.
Stiles and Tessa shared a look as Malia walked over. "Want me to torture him?"
Stiles frowned at her. "We've talked about this. What have I said?"
"To not do it? Do you two want me to torture him?"
Stiles shook his head. "No, I don't want you to torture him. Tessa can speak for herself."
Malia crossed her arms, looking between the two of them. "I'm pretty sure I can take him. Tessa definitely can; powers or not."
Tessa shook her head. "Theo is just Theo. There's nothing off with him."
Stiles met her eyes. "Do you really believe that, Tess?"
She glared at him. "Yes!"
"We should wait to see why he's here. Have a plan, all right? There are steps to doing this right."
"What steps?" Malia asked.
"We get the story. Verify the facts. Find the piece that doesn't fit and... and catch him in the act."
A van pulled up in front of the school and Theo stepped out and waved goodbye to whoever dropped him off. He turned to face the school and saw them, giving a smile and wave. Stiles glared at him while Tessa waved and Malia questioned, "Why are you so suspicious of this guy?"
Stiles glanced to her. "Because I remember Theo from fourth grade. Okay? That's not Theo."
Tessa sighed. "He probably grew up."
"You're impossible."
They made their way to class and Tessa made her way to AP Bio.
The demigoddess sat next to Lydia and Scott walked in. She looked at him in surprise as he found a seat. She didn't think he was serious about taking AP Bio. "Scott?" Mrs. Finch asked. "Are you in the right class?"
Scott nodded as he looked up at Mrs. Finch. "AP Biology."
"Do you know what AP stands for?"
"Advanced Placement."
Mrs. Finch smiled. "Welcome to AP Biology." She turned to the class. "Let's see who's awake. Can somebody tell me what plasmids are?"
Lydia raised her hand and said, "Circular, self-replicating DNA molecules often used in cloning proteins."
"Nicely stated, Lydia," Mrs. Finch replied with a nod. "Now, can you tell me what vitamin is absorbed in the stomach via parietal cell production of a glycoprotein?"
"Uh..." Lydia hesitated.
"B-12," Tessa answered.
Mrs. Finch nodded. "Good job, Miss Moore. Mr. McCall, did you know the answer?"
Scott shook his head. "Um, no."
"It's a common test question. What's your number one college pick?"
"Um..."
"Stop saying, "Um.""
"Sorry," Scott apologized. "UC Davis."
"Good choice. It's the best school on the West Coast for biological and physical sciences. You're in the right class if that's what you're hoping for. Who else thinks they're in the right class?" Everyone else's hands rose up. "Good. Then you should be prepared for the test tomorrow."
The entire class let out a collective groan. Mrs. Finch gave a small smile. "Don't be so disappointed. This test is specifically to help you determine whether you should actually be in AP Biology. You have two weeks to drop. Tomorrow's test will just weed out the ones who shouldn't be here. And that could be any of you."
As soon as the bell rang, Stiles grabbed Tessa's wrist. "Let's go."
"I have a free period. I'd like to use it to study," Tessa retorted. "Let go of me."
"You can study later. Come on."
"I've got free period," Scott said.
Stiles rolled his eyes. "So do I. So does Tessa. And so does Theo Raeken. Let's go."
They looked around for Theo and noticed him sitting underneath a tree listening to music. Stiles walked up to him. Tessa tried to pull him back, but he shrugged her off. Stiles got Theo to follow them into the locker room and as soon as he was sure it was clear, he started interrogating Theo.
Theo leaned against the lockers as he said, "I was skating in an empty neighbor's pool, trying to do a hand-plant. Nobody was home. I'm not that good of a skateboarder, but I guess I was feeling pretty determined, because I completely lost track of time. I didn't realize that it was night until the yard lights came on. Like I said, I wasn't very good. On my last try, I went down hard. Really hard. I was sitting there at the bottom of the pool and then I realized something. I never heard the board come back down. It came at me fast. I barely had the chance to turn around before it bit me. Right here." He lifted his shirt up and pointed to the right side of his waist.
Scott was silent for a moment. "It wasn't an accident. He wanted to turn you."
Stiles crossed his arms. "Right. So why aren't you a part of his pack then?"
Theo sighed. "Because by the time of my first full moon, he was dead."
Stiles narrowed his eyes. "How do you know?"
"I met another one of his pack a couple weeks later. He told me the alpha that bit me was killed by two of his own betas. They were twins."
"Twins, huh? Did they form into a giant wolf?"
Theo looked at Stiles a moment, smiled at Tessa, and turned back to Scott. "Scott, listen to my pulse. I'm telling the truth."
Stiles stood straighter. "Right. Or you just know how to steady your heart rate while you're lying your ass off."
"Why would I lie?"
Stiles frowned. "Because maybe you're not who you say you are."
Theo let out an irritated sigh. "Okay. In the fourth grade, Scott, you had an inhaler, I had one too. I remember this day where I ended up in the nurse's office with an asthma attack. A really bad one. I was waiting to be taken to the ER for asthma. How they give you oxygen, and an IV of prednisone. You made it sound so easy. Like everything would be okay. I've been by myself this whole time. Everybody knows that lone wolves, they don't make it on their own. I swear I'm that same kid from the fourth grade. I was hoping you are too."
The bell rang and Theo smiled. "I better not be late for class. You're not the only ones I need to make a good impression on."
Scott offered him a smile while Stiles pursed his lips. Tessa smiled and waved. Scott made a face at Stiles, who frowned and said, "No. Don't give me that look."
"We have to give people the benefit of the doubt sometimes," Scott told his friend.
Stiles let out a sigh. "Not this time, all right? There's something off about him. I can feel it. Tessa's annoyingly arguing against me."
Scott smirked. "Lydia is the psychic. Not you or Tessa."
Tessa shook her head. "Banshee, Scott. Thank the gods I can't sense death. And Stiles, I'll accuse Theo when there's concrete evidence against him."
Later that afternoon, Kira, Malia and Tessa were waiting for the boys. When they showed, Kira asked, "So you actually found something?"
Stiles nodded as he waved papers in front of her face. "Another signature." He placed the papers on the table so everyone could see and pointed to the paper on the left. "This is Theo's dad's signature from a speeding ticket eight years ago." He pointed to the paper on the left. "And this is his dad's signature on a transfer form to Beacon Hills High School from just a few days ago."
Tessa frowned at him. "For Zeus' sake, tell me you didn't break into the Administration Office."
He met her eyes. "No, I did not break into the Administration Office." The group gave him a look since he was obviously lying. He let out a defeated sigh. "Okay, I might have broken into the Administration Office. Can we just focus on the signatures please?" His hands moved around spastically. "They're different."
Scott studied them and said, "They're sort of different."
Tessa shrugged, seeing that they looked different but refused to give Stiles the satisfaction that he was right.
Stiles frowned at Scott. "They're completely different. Come on. Look! The garlands don't match the undulations of the sinuous stroke are totally off. And look. Look at this. Perfect example of the Criminal Tremor."
Kira frowned. "So now, Theo is Theo, but his parents aren't his parents?"
Stiles let out a frustrated sigh. "Someone's not someone. And when I figure out who that someone really is, someone's in big trouble." He frowned at his words and gave a sharp nod.
"But no one's done anything wrong," Scott replied.
"Yet. If Theo's parents are both psychotic killers, then obviously we should not trust him, right?"
Malia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "My parents are Peter and the Desert Wolf."
Tessa pursed her lips. "My mother is the goddess of wisdom and my father is..."
Stiles gave her a blank look. "Okay... it's fine. You know what? I'll figure this out myself. I don't need you, you, you." He pointed to everyone and looked at Tessa sadly, disappointed she didn't believe him.
He pulled Tessa with him and she said, "How about Liam? He's a werewolf."
Stiles nodded. "Good idea, Tess."
They enlisted in Liam's help and while Stiles' drove, Liam asked, "What's a Criminal Tremor?"
Stiles let out a sigh. "It doesn't matter."
Liam frowned and Tessa swatted Stiles' head. "I'll check for you." She looked it up for him and handed him the phone. "There you go."
He smiled. "Thanks."
She gave him a nod and Stiles stopped the Jeep.
The trio quietly followed Theo through the woods and watched him grab something from his trunk before continuing on foot. "I told you two he was up to something."
Liam looked up at Stiles and frowned. "We just spent three hours watching this dude play video games in his bedroom. He better be out here covering up a mass murder."
Tessa narrowed her eyes at Stiles. "Well, we're here. Liam, have you caught his scent?"
He shook his head. "Don't need it."
Liam froze and Stiles turned. "What? What's wrong?"
"I forgot I was supposed to meet Mason at the school gym."
Stiles nodded slowly. "Okay, why didn't you just tell him?"
"Tell him what?"
"Anything."
"I can't just tell him everything."
"Why not?"
He let out a sigh. "Because I haven't... I haven't told him everything."
Tessa frowned. "We told you it was all right."
Liam looked at her. "It's a lot to accept."
Stiles nodded. "He watched my dad blow up a Berserker with a landmine. I think the groundwork's been pretty thoroughly laid for acceptance. Scott, Tessa and I have been through this. Okay? More than once. It's always better when they know."
Liam glanced between them. "But what if he freaks out? What if he doesn't want to talk to me? What if he tries to stab me with something silver? Or what if-" He was cut off and Tessa heard a loud thud and Liam was nowhere in sight.
She slowly walked to a hole and found Liam inside. Stiles frowned at him. "What the hell are you doing?"
Tessa glanced at Stiles. "This doesn't seem purposeful. Are you okay?"
Liam frowned. "I..."
Stiles rolled his eyes and pointed at Theo. "There he is. Hurry up! Stop screwing around."
She silently followed them, rolling her eyes at Stiles' words.
Stiles glanced to the beta. "Liam, try and get his scent." After a few moments, he said, "Get anything?"
"Soap," Liam answered. "It's nice. It smells good."
Stiles glared at him. "Not his soap, his emotional state. Chemosignals, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. Okay," Liam said, taking a moment to focus. "I... He's sad."
Tessa frowned. "He's sad?"
"Well, not just sad... It's more like grief."
"Grief?" Stiles inquired.
Tessa looked at the ground, understanding the feeling of grief; especially as of late.
Theo dropped a lily into the water. Stiles' eyes widened. "Oh, my God! Go! We have to go."
Tessa nodded. "That would've been smart three hours ago."
Their pace increased as they headed back to the Jeep and Liam glanced to Stiles. "That doesn't seem evil."
Stiles let out a sigh. "I know."
Theo looked down at them. "What are you doing here?" Stiles instantly stood in front of Tessa.
Tessa glared at Stiles as Liam growled. Theo raised his hands. "Whoa. Why do I get the feeling this kid's tougher than he looks. And why do I feel like your girlfriend won't hesitate to hurt me with that knife? What is that made of? I've never seen that material before."
"Only when we let him off his leash," Stiles replied. "She's not my girlfriend."
Tessa moved next to Stiles. "I'm sorry he's still an idiot. The material of my dagger doesn't matter."
Theo smiled at her with a hint of flirtation and Stiles glared at him.
"Stiles, we were in Little League together. Why are you so suspicious of me?" Theo asked.
Stiles let out a sigh as he pulled the papers from his pocket. "Because of these." He gave them to Theo. "One's a speeding ticket signed by your dad eight years ago. The other one's a signature on a transfer form to Beacon High. They're different."
"Huh. Yeah, they do look a little different."
Tessa rolled her eyes. "Oh my gods, Stiles. Drop it."
Stiles nodded. "Signed by two different people."
Theo let out a soft laugh. "So my dad's not my dad? Like he's an imposter?"
Liam nodded and moved closer to Theo. "Yeah, something like that."
Theo folded the papers as he asked, "Who do you think I am?"
Stiles shook his head. "We don't know yet."
"Want me to give you a DNA sample or something?"
Tessa shook her head. "That won't do any good."
Theo glared at Stiles. "You know Stiles, I came back here for Scott... but I also came back for you and Tessa. Someone like you two. People who are willing to walk into the woods in the middle of the night to protect their friends. I don't have anyone like that, but Scott does. You all do. I know I'm in the right place. I'm meant to be here. I'm meant to be part of this pack."
As Stiles and Liam walked away, Theo grabbed Tessa's arm. "You don't believe your friend, right?"
Tessa shook her head. "No, it's just Stiles being Stiles."
"Stiles being Stiles. Yeah, that's a familiar tune. I saw the way you two looked at each other. Are you in love with him?"
She scoffed. "Love? No way. But... I don't know. Maybe there's something. Or maybe I'm imagining things."
Theo glanced at Stiles who was walking over. "No, I don't think you are."
Stiles glared at Theo. "You stay away from her. Tess, come on."
The blonde followed Stiles as Scott drove up on his motorcycle. "Find anything?"
Tessa shook her head. "No. Stiles, as usual, was being a suspicious idiot."
Liam smiled a little. "I fell in a hole."
Scott smiled slightly and took his spot in the passenger's seat. He turned to Stiles. "It was the bridge where his sister died, wasn't it?"
Stiles nodded and started fiddling with his keys. "Yes it was. Very embarrassing. So we are gonna leave now." He stuck the keys into the ignition and the engine sputtered and died. "Son of a... Liam, just do me a favor. Get in the car and turn the ignition when I say." He stepped out of the car and lifted the hood. Tessa followed him out and noticed an absurd amount of duct tape.
He fiddled with his engine again and Scott called out his name. "Stiles."
Stiles continued looking at his engine and twisted something. "Be with you in a sec."
After a moment, he said to Liam, "Try it."
The purring of the engine caught her attention, and she patted Stiles' shoulder.
"Stiles," Scott called again.
Tessa could see Stiles growing more and more agitated. "Yes. Okay, we followed him out here. What do you want me to say? That I'm a stalker, huh? That I'm completely crazy, totally paranoid? None of this is new information. And I wish Tessa believed me."
Scott let out a sigh. "Now you're gonna try to at least give me the benefit of the doubt?"
Stiles ignored his friend and turned back to his Jeep. "I give people the benefit of the doubt. I've given a lot of benefit to a lot of people."
"Like Derek? Kira?"
"I was talking about Peter."
Tessa glanced at Liam. "Try once more." The engine sputtered once again.
Stiles frowned. "You know, I bet you still think that there's something about him that can't be saved."
Scott shrugged. "Maybe."
Stiles sighed and yelled to Liam, "Try it again!"
The engine sputtered yet again and stopped. Scott looked to his friend. "Why can't you trust anyone?"
"Because you trust everyone!" Stiles screamed, hitting his Jeep.
Tessa looked a Stiles worriedly and he caught her gaze. "I'm okay, Tess."
Scott took his hand. "You could have broken it."
Stiles lifted his hand slightly. "It's not broken."
It wasn't broken, but it was swollen to twice its normal size, and he was barely moving it.
"Stiles," Tessa called.
He turned away and Scott moved closer to his friend. "Let me see it."
Stiles automatically stepped back. "I'm fine."
"Let me see it," Scott said again.
Stiles let Scott see his hand and the latter placed his hands on either side of Stiles' hand. Black veins crawled up Scott's arm and Tessa watched as Stiles visibly relaxed. As soon as Scott took his hands away, Stiles wiggled his fingers.
The engine eventually started and didn't die on them.