Rrrrriiiinggg!!
The school bell rang at Mystic Hills High, sending students rushing out of the classrooms with excitement, all heading toward one destination—
the American football field.
American football was the talk of the students, especially with the start of a new school year…
a new season full of opportunities.
Opportunities for fame…
to enter the spotlight…
and most importantly—new chances to attract girls.
Because… simply, that was all that occupied the minds of high school teenagers.
"Stiles, wait up!!"
Scott shouted, running after his enthusiastic friend.
"Come on, Scott! This is our chance to join the team and become starting players!!"
Stiles said quickly, then added:
"Or at least… existing players!"
Jeremy Gilbert ran alongside them, slightly late, his eyes half-open as if barely awake.
"I swear I don't know why I'm doing this…" he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
"I can barely stand up straight…"
Scott looked at him worriedly:
"Jeremy… did you take something again?"
Jeremy smiled with a slight sarcasm:
"Maybe… just something to… deal with this place."
Scott sighed, while Stiles wasn't listening at all.
"Is he always like this?" Jeremy asked tiredly, looking at the excited Stiles.
Scott sighed and said:
"No… only at the beginning of each year… and after coffee… and before it… and during anything related to Lydia."
Stiles rushed toward Coach Bobby Finstock.
He reached him, panting, opening his mouth to speak—
"No, Stilinski. You're not on the team."
Coach said it immediately without raising his eyes.
"What?! Come on, Coach, that's not fair!!"
Coach Bobby slowly raised his head:
"You're a bad player, and all you'll do is fall on your butt."
"What? I trained all summer!!"
Then he whispered: "Well… most of the summer."
"No. It won't happen."
Suddenly, Stiles fell to his knees and grabbed the coach's shirt:
"Please!! This is my chance to impress Lydia!! This is my chance to be someone important!!"
Jeremy looked shocked at Stiles and then at Scott.
Scott looked away coldly and said:
"I… don't know this person."
"Stilinski!! Let go of my shirt now!!"
"No!! I'll be in the starting lineup!!
Or at least… the bench!! The bench is great!!"
The coach sighed, then smiled a dangerous smile:
"Alright… you want to play? We'll do it your way."
He blew his whistle loudly.
"The offense, line up!! And the defense too!!"
Then he pointed at Stiles:
"Stilinski! You… in the back. Safety position. Try to stop any player who gets through."
Then he looked at Jeremy:
"And you… I don't even know why you're here, but move!!"
"Oh crap, I've been dragged into chaos," Jeremy muttered, then moved behind Stiles reluctantly.
"Okay… how do we do this?" Jeremy whispered to Stiles as he stood with him on the safety line.
"I don't know… just wave your arms and shout!" Stiles said.
"Beep!!"
The play started.
Matt Donovan moved first—
passed easily…
got past everyone…
and reached—
Stiles.
Collision.
Stiles immediately fell.
Then Jeremy tried to intervene—
and fell too.
"Hahaha!!"
Jackson Whittemore laughed mockingly.
Jeremy stood up, angry.
"Damn it!"
Someone pushed him hard—
it was Tyler Lockwood.
"Go back to your spot, weakling."
"Get away from me!!" Jeremy shouted and pushed him.
Tyler responded with a stronger shove.
And in a moment—
a fight broke out.
"Stop!!"
The coach shouted.
But Jeremy was too angry.
"I said back off!!"
Other players intervened to separate them.
In the stands—
Elena sat next to Caroline, Bonnie, Lydia, and Allison.
"That's my brother…" Elena said embarrassed.
"He looks like he's on something," Bonnie said calmly.
"He really is…" Elena muttered.
Lydia chewed her gum coldly:
"Pathetic."
Allison looked concerned:
"Is this… normal here?"
Caroline said excitedly:
"Welcome to Mystic Hills!"
Down below—
Gilbert and Stilinski!! Your performance was pathetic!! Retry the play again!! And Gilbert! Any other attempt at a fight and you'll stay on the bench all season!!"
"Yes, Coach!" Stiles shouted happily at getting another chance.
Jeremy muttered angrily to himself but did not speak.
Beep!!
The coach's whistle blew, "Now move!!"
The players rushed again to the end zone.
Stiles swallowed and lowered his body while Jeremy focused, especially on Tyler.
"Ah!!"
Stiles and Jeremy groaned as they lay on their backs on the grass.
"Hahaha!! Look at Gilbert, he looks like he got hit by a truck!!"
Tyler Lockwood laughed arrogantly after knocking them down easily.
"I've had enough!! I'll smash his face!!"
Jeremy said angrily as he got up to rush at him.
"Wait, wait!! Calm down, man, it's just a game!!"
Said Danny, the main safety player of the team, trying to hold him.
"Leave me!!" Jeremy shouted angrily while some players rushed to stop him.
"Breeeet!!"
The coach blew his whistle loudly.
"Gilbert!! To the bench, now!!"
Jeremy glared at Tyler, then threw his helmet:
"This sport is stupid anyway!!"
And he left the field entirely.
Allison said to Elena from the stands,
"Your brother doesn't seem to be doing well."
Elena sighed:
"Yes… he always gets nervous when under everyone's eyes."
Lydia chewed her gum coldly:
"Or maybe he's just bad at sports."
Elena got annoyed and replied:
"Or maybe your dumb cousin is the problem."
Lydia smiled sarcastically:
"Dear… you can do better than that."
Alison raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "A cousin? You mean Lydia is related to Tyler?".
Lydia answered her new friend's question nonchalantly, saying, "Yes, Tyler Lockwood is my cousin on my mother's side. In fact, his mother and my mother are twin sisters."
Alison nodded slowly, taking the information into account.
"Breeeet!! McCall!! Be useful for once in your life and play as Safety!! And you're against the whole team!!"
Said the coach.
Scott froze.
"What?!"
"You heard me!! Last line of defense!! If anyone gets past… you'll spend the whole season on the sidelines!!"
The entire offense lined up.
Jackson smiled mockingly:
"Oh… this will be fun."
"Go!!"
The coach blew the whistle.
Matt Donovan rushed first.
Scott focused—
and suddenly…
the world slowed down.
Every move… every breath… every step—
was clear.
"Haaah!!"
Matt rushed forward.
Scott moved.
Collided with him.
Matt flew and fell hard on his back.
"What?!"
Jackson was shocked.
Everyone was silent.
"Yes!!"
Stiles shouted from the bench.
"Again!!"
The coach yelled.
Another player rushed—
Scott stopped him easily.
Then another—
fell.
Then another—
no one got through.
Caroline: "Wow… who is that boy?"
Bonnie: "Unbelievable, he stopped both the offense and defense of the whole team."
Lydia looked stunned and didn't speak.
Elena hesitated, then said, "I think that's Scott McCall, Jeremy's friend."
Bonnie raised an eyebrow and said, "That boy is your brother's friend?"
Elena nodded and said, "Yes, he and another boy, I think his name was… Stiles? Yes, they've been friends with Jeremy for three years and stayed with him for a whole week after our parents died."
Caroline's expression turned gloomy when she heard Elena mention Stiles's name, and memories of what happened six years ago came flooding back.
Everyone fell silent for a moment, then Caroline said, "Wow, I didn't know Jeremy had such a great friend."
"Neither did I," Elena muttered.
Allison… was just looking at Scott with interest.
Finally—
Jackson stood in front of Scott.
Spinning the ball between his hands, angry.
The coach said:
"McCall!! Where did you come from?!
Listen—if you stop Jackson… you're in the starting lineup!!"
Scott froze, shouting with joy and shock:
"I… on the team?!"
"Whittemore!! Hit him!!"
The coach said, ignoring Scott.
Jackson rushed forward.
Tried to dodge—
spin—
push—
but Scott…
stopped him every time.
Jackson got angry and pushed him hard—
but Scott pushed harder—
Jackson flew two meters and fell on his back.
Silence.
Silence only covered the field.
"Yes!!! Let's go Scott!!"
Stiles screamed madly, jumped off his chair, then sat shyly when he saw many staring at him.
Elena's eyes widened in amazement.
Bonnie looked slightly shocked, Jackson being their best player.
Caroline laughed.
Allison smiled.
Lydia… was watching.
Scott removed his helmet.
Took a deep breath.
Looked at Jackson… then extended his hand.
"Are you okay?"
Jackson, angry, said:
"I don't need your pity, McCall!!"
And he stood up and left immediately.
"McCall!! Come here!!"
Scott went to the coach.
"What is this?! Magic?!"
"No, Coach, I just—"
"It doesn't matter!!"
The coach interrupted him.
Then he smiled:
"You're on the team."
"Really?!"
"Tomorrow, first real practice… don't disappoint me."
Scott smiled.
Jeremy watched with great shock on his face, Scott? His friend in the starting lineup?! What just happened…
"This amazing, Scott!, congrats!!".
Stiles' shouting cut through Jeremy's thoughts.
Stiles ran toward Scott quickly and jumped on his back with joy.
"Stiles! Get down, you'll make us fall!!
Impossible!."
[After School from Stiles Stilinski's POV].
I deliberately moved my feet as I jumped on a rock, causing water to fly in a very satisfying way, and I was laughing. I laughed loudly like a real hyena, and my voice echoed throughout the scattered forest.
"...And did you see Jackson's face?!" I asked for the sixth or seventh time. "Oh my God, he looked like he just gave birth to a hedgehog, in the buttocks position. That was amazing."
"I don't know what it was." Scott admitted, his eyes wandering through the wood.
"It was like I had all the time in the world to stop them all and take the ball from them."
I asked, biting my lower lip:
"You did that, right?"
"Yes, everything was moving so slowly, and that's not the only strange thing".
I asked, "Okay, what else?" His words aroused my curiosity completely.
"I hear things I shouldn't hear," he confessed while moving his feet slightly on the dead leaves.
"You mean like you smell things, like you did with Stefan?"
"Yes, like the body spray you use," he said jokingly.
"Shut up." I patted his hair and moved forward, thoughts swirling in my head.
In short, Scott's senses had increased unexpectedly, his reflexes and agility became like Superman, he sensed things I'd never heard of before. I had studied some interesting diseases online, none of which grant superpowers, no scientific explanation existed.
Scott had been bitten by a large animal, and he claimed it was a wolf, suffering from a strange set of symptoms, the common factor being the animal. I need to research to find out exactly what it was.
Maybe it's like a radioactive wolf? He escaped the compound and bit Scott, granting him wolf-like powers.
Should I call my friend the werewolf and call him a Batman-like copy? I mean, that would be perfect, Scott as the wolfman, and I as his clever wolfrobin assistant.
Scott kicked the leaves, trying to find his inhaler: "Maybe there's something wrong with me. What if it's just an infection? Like my body is flowing with adrenaline before entering a shock state or something?"
"I've already thought about that. But almost twenty-four hours have passed, no chance for shock now."
We were silent for a moment, confused about what had caused this.
Suddenly, a silly idea occurred to me, so I decided to tease Scott.
"You know? Maybe you're right. I think I've heard this before," I said standing tall, snapping my fingers as if I had just discovered it. "It's a specific type of infection."
"What? What's it called?" Scott blinked, his jaw slightly opening.
"Yes! Yes, I think it's called… the werewolf."
This caused another expression of mild confusion on Scott's face because it seemed plausible enough to be serious.
Scott was not a student of classic literature at all.
In fact, he barely studied modern literature.
He was barely even a student, his mind more occupied with football than studies.
"What is this? Is this bad?"
"Oh, yes, it's the worst."
Scott's expression changed from worry and fear to annoyance in a moment.
I burst out laughing when Scott pushed my shoulder hard.
"You bastard!"
He went to look for his inhaler while I tried to catch my breath.
"Hey, think about it, all this started from a bite from a wolf-like beast, then I heard the wolf howl, probability of being a werewolf is very high." I insisted, jumping on Scott's back. "Maybe you're a werewolf!"
I knew this could be one of the best possibilities, considering all the strange symptoms Scott experienced, but the truth remains that werewolves are nothing but an old myth.
I'll stick with the radioactive wolf theory.
"There might be something seriously wrong with me!" insisted Scott, pushing me away again gently.
"But there's a solution! Damn you, Scott! You're doomed to a life of lunar slavery! I'll hide the girls in the town otherwise you'll kidnap them and attack them, before curfew, of course. My dad would kill me if I were out past eleven."
"Shut up!"
"We have to go to the woodshop class, melt all the silver we find, and make a chain to tie you with. Friday is the full moon, after all."
"You're a horrible friend, and I hate you." Scott retaliated, although he had to wake up very early to keep up with my good day.
Scott pulled his hand away and climbed a small hill, then let out a small victory scream. "This is it! This is where I ran and saw the body. I think."
"But there's no one." I noticed, seeing the leaves stained with dry blood. "Maybe the killer moved the body or the beast ate it."
"Oh my God!" Scott felt disgusted and knelt, starting to move the grass. "Help me find my inhaler."
"Don't forget my flashlight."
"My inhaler costs about $80!"
"Same as my flashlight!"
"Man, impossible…"
We were so busy arguing that we didn't hear the man moving through the forest to meet us.
I was the first to look up, then I jumped, hitting Scott on the shoulder to get his attention.
We both stood for a second, facing that very dark-looking man, wearing black leather clothes, standing less than six meters away. Scott swallowed hard, but otherwise, we remained steady.
Not out of fear but anticipation.
Amazing. Half a body disappears in the forest, and here is a short, dark, scary man lurking behind a gravestone.
Not suspicious at all, wow, now he's walking slowly toward us.
"What are you doing here?" asked the man, narrowing his eyes at me.
"This is private property."
"Ah, sorry man, we didn't know," I replied for both of us, then I recognized him, and I had to swallow a bit.
"Yes, we were looking for something, but…" Scott tried to continue, then suddenly stopped when he met the man's sharp gaze.
"…Forget it."
Then the inhaler flew into the air, from the man's pocket. Scott grabbed it without thinking and stared at it.
I was stunned, about to ask if he had found a flashlight too, when he turned and walked away without saying another word.
I stared at him, mouth wide open, trying to understand what the hell just happened.
When he finally disappeared from sight, Scott regained his composure and hid his inhaler.
"Alright, wow. Listen, it doesn't matter, my friend, I have to go to work."
"Man!" I grabbed Scott by his shirt sleeve, keeping him in place for a moment longer. "That was Derek Hale!"
That caused a blank look on his face, but what's new about that?
"Do you remember, right? He's a few years older than us."
"I remember what?"
"His family? They all burned to death in a fire about six years ago."
"…Man, that's awful." Scott's expression softened again, as he's always sensitive to sad stories; losing your entire family in a fire was certainly among these stories.
"He moved from here right after that. With his sister." I think I read that in one of my dad's files and remembered from the picture; I had a good memory for small random details.
Scott asked worriedly: "I wonder what he's doing here?"
I mocked him, shaking my head in disbelief.
Derek was undoubtedly the king of intruders, and that brief conversation didn't impress me at all.
I said calmly: "Let's go," leaving my flashlight.
"Let's get out of here."
[Meanwhile, in the cemetery]
Elena walked slowly among the gravestones in the cemetery, then sat in front of her parents' grave, opened her diary, and began writing:
"My dear diary, I managed to get through this day successfully. I must have said 'I'm fine, thanks' at least thirty-seven times, and I didn't mean it even once. But no one noticed. I think whoever asks me 'Hey, are you okay?' doesn't really want an answer. And to my surprise, I made new friends—a foreign girl named Allison specifically. Allison was mysterious, and her father's work… interesting. And above all, Allison is a kind and cheerful girl too, and she's the first person who doesn't ask me questions like 'Are you okay?' But the strangest thing I saw today was my brother's friend, Scott McCall. My previous impression of Scott was that he was just an ordinary teenage boy with asthma, if I remember correctly, and nothing more. But today I saw him take down all the big players on our team one after the other, even Tyler, Matt, and Jackson, as if it were nothing. Wasn't Scott supposed to have asthma? How was he able to do all that?"
Caw!
Elena stopped writing in her diary when she heard the caw of a crow. She looked toward the source of the sound and saw a strange black crow perched on a gravestone, staring at her in a creepy way.
Elena smiled nervously and said, "Okay… hello, bird. This isn't scary or anything. Go away!"
Elena stood up and chased the crow. The crow flew away and disappeared into the trees. Elena smiled sarcastically, "Yes, that's what I thought." But her sense of relief did not last long, as a thick white fog suddenly spread throughout the cemetery and covered everything.
"What the hell is this?" Elena thought in fear, then saw a mysterious man standing behind a gravestone a short distance from her.
Elena's fear and adrenaline flared. She increased her speed, but no matter how fast she ran, she could not escape the man who was chasing her.
Elena suddenly stumbled and fell down a small slope.
"Ah!" Elena screamed in pain, then slowly got up, shaking her head and looking behind her nervously.
Elena suddenly turned and saw Stefan standing in front of her.
Elena screamed in fear: "Ah!"
Stefan looked at Elena and said with concern, "Are you okay?"
Elena looked at him in astonishment and sharply said, "Were you following me?!"
He replied, "No, I just saw you fall."
Elena smiled sarcastically and said, "Oh, right. And your being in the cemetery was just a coincidence."
Stefan looked at Elena and said, "I am visiting my family here."
Elena's eyes widened and she said, "Oh my God! I'm sorry, that was rude of me. It's the fog—it affected my thinking. And then there was that bird, and I felt like I was in a Hitchcock movie. Isn't that the name of the movie? Hitchcock? And then there was that man and… and…"
Elena stopped speaking and stammering when she saw Stefan's amused smile.
Elena sighed, then smiled and said, "I'm Elena."
Stefan smiled and said, "I'm Stefan."
Elena looked at Stefan and said, "I know. You're the new student everyone is talking about."
"Really? What are people saying about me?" Stefan asked curiously.
Elena waved her hand and said, "Nothing specific. Just that you're a mysterious and attractive young man who has become the talk of the girls."
Stefan smiled: "Attractive? Do you find me attractive?"
Elena looked at Stefan and said, "Hmm… let me think about that." Then she looked him up and down from head to toe and said, "I'll give you 3 out of 10."
Stefan laughed: "3 out of 10? Really? Then I guess I'll have to triple that number."
Elena laughed and playfully hit his shoulder, saying, "Don't overestimate your luck."
Stefan smiled and was about to respond, but he stopped when he smelled something he knew well.
The smell of blood.
Stefan looked at Elena and said, "Did you hurt yourself?"
Elena looked at Stefan in confusion: "Did I hurt myself? Oh, wait a minute, please."
Then Elena sat down and slightly lifted her pant leg, revealing a large bleeding wound on her leg.
Stefan's expression changed when he saw Elena's blood. Dark veins appeared under his eyes, his eye color turned red with dark whites, and he quickly turned his face away, inhaling deeply, trying to restrain himself before lunging at Elena and tearing her apart.
"Look at this. It's really a horrible sight. How didn't I feel this? Wait, Stefan, do you have some tissues?" Elena said in confusion, then looked at the place where Stefan was standing, only to find he had disappeared.
"Stefan?" Elena looked around in confusion but didn't see anyone. She shook her head tiredly and headed toward home.
Little did she know that this was the beginning of a complicated love story full of drama, chaos, confusion, and cheating.