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Published:
2020-06-20
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2020-07-22
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14/14
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The Hale Academy for the Young and Gifted

Summary:

In a world where the government chooses to hide those with special abilities, dubbed “Uncommons”, teens are forced into special boarding schools designed to help them control such powers. When Stiles Stilinski’s abilities unexpectedly manifest three years later than everyone else’s, he causes a traumatic accident that takes the life of his ex-girlfriend and is thrown into the Hale Academy. The only problem? Stiles is a ticking time bomb and has to keep the true extent of his power hidden around the new friends--and enemies--he makes.

Stiles’s new school brings along many new discoveries, however, including what true friendship looks like, a diabolical plan to overthrow the headmaster, and a brooding shapeshifter that makes him question everything he ever thought about being a straight male.

Welcome to the Hale Academy for the Young and Gifted, where you’ll never know common again.

Notes:

Welcome to my new story! I am so excited to share this with you. I don't know if anyone has ever made a story like this before, so if you have seen one just know I haven't read it and am completely making this up from my mind. This is, however, very very loosely inspired by the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted from Legacies, but instead of supernatural creatures it's teens with superpowers.

I have tried to put as many tags to warn and hint at what is to come, but more will be added later. Please note this story includes explicit language, past trauma, dark humor, sexual content, and possible violence later on. Also there will be minor stydia, but do not fear for this is definitely a sterek story.

I hope you enjoy and please check out my other sterek stories if you'd like. I have another superhero one called Triton, and one I just recently finished about Sterek, the beach, rich society, and surfing. As always, comments and kudos really motivate me to know what I can improve on, so if you wanted to leave some that'd be amazing! Also, obviously, majority of the characters belong to Jeff Davis and Teen Wolf.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter Text

As the cold glass of the car window pressed against Stiles’s forehead, his father’s voice muffled in the background, he watched the town he had grown up in blur on by. Now leaving Beacon County. He barely missed the words as they passed on a small street sign. The sign marked the border to the beyond, a border that Stiles had never crossed before.

“Stiles...Stiles! Are you even listening to me?”

The teen let out a frustrated sigh and sat up, a mark on the window from his glands. It was gloomy weather for a melancholy day like the gods had it out for him. Stiles was sure someone up there was smirking down at him, telling their buddies hey, let’s piss on this kid’s last day of normality. “Yes dad,” he mumbled.

“No you’re not,” Noah Stilinski said. He rolled to a stoplight and turned to face his son. “You’ve been moping out the window like a damn music video.”

Stiles stared at the man in disbelief. “I think I have every right to mope however I want to thank you,” he retaliated. “You’re the one sending me away to a boarding school. A boarding school, dad. Screw music videos, this is like the start of a fucking murder mystery.”

“Language!”

Stiles just rolled his eyes and stared back out the window. He was going to mope all he wanted to and his dad couldn’t say anything about it. He even moped extra hard as the next town passed by, then the next, then the last before they turned onto a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. The skies had opened up slightly, but there was no improvement in Stiles’s mood. The only thing that had grown inside of him was a pounding headache that he tried to ignore. Headaches were a usual thing recently, ever since the accident. All he could do was push them back and load up on as many painkillers as possible.

The car rolled to a stop in front of a large iron gate. A burly man walked up to the driver’s side window, which Noah rolled down with a smile. Their new friend kept a brooding grimace, though, instead just grunting out, “How may I help you?”

“Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski,” Noah responded, trying not to wince under the harsh and suspicious stare of the man. “For move in?” The guard disappeared into a booth for a second before reappearing. He just gave a firm nod and held a hand up.

The gate before their eyes started to slowly open from the man’s lifted palm. Stiles and his father gaped in awe as they slowly rolled through and onto the grounds of the boarding school. The dirt road turned to paved cobblestone, and the overgrown trees of the forest thinned down to perfectly hedged landscaping. Once the car rounded a corner, then the true beauty came into sight. Stiles was transported to Downton Abbey from the literal castle in front of him. The building was massive, decked out in all old stone with dozens of towers and hundreds of windows. Under the cloudy sky it was a grand, ominous structure that looked like it should be the home of thousand year-old spirits and ghosts. The place was given life, though, by the many students and faculty roaming the grounds and entering and exiting the building’s wings.

“Wow,” Stiles said, unable to hold back his shock. He didn’t want to enjoy the place for his pride’s sake. Ever since his father had sprung it on him that he was being sent away to a school made for ‘people like him’, Stiles was dead set on being the grumpy, resistant teenager. The boarding school was truly beautiful, though, and housed truly amazing people.

Noah parked the car in front and the father and son hopped out. Around them, kids exhibited the inhuman abilities the place was known for. Stiles jumped back when one boy landed with a loud thud onto the ground a few feet away. The teen had come from the sky, the sky. He had run to meet up with a girl juggling balls of electricity between her bare hands. Stiles was amazed, not used to other kids like him.

“Ah! You must be the Stilinskis,” an older, formally dressed woman approached them with open arms. She shook their hands, her grip nearly breaking Stiles’s hand from how shockingly strong it was. “Stiles, I presume?” He nodded, still a bit cautious towards the people around them. A tall man stood next to Talia, his head held high sitting on blazer-clad shoulders. “I’m the headmaster, Talia Hale, and this is assistant headmaster Jordan Parrish.” They shook Jordan’s hand too, whose presence intimidated Stiles a bit less than Talia. His mom has always told him to fearfully respect a woman in power, and he lived by it.

“I’m his father, Noah,” Stiles’s dad introduced himself then clapped Stiles on the shoulder, causing the teen to roll his eyes. “Yes this is Stiles. He’s very excited to be here, right son?” His hand squeezed warningly hard.

Stiles smiled through gritted teeth. “Absolutely,” he lied. If Talia noticed his fib, she didn’t seem affected by it. Instead, the woman just maintained her professional composure and turned to lead them towards the large main doors of the school, Parrish hot on her heels.

If the outside of the school was Downton Abbey, the inside was the goddamn Sistine Chapel. Stiles’s mouth dropped at the smooth wood and stone interior. The place was a frozen piece of the Renaissance Era modernized with a few television screens and bulletin boards expressing upcoming school events. The ceilings were tall and a massive marble staircase stood straight ahead to the next floor. Kids with ages ranging from 13 to 18 ran back and forth to their next classes, some socializing down the halls next to tall lockers. Stiles was starting at the school a few days after everyone else’s first day, so he had a bit of catching up to do.

“This is the main foyer,” Talia said, gesturing all around her. “That staircase right there will take you to the halls where most classes take place. The first floor just houses some lockers, the dining hall, the gymnasium, and our library. If you head to the right on any floor it’ll take you to the girl’s dorm wing, and the left will take you to boy’s.”

“Holy shit,” Noah muttered.

“Language,” Stiles teased, but felt the same. His dad slapped a hand over his mouth and apologized to the headmaster. Parrish then handed Stiles a large manilla folder with his name printed up top.

“That right there has any paperwork you need,” he said with a welcoming smile. “You’ll find your class schedule, room assignment, locker combination, health and ability forms, and many important dates to know as a student here.”

“Health and ability forms?” Stiles questioned, opening the folder in his hands. He was hit with a neon orange flyer advertising in big bold letters: Support Group for Troubled Uncommons. Join us every Tuesday for a safe place to talk about any concerns you may have regarding adapting to Hale’s, learning to control your abilities, and living as a special and unique being in society. Stiles gave his dad a look that said ‘really?’ He knew a requirement of him coming to the school would be a weekly therapy session with their guidance counselor after all of the trauma Stiles had endured. He insisted he was fine, that he didn’t need to wax poetic to some stranger about how fucked up his life was. Of course, though, his father hadn’t taken no for an answer.

“Yes,” Talia jumped in. “Your father and Parrish will go and sign those forms in the main office. They are just a precaution in case anything were to happen to you that we know how to handle the situation.”

“And how to handle my powers?” Stiles questioned with a pointed look.

“We prefer to call them abilities here,” Talia said, hands crossed in front of her and her stoic expression never wavering. She waved a hand that dismissed Parrish and the man gestured for Stiles’s dad to follow. “If you’d follow him now Mr. Stilinski. I promise Stiles is in great hands here. We are dedicated to teaching every student how to live like a common teenager while still understanding the amazing gifts they have been blessed with.”

“Well I guess this is it,” Noah said, voice slightly cracking as he turned to his son. Stiles had held a grudge for his dad sending him away, placing him in a school that knows how to ‘deal’ with him. He also knew, however, that it was from a good place as Noah had always looked out for him. Stiles couldn’t expect the man to, as a single common father, deal with the ticking time bomb of a son he had that had already exploded once. These people--Talia, Parrish, the school--were equipped to handle any students thrown their way.

“I guess so,” Stiles said. He gave his dad a sad smile and wrapped him in a hug. “I’ll be good dad, I promise.”

As the sheriff of their town, Noah Stilinski had always tried to keep a brave face on. He never could hide his emotions around his own son, though, and sniffled into Stiles’s neck. Once their hug ended, he squeezed the teen’s shoulders. “I know you will. Call me if you need anything please.”

Stiles nodded to reassure his father, then Parrish led the man through another set of double doors. Now it was the headmaster who placed a hand on Stiles’s shoulder and turned him towards the left hallway. “Let’s show you to your room.”

It was blatantly obvious that Stiles was the new kid. First, he was being escorted by the headmaster with a backpack on and a huge duffel in his hand. Second, every student around him was wearing a grey blazer with navy blue trim and school emblem on the breast. To match, they were also sporting either a navy skirt or pair of slacks. Stiles himself was dressed up in black skinny jeans and a red hoodie. He stuck out like a sore thumb.

Keeping his head down to avoid all of the stares, they eventually made it to a walkway between the main building and the left wing. As soon as they crossed over, the absolute smell of testosterone and body odor punctured Stiles’s nostrils. This was definitely the boys dorms. Teenagers were running back and forth, chatting loudly as they hopped out of their rooms and into neighboring ones. There were kids in just towels, some in gym uniforms, and others still in pajamas scrambling to get ready in the communal bathrooms and make it to their next class. Each student, however, immediately composed themselves and stood tall as the headmaster walked through. Talia led Stiles to a door on the far end of the hallway and knocked twice.

Once the wooden door swung open, Stiles was met with the bubbliest man he had ever seen. The guy was his age, black wavy hair and brown eyes. His jaw was slightly crooked, something Stiles would learn to overlook, and the big grin on his face made Stiles have to suppress an eye roll. Great, he was rooming with freakin’ Happy from the Seven Dwarfs.

“Stiles Stilinski,” Talia said. “Meet your roommate, Scott McCall. I trust Mr. McCall will continue your tour with you during his free period right now. I have to go finish dealing with two students who nearly clawed each other’s faces off.” She turned on her heel and walked back down the hallway, her loud pumps clicking with a resonance that inspired fear in whoever heard them. Stiles stared after the headmaster with a gulp. Students clawing each other’s faces off, totally normal.

“Hey! Come in!” Scott greeted him and dragged Stiles through the doorway. The room was pretty typical boarding school style: two twin beds on opposite walls with a dresser in between them, one window over the dresser that looked out towards another cobblestone wall outside, a desk at the foot of each bed, and two small closets. The left side of the room was already decked out in Scott’s belongings. He had music and sports posters on his wall. His desk was cluttered with school supplies and framed pictures of him and other kids wearing the Hale uniform. Both beds had matching dark blue comforters to keep the aesthetic, but Stiles’s walls and desk were bare, ready for him to move in.

He walked over to the right side and threw his duffel down, immediately starting to unpack into the closet. “Scott, right?”

Scott nodded and sat on his own mattress. “Yeah, that’s me. Stiles is a cool name.”

“Thanks,” Stiles shrugged, still keeping his back to the other boy while he hung his sweatshirts up. That’s when he noticed a grey and navy uniform identical to the one Scott was sporting already hanging up for him. He took it out and laid it on the bed. “Damn, they already got me one?”

Scott’s ears perked up at the question and he walked over to look at the uniform too. “Yep. Talia has them specially made as soon as she hears about a new student’s abilities.”

“What?” Stiles asked curiously, not sure how the headmistress hearing about powers and having to supply a uniform correlate. He turned to look at Scott, only to find the teen completely missing. “Scott?” He panicked, not remembering the sound of their door opening and closing. Then suddenly a hand was on his shoulder. Stiles screamed and turned around to see Scott grinning wickedly at him, suppressing a laugh. What really caught Stiles’s eye, though, was how the man was slightly transparent and slowly becoming more and more opaque. “What the hell dude!”

Scott held up his hands proudly. “Each uniform has been altered to adapt to every student’s power. Have you ever seen the Incredibles?” Scott said. “Mine turns invisible with me. Shapeshifters’ uniforms shift with them, flyers have aerodynamic ones, and so on.” Stiles was just still staring in shock, not used to other kids with powers yet. That’s something he is definitely going to have to grow accustomed too though in a school like this. “What’s your ability?”

The question threw him off and snapped him out of his shocked state. Stiles cleared his throat and stared down at the uniform. He didn’t like to share about his powers since the accident, but it was clearly something Talia already knew about if she had the uniform pre-made just for him. “Um,” Stiles started, not feeling totally comfortable sharing everything with Scott yet. “Telekinesis.” It wasn’t a total lie, he was telekinetic, it just wasn’t the full extent of his power.

“Dude, cool!” Scott said, then two seconds later he was chucking a football at Stiles’s head. It smashed into the teen’s skull, causing him to let out a loud groan and glare daggers towards his new roommate.

“Ow! What the hell was that for?!”

Scott’s face twisted into an expression of extreme guilt. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I guess I was expecting you to like, catch it with your mind and shit.”

Stiles picked up the football, mentally telling himself to calm down as he knew Scott was just messing around. A ball ramming into his head, though, was not helping the headaches. To enact some revenge, Stiles chucked the football back towards Scott. He was fully expecting the guy to suffer the same pain he did, but instead Scott held up an arm and a translucent shield of blue energy blocked his body. The ball simply hit the shield and bounced to the floor.

Stiles felt a bit offended as his revenge failed. “You don’t only have invisibility, huh,” he said in awe.

Scott put his arm down and the energy disbanded. “Nope, also a force field,” he said proudly with a shrug. “You’ll see a lot of powers here Stiles, some stronger than others. Now how ‘bout that tour?”

Two minutes later Stiles had his uniform on and was following Scott across the walkway and into the main building again. Scott high fived and greeted many people as they walked by, clearly Mr. Popular in the school. That made Stiles feel a little bit better, that he was already protected by the rigid social rules of high school that thrived on the unjust separation of kids by popularity status. He was starting to like Scott a bit more.

Before they made it back to the main foyer, Scott took a sharp left down another hallway. At the end of it was a large archway he walked through. They came out into what was clearly the library, with multiple stories of rows and rows of books. “Well, here’s our first stop,” Scott said excitedly and gestured all around him. “This is the library. A lot of people come here to have study groups, conduct meetings, all that crap. It’s your fairly standard library. Not too exciting.”

Stiles looked around at the crowded tables. For a library, it wasn’t very quiet. He had also never seen students actually utilize a library in their school like the students here did. There were at least a couple kids down each aisle of books, and every table was occupied. People were laughing with friends, tutoring, practicing presentations, or just reading silently by themselves. Scott led him over to a large desk with a friendly looking woman behind it.

“This is the librarian, Ms. Blake.”

Ms. Blake was younger than the stereotypical, crotchety old woman Stiles was used to in his library back in Beacon Hills. She seemed no older than her early thirties with long brown hair and a kind smile. She was stamping some books when they approached and greeted Stiles with warm eyes.

“Hello there,” she said kindly. “You must be new!”

Stiles nodded and accepted her outstretched hand. “I’m Stiles. It’s my first day.”

“Stiles,” she repeated and gave him a onceover. “Welcome to the Hale Academy. I’m sure Scott here is giving you a stellar tour of our school.” Her voice was almost too sickly sweet that it made Stiles uncomfortable.

“He sure is,” he replied with his own feigned enthusiasm.

Finally, they turned to head out of the library. Stiles was a slightly above average student back home and used to study in the library all the time. Now, however, it just reminded him of the teen he used to be before getting involved with the wrong crowd. A small body bumped into him as he exited the library, snapping him out of his thoughts. It was all books and papers flying and a flash of red hair before Stiles comprehended that he had just ran into a girl. “Sorry!” he quickly apologized and knelt down with her to help in picking up the dropped items.

Stiles looked up to make eye contact with the girl, and was taken back. She was beautiful with strawberry blonde hair and wide, hazel eyes. Her plump lips and round cheeks were subtly dressed up with makeup. She ducked a piece of her long hair behind one ear before standing back up. Stiles offered her a book which she grabbed with a huff.

“It’s fine,” she grumbled, clearly anxious to get into the library.

“Lydia, hey!” Scott then stepped up. He side hugged the girl casually, and a deep part inside of Stiles hoped for it to be platonic. “I see you’ve met Stiles. He’s new.”

The girl, Lydia, looked Stiles up and down and narrowed her eyes like she was assessing him and knew everything he had ever done since he was born. He shrunk under her intense gaze, feeling guilty for running into her and really interested if she was single. God Stiles, stop that. You just sent all of her stuff to the ground, it wasn’t a good first impression.

Lydia giggled and cracked a small smile. “Nice to meet you,” she said. “And to let you know, I’m a big girl. It wasn’t the first time someone knocked into me. Also...I am single.”

Stiles gaped at her, trying to remember if he had said those words out loud. He was positive he didn’t, and wondered if he had accidentally bumped heads when he ran into the girl. “Don’t be freaked out,” Scott laughed and squeezed Lydia’s shoulder. “Lydia’s telepathetic.”

And oh, that made a lot more sense than Stiles having a breakdown and hallucinating. He was grateful he wasn’t going crazy, but also incredibly embarrassed that she was capable of reading his thoughts. His face grew warm as he tried to think about anything other than how pretty Lydia looked in the school uniform.

“Thank you,” she replied, and damn it if this was going to be a regular occurrence, Stiles would have to stay far away.

“Knock it off Lyds,” Scott teased. “Stop messing with the new kid. I promise she doesn’t usually read your mind Stiles. She just likes messing with a guy's head sometimes.”

“Can you blame me?” Lydia smirked, still keeping her curious gaze on Stiles. “Best way to get to know someone is to listen to their thoughts.” Stiles awkwardly laughed, feeling incredibly vulnerable and unsure if and when Lydia was digging through his mind. Sports, yeah think about sports. Oh, and food. Food’s good. I could go for a milkshake. He watched Lydia’s reaction as he changed his internal monologue, and her lack of one told him she probably was done reading his mind for now.

“So do you all just use your powers whenever?” Stiles asked excitedly.

Scott sighed and looked around them as if he was afraid of someone eavesdropping. “Technically we aren’t supposed to,” he said quietly. “The goal here is to control our abilities. The top rule is to never use them for personal entertainment or gain, only in classes dedicated to learning with them. Lydia’s lucky no one really knows when she’s using hers. I, however, am pretty obvious.”

Stiles nodded in understanding. He had been wondering why he didn’t see many kids flying through the halls and teleporting to their next classes. If this was like any other school, though, teenagers liked to break rules. Just not in front of authority.

“Well I gotta get going for my study group,” Lydia announced and hugged Scott again. “Bye Stiles, nice to meet you.” She gave him a flirty wink before turning on her heel and disappearing into the library. Stiles watched her go, already in awe of her powerful personality. Scott was staring at him, a growing smirk on his face. Stiles noticed and quickly turned to walk back down the hallway.

Their next stop was the gymnasium. As it was the majority of the upperclassmen’s free period, it was open for anyone to come in and use it. Kids were playing basketball, running around the room, and just sitting on the bleachers to talk. Stiles could see through to a large, fancy weight room that many people were working out in. That’s where Scott brought him next.

“The weight room got a major upgrade a few years ago by Headmaster Hale’s brother. I like to come in here a lot,” Scott said. A man near Stiles was benching nearly 800 pounds, clearly having superstrength. That’s probably why the weight room had to be so up to date and fancy. “Oh! Come meet Liam.”

They approached a younger looking kid, probably only by a year or two, who was squatting with a barbell over his shoulders. He noticed Scott in the mirrored wall and put the weights down, greeting the guy with a handshake and a smile. Stiles was introduced too just like he had been with Ms. Blake and Lydia. He had moved to a new school once before, and he always hated the first day introductions, having to repeat the same greeting over and over again.

“Liam can fly, it’s pretty sick,” Scott said.

Liam ducked his head humbly and squeezed a water bottle into his mouth. “A lot of people can, it’s nothing too special.”

“Then wait till he sees your sonic boom,” Scott hyped the kid up and punched his shoulder. Liam laughed and brushed the guy off, using the bottom of his grey tank top to wipe the sweat off of his forehead.

A wolf whistle made the three guy’s heads turn to see who was the source of the sound. Another kid their age approached, very bluntly checking out Liam. He put a hand on the rack above him, leaning in close with a cocky smirk that had Liam’s face blushing bright red. “We talking about how impressive Liam’s abilities are? That’s a conversation I can gladly jump into.” As he spoke so close to Liam’s skin, a visible brush of air gently brushed against the boy’s cheek, leaving it even pinker like he had just come in from playing in the snow.

“And this is Theo,” Scott said. His tone was clearly antipathetic in comparison to the lighthearted one he had used when introducing Liam. Theo’s confident smirk never wavered from his face as he shook Stiles’s hand, and Scott just rolled his eyes.

As soon as their skin touched Stiles jumped back. Theo’s skin was ice cold, and not the type of ice cold one feels from holding a soda can that has been sitting in a cooler all day. No, this was polar plunge cold, like his body had been dipped into the Arctic Ocean and if he held on for any longer his hand was about to fall off from hypothermia.

“My bad,” Theo laughed. “Sometimes I forget to warn people about my...abilities.” He held his hand up and moved it around, his human flesh forming into cold, hard ice.

“Cut it out Theo, he just got here,” Liam said, arms crossed as if he was shielding himself. Theo turned down to look at Liam again with his arm still caged above the boy’s head. He gazed at Liam with a passionate hunger in his eyes, causing the boy to remain flustered. Even Stiles could feel the sexual tension in their air so thick it could be cut with a knife.

“Whatever you say sweet cheeks,” said Theo and he pushed off of the weight rack, only leaving them after giving Liam one more once over and Stiles a suspicious stare.

“Well he seems nice,” Stiles said sarcastically once the boy was out of earshot.

“That’s one way of putting it,” Liam responded, awkwardly adjusting his shorts and turning to pick up his gym stuff as a distraction.

Scott turned Stiles back towards the gym and led him away after they said goodbye to Liam. Instead of walking back across the court to the halls again, though, they turned and headed outside. The midday sun was finally completely out, causing Stiles to hold up a hand and shield his eyes. They had come out into a beautiful and massive courtyard surrounded by the walls of the school on all sides. Cobblestone paths wove through luscious green grass and flowerbeds. Kids were just as active here as every other part of the school, some playing catch, reading under trees, and having their lunches on picnic blankets.

“And finally we’ve come to my favorite part,” Scott beamed. “Everyone calls this place ‘The Quad’. We all love to come out here on nice days and eat, chill, whatever. Just whatever you do, do not step on any of the flowerbeds. The botany students and chlorokinetics in this place will freak and probably roast your head on a stick for dinner.”

“Yes sir,” Stiles said, slight fear trembling in his voice. The pair walked deeper into the center of the quad, serotonin filling Stiles veins at the sounds of nature and community coming together. He loved going off into the woods back home with his old friends. Sometimes they’d sneak down to the river, and while most of them used it as an opportunity to get drunk and high away from prying eyes in their town, Stiles enjoyed actually swimming in the water and sitting under the trees.

That’s when Stiles saw him. He was ridiculously good looking, only enhancing Stiles’s own insecurities. The man was leaning back on his elbows, nursing a novel while a curly haired guy ran his mouth off next to him. The man Stiles was looking at didn’t open his mouth, just nodded along while never taking his eyes off of his book.

Then the stranger’s ears perked up. He looked up from his book and made direct eye contact with Stiles. They both held their gaze for a bit, the guy’s eyebrows furrowing, until Stiles finally broke his stare and looked away. Scott was going off about annual kickball tournaments in the quad or whatever, but it was all muffled in Stiles’s ears. He didn’t know why his face grew hot under the stranger’s intense stare. The man was wearing the same uniform as everyone else, but his presence across the lawn was dark and mysterious.

“Hey, who’s that?” Stiles asked and gestured over to his unknown staring contest competitor. Scott followed his finger, and his eyes grew wide as soon as he saw who Stiles was talking about.

“Oh no, don’t mess with him,” he said seriously. “That’s Derek. I guess you could say he’s the resident bad boy around here. No one has ever seen his abilities in action, but rumor has it he’s a shapeshifter and ripped a guy’s throat out before I got here...with his teeth. The dude’s been here longer than anyone, probably held back because of such issues.”

“Hm,” Stiles responded and took the risk to look back at Derek. The brooding man was still staring, a permanent scowl upon his face. “I believe it. Who’s next to him?”

Scott’s face instantly softened and crimson rose up his neck. “That’s Isaac Lahey,” he said fondly. “Derek’s best friend, and only friend I guess. He’s the only one the guy will really talk to. Isaac’s kind of at the bottom of the totem pole here as no one’s really seen his abilities, so they believe he has none.”

“Is that how popularity is determined?” Stiles questioned while observing the way Isaac continued his bubbly rant while Derek still expressed abnormal irritation in Stiles’s direction. “By pow-I mean abilities?”

Scott shrugged and kept walking, Stiles scrambling to catch up as he tried to ignore the way his ears burned, just knowing Derek was still staring. “Pretty much,” he replied. “It sucks but it’s just kind of how it is. I feel blessed to have my abilities and people see it as strength. They believe the weaklings of the pack belong in the back. No one messes with Isaac, though, because of Derek.”

The tour included a few more stops: the cafeteria, the entrance to the girl’s wing (without being allowed to enter), the guidance counselor’s, and where most of Stiles’s classes would take place. It came to the time where Scott’s free period was over, which meant it was also time for Stiles’s first class.

Scott kindly walked him to the classroom--history of manifestation 101--but then had to head to his own room down the hallway. Stiles nervously entered, now not knowing anyone in the class. He scanned the rows of desks and saw only a few remained unoccupied, so he just sat in the closest empty one he could find.

Then finally, a familiar face joined him. Lydia entered the classroom with her head held high, nude heels clicking on the stone floor. Stiles couldn’t help but stare as she greeted almost everyone with a dazzling smile that would put any beauty queen to shame. She kept walking past his desk, though, having not seen Stiles yet, and sat far away. He stared at her petite frame enthusiastically gesturing while she spoke to another girl. A deep voice cleared it’s throat, though, causing the teen’s head to whip back around.

“You’re in my seat.”

And if that wasn’t the most cliche first day thing Stiles had ever heard. He held in the laugh, though, as the owner of said voice was none other than Derek. The man’s face was still twisted into a dark frown, and he narrowed his eyes once Stiles made eye contact again.

“The board says no assigned seats,” Stiles then noticed and pointed up towards the front of the room with his pen. He wasn’t sure why he was challenging Derek. The man could clearly kill him with one single punch, but he wasn’t feeling like dealing with a bully on the first day. Smartass wit was his defense mechanism instead.

Derek grunted and his glare only grew angrier. He put two hands on the desk and leaned close until he was in Stiles’s face; however, Stiles only kept his composure and tried to match the intense stare. He’d give his fury brows a solid 6, no match to Derek’s perfect 10.

“I’m not gonna say it again, move,” Derek snarled, literally snarled at Stiles. His upper lip curled back and he bared his teeth like an animal. Stiles then recalled how Scott called him a shapeshifter, and now he was wondering exactly what shape the mysterious stranger shifted into.

Stiles tried to hold his own, but now he had caught the attention of a few nosy bystanders. He dramatically rose out of the seat, accidentally (purposefully) shoving the desk forward a bit so it hit Derek’s shins, and stormed to the last empty seat in the back. Lydia noticed him this time, offering a pitiful smile as Stiles passed her.

The class fell silent when the door opened. A probing cane appeared in through the room before anything else, then a slow-moving body followed behind. Stiles could feel the change in the atmosphere from relaxed to serious. He tried to match as much as he could and stay alert and unaffected like the rest of the class. The teacher freaked him out right away, though. He was tall, older, and clearly blind from the cane in his hand and the blacked out glasses on his face.

“Hello class,” a deep british accent echoed through the silent room. “Please take out your homework from last time. We’ll go over it first thing.”

Stiles panicked internally as everyone around him obeyed and pulled out identical worksheets. Should he raise his hand? Look off of the person next to him? No, definitely not that option. She had snake fangs sticking out of her mouth.

“Is there a Stiles Stilinski here today?” the teacher then said, solving Stiles’s problems for him. He shyly raised his hand as everyone turned to stare. Lydia then motioned to her eyes, and Stiles remembered the dude was blind. Idiot.

“Um, present,” he responded, and the blind man’s covered eyes turned straight to him.

“Welcome to the history of ability manifestation Mr. Stilinski,” the teacher greeted him. “Everyone just calls me Deucalion here.” He used one finger to push back up his glasses and swished the cane back and forth as he took a step forward. The teacher’s lips curled into a suspicious smile that made Stiles squirm. “I can’t wait to get to know you.”

The whole class kept giving Stiles looks even when Deucalion turned his body back towards the front and sat at his desk. Well, everyone except Derek, whose head was down and shoulders tense. Stiles just rolled his eyes, not really caring about the man’s opinion towards him.

They ended up going over the homework in five minutes, something about how the first humans were element benders. Stiles tried to fake alertness to not completely get on Deucalion’s bad side the first day, then kept remembering that the man couldn’t see him.

Halfway through class the lights went off and a movie came up on the screen. There was an audible sigh of relief from everyone that they could just nod off and not have to pay attention anymore. Stiles thought he would do the same, but when the movie came on he couldn’t help but watch. It was a documentary on early uncommons during the 1940s. They used their abilities to help in the war, but had to remain under the radar as the government was rounding them up for experimentation.

Stiles had grown up with knowledge of uncommons. Of course he did, his mother was a telekinetic just like him. When he was little, she would put him to bed by making paper butterflies dance around his room. His parents were always adamant, though, on remaining quiet about his mother’s abilities. There are bad people out there who want to take mommy away, they had said to him over and over again, and Stiles obeyed.

Claudia Stilinski passed away when her son was 11 years old. Medical issues were what his father had claimed, but Stiles was always suspicious of him not being allowed to visit his mother within her last couple days. She left behind, however, the knowledge that Stiles would gain his powers when he turned 13...that is, if he had any. That was the rule of thumb for any uncommon. They manifest when you hit teenage years if you’re lucky, and if not you’re a common. Households of two uncommon parents bred uncommon children 98% of the time, one uncommon parent had a chance of 70%, and two common parents was usually 15%. Stiles knew there was the possibility he would develop no powers like his father, and when he turned 13, that was proven right.

There was no sign of abnormalities in the teen besides his ADHD and quick wit. To say he was sad would be an understatement. Stiles was devastated, heartbroken, and angry that he couldn’t carry on the amazing things his mother had shown him. So he took out his anger and depression by falling in with the wrong crowd once he got to high school.

It wasn’t until Stiles was 16 years and 9 months old that his powers developed, something completely unheard of in the uncommon world. The damage he caused is what put him in the boarding school in the first place as soon as he turned 17, so he could ‘calm down’ and ‘learn to control it’. The government didn’t like uncommon kids who couldn’t handle their abilities, hence why such schools were built. Hale’s Academy was one of the most well known across the west coast.

That being said, Stiles experienced normal middle and high school for a bit. He was never able to learn about the history of who he was, or see other kids like him. Now, being in Deucalion’s class, watching the documentary, it was all so eye opening. He felt like this school really could be a fresh start to erase the mistakes he had made, now all he had to worry about was not getting his throat ripped out by Derek Hale.