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[MARY'S SONG]

1.01 || i was six, it doesn't count

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"Hey, how long does it take to lock a car?"

Aria is sitting on the bench with Allison outside the school, waiting for her brother to join them. Preferably before the vice-principle appeared. She looks up when someone steps over to them to see her brother standing there before scrunching her nose up when she smells the smoke. "Nice one, Alex. You better not have smoked in my car." Aria says and he rolls his eyes.

"I rolled the window down." He responds and she shakes her head.

"Jackass." She grumbles and Allison chuckles softly.

"You wanna budge over?" Alex asks.

"No." Aria responds.

"Here." Allison says, moving closer to the blonde beside her and Alex sits on her other side.

"Thank you, sister I should have had." Alex says and Aria rolls her eyes at him before Allison's phone starts ringing.

"God, it's Mom again. This is like the third time she's called this morning." Allison says as she answers the phone and the twins laugh briefly. "Mom, three calls on my first day is a little over doing it." Allison announces.

"Ask her if her phone's working okay." Aria says and Allison rolls her eyes, wafting her off with a smile.

"Everything except a pen. Oh, my God. I didn't actually forget a pen." Allison says and Aria chuckles before her eyes widen and she checks her own bag. "Okay, okay. I gotta go. Love you." Allison says before hanging up as Aria groans.

"Crap. I forgot a pen too." Aria says, closing her bag as she looks at her brother hopefully.

"I only have one. Get lost." He says and she pouts.

"You suck." Aria says as the vice principal walks over too.

"Sorry to keep the three of you waiting." He says and they all stand up before the three of them follow him inside, the twins trailing behind the other Allison slightly. "So, you were saying San Francisco wasn't where you grew up?" He asks.

"No, but we lived there for more than a year which is unusual for my family." Allison responds.

"And you two?" He asks, glancing at the twins.

"We've been all over the place. But yeah, we were in San Francisco too for just over a year." Aria responds.

"It was so weird." Alex chimes in.

"Well, hopefully Beacon Hills will be your last stop for a while." He responds as he comes to a stop in front of a classroom before pushing the door open and the four of them step inside.

"Jesus." Aria hears Alex mutter under his breath and she elbows her brother.

"Class, this is Allison, Aria and Alexander Argent. Please do your best to make them feel welcome." The vice-principal says before stepping out of the room.

Aria and Alex both take the copies of the book from the teacher before heading over to the two free seats together in the corner of the room as Allison claims a seat in the middle. "We'll begin with Kafka's Metamorphosis, on page one hundred and thirty three." The teacher announces and Aria sends a bored look to her brother as the teacher starts talking and he stifles an amused chuckle at her.

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At the end of the day, they head to Alex's locker, Aria leaning against the wall next to him. "You need to go to your locker?" Alex asks as he shuts his and she nods.

"Are you trying out for lacrosse?" Aria asks as they walk over to her locker and he nods.

"That's the plan. You going to do track still?" He asks and she nods.

"Yeah, when they're doing it later in the year." Aria responds as they stop at her locker next to Allison. "Hey. You doing okay?" She asks, looking at her cousin.

"Hey. I'm good. You two? Started any fights yet?" Allison asks as the blonde unlocks her locker before shoving her books inside and grabbing what she needed to take home with her.

"No. No fights yet." Aria says and Alex hums as his sister shuts her locker.

"Give us time. She's still gotta sit through lacrosse practice." Alex says. "Your day okay?" He asks and Allison nods.

"You two?" She asks.

"I've had an alright day. Would have been better if someone had lent me the spare pen I saw in his bag." Aria says, looking at her brother.

"I told you I don't know what you're talking about." He responds and she sticks her tongue out at her brother, making him chuckle and Allison smiles at the twins.

"That jacket is absolutely killer. Where'd you get it?" A voice asks and all three of them turn to look at who had spoken to see a redhead stood there.

"My Mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco." Allison responds.

"And you are my new best friend." She says and Aria presses her lips together to stifle a laugh. "And I love your boots." She says, looking at the blonde.

"Thanks. I got them at a thrift store." Aria says. "Come on. You need to get going." The blonde says, nudging her brother away as another boy approaches. "That's Lydia, right?" Aria whispers to her brother.

"Oh, yeah. Definitely." Alex whispers back.

"Hey, Jackson." Lydia greets before kissing him.

"Have fun." Aria whispers to the other Argent and she looks over at the twins, wide-eyed.

"Don't leave me here alone." Allison whispers back but Aria just pats her arm before letting her brother pull her away from the three of them.

"And to think I shared my Barbies with her when we were four." Aria scoffs and Alex laughs, wrapping an arm around his sister.

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Aria waits for her brother by the bench on the lacrosse field and he drops his things next to her feet before rolling his shoulders, bouncing on the balls of his feet anxiously. "Alex, breathe. You've got this." Aria says, grabbing her brother's shoulders to stop him from bouncing. "You've always been a shoe-in for the lacrosse teams." She reminds him.

"Right. Piece of cake." He says and she smiles.

"Piece of cake." She agrees and he kisses her forehead before grabbing his helmet and stick, walking out onto the pitch.

Aria looks around briefly before shrugging and sitting on the bench next to her brother's stuff rather than heading up to the bleachers. She smiles politely at the boy who sits a few feet away from her on the bench before turning her attention back to her brother, sending him a thumbs up and he sends her one back.

"McCall!" Coach calls and Aria's gaze flits over to who he was talking to before her eyes widen when she realises that the boy sitting next to her was-

"Stiles?" Aria asks, looking at the boy to her left and he looks over at her.

"You remember me?" He asks and she smiles.

"I mean, it'd be pretty hard to forget the guy who made me eat a mud pie when I was three." Aria says and he laughs.

"What are you doing back?" Stiles asks.

"Our Aunt and Uncle just moved back here and we're living with them while my parents are off on business." Aria says.

"Right." Stiles nods.

"Oh and I heard about your Mom. I'm sorry. I know you were close." Aria says, nudging his arm gently.

"Thanks." Stiles says and she nods.

"If you ever need to talk to someone about it, you can talk to me. I know I'm about eight years too late, but, the offer still stands." Aria says and he nods.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." He says and she smiles softly before turning her attention back to the try-outs as Scott steps into the goal.

"Shouldn't you be up there?" She asks.

"Not this one." He responds.

"I'll never understand this sport. Why don't you people just play field hockey?" She asks and he looks over at her before chuckling softly. "I only come for Alex. He's stupidly superstitious and the one time I missed a game because I was sick, they lost. So now I have to go with him to every practice, try-out and game because of his stupid superstitions." Aria explains.

"Hey, if it works, it works." Stiles says and she scoffs.

"It's stupid is what it is." Aria responds. "Especially when it's raining and I still have to go." She grumbles, both of them wincing when the ball nails Scott in the face. "Ouch." Aria remarks.

"How is it being back in Beacon Hills?" Stiles asks.

"I'm glad to be back. But Alex keeps grumbling about change. Again. We move around a lot so you think he'd be used to it but he still complains every single time." Aria says.

"You can't stop change any more than you can stop the sun from setting." Stiles responds.

"Suns." Aria corrects.

"What?" Stiles asks, looking at her with a stunned expression.

"The quote. It's suns. Plural. Not singular. Star Wars." Aria says, not looking away from the lacrosse field and Stiles' jaw drops. Aria sends her brother a smile and a thumbs up when he manages to get the ball in the top corner of the net.

She eventually looks at Stiles when she'd noticed he had stopped talking. "What?" She asks.

"You like Star Wars?" He asks.

"Yeah. Love it." Aria says. "Pay attention." She instructs, nudging his arm and he looks back to the lacrosse field.

When Scott catches one of the balls thrown, everyone looks at him stunned, including Stiles and Aria, for a brief moment. "Yeah!" Stiles calls, getting over his initial shock and Aria chuckles slightly.

Stiles cheers again when Scott catches more of the balls thrown his way before Jackson pushes his way to the front. "The more I look at him, the more I get the urge to punch him." Aria remarks idly and Stiles looks at the blonde who just shrugs shamelessly.

When Scott catches Jackson's very dramatically thrown ball, in Aria's opinion, she has to duck as Stiles gets to his feet, flailing his arms slightly as he cheers and she laughs softly before cheering too, though, not quite as enthusiastically. "That's my friend!" Stiles announces loudly and Aria laughs, shaking her head slightly at him.

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Aria waits for Alex outside the boy's locker room after practice, leaning against the wall opposite the doors, smiling at Stiles and Scott when they walk out, shortly followed by her brother. "Waiting for me at practice wasn't such a hardship for you today, was it now?" Alex asks teasingly and she shoves his shoulder, making him laugh before he wraps an arm around her shoulders.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Aria responds.

"You sure about that?" He asks and she nods. "So that wasn't Stiles you were sitting next to on the bench?" Alex asks and she scoffs before punching his shoulder.

"You're a jackass." Aria says and he chuckles, kissing the top of her head as they make their way across the car park and to the car where Allison was already waiting for them.

"I cannot believe you abandoned me with that girl." Allison says.

"You looked like you were having fun." Aria argues and Allison raises her brows. "Okay, we remembered her from last time we were here and did not want to put up with her." Aria says and Allison hums. Aria opens the car door, coughing at the smell of nicotine in the car before glaring at her brother as she climbs inside. "I can't believe you smoked a cigarette in my car." Aria says as she shuts the car door, rolling the window down as soon as she starts the car and she sees Allison scrunching her nose up in the mirror.

"Get over yourself. It's not like I hotboxed your car." He retorts.

"Yeah. This time." Aria replies dryly as her phone beeps. "Can you check that for me?" Aria asks and Alex grabs her phone from her bag.

"It's from an unknown number." He says.

"What does the message say, Alex? It might be Stiles. I gave him my number." Aria says.

"Oh, uh, 'It's Stiles, did you hear about the party Friday night?' There's a party Friday night?" Alex asks after reading the message.

"Yeah, it's Lydia's party." Allison says as Aria pulls out of her parking space, sticking her arm out the window and giving the person who had almost reversed into her the finger.

"We're going." Alex announces.

"What? Why?" Aria asks.

"Because you just told Stiles we would." Alex responds, holding her phone up and she glances over at the device before clipping him around the ear as she looks back at the road and Allison laughs softly. "You are not sitting home on Friday night when there is a party to play video games or bake. I'm not letting you. You will do normal teenager things, like going to a party. I will make sure of it even if it kills me." Alex announces and she huffs.

"There's nothing wrong with my games!" Aria exclaims.

"You're sixteen, not a preteen boy. Act like it." Alex instructs as he tosses her phone back in her bag.

"Fuck you, Alex." She retorts. "And you love my baking. You loved that cake I made you." Aria says.

"I did. Doesn't mean you should be doing that instead of normal teenager things." Alex says.

"Okay, guys. Ease up." Allison says, leaning forwards slightly.

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When they get home, they all drop their stuff by the front door before Chris steps out of the study. "Bags don't go there." Chris says and they all pick their bags back up.

"But you know what? They could go there." Aria says.

"Upstairs." Chris says and she grumbles slightly before they all head for the stairs.

"Have either of you started unpacking yet?" Allison asks.

"No." The twins respond at the same time.

"Lets be real. I'm gonna be living out of boxes for as long as we're here." Alex says.

"Not if I have anything to do with it. I'm not gonna leave you alone until you unpack." Aria responds.

"I'd rather be ready for when we leave again than have to re-pack it all." Alex says, walking into his room and the girls share a look before Aria rolls her eyes.

"He's such a pain in the ass." She says and Allison shrugs.

"Hey, you're not exactly a piece of cake, Little Miss Sunshine." Allison says before walking to her room.

"Hey! I'm a joy to be around!" Aria calls after her. "Not a piece of cake, my ass." She grumbles.

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Aria's sat on the floor, trying to sort out the cables for her computer when someone knocks on her door later that night. "Come in!" She calls, untwisting a cable.

"Do you need a hand?" Chris asks and she glances up.

"No, I'm okay. What's up?" She asks.

"Dinner will be ready in about five minutes." He says and she sighs.

"This is not going to take me five minutes and I really don't want to start again." She says.

"What are you trying to do?" He asks.

"Unwind all these cables so I can tie them off to the leg of the desk so they're out the way." Aria responds and he moves into the room.

"Here." He says and Aria moves back, watching him quickly untangle all the cables before holding his hand out and she gives him the zip tie so he could tie them off to the back leg of the table.

"Thanks." She says and he nods.

"Come down for dinner and I'll help you put your chair together after." He says and she smiles.

"Okay." She says before pushing herself up off the floor and heading downstairs with her Uncle close behind.

She claims the seat beside Allison instead of the one next to Alex and he gives her a dirty look before Chris and Victoria bring the food in. "So, you all had a good day?" Victoria asks.

"Yeah. Until they abandoned me with this girl when she started making out with her boyfriend in front of us." Allison says.

"Wow, you really sat there and thought, 'What's the best way to just throw them under a bus?', didn't you?" Aria asks.

"Well," Allison shrugs.

"In our defence, it was Lydia Martin and we put up with her for six years. I think we had every right not to put up with her any longer." Alex defends and Aria nods, stabbing a carrot with her fork.

"Did you see anyone else you used to be friends with?" Chris asks.

"Aria saw Stiles." Alex says and the blonde grabs a roll, prepared to launch it at her brother's head.

"Aria, put it down." Victoria says and the blonde glowers at him before lowering the roll. "Who's Stiles?"

"He was Aria's best friend when we were younger and she had a little crush on him." Alex says.

"I was six, it doesn't count!" Aria retorts, leaning forwards.

"Really? Then why are you getting so defensive." Alex asks.

"I'm going to kill you." Aria says and he grins.

"Okay. Okay. Let's stop this." Chris says and Aria glares at her brother as she sits back.

"I'm never telling you anything again." She snaps.

"Okay, sure." Alex responds with an amused smile on his face.

"Guys, come on." Allison says, grabbing Aria's wrist when she goes to throw her fork at her brother.

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Aria sits on the bleachers at lacrosse practice with her nose in a book the next day because she may have to be there but that didn't mean she had to pay attention. "Scott! Scott, wait up." The blonde looks up from her book when she hears Stiles' voice.

"Stiles, I'm playing the first elimination, man. Can it wait?" Scott asks.

"Just, hold on, okay? I overheard my dad on the phone. The fibre analysis came back from the lab in LA. They found animal hairs on the body from the woods!" Stiles announces.

"Body from the woods?" Aria mutters under her breath.

"Stiles, I gotta go." Scott says before starting to run off onto the field.

"Wait, no! Scott! You're not gonna believe what the animal was!" Stiles shouts. "It was a wolf." He finishes lamely and Aria puts her book away before bouncing over to the bench next to Stiles.

"What body?" She asks and he screams slightly, looking over at her with slightly wide eyes. "Oh, come on. I'm not that scary." Aria teases.

"Where did you come from?" He asks and she points at the bleachers behind her.

"What body?" She asks.

"I need to get over there. I'll explain after." He says and she nods before pulling her book out again, opening it where she'd slotted the bookmark in.

Stiles slides onto the bench next to Aria who was sitting at the end and she flips the page. "So, joggers found half a body in the woods a few days ago." Stiles says and Aria raises an eyebrow, looking up from her book.

"Which half?" Aria probes curiously and Stiles watches her put her book away before responding.

"Bottom. They still haven't found the top half." Stiles says.

"Beacon Hills is so much more interesting than San Francisco." Aria says and he smiles slightly at the brunette. "What was this about a wolf hair?" She questions.

"Can I run something totally crazy past you?" Stiles asks and she shrugs.

"Sure. Why not?" Aria asks.

"Scott and I went out into the woods to look for the other half of the body the other night, I got caught by my Dad but I had to leave Scott behind." Stiles explains and Aria raises an eyebrow at him.

"With the potential that there was a murderer still out there?" Aria asks.

"Minor factor." Stiles responds and she snorts. "He got bit and he said he heard a wolf howling." Stiles explains.

"Okay, I may have been living in other states for ten years, but even I know that California hasn't had wolves in like sixty years. They migrated." Aria says.

"Exactly! So what do you think he really heard?" He asks.

"I don't know. Coyote, maybe. Maybe a mountain lion." Aria shrugs. "I'm not an animal expert, Stiles. But I do know that wolves are highly migratory. So, there's a chance that it was a wolf." Aria says. "Did you say they found wolf hairs on the half of the body they found?" She questions and he nods.

Aria bites her bottom lip, slightly worried. She didn't want to have come back to Beacon Hills just to be thrown into the midst of werewolf crap. They'd left Beacon Hills in the first place to get away from it.

And her parents really didn't want her involved in any of it.

She knew Chris and Victoria had come here because of a potential Alpha but she was really hoping she wouldn't end up being involved in any of it.

"I made a werewolf joke to Scott. And I know it's insane. But the more I see, the more likely I think it sounds." Stiles admits and she sighs.

"Werewolves? Really?" Aria asks.

"You think I'm crazy." He states and she sighs.

"No, I don't think you're crazy." Aria says and he frowns at her. "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." The brunette says.

"I am so glad you're back." Stiles says and she smiles. "You said you were going to Lydia's party. Do you want to go with me?" He blurts out and she looks over at him, slightly surprised.

"Are you asking me out?" She asks playfully and his eyes widen.

"No! Well, yes but no. As friends. Do you want to go to Lydia's party with me as friends? Not a-" He pauses when he sees the amused look on the blonde's face. "You're messing with me, aren't you?" Stiles asks and she laughs before nodding.

"Yeah." She says and he shakes his head at the blonde. "Yeah, I'll go to Lydia's party with you. As friends." Aria responds and he nods.

"Cool. Okay. Stop mocking me and I might pick you up." He says and she laughs before turning her attention back to the field.

Aria and Stiles watch as Scott runs across the field, frowning in confusion when he flips over the other players, throwing the ball into the net. "Now, I'm no expert, but I'm sure that's not what you're supposed to do in lacrosse, right?" Aria asks as everyone cheers.

"Why would doing gymnastics be part of a contact sport?" Stiles asks.

"I don't know. I normally read at these things and just send Alex thumbs up when he looks at me." Aria says and Stiles chuckles.

"How do you know when he looks at you if you're reading?" Stiles asks.

"Twins have a sixth sense. Did you not know that?" Aria says, mock serious.

"No, that's crazy, I can't believe I've never heard that before." He responds dryly and she shrugs.

"See, what would you do without me?" She asks.

"McCall! Get over here!" Coach shouts and Scott runs over to him, taking his helmet off. "What the hell was that? This is a lacrosse field. What, are you trying out for the gymnastics team?" Coach asks.

"No, Coach." Scott responds.

"What the hell was that?" He asks again.

"I don't know. I was just trying to make the shot." Scott responds.

"Yeah, well, you made the shot. And guess what? You're starting, buddy." Coach hits Scott's shoulder as he looks at him, surprised. "You made first line!" Coach announces and the crowd cheers, everyone standing except Stiles and Aria who share confused frowns at what they'd just watched.

"Work with me here, I've been gone a while, but isn't Scott asthmatic?" Aria asks and Stiles nods. "And, shouldn't an asthmatic have been in desperate need of their inhaler after a stunt like that?" Aria asks.

"Yeah. Yeah, they should." Stiles says.

"Your crazy werewolf theory is looking better and better." Aria says and he rubs his jaw briefly. "Look, I've got to go with Alex, but you have my number and I'll text you our address. Okay?" Aria asks and he nods.

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After practice, Aria drives them home, both of them heading to the kitchen when they hear talking to see Chris and Victoria preparing dinner. Allison had gone home earlier on her own because she didn't want to sit through practice. "Hey." Aria says, stealing a carrot from the counter.

"Good practice?" Chris asks, looking at Alex.

"Oh, yeah. Fantastic." He responds dryly.

"He's just bitter because he didn't do gymnastics on the field and impress the Coach." Aria says.

"I thought you were trying out for lacrosse." Chris says.

"Yeah, so did I. And apparently, gymnastics is the way to play lacrosse in Beacon Hills." He grumbles before walking out of the room and Aria snorts in amusement as she eats her carrot.

"Oh, uh, I don't know if Ally mentioned it already, but is it okay if we go to a party tonight?" Aria asks, leaning on the counter and both of them share a look. "What?"

"You want to go to a party?" Victoria asks and the blonde scoffs at her incredulous tone.

"Okay, wow. Slightly hurtful." Aria says, grabbing another carrot. "Can we?" She asks.

"Yes. It's fine. Allison already asked." Chris says.

"Okay. I'm going to get changed then. God. You people are so mean to me." Aria complains as she walks out of the room and upstairs.

"Put on something decent. Please." Alex says as she walks past his room and she gives him the finger as she passes.

Aria texts Stiles one handed as she walks, telling him her address, placing her phone down on top of the dresser as she looks for something to wear, humming songs to herself as she roots through her clothes whilst eating the carrot in her hand.

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After settling on something to wear, Aria heads downstairs and into the dining room, grabbing a plate of food from her Uncle as he walks in before sitting down with it and Allison laughs slightly as she takes the other plate from her father. "Sorry, I'm starving." Aria says and Chris shakes his head slightly as Alex walks in, just as Chris walks back out.

"How are you getting there?" Alex asks, sitting down.

"Stiles is picking me up. How are you getting there?" The blonde asks.

"One of the guys from the lacrosse team offered to pick me up." Alex says and Aria nods before looking at Allison.

"Oh, uh, that guy, Scott McCall, asked me. He's gonna pick me up." Allison says with a slightly smile.

"Aww, that's adorable. You look so cheery." Aria says playfully as Chris and Victoria bring the rest of the food through.

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After eating, the three teens move to the living room, sitting on the sofa to watch TV. Until a knock at the front door startles them. "I'll get it." Alex announces and the girls watch him walk to the door. "Aria, it's for you." Alex announces.

"Coming." Aria calls as she gets up, grabbing her phone, bag and two brownies from the tray in front of them before heading to the door.

"You ready to go?" He asks and she nods.

"Yeah." She nods. "Hi. Brownie?" Aria asks, holding one out and Stiles frowns, taking the offered brownie.

"Why the brownie?" He asks as they head to the car, Aria shutting the front door behind her.

"Because I made a batch after dinner because I was bored." Aria responds and he nods as they walk down the drive.

"So, my werewolf theory is getting more solid." Stiles says and she hums, looking over at him before subtly glancing at the house. "I started researching werewolves, lycanthrope, any werewolf-related thing you could think of. And then Scott arrived and I told him about my theory seriously and showed him the research and he flipped. He attacked me," Aria looks at him wide-eyed as they stop in the front garden.

"Are you okay?" Aria asks and he nods.

"I'm fine. My chair isn't. There were claw marks on the back. The fabric was torn and there were claw marks." Stiles says.

"Christ." Aria sighs. "Isn't tonight a full moon?" Aria asks and Stiles nods.

"And Scott's going to the party with Allison." Stiles says.

"Oh, shit." Aria says and he nods, opening the passenger side door for her. She looks at the Jeep as she goes to climb into it.

"What?" He asks, noticing her hesitation.

"Is this," She trails off and he looks at the Jeep.

"My Mom's?" He asks and she nods. "Yeah. She left it for me when she, well, you know." Stiles says and she nods. "You okay?" He asks and she looks up.

"Yeah. It just wasn't what I was expecting. Roscoe's about the only thing from Beacon Hills I've ever had any memory of." Aria responds and he smiles.

"Well, my Mom took us everywhere in Roscoe. I can't believe you still remember that it's called Roscoe." Stiles says and she scoffs.

"Please, your Mom drilled that into our heads and made sure we'd never forget." Aria says and he chuckles.

"Fair point." He concedes and she climbs into the Jeep before he shuts the door, climbing in the other side.

"Everything's still the same, huh?" Aria says.

"Everything down to the engine. Which probably explains why it's a bit touch and go sometimes." Stiles says and she raises an eyebrow.

"Really? That's not great. I can take a look at it if you want. The engine." Aria offers and he frowns at the blonde. "I'm quite handy with cars." Aria says.

"Really?" He asks incredulously.

"Father-daughter bonding time. What do you know about cars?" She retorts defensively.

"Enough." Stiles responds. "So, fixing cars is a hobby of yours, then?" He asks.

"Not really. It was just a father-daughter bonding thing. He wanted to make sure I'd be able to change a tire and do all the basics and somehow that turned into him teaching me everything he knew about cars. I like baking. And gaming." Aria responds and he frowns with an amused smile. "What?"

"Nothing. Nothing, just, you're well-versed in mechanics, you game and you bake. You're an enigma, Aria Argent." He says and she smiles with a shrug.

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When they get to Lydia's party, Stiles instinctively grabs Aria's hand on the way into the building to make sure he didn't lose her and she looks down at their joined hands before squeezing his hand as they walk. "I hate parties." Aria grumbles as they walk through the house and he looks over at her. "I'd rather stay at home and bake but Alex won't let me. He keeps saying 'I'm not letting you turn into a ninety-year-old before you've left high school'." She says and Stiles chuckles.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asks and she shrugs.

"Only if it's non-alcoholic. I don't have any interest in drinking tonight." Aria says and he nods.

"Wait here. I'm going to see if I can find Scott while I'm gone." He says and she nods before dropping his hand as he walks away.

Aria leans against a wall when he leaves, idly braiding a strand of hair while she waits for him to come back. "You wanna dance?" Someone asks and she looks over at them briefly before looking in the direction Stiles had gone.

"No." Aria says, turning her attention back to her hair.

"Why not?" He asks and she rolls her eyes.

"Because I don't want to. Go find someone else to grind up against. I'm not interested." Aria says.

"Oh, come on, there's no need to be like that." He says and she rolls her eyes.

"Get moving. I'm sure your left hand is missing all the action it's usually getting about now." Aria says and someone laughs from the other side of him.

"Leave her alone, Gomez." They say and Aria looks up to see him walk away. "You don't remember me, do you?" He asks and she raises an eyebrow. "Danny." He says and her eyes widen.

"Hi!" She grins and he chuckles. "Sorry, I'm not good with faces apparently. I only figured out Lydia was Lydia because of the hair and that Stiles was Stiles because I heard Coach refer to his friend as Scott." Aria says and he laughs.

"Well, we were all six when you last saw us." Danny says and she smiles.

"Fair point." She says.

"You here alone?" He asks and she shakes her head.

"I'm with Stiles. He's just grabbing some drinks." Aria says and Danny chuckles.

"Sounds about right that you two would be attached at the hip again already." Danny says and she rolls her eyes. "Bye, Aria. Have fun. But not too much fun." He says before walking away and she rolls her eyes again with a smile.

Eventually, Stiles heads back over, passing the blonde a drink and she smiles at him. "Thanks." She says and he nods. "Find him?" She asks.

"Nope. Not yet." Stiles responds and she sighs, looking around. "Did you braid your hair while I was gone?" He asks and she smiles.

"Maybe." She responds and he shakes his head with an amused smile.

After a few moments, Aria puts her drink down. "Come on." She says, grabbing Stiles' hand.

"Where are we going?" He asks.

"To dance." She responds.

"Oh, I don't dance." He says.

"Neither do I. I have two left feet. But we'll have more chance of seeing him since he'll probably be dancing with Allison." Aria says, putting his cup down before dragging him to dance. "I'm sorry in advance. There is a very high chance I will step on your toes." Aria says and he shrugs.

"It's okay." He responds and she smiles.

"You won't be saying that after I've stepped on your toes." She responds and he laughs as she wraps her arms around his shoulders. "Stiles? Are you going to put your hands on my waist or are you just gonna let your arms hang limply by your side?" Aria asks and he rolls his eyes before gently placing his hands on the blonde's waist.

"Can you see him?" Aria asks after a few minutes.

"What?" Stiles asks.

"Scott. Can you see Scott?" Aria says.

"Oh. I haven't seen him yet." He says.

Stiles had been staring at the blonde rather than actually looking around for Scott and he was just hoping she hadn't noticed. He had thought his childhood crush on the blonde had faded away when she left when they were kids and he was certain a crush on Lydia Martin had blossomed after. But now the blonde was back, his crush had hit him again like a brick. He'd missed her while she'd been gone but they had no way to keep in touch because her parents had cut off all ties from Beacon Hills when they left. But when he saw her again, he realised that his feelings for the blonde had never disappeared, he had just pushed them down subconsciously when she left. But since she'd gotten back, his superficial crush on Lydia had completely faded and his crush on Aria had sparked again. But he had no idea what to do about it because they were completely different people than they were ten years ago.

"What are you thinking about?" Aria asks.

"Nothing." Stiles responds. "Have you seen him?" He asks and she nods over his shoulder.

"He's dancing with Allison over there." She says and he glances over his shoulder to see Scott and Allison dancing. "Don't stare. Jesus." Aria says, tugging him back to look at her.

"Switch places with me." He says and they switch positions so Stiles could see Scott and Allison.

Aria stumbles into Stiles a few moments later when Scott bumps into them. "Yo, Scott, you good?" Stiles asks but he just keeps walking, ignoring his best friend.

"You go get Scott. I'll get Allison." Aria says and Stiles nods before following his best friend and the blonde heads over to Allison. "Hey." Aria says.

"Did you see Scott?" Allison asks.

"Yeah, he bumped into me and Stiles. He said he wasn't feeling very well and rushed out. Stiles followed him." Aria says.

"He seemed okay earlier. Is he okay?" Allison asks.

"I'm sure he's fine. If he's sick, it's probably just a twenty-four hour thing." Aria says and Allison nods.

"Do you wanna go home?" Allison asks and Aria nods.

"Sure. Come on." Aria says, leading the other girl out of the house.

"I assume Scott left in his car?" Aria asks and Allison glances up and down the street before nodding.

"Yep. Walking?" Allison asks and Aria sighs.

"Looks like it." She responds as she makes eye contact with Stiles, nodding slightly before he climbs into the Jeep.

"Allison. Aria. I'm a friend of Scott's and Stiles'." Someone says, catching their attention and they look over at the guy stood next to the black Camaro. "My name's Derek." He says and Aria looks at him suspiciously.

"Nice ride." Aria remarks.

"Thanks." He says.

"You get in the back." Aria mutters, nudging the brunette and she climbs in the car, Aria climbing in shortly after.

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Allison gives Derek instructions to get to their place and when they get there, the two girls climb out, the blonde giving Derek a suspicious look until he leaves. She doesn't notice Allison wasn't wearing her jacket until they get into the house. "Hey, you're back early." Victoria remarks.

"Her date got sick and mine was his best friend so, when they left, we left." Aria shrugs.

"How did you get back?" She asks.

"One of their friends gave us a lift." Allison says. "I'm heading upstairs." She says.

"The guy that gave us a lift home," Aria starts when Victoria goes to walk away and she looks back at her niece. "His name was Derek. And he kept looking at us weird. Do you think that might have been Derek Hale?" Aria asks and Victoria hesitates.

"I'll talk to Chris about it when he gets back." She says.

"Where is he?" Aria asks.

"It's a full moon. He's in the preserve." Victoria responds before walking away.

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Aria sits at her desk in her room, playing World of Warcraft until she hears her Aunt shout her and Allison's names. She frowns, taking her headset off before heading out to the landing at the same time as Allison and Aria frowns slightly when she sees Stiles stood at the front door. "What are you doing here?" Aria asks.

"Oh, uh, Scott asked me to tell Allison that he's just not feeling very well. And he's sorry." Stiles says.

"He couldn't have texted me?" Allison asks and Aria presses her lips together to hide a smile.

"Well, that probably would have made more sense. I guess hindsight's a bitch." He says and Aria snorts. "I should go." He says.

"Bye, Stiles." Aria says and he nods awkwardly before pointing back at the Jeep and walking down to it.

"That was weird right?" Allison asks as her mother shuts the door.

"Yeah. Definitely weird." Aria responds.

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The next morning, Aria takes the pieces of toast from Allison with a smile as Chris walks into the room. "Morning, Dad." Allison says.

"Morning." Chris responds, glancing at them both.

"Where were you last night?" Allison asks.

"I just had some work to do." He says and Aria glances down at her toast.

"Okay. I'm going to get dressed." Allison says.

"Okay." Aria says, leaning against the counter and Allison nods before walking out of the room.

"You think you got a ride home from Derek Hale last night?" Chris asks and she shrugs.

"Well, his name was Derek and he kept looking at me like I was going to stab him at any given moment. So, my best assumption is Derek Hale because I don't know why an alleged friend of Scott or Stiles would, a, be older than us or b, look at us like that." Aria responds and he nods.

"Okay. You were careful?" He asks.

"As careful as I could be." Aria says and he nods.

"Okay." He says and she hums.

"Cool, well, I'm commandeering the kitchen, so, out, please." Aria says and he shakes his head with an amused smile before raising his hands and stepping out of the kitchen.

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