"Tell me a story," She asked suddenly, "I'm trying to sleep." He smirked at the sound of her voice; the sleepy, pleading sound. Emily was half asleep, talking to him on the phone. He thought about her when he was coming up with a fairytale euphuism for her.
"There was a girl that always wore a red hoodie. Everyone called her Little Red Riding Hood. She was so beautiful, all kinds of men wanted her. Even the wolves. One day, Little Red was running away from an evil hunter when she ran into the big bad wolf. The second he saw her, he wanted to protect her. What the wolf didn't expect was for her to protect him from the hunter. He was lucky enough to keep her. The Big Bad Wolf taught her how to defend herself while she taught him French. He hated to be touched, that at first her wolf wouldn't let her touch him." He whispered. Her breath caught when she realized this was about them.
"But Red was stubborn," Her werewolf boyfriend continued on the other end of the line, "She kept trying. He almost hurt her a few times, which scared the hell out of him. Wolf would've let her go if she asked. She didn't. Red stayed by his side."
"Red loves her wolf very, very much." She said into the phone when he paused.
"He knows that now." He replied, "But it took a year for the big bad wolf to let her touch him. And when he did, he realized he never should've waited. Because Red was more gentle than he thought he deserved."
"I love you, Derek Hale." She cut off the story before he could finish, "Screw telling me a story, I just want you to stay on the phone with me until we're both asleep."
"I love you, Emily Argent. Put me on speaker so I can hear your heartbeat." He murmured. She giggled, but listened. When the sound of her heart entered his ears, he smiled. Best sound in the world. They didn't speak for the rest of the night. Emily'd set her phone on the empty pillow beside her, imagining him laying with her. She missed sleeping next to him, but ever since her sister found out—it was for his safety. This little phone was a prepaid disposable, making it impossible for them to track. After he heard her snoring, seconds before he drifted off he closed his. This was nightly for them. Speaking on the phone all hours into the night. God, her older sister was a bitch. Her guardian, and the leader of the Hunters in Beacon Hills. For three months, this was their only contact besides sneaking into Coaches' office occasionally at school to physically feel eachother. That happened only once.
The next morning, as she was getting dressed, the older Argent came into the room, watching her curl her sandy blonde hair and pull it over one shoulder to pin it with little silver pins Chris gave her for her birthday.
"What the hell do you want, Kate?" She asked, tiredly. Her gray eyes fixed on the woman in the mirror with a sigh. She pulled the leather tighter around her body, adjusting her shirt carefully. Kate and Emily were similar in looks, but were polar opposites. She'd refused to learn how to hunt when she was eleven. Gerard beat the hell out of her for it, and sent her to live with her sister. Maybe Kate could convince her. All that did was put Derek in her life three years later; five months after Paige's death. As he'd said in his Red-Riding-Hood retell of them, she'd been in a fight with Kate and ran away from the house. Being the clumsy human she was, the Argent had tripped in the middle of the woods and Derek over her. Sure, she'd seen him at school, but he was shifted when they'd met in the woods. He helped her to her feet, saw her scraped up knuckles and busted lip. She'd shivered when he set the pad of his thumb against her bottom lip and took some of the pain from it, raising her hand to his lips and kissing the back. Emily pushed him to hide in the underbrush beside her as Kate rounded the corner.
After that, there was no-one else for Derek. After that, no-one else existed. Just her. And just him.
"I know you're still seeing him, and I want to know his name."
"You're fucked in the head if you think I'm going to tell you anything about him. I love him."
"You're a child, Em. You're sixteen. You don't know what love is."
"Oh, and you do? Because our parents were so loving and gentle." She snarled sarcastically, rounding on her, "Don't tell me about love. The second I turn eighteen, I'm going to get the bite and there's nothing you can do about it."
"If you're eighteen, you'll be an adult and I'll kill you. And then I'll kill your little boyfriend." Kate laughed at Emily's reaction to grab her by the throat and throw her up against the door, arm across her throat.
"Why do you hate me so much, Kate?" She whispered, "All I've wanted was to stay out of this."
When Emily entered the hall, her father stood there in all his bloody glory. His fist met her jaw roughly. She was thrown down the stairs, her head slamming several times as he followed her down. She was crumpled on the ground, trying to crawl to the front doors to run. He grasped her hair and tugged her up to punch his youngest daughter a second time.
"What's his name, Em?"
"Fuck you." He kneed her in the face, breaking her nose. She cried out. Gerard continued to assault her face, breaking skin with his rings and force until he dropped her to the ground. Emily slung her bag over her shoulder and ran out the door, onto her bicycle and took the back way to school; knowing basketball practice was ending soon. Derek always stayed after, and sure enough he was alone in the gym when she came inside.
"D-Derek," She called.
Derek spun to face her and dropped the ball at the sight of her. In two steps, she was in his arms. He cupped her jaw, taking pain away as he held her.
"What happened? What did Kate do to you?!"
"She didn't do this. My-My dad's here. Derek, you're not safe anymore. They're trying to get me to tell them your name. I wouldn't."
"Come on, I'm taking you to my mother. Maybe she can help you." He scooped her up, her arms around his shoulders as she slipped into the car. Derek's reflexes were strong enough, he kept her in his lap while he hauled ass back to his home. Talia was on the porch when he slammed the breaks in the driveway. Emily was losing blood quickly. He was panicking. He couldn't lose Emily too.
"Mom! Help her!" He shouted as he reached her, the girl unconscious.
"What do you want me to do, Derek?"
"The Bite. Please, mom! I know what might happen, but please!" He fell to his knees, "I love her. I love her so much."
Talia couldn't stand seeing her son in more pain than he'd gone through this past year. And she'd met Emily before. She matched Derek in sarcasm and wit. Emily was perfect for him.
"Bring her inside."
