It wasn't until Allison pointed out that her dad had been looking for Derek did Scott realize he hadn't heard from the Alpha in some time. Not since graduation, in fact, which for some reason Stiles decided to to invite him to.

Scott never liked Derek. The older wolf was too brash, too instinctive, dangerous and unstable. It was a wonder he wasn't feral already, especially since his family died in the fire, excluding his uncle and younger sister.

And so, he decided to take it upon himself to make sure Derek wasn't planning anything that would compromise his status as True Alpha, and maybe even finally get him out of Beacon Hills for good. God knows Stiles would be better off with some other idiot with a low self-esteem.

He decided to go to the loft first. When he stepped into the room, he's surprised how barren everything looks. The clothes that were strewn on the floor had been picked up, and the bedroom's drawers showed no evidence of anyone living here anymore. Derek's scent was still here, but it and Stiles' was over a month old. And the other Hale's didn't seem and closer. Wherever Derek was now, he hadn't been here for a long time. He left again.

Then that means he definitely screwed over Stiles.

That idiot, Scott thought to himself over and over as he drove to the Sheriff's house. That idiot. I told him Derek was a right bastard, I knew he was just using Stiles.

He remembered back when they first fought about it a year ago, before their junior year even ended. Stiles was going out with Derek and didn't want to do with Scott's pack anymore. He wanted to be with the Hales, with Cora and Peter, as they were his pack now.

Scott told him that the Hales were using Stiles for his Spark.

Stiles said that if he was really worried about him, why didn't they meet up for lunch at the diner on the day of his mom's anniversary like they did every year? Or wish him a happy birthday? Why did he leave him behind to bleed after the last attack, even though Allison was already being taken care of by her father and suffering far less injuries? If Scott truly cared about Stiles, then why did he never show it?

It was his grudge, Stiles said, against the fact that Derek was Alpha on his own property, even if Scott had the status of True Alpha that he never got over his high horse. And he needed to grow up and accept that or their friendship was over.

They had spoken rarely since then, but Scott always kept an eye out for Derek. And today, he finally got him. He couldn't wait to say "I told you so" to Stiles' pathetic crying face.

When he reached the house, he expected Stiles to answer the door. He should've expected the Sheriff to do it instead considering the cruiser was parked next to the Jeep, but he let it slide. "Derek's gone."

John frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Derek's gone," Scott reiterated. "He's packed his stuff up and abandoned the loft, and I'm guessing he's abandoned Stiles, too. Came to say I told him so."

John gave him an odd look, something that seemed to be a combination of understanding and disappointment. Good, so the Sheriff wasn't totally oblivious after all. "Scott, Derek may be gone, but they're still together."

Or maybe he was.

"What?" Scott said incredulously. "Are they trying long-distance or something? Those never work out. I guarantee that he's balls deep in some prostitute in Mexico again, or something. Either way, he's not here to take advantage of Stiles, so he at least has a chance of coming back to my pack."

"Hey, wait a minute," John said when Scott turned around to walk down the yard, "I thought you wanted to talk to Stiles."

"I'll wait until Derek actually screws up," Scott said. "It'll make my point that much sweeter. See ya, Sheriff." He got into his car and drove away.

That night, he decided to text Stiles to make sure he was on his toes.

Scott
 dude, you know Derek's not being faithful wherever the hell he is, right?

Almost immediately, he got a reply back.

Stiles
 ERROR: DID NOT RECEIVE MESSAGE."Stiles" HAS DISCONNECTED THIS NUMBER. TRY ANOTHER NUMBER.

Scott
 Wtf dude? Are you playing a prank on me?

Stiles
 ERROR: DID NOT RECEIVE MESSAGE."Stiles" HAS DISCONNECTED THIS NUMBER. TRY ANOTHER NUMBER.

Scott
 Cut it out, god you're being so petty about what's right in front of you

Stiles
 ERROR: DID NOT RECEIVE MESSAGE."Stiles" HAS DISCONNECTED THIS NUMBER. TRY ANOTHER NUMBER.

Finally fed up, Scott opted to call the phone and growled as the dial rang on and on.

"C'mon, dude. Don't be such an ass."

No one picked up. "We're sorry, the person you are trying to call has disconnected his or her number. Please input another number and try again."

What? No, that can't be right.

Scott called again, but only yielded the same results. Something was going on, and whatever it was, Derek had something to do with it.

He waited until the middle of the night before sneaking out of the house. He ignored his ride and instead ran to the Stilinski residence, which was much easier now with his enhanced werewolf abilities.

The cruiser was still parked outside. John didn't have a night shift tonight then; he had to be careful. He went around the back of the house and climbed the way he had before, when they were younger and would occasionally sneak into each other's houses to watch the new R Rated movie they weren't supposed to see online, or just to play video-games and eat snacks.

That all changed when Derek came into the picture.

As soon as he opened the window and slid inside Stiles' room, the familiar smell of his former best friend hit him, but just like with Derek's place, the smell was old and hasn't been renewed in a long time. He flipped the light switch on and his eyes widened when he saw the state of the room.

Almost everything had been stripped bare. The bed had its blankets pulled back and folded on the mattress, as of ready to set. The walls were bare of posters and were littered with holes from the tacks Stiles would press into them during research days. The drawers were empty of clothes, and all the books, Stiles' laptop and charger, and even photos were gone from their place.

In his stupor, he backed up into the chair that was out of place and tripped over it, sending him to hit his head against the desk and hissing in pain. He knocked over the wastebasket over at the same time and he caught eye of a photo ripped and thrown into the basket.

Looking carefully, it seemed that there were a few different photos thrown in the trash. The pieces were scattered, but an inspection showed that they were all photos taken from before Stiles defected to the Hale pack. Why would he just... tear them up like that?

A smell of alarm and fear filled his nose, but he only stood and held a piece of a photo that showed him with his arms around Stiles' shoulders. This photo looked to be the one from when Erica and Boyd were still with them.

The door swing open and the Sheriff pointed a gun in his direction. "Scott? What the hell are you doing in my house?"

"Derek has Stiles," Scott concluded, letting the scraps go and fall to the ground. "God, that idiot. I knew something like this would happen?"

"Oh, did you?" John lowered the gun, but didn't holster it. "And what exactly did you think happen?

Scott scoffed. "Look around! How long has Stiles been missing? Why haven't you told us? Did you already set up a search party wherever already?"

John frowned. "Scott, Stiles left after graduation ended."

Scott, having turned to survey the barren room, turned around to face him. "What?"

"He went on a road trip with Derek until he starts college in the fall. But then again, you'd know that if you hadn't decide to cast Stiles off as a lost cause." John crosses his arms and looked at the immature teen turned immature adult in front of him.

"With Derek?" Scott said almost loudly, appalled. "What the hell kind of thinking is that? Do you even care about Stiles at all?"

"Do you care?" John challenged. "Don't act like you're innocent in all this, McCall. I know that you've never made Stiles your priority ever since you were bitten, you always thought you'd be better off without him, or wanted him around just so you had a sense of faux power because of your incompetence as an Alpha to Isaac, Jackson and the others."

Scott growled, baring his teeth a little as an intimidation tactic. "Why are you ganging up on me? Derek's the guilty party!"

"I can understand why you don't trust him, what I understand even less is why you decided to let your pettiness get in between you and Stiles!" John was shouting now. The neighbors could possibly hear. "You were supposed to be his best friend! Instead, you only cast him off when it suited you and didn't so much as thank him when he deserved it. Derek is twice the Alpha that you will ever be, and my son is much better off in his pack than your mess!"

Scott shouted as he lunged forward to swipe at the Sheriff, but the gunshot pierced his thigh and he only hit the floor. He felt the Sheriff move behind him and press his hands to his back. The sound and feel of cuffs on his wrist alerted him.

"Wait a minute, what are you doing?"

"I'm arresting you. What does it look like I'm doing? I'm a cop and dad first, remember?" John pulled Scott up and guided him out into the hallway and down the stairs.

"Wait, wait! I didn't even do anything!"

"Really? Breaking and entering is one crime. You tried to assault a police officer with intent to maim or kill, I'm sure. Not to mention you've been psychologically abusing my son with the way you catfish him into hanging out before deciding he wasn't worth it. How many times has that happened in the time leading up to graduation? I'll tell you: eleven."

Scott knew that he could snap the cuffs in two, but now that he was thinking rationally, he would only get in more trouble if he did. "I was trying to look out after him!"

"Then you should've made Stiles a priority. I did, Derek did. He's gone, McCall, and for the better."

Scott did not like how John was calling him by his surname. It reminded him of how he used to call Derek that when he was accused of murdering Laura.

Scott did or said nothing as he was guided outside the house and into the cruiser. Some of the people living nearby had already woken up, and even John's radio was on, with Parrish on the other line calling out desperately for him. Somewhere in the back of his head, it reminded Scott of the Colonel calling out for Snake in the Metal Gear games.

"Where is Derek, then?" Stiles asked as they drove to the station.

John looked at him in the rear view mirror and scoffed. "Really? You still inspecting Derek? What about Stiles?"

Scott avoided his sight. "They're together, aren't they? Figured they'd be in the same place during their road trip."

"Sure." It was clear that John didn't believe him. "I'm not telling you that. As far as we're all concerned, you're neither friend, nor family, McCall. You're a delinquent who decided his own ego was worth more than a lifelong friendship. And until you decide to get your act together, that's all you're going to be."

The words cut deep, but Scott didn't let it get to him. So what? That didn't mean Derek wasn't using Stiles. It just meant he may be biding his time. But if Stiles didn't want anything to do with him anymore, than fine. He wouldn't go track them down. He's done with all that.

Maybe now he can actually let work done as the Alpha around here.

"Dad, I'm leaving."

Not looking up from the police report he was reading over, John only nodded and didn't look up. "Sure thing, Stiles. Make sure you come back before your curfew."

Stiles shook his head from his place next to the couch in the living room. "I'm leaving Beacon Hills, Dad."

That garnered the Sheriff's attention. He jerked his head to face his son, a sharp "What?" leaving his mouth.

"After graduation." Stiles moved so that he was sitting next to his father on the couch. "I'm leaving Beacon Hills after graduation. With Derek. I asked him to go with me."

John scoffed and set the papers on the coffee table in front of him, leaning back on his seat. "You're crazy if you think I'm letting you leave my sight."

"I'm not asking for permission," Stiles said a little strongly. "Dad, I can't stay in Beacon Hills. With my friendship with Scott breaking, and my depressive episodes and the early-life crisis I had last week-"

John shook his head. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a minute, kid. Life crisis?"

Stiles sighed. "I'm a point where I'm all, 'what am I doing with me life?', Dad. And I'm only eighteen! No eighteen year-old should have to feel like that!" He sighed again and reached into his pocket. "This came in the mail today."

John frowned and took the envelope, looking at the ripped opening and the contents packed back inside. He turned it to look at the sender and gaped. "Manhattan?"

"Community college," Stiles said. "Everyone keeps saying that it's easier to get into a community college and then transfer to a university rather than just apply for the university in the first place. Derek and I have a plan." He took the envelope back and reached inside to take out a folded paper. Unfolded, it looked to be a map of the US. It was marked with pen marks, times, dates, and other notes where a path didn't lay.

"What's this?"

"An epic cross-country road trip. After the fire, Laura and Derek went to New York and lived there for a few years. The Hales had property in Brooklyn, and it's still there." He pointed to the drawn line on the map. "After we eat a celebratory late lunch at the diner, we're gonna go."

"Wait, immediately after graduation?" John took the map and looked it over. Circled major cities from Nevada, Ohio, Maryland, Illinois, and other states had a time jotted down, probably how long the estimated time to arrive would be. "Why so soon?"

"The sooner, the better," Stiles said. "I'll call often, and send a couple postcards along the way. Oh, that reminds me." Stiles pulled out his phone from his pocket. "I changed my number. I'm gonna text it to you so you have it."

"Son-"

"I know, it's sudden, and short notice since graduation is next week, but I have to do this."

"I know you do." John took his son's hands in his as his phone rang with a message, Stiles' new number. "Kid, I noticed that you haven't exactly been on your best lately. You almost didn't pass your grades this year." John saw his son look down in shame, but he continued on. "I'm not saying to make you feel bad. You care about Derek, right? And Derek cares about you?"

He already knew the answer to both of the questions, but he waited for Stiles to look up and meet his eyes before speaking again.

"If I'm not there to protect you, I know Derek will be. I'm gonna miss you like hell, kid, and I know you're going to okay. You know why?"

"No?" Stiles said, as if he should know the answer but didn't.

"Because you're your mother's kid. You mom also left home when she graduated, came here to Beacon Hills. That's how we met."

Stiles' eyes looked like they were going to water. "She did?"

"Yes. In fact, it's a good thing you told me. There's something I need to give you." John got up off the couch and up the stairs to his room. He reached into the drawer that had solemn been opened since Claudia died, full of memories and belongs of hers.

Upon taking out a small box, John revealed a photo of the day Stiles was born underneath it. The doctor had taken the photo, with John's arms wrapped around his wife and holding Claudia's arm as she held baby Stiles. He smiled and took the photo as well.

He came back down the stairs and set the frame face down on top of the papers, handing Stiles the box. "When you started school, your mother put this away and saved it for you. When she got sick, she would always remind me to give it you so you can have it for your graduation, as a good luck charm." He waited until Stiles opened the box to speak again. "It's the grad ring she had when she was a senior."

Stiles inhaled shakily, taking the small and lithe ring out of the box. The faux sapphire was a diamond cut, with Claudia's graduate year on one side and wolf emblem on the other.

"Wolf," Stiles said in awe.

"Your mother was always fond of them." John said. He handed the frame next "She'd appreciate the irony. And I'm sure she'd like Derek, too."

Stiles sniffled, wiping his nose with his sleeve and drying his eyes. "Thank you, Dad. I'm glad I have your support." He cleared his throat less his voice crack. "I need to finish packing."

"What about Scott?" John asked as his son rose from his seat, taking the envelope and map with him.

"What about Scott?" Stiles asked. "I gave up on him a long time ago, Dad. I told him if he wanted to everyone to meet up at the diner after graduation, and you know what he said the day after? That Allison was going to celebrate by going to the beach and that he'd bail to go with her. Surprise, surprise!" He shook his head. "He's not worth the disappointment anymore. Let's see how long it takes for him to notice I'm gone."

John let him go and head upstairs. He stared at the papers in front of him before deciding that he wasn't going to be able to focus on them anymore. He took his phone out to properly save Stiles' new number, then scrolled through his contacts until he reached Derek's.

"Hello?" Derek said, picking up on the first thing.

"Stiles just told me about your plan to get to Manhattan," John said. "I'm impressed how detailed you've planned everything. Promise you'll take care of him?"

"I would even if you hadn't asked," Derek said. "Stiles is my pack, my mate. I'll protect him with everything I've got. Besides, it's not just going to be us. Cora is coming with us."

"What about your uncle?" John asked. Seriously, that man was the ball in the a pinball machine; all over the place.

"He's gonna stay and rebuild the house," Derek answered. "He's got his own place just on the edge of Beacon Hills. So he's gonna take my place as protector of the land." There's a short pause before Derek says, "We're not going to be gone forever, John. We'll come back for Christmas, and I'm sure he'll call you often."

"You don't need to assure me about all that, I know he will. And maybe he will come back, but let's face it, kid. Beacon Hills isn't home anymore to him. With everything that happened, and what's happened to him, he deserves a new life. Please let him have it." He was about to end the call before a thought occurred to him. "And don't let Cora rile you up when she scents him. He may be your mate, but the both of them are pack, remember that."

"You're pack too, John," Derek said. "It will definitely be uncomfortable for me since I'm an Alpha away from two members of pack, but I'll adjust. Oh, I better go. Cora's cooking tonight and she'll need me to cook because she can't measure for shit."

The call ended, leaving John a little gobsmacked. He was pack? He never knew.

Graduation came and went. He sat with Melissa to his right, Derek and Cora to his left. Melissa breaks off after the speeches to join with her son, and John and the Hales meet Stiles. He first took a photo of Stiles in his graduation cap and gown, then passed the phone to Derek to capture Stiles with John. Then there was a photo with the Hales, kissing Derek, and a man working security capturing the four of them together.

John caught sight of Scott glaring at Derek when he kissed Stiles. He looked like he was going to come over, but Allison caught his arm to drag him in a photo with both of their parents.

Fine, then. His loss.

Stiles sighed as he listened to the rain out the window. It wasn't a hard rain, but it was enough that they had to cancel their trip to the nature preserve housing other werewolves that were friends with Talia. The road was muddy and the wolves' fur would smell.

"You alright, Batman?" Cora asked as she snuggled in her bed of the hotel they were staying at.

"Eh. Just as good as can be, Harley." Stiles shrugged. "I was really hoping to meet those other wolves. I wanna know if it's just you guys, or if all wolves like being scratched behind the ear." He grinned stupidly at Cora, who only scowled.

"Ugh. Your phone's ringing." She directed with her head to the nightstand between the two beds, where Stiles's phone was muted, but vibrating.

Stiles took the phone and frowned. "I don't recognize this number."

"Then don't answer it."

"The last time I did that, the woman called back three more times before she admitted she had the wrong number, I am not going through that again." He answered the call and brought the phone to his ear. "Hello, and why do I not recognize this number?"

"You little shit! I can't believe you just up and left like that!"

"Well, hello to you, too. Who is this? I don't have your number listed."

"It's Scott, you idiot!"

Cora snapped her head in his direction, looking up from her book. It makes sense with her hearing that she could hear the call.

Stiles smiled. "Well, well, well. Took you long enough to figure me out, Scotty. What took you so long? Too busy being balls deep in Allison to not notice that I haven't been around for any crisis?"

"I had to resort to asking my mom for your number. She wasn't too happy that she had to bail me out."

"Whoa, bail? What'd you do, break into a butcher's shop for some extra red meat?"

"Are you really stupid, going alone with Derek like that? What the hell, man!"

At this, Stiles glowered at the ceiling as he lay on his back on the second bed in the room. "Don't you dare, Scott. Don't you dare act like you're looking out for me. I don't want to hear from you again, I swear to god I will sue you for being a stalker and I will take out a restraining order against you. You showed me your true colors when I began dating Derek, and your pettiness won't stop it. Goodbye, Scott, for good this time." He hung up and let the phone fall from his grasp.

Even though he was still lying down, he felt as if he just collapsed on the bed.

"Great job, Stiles," Cora said not unkindly. "Derek will be back with food, you gonna tell him what happened?"

"Of course. We don't keep secrets, that's what Scott expects. Not that we even kept them to begin with."

Cora scoffed. "Yeah, sure. And the two you dodging each other for over a year wasn't a secret."

"You weren't even there during the year!" Stiles protested.

"Didn't have to. Erica and Isaac told me about how horny the two of you were for each other almost all that time. I'm surprised you guys waited until you were eighteen until you slept together."

Stiles rolled her eyes. "I did not want to have Derek in jail because of me again, okay? Once was enough." He grabbed his phone and blocked the number before he could forget.

"I'm sure there are other ways to make use of handcuffs," Cora said teasingly.

"Tried the bondage stuff once, Derek was all worried that I'd get hurt. It wasn't our thing, anyway."

"Gross."

Derek came in a little bit later, and after they all ate, settled to watch the last of the Ocean's trilogy. After debating the rank of the three movies, they settled for bed; Stiles and Derek in one bed, Cora taking the other.

("Your loss, more room for me. You sleep like a starfish, Stiles.")

"You okay?" Stiles asked when he noticed that Derek was a little rigid.

Derek looked down at him, with Stiles curling into his chest and playing with the hairs exposed by his Henley. "It's fine. I was just thinking."

"About?"

He almost didn't answer. Finally, he said, "You know I love you, right?"

"Of course I do. What's wrong?"

Derek lightly brushed his thumb against Stiles' jaw, caressing his hand against his boyfriend's face. "And I would never take advantage of you?"

Stiles blinked. "You don't think Scott's actually got into my head, do you? Do you honestly think I'm so… fragile?"

Derek quickly shook his head. "No, that's not it at all. You should know that, Stiles, I never thought you were fragile once. That's one of the reasons I love you, because you're so strong. Stronger than me, sometimes."

Stiles exhaled through his nose, the air hitting Derek's beard. "What's this all about then?"

"You had reservation when we began dating, remember?"

"Yeah, because I was scared of what my dad would think. Not because of anything Scott did or said." He moved to press his head against Derek's chest, breathing in his scent deeply. "But that's all in the past. He doesn't matter anymore, Scott. He made his choice. I made mine."

Derek smiled lightly, running his hands through Stiles' hair. "What could possibly have happened to make me so lucky to have you as my mate?"

"I think the same thing, Sourwolf." Stiles kissed Derek's exposed skin. "Love you, Der."

"Love you, Stiles."

"And I love sleep, if I can get any tonight," Cora said grumpily from the other bed. "Good night!"

Word Count: 4753

~CoronaCrown~