Chapter 1
„What are we looking?" Stiles stumbled through the warehouse holding a flashlight. Derek didn't answer, so after shining his light on the useless trash around him, he moved it to Derek's face. He was the one who called Stiles in the middle of the night and wanted to meet here, apparently no one else was available. At least that was what Stiles thought, he didn't really want to poke the already pissed off wolf, so he let his curiosity go, for now. Warehouse was full of random junk and Stiles didn't even know where to start, it would have been nice if someone filled him in with the details. Knowing Derek, he would have to get the information one word at the time.
„Clues." he finally answered. Derek didn't hide his annoyance and that only poured fuel to Stiles's need to fill the silence with mockery and sarcastic remarks.
„Wow. Really? Clues. Hm... Okay wolf boy, I'll look at some necessary clues." He picked up a piece of wood from the ground and shined his light on it, while staring at Derek, eyes wide in mockery „I found it. This mysterious looking stick it's exactly what we need. It's so foresty and dirty and ..."
„Hilarious." Derek said abruptly his irritation rising.
„I don't think it is. Hey! Look at this!" He threw the pice of wood over his shoulder and pickrd up a long metal pipe of the ground. „I think this is it. I solved the mystery. I am so good at this. You know why? Because I can read minds! And already I solved everything. This mysterious pipe belongs to Santa." Stiles couldn't stop mocking him, he loved it when Derek got angry with him. It was the only way for Stiles to pay him back for all the crap he has done to him. Although this kind of bullying always ended up with Derek threatening him or worse, so it was actually a closed circle lead by Stiles. In the back of his head Stiles knew it, but there was a reason why it is way back in his head. He had no intention being less annoying around Derek.
„I get it!" Derek yelled at him, clearly regretting the decision calling Stiles. He could have called Isaac, but at the last moment decided to call Stiles. He said to himself that it was because Stiles is smart and can notice things other people or wolves tend to miss. Right now he could've been the smartest one in the world and Derek would still had to fight the urge to hit him.
„You do? Well please, keep on being silent." Stiles raised his hands like Derek won this imaginary argument, but he couldn't stop a little chuckle that came through his lips „What are we looking then?" He threw the pipe on the ground and walked further, stumbling over random junk a couple of times. And a few times on clear ground. It was Derek's time to chuckle. The warehouse was quite big and full of old machines, some broken furniture, an old car, mostly just old trash. He jumped over some logs and moved towards the middle of the room.
„I heard something."
„Cats?"
Derek glared at him and that glare could kill a man „Funny."
Stiles grinned.
Derek wasn't looking at Stiles, but he saw how his features turned from angry to sad. „I'm not sure."
„What happened?" Stiles was completely serious, angry at himself that he didn't notice that Derek was acting weird.
„I heard something couple of hours ago when I was in bed, It could have been a scream."
Stiles frowned „Why didn't you check it out then?"
„I was ... I wasn't sure."
Stiles didn't believe him, Derek has been stubbornly sure at less things „You weren't sure if somebody screamed for their life?"
„Drop it Stiles! I wasn't sure and we are checking it now." Derek moved away and Stiles knew that something was wrong, he sounded a bit different too. Did something happen that night or was he busy with something else? Either way, Stiles made a mental note to ask about this when they had a moment.
„Oh, look at that car!" Stiles was walking at the end of the warehouse and found another, newer car, it was very similar to Derek's car.
„Be careful. I smell blood." Derek sniffed around but didn't follow Stiles to the car, he saw some scrapes on the concrete floor.
Stiles looked back for a second and chuckled „Be careful? What's gonna happen?"
„With your luck, everything" Derek muttered.
„True." He agreed and opened the car and sat in the car. „I could get used to this." Stiles loved his jeep, but he liked this car, so he couldn't help to play around a bit. He would have done more if Derek hadn't join him.
„Anything in the car?"
„Um... not really." He opened the glove box „Oh wait, this car is registered to a Lexi Sunners. You know her?"
„No. But you should get out of the car."
„Why?" He got out of the car immediately, but still had to ask. It was hard to keep up with wolves, who got their information way faster than he ever could.
„A lot of blood." he said that turning to the direction, where Stiles was.
Stiles froze, knowing that it was probably the owner of the car, whose blood was messing with the wolf's nose. He walked around the car to the corner and stopped, breath hitched and heartbeat fastening.
„Did you found something?" Derek heard the change in his heart and was already half running to him. It was maybe weird that he kept tabs on his hear beat, but it was better than listening him talk. It kind of became a habit for him.
„Yeah." His answer was barely a whisper
The moment Derek got there and saw the gruesome sight, he pulled Stiles away behind him. There was a body of a girl on the ground and it was covered in blood. It was hard to say how she died, her dress left her legs bare but dark red, like the rest of her body. Derek moved closer to see any werewolf marks or injures.
„Werewolf?" Stiles didn't see the body anymore; to be honest he didn't want to, he was glad that Derek pulled him away so he didn't have to make an excuse to step aside.
„She's human and I don't think a werewolf killed her."
„Just plain human murder?" Stiles chuckled nervously "That's new."
„There is too much blood I can't..."
„Oh shit!" Stiles yelled out.
„What?"
„This is a murder scene. My prints are all over her car."
Derek looked at him annoyed „Ofcourse. You are the sheriffs son and the first thing that came to your mind while looking for clues in an abandoned warehouse is to touch everything..."
Stiles sat back in the car and started to wipe off every surface with his sleeve. „It's a cool car! I wasn't thinking." He was mad at himself that he was that stupid; usually he was the smart one.
„No shit Stiles!"
„I know."
Stiles was almost done, he got off the car and wiped the handle as well. His was getting a little flustered because he couldn't afford to burden his dad with any more crap. Being a suspect in a murder would not be good to anybody.
„Did you get everything?" Derek asked. He sounded more worried than angry, that confused Stiles.
„I-I think so."
„You think so?"
„Yeah." He nodded reassuring himself more than Derek. The wolf sighed and grabbed Stiles' elbow to get the hell out of there, because he couldn't get anything useful and knowing Stiles something bad will happen. He will come back with Isaac or Cora to clean everything and dispose the body. Even if it wasn't related to them, Stiles was too comfortable in that car to let just the police handle it. Unfortunately he couldn't walk very far until he heard the police sirens.
„Shit."
„What?"
„From one to ten, how sure you are you cleaned all of your prints."
„I-I don't know.."
„Stiles, one to ten!?"
„Um.. 9,999?" Clearly it wasn't the answer Derek hoped to hear because he growled and ran back to the car. He opened the door and tightened his hands around the steering wheel, making sure that he left some full fingerprints. „Derek! What the fuck are you doing?" And then Stiles heard it too, police sirens. Something inside him knew that this was not going to end well.
Police arrived quickly and they didn't have enough time to run, to be honest Derek had all the time of the world. Stiles was the one who parked his car so close to the warehouse and the only road away from this place was the same way police came. Derek quickly said something about their story so it would be more or less the same. Stiles was still confused by Derek's former actions and not really grasping this whole situation or hearing what Derek was saying.
The police came in and at first their encounter was civil, but the moment they found the body, both of them were cuffed and shoved the back of the police car. The whole way to the station Stiles tried to come up with a good explanation covered with apologies. His dad was not going to take this lightly. Not when they end up in his office unannounced in handcuffs, which they did.
„Stiles?" The mixture of feelings in this one name was overwhelming and when he saw Derek Hale move next to his son he repeated, but with another tone that was very similar to Derek's death glare „Stiles?"
„I can explain."
„What exactly? The handcuffs or Derek Hale? Or the fact that you should be home in bed right now!"
„Um... okay... What order would you like me to..."
„Stiles!" It was Sheriff's second shift and he had no mood to mess around. Every time Stiles happened to be in this sort of situation he felt enormously guilty, mad and sad at the same time. But tonight he settled on mad. Stiles was counting on the other two.
„We were just in the neighborhood..." Stiles tried.
„What?" Sheriff yelled. Luckily for Stiles, Sheriff didn't have time to yell at him, an officer came into the office and wanted to talk to him. „Stay here!" he pointed at Stiles „You too!" he looked at Derek and left the room. Both guys took a seat.
„We are so fucked! I am so fucked!" Feeling the panic rising in his chest, he breathed out and in evenly, trying to keep his panic as far as possible. He felt Derek shift next to him, he probably thought that he was over reacting, but Stiles didn't give a fuck. He has been here before, this was a first for Stiles. And then it hit him, his panic replaced with worry.
„You are fucked!"
„Yes."
„You have been here before and my dad doesn't like you and ..." Stiles paused and frowned looking at Derek "You deliberately touched the car! Why did you do that? This is bad."
„I know Stiles." He said it quickly, Derek has done this before and he will get out one way or another, but what about Stiles. He heard his heart and saw his face and his dad's reaction. There would be serious consequences, hopefully the only prints in the car were his.
„How are you so calm? Or gloomy?" Stiles couldn't place an emotion to Derek's face, it was definitely his usual angry but at the same time calm and worried.
„Just stick to your story. We will... You will be fine."
„What story?"
„Didn't you hear me before?" Derek was now losing his calm as his temper was acting up.
„I was occupied with other thoughts."
„Unbelievable." He sighed in frustration, but repeated what he said earlier „I called you to come and meet me. You came and before I could fill you in, why I called the police came. If they find your prints in the car you tell them that you liked the car and wanted to sit there for a second and I let you. You didn't see the body. Also don't get into details. Got it?"
„This is a terrible story to stick with."
Derek frowned because this story was perfect for Stiles „It's true, well you saw the body, but the rest is true. You don't have to lie. This is the best story." he knew how Stiles was about lying to his dad, Stiles again had his thoughts on somebody else.
„For me yes, but what about you?"
„I know that you and your dad have some problems, also you are innocent and it's my fault you are here. I'll figure something out."
„What?! You are seriously fucked, you need a miracle to get out of this. The truth will not help you." Stiles was thinking for a second. „Okay." Stiles started to think of a better story. "You were taking a walk and noticed something so you called me. While you were waiting you found the car and tried it out."
„Why would I call you when I notice something?" Derek pointed out interrupting him.
„Um... "
"Better question why would you meet me at the middle of the night?"
Stiles couldn't answer because the Sheriff stepped into his office, his face full of so much anger that Stiles was sure he was going to explode. Derek stood up the second Sheriff walked in and Stiles followed.
"A murder?!" Sheriff yelled and then took a deep breath before continuing. "Did you know that there was a body in that warehouse?"
Stiles waited a moment, no sure why "No."
"Okay... we need to get your statements, one at the time. An officer will join me so he could make sure I won't kill you two. Stiles you are up first." And with that Sheriff stormed out of the office.
