Chapter One: Into the Flame

Here I am, staring at the burned down remains of what used to be the Hale household. Blackened and crippled, the house reminded me of the late Peter Hale's former state. Maybe this too would come to life on a full moon night. Maybe this too would bring a monster to me.

Derek Hale didn't necessarily leave us when it happened, he just left us alone. He ignored us; tossed us to the side as if we were nothing. Derek was still in town. Every time one of us saw him, he would just turn around and walk the other direction. He wasn't even running from us. He would walk away, as if to say, "I know you don't stand a chance at catching me. And I know you aren't stupid enough to try." But I was; I was stupid, and it seemed like I was the only one who missed Derek.

We were never actually friends, but he meant something to me. To be honest, Scott was my only friend, and I'd never say it aloud, but always wondered why I wasn't a little more popular. People knew my name, but I never actually hung out with anyone accept Scott. Then, in comes Big Bad Sour Wolf Derek, changing the entire game, and I don't even know the rules anymore.

So here I am at Derek's house on the night before the full moon. He was going to talk to me, or kill me. Either way, it's something at this point.

"Derek." I called to no avail. I could have seen this coming, and I did. I grabbed the tent and other things from my Jeep, and set up shop in front of Derek house. I'd campout in front of his stairs until he spoke to me.

Night had fallen before I heard anything that sounded remotely human. It stopped just outside my tent leaving me with a hitch of breath that just couldn't get free. I was frozen; wishing and praying that Derek was what had found me here.

"What are you doing here?" It was Derek. I couldn't help but scramble out of my tent. I wanted him to see me.

"Hey there, you're out late." He didn't laugh, and I was beginning to think he physically couldn't.

"Answer me."

"Derek we haven't seen you in weeks, what's going on?"

"Why are youhere?"

"I just said that we haven't seen you-"

"I know what you said, but why you specifically. Where's Scott? Did Batman give up on Robin? Or did he finally grow up and become Nightwing?"

"Scott is probably with Allison. What's going on though? Why have you been avoiding us?"

"Not us; you."

"Okay, why are you avoiding me? I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't really have friends, so when someone runs into my life-"

"You ran into mine."

"Doesn't matter, you still left without saying anything. Why? What did I do?"

"I didn't want to kill you. Why else are you here?"

"Because it feels weird without you. It almost feels like when my mom died, except somehow, it feels worse." I dropped my head, I couldn't let him see just how weird everything felt. I felt weird, the air felt weird and empty, everything felt weird and empty.

"You know what? I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to come here." And with that I started to take my tent apart.

It was dumb of me to come here, but I needed to know why he left. Call it abandonment issues. I just couldn't help feeling like he should be here. It was dumb that I thought he would stick with us after everything was over. He was such an ass sometimes. And what the hell did he mean by, "I didn't want to kill you?" That's all he talks about is killing me. Am I not killable anymore? I feel like a cheap whore at this point; fuck and dump.

I had just gotten everything into the back of my Jeep when my body was pressed against the driver's side door. I could feel Derek's hands caressing my lower back. His body was so close to mine that if I had turned, we could have been inside of one another. My breath escaped and I started to panic when I realized I'm just being pushed, gently at that. In no way is he trying to keep me here.

"You can leave," Derek slid his hands up my back and onto my shoulders; his breath warmed my ear as he spoke. "Or you can come with me. If you come with me, I make the rules. If you leave, I'll say goodbye this time."

I could feel his voice speak to my heart; desperate, nervous, and scared. It was my choice; no opposition or no Derek. I knew he meant that if I left, he was leaving town. His tone said everything. I slowly spun around and looked up to see electric blue eyes trying to search my essence. What was he looking for? I placed my arm through his and said, with the goofiest English accent, "Let's skip, shall we?"

"No skipping."

It should be safe to assume that was rule number one. He didn't move my arm though; instead he started to walk to the back of the house. For some reason I felt like "no talking" was rule number two, it fit like custom made headphones. He opened the door to this cherished Camaro, and then made a cool path to the driver's side. When he sat down he started the car and drove away. Before I knew it we were on the highway. I looked over to his frame, the street lights danced past us.

Then Derek got his rhythm. I couldn't tell how it was happening, but he looked over into my eyes and held me. As we drove further down, he kept that gaze. His eyes her speaking words that mine couldn't hear. The intensity I could feel, reeling off of him in invisible pulsations resembling a heartbeat. I could not leave his eyes as they changed, showing off their electric blue. His eyes were diamonds when he looked at me like this.

We were in the dark again, in an open field. Derek ran off ahead leaving me, leaving my thoughts to wonder this plain of darkness. They wondered off as well, disappearing into the night along with the new Alpha. I stood against his car, waiting, no, hoping he would return for me. And he did, with a small smile across his jaw.

He grabbed my hips and lifted me to sit atop the Camaro's roof. What was going on here? Derek was being somewhat nice, silent, but nice, and I couldn't find myself even the tiniest bit of fear to give him. Our eyes met and his smile grew a little. Was he only tricking me? No, his eyes spoke of honesty. What the hell is going on here?

"I need you to where this," he spoke, lifting up what appeared to be a bandana blindfold.

I gingerly took the blindfold and surely gave him a look of more than confusion, because his face had assumed a crestfallen position and I couldn't help but feel guilty for causing it. I slowly wrapped the red cloth around my eyes and pulled tightly on the knot. Oh shit, I hope I was going to be able to get it off later without seriously scratching my head with it.

Derek carefully cradled me into arms. "Hold on to me." I obliged and snaked my arms around his neck. I was immediately bombarded with his smell; the smell of the forest, a spicy forest. It was sweet and masculine, I honestly liked it. Possibly too much, but who cares.

My body lurched against his and the wind attacked my face. I turned into his chest and learned that he was unnaturally warm. Maybe it a werewolf thing, or an Alpha thing, but it was nice. Everything about tonight was nice. This Derek, this warmth, this situation even though I was in the dark, both literally and figuratively, was nice.

My body lurched away from his and I couldn't stop this small sadness. I came to the knowledge that Derek would know everything I was feeling when he stood me up and turned me away from. My heartbeat sped up, beating so hard and so fast, it had to sound like heavy metal music to Derek's werewolf enhanced ears. His arms slithered around my lower torso and pulled me into his body. For the third time tonight we were pressed against each other.

"Stiles, when I take this blindfold off, you have two choices. You can stay with me, or we can say goodbye and go our separate ways. It's up to you again."

"I'm blindfolded and have no clue where I am right now. Separate ways better include a safe way back to my Jeep." I joked.

"It does." And he was serious, now I'm determined to make him laugh.

He cut it off, and as it fell I open my eyes to the gentle glow of a small bonfire and tons of lit candles scattered in the nothing. The only light in the darkness, the glow was soothing and my body relaxed. I walked forward and sat on the blanket that had been laid next to the fire.

"A midnight picnic? How very romantic, Mr. Hale."

"It's just s'mores. I could go get food if you want."

"S'mores are still very romantic at midnight."

"You think?"

The hope in his voice spelled out everything I could hear his eyes say earlier. He liked, more than a friend. I gave him a smile and asked if he planed on sitting down. When he almost tripped trying to get across from me, I laughed and imagine him blush, even though he just looked away.

"So, what are the rules for this late night surprise?"

"We can't talk about other people, just stories about ourselves."

"But haven't we shared experiences with other people?" This time he laughed. He actually laughed.

"You know what I mean, Stilinski."

That night, in the glow of fire, Derek smiled more than I can safely assume in the past three years. He told me stories about being a pup, the first full moon he could remember, and this completely ridiculous tale of how Laura had accidentally walked in on him when he was thirteen.

I leaned over to Derek, and pressed my lips against his. The night was winding down and I knew he was too scared to make a move. His return was welcome and when he leaned forward I wrapped my arms around his neck and handed him all control.

Before I knew it I could feel his skin against mine. His face was beautiful in the warm glow of the fire. I brought him down into another kiss. His lips still tasted of chocolate and cinnamon. I craved him and he more than willingly gave himself to me. I accepted all he had with eagerness, as he filled me with love. Almost on cue his hand caressed my face and he whispered, "I love you, Stiles Stilinski." His words sent me beyond as I felt my body give in to him. I was his for good. I dove into those electric blue eyes, gave him another short kiss and said, "I love you too, Derek Hale."