Of course, I don't own Teen Wolf. But, I do own Ashlee :) Hey guys! This is an extension to my most successful fic The Hounds Of Hell Are Getting Closer. I'm basing the snipets off the photos Derek gave Ashlee of them and the Hale family before the fire or memories of them together. It's basically what Ashlee and Derek's friendship was like before the fire, with some Laura and Cora shoved in too. To continue or not, that is the question? But have a read and tell me what you think in a review :)
If you asked Ashlee McCall about the Hale family's youngest son, she would scoff. She would tell you she was only friends with Cora and Laura Hale. But that isn't true. The Hale family were more of a family to her than her own. Derek, the youngest son, was her rock. The one she went to when she couldn't go to Cora or Laura. The one she missed so many college days to go to the arcade with, to go motorcross riding with, to be with. Tahlia and Dean, the Hale parents, were always there for her and she for them. They were more than family to her though, they were her best friends.
..
4 years ago..(Ash doesn't know about werewolves, she still lives with the McCall's and her father is still an abusive drunk)
Ashlee's p.o.v
"I don't know A, I mean what if your Dad finds out?" Derek asks me nervously. It was obvious to Derek that Raphael McCall was a drunk. An abusive drunk at that, not that Ash ever admitted that to him but it wasn't hard to figure out if you paid attention.
"My father," I correct like I always do when Derek says Dad. "won't find out because we won't let him" I say as we reach the college back gate.
"It's locked" Derek states, knowing he could easily break the lock but not in front of Ash.
"Of course it's locked D" I say, rolling my eyes. "School's still in. We'll just go over" I really don't want to be here anymore. I eye the long spikes lining the top of the gate nervously.
"I'll go over first and help you over" Derek says, sensing my nervousness. I nod and Derek grabs the bars of the gate, puling himself up with ease. I know I shouldn't but I can't help but stare at him as he did so. 16 year old Derek is gorgeous. I felt bad for checking him out when his sister's are my closest friends but..I can't help it. Over the past few months, i've gotten alot closer with Derek, it's nice to have a guy I can hang out with. Scott doesn't like that i'm with him alot because he's older but Derek always been really good to me, along with the rest of his family. Scott's just being a protective brother. The sound of Derek's feet hitting the ground as he jumped over pulled me from my thoughts. "Okay, here" Derek says, holding his hands out through the fence. "I'll boost you over then catch you" he says. I put my foot in his hands when I hear what I hoped we wouldn't hear.
"Hey! What are you doing? Get back to class! Stop!" a teacher yelled from the hill. Damn, we're going to get caught! I try to pull myself over and flip so I get over faster.
"Ash, wait! You're gonna hurt yourself!" Derek warns but it's too late. As I, well attempt, to jump/flip over the spikes, my leg gets caught and one of the spikes slashes across my hip. "Ash!" Derek yells when I hit the ground on the same side as him with a hard thud.
"Shit" I breath out. "I-I think i'm winded" I wheeze, gripping my side. When I fell, I landed on my side.
"Stay still" Derek says, taking my hand in his.
"Fuck, we're gonna be in so much trouble" I say, covering my face. What Ash doesn't see if the black veins in Derek's arm as he takes some of her pain. "It-it feels a little better" I say, trying to sit up. The pain just..went away. Not all of it but most of it.
"We need to get you to the hospital, get that sitched up" Derek says, helping me stand. I wince at the word 'stitch'. He glances at where the teacher is quickly making her way towards the gate.
"No, Mum's there, she can't know about this" I plead, hobbling beside him. Derek sighs and grabs me.
"Here, I got you" Derek says and soon he's holding me bridal style. My eyes widen at him, how strong is this kid? Well, by looking at his arms..I shake that thought away. Derek quickly jogs away from the school and towards the woods. "I'll take you to Mum then"
"Thank you" I say, grateful. Tahlia had stitched up Derek, Laura and Cora before, not sure why but the girls had told me. Hopefully mine won't come to that, I hate needles. She also wouldn't call the school or my mother, she sometimes even covered for me when I ditched school. She knows i've got my own troubles, my own demons.
..
"Derek, why aren't you at school?" Tahlia's voice asked with her back turned, before we even got into the room.
"Ash is hurt" Derek says, worried. Tahlia turns around and comes to us.
"Let me see" Tahlia says to me. I nod and wince when she pulls the fabric of my shirt off the cut. "It's bad but not as bad as it could be" she concludes. She motions for Derek to bring me into the lounge and onto the couch. My cheeks flame when I realise how we must look to her. Tahlia had teased me about the idea of their being a 'me and Derek' but I brushed it off, she still teased me about it though. Derek puts me down and sits down right next to me. "Thank you Derek" Tahlia says giving him a pointed look. Derek nods and checks me over. "I'm going to need some space" Tahlia says. Derek doesn't move. She clears her throat, getting his attention. "Derek"
"Sorry" Derek says, moving away from me, his worried eyes still on me though. Tahlia sighs.
"Why don't you go get my kit?" she asks Derek.
"Oh..okay" he says and gets up, going up the stairs.
"He's worried about you" Tahlia states as she looks over my wound.
"You think? He carried me all the way here" I tell her with a chuckle.
"Isn't that cute-" Tahlia starts.
"No! No, no. Please don't start, i'm in pain" I pout. She just rolls her eyes, something all the Hales are famous for.
"Fine. But, this conversation isn't over, something's there and-"
"Something's where?" Derek asks from behind me. I jump at his voice, how'd he get back so fast? I didn't even hear him. I wince when my shirt rubs over my bleeding wound. "Fuck! I'm sorry-"
"Derek, mouth" Tahlia warns him, she didn't like her kids swearing. I've gotten a warning a few times about my own mouth before. "This is probably going to sting..alot" Tahlia says and I can smell the antiseptic. I groan, this is the worst part. Derek jolts forward, reaching for my hand. "No Derek" she says.
"Mum-" Derek tries.
"Now's not the time" she says. What are they talking about?
"She's in pain-" he tries again.
" .Time" Tahlia grounds out.
"Uh..i'm okay, you don't need to hold my hand" I joke, trying to clear the tension that was now in the air.
"Wasn't what I was going to do" Derek says, earning him a hard glare from his mother.
"Then what were you-" I start but my question is cut short when I feel the familiar burning of the bacteria-killing liquid on my open cut. I hiss and suck my teeth, stopping myself from yelling cuss words. Derek's eyes narrow at his mother but i'm too busy with the pain in my side to care. When Tahlia takes the acid-feeling liquid off my flesh, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Holy shit-"
"Ash" it's my turn for Tahlia to warn me.
"Sorry" I say sheepishly.
"I'm going to have to stitch it-"
"Please don't! Can't we just let it close on it's own?" I ask nervously. What? Needle hater over here! Tahlia looks at me with a 'really? Really?' look.
"Ash hates needles" Derek pipes up, getting a raised eyebrow from Tahlia. She looks between us with a small smirk.
"Well, if I don't stitch it up, it'll get infected. If it gets infected then we definitly have to take you to your mother then she'll have to give you blood tests, stitches-" Tahlia explains.
"Okay, okay" I say, sighing. "Just do it" I say, there's no way i'm going to the hospital for all that. Tahlia nods and searches through her kit for her 'torture devices'. I can feel my hands getting clammy, my head starting to spin.
"You're okay" Derek whispers. I look up to see he's sitting beside me again. I offer him a small smile which instantly drops when I see Tahlia and her needle ready.
"You know what? I'm feeling better..uh..much, much better" I say, trying to get up only to fall back when my side flares up in pain.
"Ash, you're not okay. Just sit back and let's get this over and done with okay?" Tahlia says softly. I nod nervously.
"Here" Derek says, holding his hand out. I take it and Tahlia glances at us quickly.
"Okay, on the count of three i'm going to start" Tahlia warns. I clench my teeth, my toes curling. "1..2..3" I feel the needle puncture my skin and I wince, crushing Derek's hand in mine.
"Hey, hey" Derek says and I look up at him. "It's okay" I nod, keeping tears back. Needles were a huge fear of mine. One night my father came home, he was way too drunk. He knocked over Mum's favourite vase, waking me up. When I went down to see what was happening, he was stumbling over, tripping and pushing things over. I tried to help him stand and he pushed me away. I tripped over and fell onto the broken pieces of the vase. He forced me to keep quiet while he attempted to stitch up some of the really deep cuts I had on my legs. It was only Scott and I home, Mum was at work and he had been out drinking again. He told me if I told anyone, he'd beat me..I don't doubt that he would for a second so i've kept it to myself. So..that's why I hate needles, especially getting stitches. Derek didn't know the whole story but he had his suspicions after seeing the light scars I had a for a few weeks after I took the stitches out and I had to make up some bullshit excuse for them. I keep my eyes glued shut, not wanting to catch a glimpse of the needle bursting through my skin. The memory's still fresh, it happened only a month or so ago.
"All done" Tahlia announces and I force my body to relax, forcing out my held breath shakily. She wraps a bandage around my waist, covering my wound. "Just in case" she adds.
"Thanks" I say, my voice wavering. I try to sit up again.
"Give it a few hours" Derek says, stopping me with his hand to my chest. "Uh..sorry" he says, his hand dangerously close to my bust.
"Honey, why don't you get Ashlee something to drink? Maybe a sandwich" Tahlia says.
"Okay, i'll be back in a second" Derek says, letting my hand go. I try to sit up again.
"Lay down, you need to rest" Tahlia says, pointing at the couch. I huff and lay back down. You can't expect someone with ADD to sit still for this long, you just can't! "I want you to stay here with Derek for the rest of the day, I have..errands to run. You need to have something to eat and drink alot of water, we don't want you getting an infection" Tahlia says, getting up, packing up her medical supplies. Derek comes back in holding a plate with a sandwich and a bottle of water. "Derek, help her get into a clean shirt, Cora's should fit her-"
"Mum?!" Derek exclaims, I feel myself blushing again.
"I have to go" she continues, walking out the door. "Oh! And if any blood seeps through the bandage, you're gonna need to change that too!" she tells us and gets into her rangerover, pulling off quickly. Derek turns to me, his eyes still wide. He walks over and hands me the plate and bottle of water after opening it.
"Thanks" I say.
"Uh..i'll uh..get you a shirt" he says, not meeting my eyes. He heads for the stairs again.
"Black please! Brings out my eyes!" I joke, trying to lighten the situation. I hear Derek's laugh as he disappears. I eat the sandwich quickly, not realising how hungry I was. I'm half way through my bottle of water when Derek comes back down holding a black singlet.
"Cora's not very..adventurous" he explains as he shows me the plain black singlet.
"It's okay, I really don't mind" I assure him. We slip into an uncomfortable silence. "Okay..let's just do this" I tell him. He nods and comes over to me. He helps me sit up and I try to peel my shirt off but I hiss, stretching my stitches.
"Let me" Derek says, stopping me. I nod and he carefully lifts my shirt over my head. He drops it to the ground, his eyes avoiding my near naked frame, I only sit in a bra and my shorts. "Need help with this?" Derek asks, holding out the singlet. I know I can't do it without hurting myself so I nod. Derek has to put it over my head first, then pull my arms through one at a time. I catch Derek's eyes on my bust for a second. I scoff but blush all the same.
"Thanks" I say again, laying back down and getting comfortable.
"I'll get you a banket" he says, walking over to the ottomen. He returns with blankets and pillows. He helps me sit up again and places a couple soft pillows under my head. He puts a blanket over me and settles down along side me with a pillow and blanket of his own. He picks up the tv remote and turns the tv on. "Something you wanna watch?" he asks.
"Oh! The Wolfman should be on" I say with a big smile, i've been waiting to watch this movie.
"The Wolfman? Really?" Derek asks.
"What? It could happen! Man bitten by werewolf, turns into one himself" I defend.
"Okay, if you say so" Derek scoffs, side-eyeing me. "Listen, i'm sorry you got so hurt"
"It's fine, i'm okay. Your Mum stitched me up and i'm fine now so no harm done. It was my idea to ditch anyway" I brush him off.
"What's with you and needles? Something to do with the stitches you got a couple months back? You still haven't explained those to me-"
"Not now Derek..I just wanna watch this"
"Okay..but this conversation isn't over"
"You're just like your mother, you know that?" Derek chuckles.
"Unfortunately, I know" he replies with a smile. His smile will be the damn death of me. After a few long moments of watching the movie, Derek turns to me. "You're right, black does bring out your eyes"
..
..
And..that's how Ash got the scar on her hip. Hope you enjoyed, please favourite and follow if you want more and definitly review! Stay golden!
