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Okay, Lacy here! Um, this is my first straight Teen Wolf story so hi all! Now, while I am a die hard Sterek fan, I will admit to creating my own OC for Derek. She is Stiles's twin sister, Effie. And, well her main story isn't important for this story cause it's AU from the show and everyone is human. So! This story was inspired by the song Break Up In A Small Town by Sam Hunt. I had it on repeat while I wrote and I like to think it came out pretty well. It is told from Matt POV. Yes, that Matt. Creepy Matt. But I needed someone outside the pack and boom, there he was. Okay, I think that's it so, sit back, have fun and read on!
Disclaimer: I own only Effie. Teen Wolf and Break Up In A Small Town do not belong to me. Sad as that is to say.
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If there was one thing Matt was sure of in his life, it was that breaking up with Effie Stilinski was the dumbest thing he'd ever done. All their friends couldn't understand his reasoning and easily took her side. He understood. He really messed up, ending their two year relationship.
Now, he'd see her around town, with her brother. They'd catch each others eyes and hers would drop to the ground in seconds. Stiles would always notice and flip Matt off before getting Effie out of the area. They were at the same party once and the moment he saw her, he turned and left. He knew their friends would close ranks around her and make him feel unwelcome.
And then it happened. She moved on.
There was a guy a couple years older than them. He'd graduated already but stayed in town to help out his family. The Hales. They were known by all. Laura was the oldest of the kids with Cora being the baby. And Derek was the only boy. Their parents were Talia and Mark and Talia's brother, Peter, lived with them, as well. The Hales and the Stilinskis had a long history together. Claudia Stilinski had been good friends with Talia before a sudden illness stole the Stilinski mother. John, the Sheriff, had taken his wife's death hard and the Hales became Effie and Stiles' surrogate family.
So, it wasn't too surprising that Derek and Effie knew each other. But when they started hanging out after Matt broke things off, he was completely thrown.
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It started subtle. He'd see Effie with both Laura and Derek. Occasionally Cora, who was dating Stiles. The three would be laughing, or as close to laughing as Derek got, and Effie would cling to Derek's arm to keep her balance. He thought nothing of it, at first. Then their friends started acting funny. True, Stiles already wasn't speaking to him but Allison and Isaac would avoid talking about Effie whenever Matt was near and Scott and Kira would look guilty when Effie was brought up. Boyd and Erica kept out of the whole thing, saying it was none of their business, Danny and Ethan were the same. Lydia would sigh and start explaining but Aidan would stop her, dragging her away.
And then he saw them.
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It was barely three months after Matt ended things. He was leaving the school after staying late in the photo lab. He was struggling to get his camera out of his bag so he could head to the lacrosse game and heard Effie's voice across the parking lot.
"Stiles may not care that we're not there," her soft whisper floated over. "but Dad will."
A deep chuckle answered her. "I already told him we'd be a little late. He said he didn't want to know and for us to be there by half time."
"Derek Hale," Matt recognized the mock embarrassment in Effie's voice. "you actually told my father we were going to be late so you could-"
"Make out with you in the parking lot?" Derek finished. "Yes."
Matt, having snuck closer, stopped just out of their view. Effie, pinned to the side of Derek's Camaro, was wearing the same sleeveless pink floral dress from school with a sheer, crop white button up over it. It was tied just under her bust and had Matt scolding himself most of the day for staring. Derek, in his bad boy persona, was wearing black boots and fitted jeans. A gray Henley covered his torso with a leather jacket over it.
He watched Effie drop her head to Derek's chest, shoulders shaking with laughter.
"Great," she muttered. "now I'll never be able to look my father in the face again."
Derek gave another chuckle. "You'll get over it."
They looked happy. Effie looked happy.
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After that, it was like Matt saw them everywhere. He couldn't not see them, no matter how hard he tried. They were behind him at the stop light, laughing and smiling together. He saw them at the gas station, Effie perched against the side of the Camaro while Derek got gas. They sat with John and Melissa, Scott's mom, at the lacrosse games. During a quiet afternoon, Matt drove out to the preserve and went past the Hale house, seeing Effie's jeep parked next to Derek's Camaro and Cora's Mustang.
He almost snapped, almost went at Derek, when he saw them at the diner together, eating with John and Stiles. Matt wanted nothing more than to go over and yank Derek away from Effie and slug him. But he didn't. He couldn't. It was his own fault he had to watch her with another guy.
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Finally, he ran into them coming out of the grocery store. Effie seemed surprised but happy.
"Matt." She smiled. "Hey,"
Matt returned the smile. He couldn't not. "Hey Effie, weekly shopping for your dad?"
Effie shifted a bit. "Um, not really. Talia Hale is having a dinner for Mom's anniversary and Derek and I offered to pick up the food she ordered."
That was right, Matt remembered. It had been ten years since Claudia died. "Are you okay?"
Effie shrugged. "It's not easy, but," she smiled softly at Derek, who had set down the bags to wrap an arm around her. "I'm not alone."
"Good," Matt nodded. "I'm glad." And the strange part was, he meant it. "Well, I am on a weekly food run and if I don't get back soon,"
"Your mom will freak." Effie teased. "I remember." she moved from Derek's side and hugged Matt. "It's good to see you, Matt."
Matt returned the hug, trying not to show how much it hurt. "You too, Ef." he swallowed and smiled. "I'll catch you guys later."
Heading into the store, Matt glanced back to see Derek kissing Effie as she pulled herself up to his height. With a long sigh, he turned away and vanished into the store.
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And there we have it! Little rough but Matt is a hard character to write for and I'm used to writing Effie's view on things. So, this is what we end up with. Alright! Let me know what you think, flame policy, which is located at the bottom of my profile, will always stand, and thanks so much for reading!
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