Hey everyone, just finished catching up with Season 2, and needed to find some way to fill this gap while waiting for the next season to start. Don't really know where this story is going yet, but I promise it'll be worth following Or at least I hope… All you need to know is that Derek and Stiles are about to have some fun. Interpret that as you will.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. Oh, but how I wish I did. Also, I'm sorry if I get some character history wrong. Let me know.

Also, currently in the midst of writing another sterek-y fic called "Where do I even start?". Be sure to check it out! It's a little bit more angsty. Deciding which one to pursue first.

The cold water continued to trickle across his legs as he slumped down against the wall. Even now, his eyes could not adjust to the darkness, incapable of focusing on any sort of shape or form. His feet were numb, unable to tell the difference between the warm blood and icy water mixing at his soles.

He raised a hand to get some sense of what was keeping his body from collapsing to the ground. The walls were jagged and hard, clumps of rock protruding into his back. His shirt was nothing more than a used rag threatening to rip off at any moment. The air around him was thick and it was becoming harder and harder to breathe. His throat was raw from the screaming, and each swallow stung just a little bit more. His hands were covered in dirt and grime, fingers barely able to curl into a fist.

"Derek…"

For a second he thought he heard a sound, something like a howl. But then silence.

"Where are you?"

"Stiles. Stiles. STILES!"

"Wha-what?" Stiles jolted up to see trees whipping by the window, the sun trying ever so hard to push its rays through the branches. He could see in his reflection a large red circle where he had fallen asleep with his forehead pressed against the door.

"Where the hell are we going?" Derek growled.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"YOU'VE BEEN GIVING ME DIRECTIONS."

"What?"

Stiles whipped his head around from the window to see Derek fuming, hands tightening around the steering wheel, knuckles turning white. He looked down at the Google Maps opened on his cellphone.

"Oh right. My bad. Um… yeah, take a left at the next light."

It had been two weeks since the end of the school year, four weeks since Stiles' father had left the city on a high priority call, and two months since the they were last all together in that warehouse. Summer break had begun, and for a second, it seemed like everything was getting at least a little closer back to normal. True, Gerard was never found and the Alpha pack was continuing to leave little "presents" around, ranging from headless deer marked with their symbol to piles of bones scattered across the balcony of the Hale manor. But nonetheless, summer meant summer and Stiles was ready to take a break from all of this.

Scott and his mom had left for San Diego, needing some much needed mother-son time to finally talk about Scott's hell of a sophomore year in full detail. Allison and her dad took a trip across the country to visit their relatives. A lot of explaining to do for that family as well. Lydia and Jackson were well on their way to settling back into their normal lives, though recently, Jackson had mentioned wanting to know more about his parents. His real parents. Lydia had agreed to go with him to his old foster home, but there hadn't been any new developments heard since then. Then there was Peter, who had decided to take Isaac under his wing, working hard to train him before the next inevitable big fight. In a way, Isaac was beginning to see him as the father that he had always wished his own dad could have been.

And here was Stiles. He had bought seven new video games to occupy his time and wanted nothing more than to sit in front of the new flat screen TV he had decided to keep and not think about werewolves, hunters, full moons, lizard-men, or anything. But then his dad received a call. A string of six murders two hours north of Beacon Hill, each one getting closer and closer to the city. He was being asked to lead a team out to Sacramento where the first victim had died. And that's when Derek Hale showed up in his room…

"Hey, can you stop daydreaming and get back to the map? I just made the turn."

Stiles could feel Derek's piercing glare to his left and instinctively his pulse quickened.

"Alright, alright, but don't you have some type of wolfy-sense that can guide you through this forest," he muttered. He looked up at Derek who continued to stare, his brows furrowed and mouth slightly open. "God, okay, calm down. Look just take a- whoa."

"What? What is it?" Derek asked, turning his head back to the road.

"I uh… I don't know. My phones kind of freakin' out right now."

The screen of his phone started to flash, the light flickering faster and faster, until suddenly, it went black.

"What the hell… It won't turn back on."

"Yeah well, check this out."

Stiles looked up. He hadn't noticed how the roads had changed, but they were no longer driving through the forest they had entered into a while ago. There was seemingly nothing but dirt for miles on either side of the road, which was now more of a gravel pathway.

"What… is that?" Stiles murmured as the car came to a stop.

The road ended at was seemed to be a blank tombstone. Not much further along the way was a small house. The sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows from the roof towards the car.

"Should we… check it out?" But Derek was already out the door before Stiles could get an answer. He sighed and opened the passenger side door. "Why do I let myself get pulled into weird situations all the time…" he muttered, slamming the car door shut.

Stiles had found Derek sitting in his room when he woke up earlier that morning. Surprisingly, it no longer really shocked him to see Derek randomly appearing anywhere, even in his own bedroom, but all the same… it's unsettling waking up to a werewolf staring at you.

"Damn it, Derek" he said after letting out a soft yelp. "Look, I know you like watching me sleep and all, but you really have to stop this sneaking into my room in the middle of the night business." Derek rolled his eyes and stood up, starting towards the bed.

"Those murders your dad is investigating. I know who's behind them." He said, his eyes unintentionally darting around Stiles' bedroom. There were bags of opened potato chips strewn across the floor, the TV was still on with Call of Duty paused mid-game, and a couple of comic books lay open on the desk. "Also, is this really how you're going to spend your summer?" He scoffed, picking up an empty bag of chips and throwing it in the trashcan.

"So what? What do you want, Derek," Stiles sighed. "And I'll have you know, I've been having a great summer so far."

Derek turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Sure." He almost laughed at Stiles' pouting face, but caught himself in time. Laughing wasn't something he was used to do again just yet. "Okay, look, I need to head up north to check things out and I need you to come with me."

"Me?" Stiles asked.

"Yes," growled Derek. "You."

"But… why me?" Stiles had just gotten comfortable with his sedentary life. Not that he didn't love the supernatural stuff, and the running around and detective play, and getting his jeep into all sorts of messes, but it was summer. Summer break was supposed to be, you know, a break.

"Look, I can't do this on my own, and everyone else is gone. Trust me. You were the last resort."

"Well gee, thanks man, that means a lot. You're really growing into a charming young gentleman-wolf-thing..."

Derek turned to Stiles with the same angry stare he always held, his eyes flashing with a desire to maim.

God damn it, why does he always have to look at me like that, Styles thought as he jumped out of bed.

"Fine, okay. What's the plan? Where are we going? Dad's up in Sacramento, is that where we're headed?"

"No, I have an address. Your phone has GPS on it, right?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go then."

"Aye, aye captain wolf ma-oh my god, okay I'll stop." Stiles couldn't help but jump back as Derek turned and growled. He thought he caught a smirk on Derek's face as they walked out of the room.

Stiles still wasn't quite sure what was going on, why he was here with Derek, or where they were going. But, to tell you the truth, being back on the road on this type of adventure was getting him excited again. He had spent the past few weeks convincing himself that a nice, long rest in the mundane life of normal folk was what he needed, but then again, who was he kidding, there was a reason why he devoted his entire sophomore year to Scott and his new found life. Plus, as much as Stiles hated admitting it, he's always felt cool doing things with Derek, and in a way, it was like he was slowly being accepted into his pack, werewolf or not. And of course, Derek was still as much of a brooding angry bastard as he was a year ago, but something was changing. For some reason or another, Stiles could feel his walls coming down, if only a millimeter at a time, and that, just maybe, he was becoming friends with the guy he was so afraid of just a couple of months ago.

"Yo Derek, where are we?"

"I… I'm not sure," Derek whispered. "How close were we to the address before your phone died?"

"Um… I'm not sure, it had to have been at least another half an hour away though."

"Damnit…" Derek snarled. "Is your phone working again?"

"Unfortunately, no," Stiles replied as he continued to jab at the power button on his cell.

"Okay, let's just try to get back to that intersection then and see if we made a wrong turn-" Before Derek could finish, the front door to the house began to creak open.

"What the…" Stiles muttered, squinting into the shadowy opening to the house. Luckily, it wasn't that dark outside yet, so the usual onset of fear was taking its time to settle. He started to take a step towards the house, but suddenly Derek grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait… do you hear that?"

"No, Derek, unlike you guys, my hearing range is as short as a freaki-"

"GET DOWN." Derek yelled, pulling Stiles to the ground. As he fell, he caught a brief glimpse of two black arrows piercing through the space where his head had been seconds ago.

The door to the house slammed shut and silence fell once again around the two of them.

"What the hell was that?!" Stiles yelled, jumping to his feet. "Jeez, I could have died. AGAIN."

"You're welcome," Derek grumbled, dusting himself off. He turned toward the direction in which the arrows had shot. "God damn it…" he groaned. The front tires of his car were flat, each with a polished arrow protruding from the side. He turned back toward the house and grabbed Stiles.

"Let's go," he barked, his eyes beginning to glow a bright red.

Tada, end of chapter 1! What's going to happen next? You honestly have as much of an idea as I do. Please leave some reviews and comments! Anything is welcome. I need to know if this is worth continuing!

Thanks!