So this is officially becoming a series... yay! I have it plotted to be about 20 chapters but I'm writing, fleshing out as I go so it may become longer. Thank you to the massive support you have all given this little worm from my brain! It's amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

WARNINGS:
LANGAUGE
MILD GORE

Chapter 2: Red Yarn & A Bare Wall

Three hours later and all Stiles has accomplished is wearing a path in the carpet of his apartment and bouncing his leg so much while sitting on the couch he now had a leg cramp. He was holding his phone sitting on his couch. Finally he let out a huge gush of air before unlocking his phone.

He pulled up his text messages, he had to scroll back quite a ways but smiled immediately upon seeing his conversation with the Sourwolf contact in his phone. One click and he was back in time a few years ago when he would send stupid texts to the former alpha.

The last one read, "Mermaids? Real? Yay or Nay?"

Derek had never replied back but Stiles got lost thinking on the reality that mermaids may exist for a second before snapping back to today.

"you better be DEAD in a ditch somewhere," he texted Derek.

Stiles flailed re-reading that and immediately changed his mind, "hopefully your just being your usual grump cat self but call me."

Stiles set his phone down on the table a little harder than he meant to, "fuck," he lifted it up to see it was fine.

He remembered him and Scott testing phone cases by getting his friend to squeeze each one through the package at Best Buy. The first one that didn't creak he bought and then every time Derek saw it he scoffed. Because of course Stiles didn't look closely at the design before he bought it. But like hell he was wasting his $80 by not using it. Stiles smiled running his fingers over the cover decorated with a cartoon of the road runner and wylie coyote.

Derek had said something about Scott and him needing to grow up. It was a common sentiment, Stiles was pretty sure Derek just needed to loosen up soon or later. Of course he did some but Stiles always wanted to see if he could get him to play Mario Kart with them but never was able to do it. He always chickened out and had to hide his blush behind a snarky comment.

Stiles knew there was no way he was going to sleep any time soon so he went over to his stack of boxes hiding in the corner. He dug until he found the one marked research pulling it over to his coffee table. He opened it and smiled as he pulled the first item out, a small ball of red yarn. The next item was a large file marked Derek Hale. Stiles opened it and started sorting through the different papers and photos included.

Stiles woke up with a shout to the banging on his door. He looked around at the disaster that is his living room, papers, photos and bits of yarn everywhere. His living room wall was covered in things posted up and connected by his yarn system. Stiles nodded pleased with himself until he heard the banging again.

"Oh right," he hopped up and headed for the door.

He swung the door open to find an irate man on the other side and before he could speak the man just talk, "you're alarm has been going off on the other side of my wall for the past twenty minutes. I just got off a twelve hour night shift. Shut that damn thing off!"

Stiles watched as the man stalked off down the hall to his door and slammed it, "nice to meet you too new neighbour," Stiles closed his door rolling his eyes as he went to shut off his alarm in his room.

Stiles was never much of a morning person and being woken up by a banging fist wasn't helping matters. He sluggishly walked over to where his cell was sitting on the floor by the coffee table, turning it over to see he had no new texts or missed calls. He unlocked it and went back to the text thread from last night. He'd apparently sent a few more in his tired delirium last night but they'd all gone unread.

"Shit," he swore taking his phone and heading straight for his coffee machine.

While his coffee was brewing he held his phone out punching the contact again, putting the phone to his ear, "can someone just pick their phone up for once? I'm getting a complex," he complained while it rang, "well another one I guess," he laughed at himself while the voice mail picked up the same gruff greeting playing as yesterday, "listen Derek I'm trying to respect that you started a life outside of Beacon Hills and want your privacy. That you don't want to be dragged into that crazy again. And that's not what I'm asking here. I just need to know that you aren't hurt or something. You know me if I don't get an answer I'll just obsess until I get an answer one way or another," Stiles sighed and felt his shoulders cave with his exhaustion, "so if you don't answer me you better bet your sweet, well defined ass that I'll come looking. So if you're trying to keep us out of whatever danger you've gotten yourself caught up in I recommend just sending me a text so I know your alive at the least," his coffee machine beeps that his cup is ready, "I've got to get going for my second day of training. I won't call again until I'm headed up there. This will be the last message I leave. Don't wanna fill up your mailbox big guy."

Stiles put his phone down, getting his coffee ready because like hell he was going to be late for work on his second day on the job. He chugged half his coffee while digging out some granola bars to throw in his bag. He walked into the living room taking another long look at his wall. At all of the items plastered up there, things that to anyone else would be nothing. But to him they were important. Snippets he'd dug up from his research or from over hearing Peter. Clues to where Derek Hale has been for the past few years. He knows that Cora would know but she doesn't tend to answer her phone either so he'd rather just text her. But he'll give Derek a day before he sicks his little sister on him. The man would never forgive him if he worried her over nothing.

Stiles puts that to the back of his mind while he continues to get ready, his mind buzzing with the possibilities of the day and simultaneously reminding him he hasn't taken his Adderral yet. Stiles runs back to the bathroom swallowing his pill and continuing on.

The woods were silent, the sunlight unable to stream through the dense canopy of birch leaves. Although it would be darker were it night, the woods being this quiet in the middle of the day would creep anyone with common sense right out of them. Even the animals seemed to be staying hidden today. There was a hint of copper in the air, a memento of the violence that had occurred previously. The silence seemed to stretch for every until very abruptly it was pierced by a ringing. The screen of a phone lighting up, the screen too crack to see the caller. Before a demolished hand reaches out desperately for the phone, a croak of a voice trying to call out.