He couldn't explain it, but every day led Derek to stand in front of Beacon Hills High. He would often see his betas and they would acknowledge him, but also look at him confused. There was no danger in the school and he never made any move to approach them. They couldn't figure out why he was there. Derek, on the other hand, knew the reason. It was the girl. Ay. There was something about her that held a powerful pull on him.
Derek grunted in frustration as yet another wave of students passed with no sign of her. Those damn females were keeping her away from him. He felt his eyes growing red when he heard the sound of someone running madly in his direction. He looked over to see that it was Ay, her hair wild and eyes blazing as she ran furiously towards the door. Derek could hear that her heart was pounding.
She stopped in front of the door to catch her breath. With her hands on her knees and her face pointed towards the ground, she didn't notice as an imposing shadow fell over her. She did notice the pair of worn, black sneakers standing very close to her. Her eyes traced the sneakers up well-defined legs to a thin waist and a broad chest. She pulled back slightly when she almost collided with his face. He'd been sniffing her hair, smelling the strawberry shampoo she used, but had to pull back before she noticed.
She smiled her usual smile and looked him directly in the eyes. With most, Derek would have considered this as a challenge, a battle for dominance. He didn't get that from her. She was just looking at him; he noticed that her eyes weren't as open as they appeared to be from far away. She was allowing the other person to see only so much.
"You're the guy from before. You were very rude you know, not telling me your name. I know it though! You're Derek Hale and you live in the burned-down house in the woods. Everyone thinks you burned your family, but I don't. You don't look that crazy to me. You look lonely. You should come in with me today! It'll give you something better to do than just walking around, glaring at everyone." Frowning mockingly, she rubbed her thumb between his eyebrows. "Don't want you to get permanent frown lines now, do we? Come on!"
She grabs his hand and starts pulling him through the empty hallways. Derek can feel his face flushing at the contact. It's so gentle, so innocent; she probably didn't even realize the effect it was having on him. He had been beaten before, had been trained to take a punch and give them in turn. But it hadn't been since he was 13 that he had experienced a touch this soothing before. What the hell? She stopped in front of a classroom and peeked in, holding her pointer finger to her full lips. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to replace that finger with his mouth.
She ushered him forward and opened the door, quickly pulling him through and towards the back of the class. Derek was surprised to see that no one, not even the teacher looked up to see the late arrivals. She sat down in a seat by the window and pulled him down into the one next to her. Leaning his head on his hand, he spent the rest of the period watching her as she listened attentively to the lecture. He noticed the way she gently bit her lip when she was concentrating. Damn, how he wanted to kiss her.
It seemed only a moment before the bell rang and Ay was dragging him somewhere else. This pattern lasted for the rest of the day, her dragging him into different classrooms, the lunch room, the gym, the library. He realized again the reason why he had never felt the need to go to school, but she made it bearable. Her easy smiles and soothing laugh filled him with warmth. He found himself smiling at the smallest things she did. In his mind, he imagined himself singing while dancing around behind her, swaying his hand back and forth over his heart.
"Gradually, gradually I will fall in love/ What kind of war is this with myself?/ Every moment this heart is afraid, every moment the heart feels shy/ it says something else and does something else/ What puzzle is this? I am dying/ my heart wants, let my partner agree with me/ it's an ocean of fire, you have to drown to swim across/ gradually, gradually I will fall in love."
Derek shook himself out of his reverie to find Ay looking at him. She chuckled and shook her head, taking his hand and leading him towards the exit. Derek felt himself freely smile for the first time in what felt like a century. The muscles in his face hurt from the strange expression, but he didn't care. Inside, he was still dancing. "Gradually, gradually."
My Derek is very different from the always-angry Derek from the show, but I don't care. In my world, he's like a Bollywood heartthrob that is one moment away from breaking out into song.
The chapter title translates to 'Gradually, gradually,' and since he's gradually falling for Ay, I felt that this would be appropriate, plus it's such a cute dance number. The song is from the Bollywood movie Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Again, highly recommend it!
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing except Ay Vilks. The Teen Wolf characters and the song title and lyrics belong to their respectful owners.
Like always, reviews are much appreciated! Till next time!