He sped and we got to his house quickly. We sat in his car for a while, silent. I looked over at him,
.starring out the window with a blank expression.
"What now?" I asked. He turned his head to me, then away again.
"I'm not sure." There was a long silence. I looked back out of my window, "How's your head?" he asked I turned back to him he was looking at my head. He reached up, turning my head slowly. He touched the cut, I winced. He backed up looking at my face carefully then back at my head. He reached back again softly touching the skin around the wound. "Does this hurt?"
"A little bit." He pulled back, placing both hands on my cheeks. He looked down at the center council.
"I'm sorry you got hurt Stiles. It's my fault I should have protected you better."
"It wasn't your fault. It was just some freak thing." He looked back up at me, sad. Shaking his head. "Stop it. You can't keep doing this. Blaming yourself for every little thing." I grabbed his hands from the sides of my face and pulled them into mine on the center counsel. "Derek none of this is your fault. If its anyone's it me. Should have gotten in your car and listened to you. This is my fault." I starred at our hands for a long moment. A drop of water hit our hands and I looked up to see Derek crying. I began to panic. "Derek what's wrong?"
He shook his head slowly. He took in a deep, shaky breath, "Stiles you mean a lot to me. I don't know what I would have done if- if" he started crying hard and leaned into my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around him. "Stiles If you would have gotten hurt-"
"Shhhhhhhh, Its okay. I know, I know." I didn't want him to explain, to hurt himself more. I understood because I felt the same way. If I ever lost him…I don't know if I could go on.
Derek cried for about 5 more minutes before he leaned back to look at me.
"Are you okay?" he nodded wiping his eyes. "Do you want to stay in the car?" he looked at me confused.
"Where are you going?" I thought about it. I didn't want to leave but I sure as hell didn't want to stay in this car for the rest of the day.
"Nowhere I just don't want to stay in here." He nodded and started to get out of the car. I did to, climbing out slowly, stretching as I did. I got light headed again and fell back against his car. "Ow." I said. I heard Derek start to laugh. I turned around to see him bent over holding his belly laughing at me. I started laughing too. I loved seeing him happy. We walked in the front door still laughing when I realized my phone buzzing in my pocket. I took it out to check, Scott. I sighed. Derek looked back at me from the middle of the stair case.
"What's wrong?" he asks?
"Scotts calling me." I gestured towards my phone. He turned away and started walking up.
"Answer it!" he called from the top of the staircase. "I'll be up here if you need me."
I liked down at my phone and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Stiles where the hell are you?" I heard Scott yell from the other side.
"It doesn't matter. Why?"
"Doesn't matt- wait whoa. You never miss school. What the hell are you doing stiles?"
"Hang up!" I heard Derek call from somewhere upstairs.
I covered the receiver "Derek what the hell I don't want Scott to know I'm here!"
"I don't care he has nothing good to say! Hang up!"
"You're the one that told me to answer it in the first place!"
"STILES!" he yelled back annoyed.
"Okay, okay!" I yelled back I took my hand off the receiver and spoke into the phone, "You still th-"
He cut me off, "Stiles why are you at Derek's house?"
"What? Pshht I'm not at Derek's house! Why would you even think that?"
"Stiles you're a terrible liar, and I heard him." Fuck. "Wait…Whats going on exactly?"
"Nothing Scott god! I have to go."
"I'm coming over to pick you up."
"Nope sorry. Bye Scott."
"Wait who, hey what abou-" I hung up the phone and shoved it deep into my pocket.
"Did you hang up?" he called from upstairs.
"yes…where are you?" I asked suspiciously.
"Upstairs….like I said." I started up the stairs slowly, hoping he would jump out of nowhere. I followed where I thought I heard his voice come from, into a small room with a window, and a twin bed against the far wall. I walked into the room cautiously, testing the floor board with every step. I got into the middle of the room and looked around. There was a closet with no door and little clothes, a dresser with opened drawers and a mirror. I started walking toward the window when I felt a pair of strong arm wrap around my stomach and a chin rest on my shoulder. "What are you doing?"
"Is this your room?" I asked, ignoring his question. I felt him nod. "I unwrapped his arms from around my waist and sat on the bed, he followed. "Do you still sleep in here?" I looked at him. He looked around the room.
"No not much anymore. Usually I sleep in a parking lot in my car." He answered nonchalantly.
"Why?"
"Hunters." I nodded, "and every time I sleep in here I think about what happened. I have nightmares."
"Oh."
"yeah." It was silent for a moment. You could literally hear a pen drop. I had to break it.
"Do you miss them?" he looked over to me and nodded. He was tired of talking and I could tell. I looked around the room and noticed something laying on the ground in the corner. A small book. I got up and grabbed it off the floor, dusting off the dust. I read the familiar title. "I love this book." Derek looked up to me surprised, caught off guard.
"Oh yeah. Me too my mom used to read it to me all the time." He said.
"Me too." I started flipping through the pages of the old book, and found my favorite poem. My mom read it to me every night until I turned like eight. 'The crocodile's toothache' by Shel Silverstein. I laughed at the picture.
"What?" Derek stood up to walk over to me and examine the page. He started laughing too. "'Where the side walk ends' has to be my favorite book of all time." I looked up and smiled at him. He took the book from my hands and we went back to his bed. He started flipping through the pages until he stopped at a short poem with a snake and a pair of feet at the bottom. "This is my favorite poem." He smiled, "want to hear it?"
"Sure." I said enthusiastically. He started to read. We both laughed and he flipped to the next page and read again and before I knew it I was leaning against Derek's side laughing about some silly poem. I yawned. This must have been our 15th poem. I closed my eyes to rest them slowly.
I woke up a few hours later curled up on the side of Derek with his arms around me. I sat up quickly and looked around; we were still in his room on his bed. I rubbed my eyes. Derek sat up slowly.
"Heeeey." He said exaggerating the 'e'. What time is it? I took out my phone.
"12:19. How long have we been asleep?"
"Probably four hours." He replied with a sleepy yawn. I chuckled. I looked out the window and saw a symbol painted over the leaves. I tilted my head a little bit. "What?" he asked.
"What's that?" I asked. He looked over me and out the window,
"Shit." He said and got up quickly and stormed out of the room. I got up and ran after him. By the time I got to the top of the staircase he was already out the door into the front yard. I ran outside to see Derek kneeled down in front of the symbol examining it. It looked like a triangle with thick lines coming out of each point, then another half triangle with a shorter line coming out of that.
"What is it?" he looked at me confused then back to the symbol.
"Scott didn't talk to you?" he asked
"No. Why?" he examined it for about another minute then stood up to turn to me.
"Alpha pack."
"Alfa pack?" he sighed and rolled his eyes.
"There's an alpha pack coming here."
"Whoa, what? Why didn't I hear about this?"
"I don't know, I told Scott to tell you. Which I will be talking to him about later." He said as he turned around to head back to the house. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"I don't want you to hurt Scott."
"I'm not going to hurt Scott," I stood back and leaned to one side he shook his head, "Okay maybe a little."
"Derek." I moaned
"But why?" he extended the 'y'.
"Because he's my best friend."
"Fine whatever." He started to walk away again.
"Wait."
"What." He turned around quickly.
"I don't want to go back in the house."
"Why?" he asked annoyed, throwing up his arms.
"I don't know I just don't." he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Cant we just go for a walk or something?"
"A walk?" he asked annoyed.
"You know enjoy nature." He shook his head, "Please Derek?"
"Fine." He said I smiled hugely as we started toward the woods.
We had been walking a few hours when my phone rang. It was my dad. I answered it.
"Stiles where the hell are you? You were supposed to be home at 2:30?" he said angrily from the other side of the phone.
"I know dad, I lost track of time."
"For three hours?"
"Dad I'm fine okay."
"No this isn't okay! You should have called!"
"Dad I know I'm really, really sorry."
I heard him sigh deeply, "Stiles, where are you?"
"I'm with Scott" I said confidently. Derek gave me a 'what the fuck' kind of look. 'I'm sorry' I mouthed out.
"You better not be lying to me Stiles Stillinski." He came back sternly.
"Dad I swear!"
"Put him on the phone then."
"What why? You don't trust me?"
"No I trust you. I just need to ask him a question. "I sighed and took the phone down from my ear covering the receiver. I looked at Derek pleadingly.
"What?" he asked
"Talk to my dad pretend you Scott." I whispered.
"What?"
"Your great at impressions. Here" I tried handing him the phone. He pushed it away.
"What are you talking about? I'm terrible at expressions."
"Well your good now." I put the phone up to his ear. He cleared his throat, and spoke into the phone.
"Hello" he said. He was right he was horrible at impressions. He had a short conversation about where he was and he laughed a bit before hanging up.
"So?" I asked. He squinted his eyes.
"I can't believe you made me do that."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Did he believe it?" he smiled and we both started laughing hysterically for like 5 minutes straight.
We started back towards the house, slower. I didn't want to leave; I wanted to stay the night. When we got back to the house we stopped in front of his car and looked at each other for a minute.
"Do I need to drive you home?" he finally said. I nodded, he did also. I walked to my side of the car to get in. He drove slower than he did on the way here. When we got a few houses from my house I didn't move to get out. He looked over at me, I stared out the windshield. "Stiles," I shook my head. I didn't want to talk about the day that we just had. "I had an amazing day." He said quickly. I looked over to him he was smiling.
"Me too." I said, with a smirk.
"Bye." he said sadly
"Bye." I whispered and got out. I watched him drive away. I trudged back to my house, thinking.