A/N: Hey guys! Here's the seventh chapter! I really hope you guys enjoy it. Thanks to a wonderful reviewer by the name of Phoenix, I've been able to look at Turning Tides a little differently. And I think what I have planned for the entire Derek/Kelsey/Jennifer love triangle will completely drop jaws/make Delsey fans super happy. This is why you guys should review! I actually listen and make new decisions based off of what you guys like reading. Also, please don't judge me if I make one of those chapters, *ahem* *cough cough.* Because, trust me, sex scenes can be awkward, but I'm not putting in any gory details (I don't think it's necessary to go all Fifty Shades). On that note, let chapter seven commence!
Xoxo,
Flawless438
Luckily, when I woke up the next morning, I wasn't hung over. A slight headache considering I'm a lightweight, but nothing severe.
I got out of bed, pulled out some workout clothes from my still-packed suitcase and decided to go for a run to clear my head. I hadn't intended my return trip to be so drama-filled, which was why I contemplated coming back home in the first place.
Upon my return home, I noticed a text message from Jen.
Just saw an opening for a new receptionist at the school. You want it?
Even though I'm a business major, I still greatly appreciate anything I could get. And sure, I would be able to help out every now and again at the clinic, but my dad wasn't paying me, so, no harm done.
I ecstatically replied, Yes, please! Interview?
My phone chimed again. Interview 10:30 tomorrow.
I smiled and text back. Thanks, Jen. You're the best! :)
;), was her response.
After a hot shower to ease my muscles, I was greeted with Derek in my room perusing through a book on my bookshelf.
"Yes, Derek. Please, come in. I'm decent." My sarcastic tone only made him laugh.
"Come on, Kels, I've seen you before. You can change in front of me." He took a seat at my desk and crossed his legs, staring deeply into my eyes from afar.
"Slow your roll, kid. I'm doing no such thing." There was something about his bluntness that was slightly flattering, but I had to convince myself it wasn't.
I walked back into my bathroom after picking an outfit and cracked the door, allowing us ample room to talk.
"Is your dad home?" He asked.
"Wouldn't you have known that before you barged in?" I replied cheekily.
"Maybe I used the window." He smirked.
"You've always used the front door."
"Hm. So where's your car?" He changed the subject slyly.
"It's in storage not too far from here. Why?"
"I need to know where I'm going, that's all."
"Sure. How is it you're so calm through all of this?"
"How do you mean?"
"Considering there's a huge pack of alphas threatening to kill everyone just for you to join their pack, you're fairly calm."
"Well," he huffed, "it all really depends on perspective. Contrary to public belief, I'm not as much of a cold, heartless, douche as people think. I actually care about my packmates too much to let anything bad happen to them. If anything did happen, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. So, it's that motivation that helps me to make the best decisions regarding Deucalion and the rest of the alpha pack." His tone softened. He knew I never approved of him turning Boyd, but, somewhere deep inside, it being him actually makes me feel better about it.
I just chuckled. I opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out fully clothed in a pair of linen shorts, a blue oxford, a Harvard cardigan, and a pair of grey Vans. "What is it you need me to do for you?"
"Nothing in particular. I just wanted an emissary who was a little more," he paused, "relatable."
"You know I'm basically just an intern, right? My dad is better at this kind of thing. I mean, when he worked with Talia, he was the best. He still is the best, trust him."
"I don't know how I feel about trusting an ex's father." He rose an eyebrow and chuckled softly.
"I'm not just your ex, Derek. You know that. I'm a lot more than that."
He walked over to me and wrapped one of his large hands around my neck and brought our eyes together. Our lips were really close, making my heart race and my eyes search his green ones urgently.
He whispered in my ear. "I know, Kels. Trust me, I know." He pulled away and said, confidently, "You ready?"
I breathed and nodded my head in agreement, leading him out of the house and to his car that was still nicely parked in the driveway.
"Did you walk here?" I asked.
"Maybe." He replied shortly.
"But, you hate walking. It's 'too dormant,' you said. Which actually-" he cut me off.
"Contradicts the very meaning of the word, I know."
"This is quite a new side to you, Derek. You're actually kind of nice."
"I can be a nice person!" He answered a little too quickly.
"Sure..."
"Or maybe I just want you to be comfortable with me taking care of Boyd."
I scoffed and looked him dead in the eyes as we approached the Camaro. "You should stop doing that."
"Why? Because I know you'll come to terms with it? Or is it because I know that you know that I would never, ever, intentionally hurt him? And you know he's like a little brother to me."
I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "I trust you, Derek! I have for a while, okay! It took me a really long time to come to terms with it, but I trust you. I know you wouldn't intentionally hurt him. Now," I paused, taking a moment to toss him his keys, "your car, so you drive."
His demeanor immediately brightened, but I don't think it was from the power of having his car back.
Derek POV:
Of course I had heard it. Her heart rate, I mean. It raced when I touched her, something that made me happy since I thought that we weren't an "item" anymore.
Yes, I know, I'm being a player in some cases, having feelings for two women at the same time, but I can't help it. But, they're different feelings for each. Jennifer and I are lovers, for sure, but my feelings for her are motivated differently. Kelsey. Kels is my best friend and was my girlfriend of 3 years, not to mention a badass emissary. Our relationship, though, is a little more complicated.
The reason why I broke up with Kelsey after graduation was because I knew I wasn't going to accept the basketball scholarship to UC: Berkeley and she would've been devastated if we weren't going to college near one another. I couldn't bring myself to be real with her, so I headed into my cold phase, shutting off all emotions I had towards anything. I've regretted every choice I've made towards our relationship and vowed to myself I would take care of her forever. But, for some reason, though, I think the old me is coming back.
We arrived at the storage building where she had kept her car, keeping the silence that had existed during the car ride.
Kelsey smiled. "This is it, huh?"
"Uh. No, actually," I corrected. "Tomorrow, we are 'approaching' the alpha pack. And," I paused to take a breath, "we need your help. We're having a meeting tonight, actually."
She sighed. "Sure. Just, please don't make me do anything stupid."
I chuckled. "Define 'stupid.'"
She sighed and rolled her big brown eyes. "Like make me go all badass and beat up an alpha. That kind of stupid."
I scoffed. "Of course not, Kels. You can't fight off a bunch of alphas. Especially Kali. "
"That's the girl who doesn't wear shoes, right?"
"Yep. That's the one."
"I'll just wait in the car until you're done."
"Good idea," I replied cheekily.
As we drove separately on the way to the loft, I felt the need to call Jennifer and check up on her.
"If this is my routine check-up, then you should know that nobody has ripped my throat out yet." I loved her sass. It was part of what made her, her.
I chuckled. "Glad to hear it. I just wanted to let you know that something big is happening tonight. Things could get messy."
"By 'messy' do you mean yourself looking well scuffed and sexy after a laborious battle?"
I smiled at her optimism. "Yes, but no. It'll probably be a little bit worse than that." I changed my tone to indicate the seriousness. "If you don't hear from me in the next 24 hours, be worried. Call my cell repeatedly until I pick up, okay?"
Her breath hitched. "Okay, Derek. Please be careful."
"I will. Take care."
"Bye."
"Bye." I clicked the phone off just in time as we pulled up to the loft. I could see an apprehensive look on Kelsey's face as we walked upstairs together.
Kelsey POV:
Derek opened the large door to the loft and revealed Peter and Cora staring at blueprints on the back desk.
I choked a little at the sight of newly-resurrected Hale. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the ex of exes past." Peter said in a snarky fashion.
"And the infamous uncle of murderers past." I added, stopping to look the man dead in the eyes.
He embraced me tightly, laughing softly in my ear. "How've you been, kiddo?"
"Well, seeing as I'm alive and well, I would say I've been doing alright. And you, Uncle Peter?"
"Well, I'm still getting acclimated to this life, but I, too, am alright. Are you here to persuade my dashing nephew into not pursuing Deucalion?"
I chuckled. "I don't know how good I'll be at doing that, but I'll do my best. I promise."
Derek took the opportunity that followed to lead me over to the desk and go over the blueprints they had laid out.
Boyd and Cora emerged from upstairs, walking down the spiral staircase in deep discussion about something. "Hey there!" I said, snapping them out of their conversational trance.
"Hey, Kels," the duo said in unison, coming to give me hugs.
"Are you helping us with the situation?" Cora asked.
"Kind of. Just supervising, really." I replied.
"Good," Boyd interjected, "you shouldn't get involved."
"And I could say the same about you, mister, but I won't because you could kill me. Literally."
"Damn right." We chuckled to the sound of a mystery brown-eyed boy walking in.
"The Alpha Pack lives in the Argents' building." The boy claimed.
"We know. They're one floor above them in the penthouse, right above Allison." Derek confirmed.
"So we kill them first. That's the plan?" The boy asked, skeptically.
"They won't even see it coming," Boyd interjected, trying to ease his nerves regarding the situation.
"Why is the default plan always murder? For once, can someone try to come up with something that doesn't involve killing everyone?"
"You never get tired of being so blandly moral, do you? You know, not that I disagree." Peter jumped in.
Cora spoke up. "Well I do."
Leading me to interject. "Yeah, why do we need this kid?" I said, thoroughly confused.
"This 'kid,'" Derek started, "helped save Cora and Boyd's lives."
"Oh, so you're Scott McCall?" This made more sense.
"Yeah, and you're Kelsey, right? Your dad's my boss."
"I know. He speaks very highly of you."
"Anyway," Derek directed his message back towards Scott, "you know we can't just sit back and wait for them to make the first move."
"You can't beat a pack of alphas," Scott retorted.
"That's why we're going after Deucalion. Just him." Cora sassed.
Boyd spoke up. "Yeah, when you cut off the head of a snake, the body dies."
"Except, this isn't a snake, it's a hydra. And like Scott says, they're all alphas." Peter corrected.
"Deucalion's still the leader." Derek said.
"And that's worse, because you know what happened when Hercules cut off a head of the hydra?"
"Two more grew back in its place." Scott filled in the metaphorical blank.
"Somebody's been doing their summer reading," Peter joked.
"Is he always this sassy?" I asked.
"Yes." Everyone emphatically responded, adjourning the meeting.
"Well, alrighty then!"
"Hey, Kels," Cora began, "can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Yeah sure, what's up?" We stepped aside into the living room area to commence our conversation.
"I just wanted to thank you." She said, loud enough for only me to hear.
"I've only been back three days! What's there to thank me for?"
"You been caring for me since before I can remember even though you're not my sister and for that I'm eternally grateful. When Laura and Derek would always pick on me, you would be there to have my back and tell them to back off. You're also bad a badass sparring partner who gave me a run for my money. Besides me, though, you've cared for Derek. Being his best friend turned into being his girlfriend and that completely changed his life. When he came home Laura and I would be sick of hearing about you and how the two of you were happy together. Honestly, we all thought it was puppy love, pun intended, but we realized that when he confessed his feelings for you, he left a mark on you. After you guys broke up, well, I mean now, he didn't have anything to latch onto and became very angry, but I think something's changing about him. And I know it's because of you. You're the best sister any girl could ask for and I love you, Kels." Her eyes were serious and looked as though she knew something I didn't.
I pulled the young girl away and stared in her eyes. "Cora, you're the closest thing I've got to a baby sister. I'm always gonna be here for you, whenever you need me." I held her in for a final tight hug before we prepared to join the rest of the group again.
Derek then approached and interrupted our embrace. "It's time to go." He said sternly, as though his initial plan had been foiled.
"I thought we weren't going until tomorrow? What happened?" I replied with extreme concern. A preemptive strike must always be planned with extreme care, taking every possibility into account, my dad used to tell me.
"Scott happened." My brows furrowed at this statement. Didn't he like Scott? Ugh. Men.
Moments later, we arrived at the abandoned mall with me driving to ensure the safety of those I care for. Well, Peter doesn't count. I couldn't care any less about him. We have quite a love-hate relationship, honestly.
Derek was unbuckling his seatbelt when I stopped him. "Derek." I said simply.
"What, Kels?" He wouldn't look at me.
"Please be careful. Seriously. Deucalion is nothing to mess with. You heard Peter, he's like the hydra and won't stop until he gets what he really wants. You. And you know damn well I can't let that happen."
He then turned to look at me with his round green eyes. "Go home, Kelsey. Go home and get ready for your interview. You'll do great." He stated matter-of-factly.
"How did you know about that?"
He slinked out of the car and gave me a sad smile, never answering my question.
I'd slept so well that night, that I was sure I wasn't myself. I had gotten through the interview in a breeze, not once thinking about Derek.
Derek.
Sitting in my car in the school's parking lot, I whipped my phone out, dialing a number as fast as I could. I didn't realize his number was programmed into my muscle memory and immediately put the phone to my ear, hearing it ring repeatedly before going to voicemail. I hung up and tried again.
No answer.
I called a third time.
No answer.
The panic then began to kick in and my heart began to race. All of a sudden, I felt a tug on my heart, as though something bad had happened to him. As if he were killed or something. This tug progressively became stronger and turned into a shove in the chest and became much harder to manage, considering my emotions turned to shambles whenever I thought about him.
Thwop.
I whipped my head to look at loud noise that had just graced itself on my car window only to see him.
Him.
Derek.
He was hurt.
My worst nightmare.
His palms left smears of blood as he crumbled to the asphalt in a heap.
A/N: Whoop, there it is! I hope you guys enjoyed that. I think you know what's coming. Also, I'm thinking about doing a piece that's completely AU and shows you guys how I would ship the show if I were on board (Delsey for life!). I'm going to attempt to post a poll asking if you guys feel I should do this. Let me know by voting!
Please read and review!
Xoxo,
Flawless438
P.S: PM me if you wanna talk about TT or about Teen Wolf in general! I would love to discuss views/characters with you guys! Also, if any of you are looking to do a collab piece and don't know who to write one with, look no further! I've been wanting to do the same for a while but I just needed to resources to do so.
