"There you are, I was so worr–" Peter began, but was cut off by Vanessa raising her hand and slapping him across his cheek. Her hand left a red mark and Peter seemed to actually get hurt by the slap. "Vanessa, I can ex–" Cut off again by another hit.

"You're disgusting. Absolutely disgusting." She spat angrily and crossed her arms. "I can't believe you made me tell you about my feelings for Derek and then pretend like you didn't even know him, when in fact, you're his uncle! That's so gross."

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd react like this. Besides, I don't see what the big deal is." He replied, ending with a light shrug.

"The big deal is that you lied to me! And that you're Derek's uncle, which is disgusting. You're obviously older than us but it doesn't show because you were born a werewolf, like Derek. And he told me you convinced him to turn Paige, which means you killed Paige." She took a few steps away from him.

"Babe, come on–"

"No, no, no, no, no, no." She laughed quickly, waving a finger at him in disapproval. "You don't get to 'babe' me, okay, I'm not your babe. We were never a thing and we never will be. You ruined it."

Vanessa walked past him to leave, but Peter grabbed her wrist and forced her to look at him. Glaring at him, she expected a different expression on his face. Instead of seeming apologetic or soft, he looked at her with frustration. It made her a bit nervous but she was always good at hiding her emotions.

"Just give me a chance, okay. Don't you realize what a power duo we could be?" He proposed, making her barely narrow her eyes. It wasn't hard to detect how much he wanted them to be powerful more than a couple.

"What are you talking about? We will never be a thing, Peter. And this power talking? I think I'm finally starting to see you for who you really are." She jerked her arm away from his grip and shook her head. "You've always been jealous of your sister because she's an alpha. Don't think I haven't noticed it. I don't know why, but you're so thirsty for power and that scares me. Don't talk to me again."

With that, Vanessa turned around and quickly left him on the street. The reason she was out of the house was because she was going to the local supermarket to buy some donuts and most likely ice cream. Not for herself only, but for her and Derek. He had asked to stay at her place after Paige's death, mostly because he didn't want to be near Peter or his family — they reminded him of the incident too much — and because he wanted Vanessa's company.

Once she had bought some donuts, ice cream and something healthy to drink to compensate for the unhealthy snacks, Vanessa went back home and put the things where they belonged, except for the donuts in the bag. She jumped down on the couch beside Derek and handed him the bag with a sweet smile.

"Thanks, you're the best." He smiled back and started eating his donut instantly. Lightly chuckling, she ate hers and leaned her head against his shoulder.

Vanessa told her dad about Paige and Derek because she promised to not lie again, and it was the only way for him to let the two teenagers stay home from school. He had no problem with Derek practically living there either, but she didn't complain about that. During these days, the two had finally started watching Friends, just so that Derek could finally understand what Vanessa meant by saying that she's a soft version of Monica. They were currently at season two.

"So who's your favorite character?" She asked once she had eaten her donut, looking up at him.

"Joey. Definitely Joey." He answered while nodding to himself. "You?"

"It's either Joey or Rachel. I feel like Monica is extremely underappreciated because she's awesome for so many reasons, but I like Joey and Rachel more." She shared, intertwining her hands together against her stomach.

"I think Monica and Chandler would be an awesome couple." He thought out loud, making her frown up at him. "I mean, they're like best friends and they just have this great dynamic. They already cuddle all the time so them being in a romantic relationship would be so natural and cool."

"Oh my gods." Vanessa muttered to herself, barely audible, as she got up from the couch and tossed the empty bag in the kitchen trash. She closed her eyes and drowned that annoyance inside her, but Derek had heard her and noticed her change of mood.

"What? What'd I say?" He asked and straightened his back so he could get a better look at her. "Nessa."

"Nothing." She lied as she shrugged sloppily. "What do you wanna eat today? I'm thinking pasta or something like tha–"

"Vanessa." Derek said sternly. Suddenly he was right behind her, making her swallow a lump in her throat. He rarely used her full name and when she turned around to face him, she could barely keep her sassy expression solid. "What is it?"

There was so much she wanted to say, so many emotions just wanted to shoot out of her through words but she couldn't. It would've been selfish and mean, especially considering he had just recently lost someone he loved. Paige deserved better than having Vanessa pour her feelings out to Derek so soon. And even if she did, it'd just damage their friendship even more. She just had to accept that Derek would never feel for her the way he felt for Paige.

"I'm serious, it's nothing. I don't know why I said that." She lied again, placing a hand against the counter as support. Derek gazed at her neutrally but she could barely stand it. "Can you please move? You know I don't exactly like too much unnecessary physical contact."

"Fine." He sighed and backed away. "I don't believe you, but fine."

"So what kind of pasta do you want?" She asked and scratched her arm.

Derek answered her question and then watched as she cooked the food for the three of them. He always watched her when she was making dinner, mostly to try and learn himself, and he kept doing it months later. Yes, Derek stayed there for months and Vanessa didn't want him out anyway. Occasionally, Scott and Stiles would visit and hang out with them and Peter often tried to get Vanessa's attention without exposing himself to his nephew.

One day, when the two friends were at their best, Vanessa had initiated a silly pillow fight on the couch. Basically it was just the two of them slouching on the couch while hitting each other with a pillow. It seemed like Derek had finally recovered completely from losing Paige and there was no depression lingering around him anymore. Eventually a year had passed, and then another six months. After this year and a half, Derek had moved back home but he was still spending six days a week at her place.

"Okay, okay, are we twelve?" Derek chuckled and put his pillow down beside him.

"Uh, we might be seventeen now but we're still kids." She raised her eyebrows and hit him one last time with her pillow.

Looking at him, Vanessa realized just how much they had grown and been through. Derek's features were growing sharper, more mature and his body wasn't as slinky and thin anymore. He had also gotten a weird spark in his eyes. She assumed it was happiness. They were about to finish high school and that thought brought her mind back to their first day at high school.

"What?" He asked with a soft smile. "What are you thinking about?"

"Everything. Us. The fact that we're almost eighteen now." She shrugged and remembered all the times these months that they had wolf races in the woods before admiring the view from the edge of it.

"It's crazy how time flies."

"Now imagine being a dad." Jacques entered the room and kissed Vanessa on top of the head. "I can't believe you've grown this much. Feels like yesterday when Vanessa was walking in diapers. And it feels like yesterday when you first came over and finally introduced yourself."

Derek laughed and nudged Vanessa's shoulder with his own. Jacques ruffled her hair before leaving them alone again. She leaned her head back, turned it to look at her friend and started fiddling with her ear.

"I don't say this often, but I really care about you, Derek. And I'm so glad you decided to seek harbor here. I've never once been bored." She admitted. At first he grinned, then he imitated her ear-fiddling and chuckled quietly.

"What's this?" He teased, earning a weak slap on his hand from her.

"It's my new action that says I care about you." She made up on the spot, shrugging.

"Ear fiddling? I kinda like it. It's official. I care about you too, Nessa." He frowned with his lips in approval and then did the ear thing.

"Don't be an ass, Hale."

"I mean it! And this thing is now legit. If we don't have time to vocally say it or are incapable of, we do the ear thing." He decided, making her grow a half smile, half smirk.

"Alright. It's officially our thing. We have a thing." She agreed on the decision, pouting the slightest with her lips.

"I have something I'd like to tell you. Actually, there's someone I want you to meet." He proclaimed timidly, making her frown a bit.

Vanessa hesitated but nodded. After changing her clothes to something more decent, she followed Derek out the house and toward the town. Part of her didn't want to meet this person because it could be anyone. He didn't even mention if it was a boy or girl, but with her luck it'd probably be the latter. How cruel wouldn't that be?

Derek held the door of the ice cream shop open to her and the last person she'd ever want to see stood by the counter with an ugly smile. Vanessa nearly stopped dead in her tracks while Derek approached the girl and greeted her.

"Aren't you gonna introduce me?" She smirked and quirked one eyebrow.

"Sorry. Nessa, this is Kate Argent." Derek introduced her and sent his friend a sheepish smile. "We're sort of dating, I think. We met a while ago."

Vanessa felt like a cornered, weak animal as she stood and stared at Kate. Even if they were in a public place with a lot of people around them, she was still afraid that the huntress would grab a knife and stab her right then and there. Especially since she had escaped with the help of Kate's brother.

"I, uh... I–I need to leave. Sorry." She couldn't form any better sentence than that. Vanessa hurried out the shop and was ready to dash away from there when Kate followed her and took a hold of her wrist.

"That was rude." Kate pouted, feigning hurt. Vanessa kept glaring at her as she tried to put on her most intimidating expression. The dirty blonde one merely laughed. "I don't know how you escaped, sweetie, but I promise that if you even hint to Derek who I am... I'll personally hunt you down and cut your body in half. Slowly."

"One day, you're gonna get yours and I pray that I'll be there to watch you get what you deserve." Vanessa spat before jerking her arm free and walking away from there.

When Kate was out of sight, Vanessa started running back home where she was met by her dad. She must've had a really distressed look on her face since he quickly seized her arms and examined her expression with concern.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? What happened?" Jacques asked softly, helping her calm herself down. He then guided her to the couch where the two sat down and she inhaled deeply.

"Remember when I was kidnapped by those hunters? And there was an old man, a younger man and his little sister?" She asked quietly and he nodded in response. "Well... Apparently Derek's dating that little sister."

"What?!" He exclaimed and widened his eyes. "Does she know he's a werewolf?"

"She has to! Why else would she date him?" Vanessa scoffed and made an obvious face until she noticed her dad raising his eyebrows at her. "I didn't mean it like that. Derek's a catch, but why him? She doesn't even go to our school. How did she find him? She must know." She explained further. "Should I tell him?"

"Would you want to know?" He retorted. After thinking for a brief moment, she nodded and shrugged sloppily. "Then tell him."

"He'll hate me and he won't even believe me at first." She whined and rested her forehead against her kneecap.

"Have you ever lied to him?" Jacques asked and she slowly looked back up at him.

"No."

"Then you don't have anything to worry about. Tell him. This isn't some normal teenage drama thing. This is his life and if you don't tell him, he could be in serious danger." He reminded her.

"What if Kate sends her family on us? Or him? Trust me, they're really scary. And rude." She grimaced by the end, which only made him deadpan her with slightly raised eyebrows. "I'm serious."

"What if she sends them on you anyway? It's worth the risk if it means you can spare Derek from trouble. Don't you agree?" He retorted, making her look down and fiddle with a pillow.

After a few more minutes of discussion, Vanessa decided to call Derek and tell him to meet her at the Beacon Hills preserve, the forest just outside of the town. She put a hoodie on in case it'd get cold and walked hastily toward the location. Derek was already there, leaning against the tree where he had kissed her.

"Prick." She muttered to herself because of the memory and approached him. He smiled happily and straightened his back.

"What's up?" He asked and frowned once he noticed her severe expression. No part of her wanted to talk about Kate with him: her stomach literally felt like it was knotting itself as she tried to form the words to say to him.

"I need to tell you something and you're gonna hate it." She said bluntly, watching him fold his arms together. "It's about Kate."

"What about her?"

"She–" She started but needed to inhale deeply when she saw his concerned face. "She's not a good person, Hale. Remember when I disappeared for a few days because I was kidnapped by hunters? She's one of them."

Silence. Derek gazed at her, trying to detect if this was some sick joke whilst Vanessa swallowed a lump in her throat and prepared for his outburst of denial. However, he remained calm and quiet which quite frankly freaked her out even more. Then he shook his head and made a funny face.

"This is a prank, right? Because it can't be true." He chuckled and she sighed.

"Derek..."

"No, seriously. What kind of messed up thing is that to say? There's no way she's one of those who kidnapped you. You probably didn't see the person clearly and Kate just resembles her. She's just a teenager, why would she hunt werewolves?" He rambled, and she opened her mouth to interrupt him but he continued talking. "I've known her for some time now and there's no way she's a cold-hearted hunter, all right. You've met her once for like, ten seconds."

"Derek!" She raised her voice to make him realize how serious she was. She was very well aware of how much she could intimidate him as well. "I'm trying to be your friend here. She's bad news, Hale. She's dangerous and cold-hearted and I need you to trust me because I don't want her to hurt you."

"You know what I think?" He said with an empty voice. She shook her head slowly, hoping he wouldn't say what she feared he'd slip out. "I think you're just lying because you're jealous, Nessa. And that's really ugly of you."

Suddenly, the air became ten times colder than before. Her chest grew heavier and soon her eyes stung and her vision was blurry because she felt so angry that she could cry. Vanessa stared at him in disbelief, but only for a split second because he didn't waste any time standing there anymore. Within a second, he had wolf sped himself away from the scene, leaving her fueled with anger. Unable to even hold it in any longer, she clenched her hands and let out a scream of frustration.

The scream didn't last for long though considering someone too familiar placed a hand against her mouth and dragged her behind a tree, falling down on the ground and pulling her down with him. Vanessa made a sound of more fury but it was muffled because Peter kept pressing his hand against her mouth and shushing her.

"God, are you trying to get yourself killed? Didn't you hear them?" He whisper-yelled and slowly removed his hand. It was only then that she noticed how the moon was rising and twigs were getting stepped on in the distance.

"I don't want to talk to you." She crossed her arms together and looked at him with a weary expression. "I hate you, remember?"

"Oh yeah, you hate me." He rolled his eyes and finger-quoted the last words in the air. "Just listen, okay. You have to be more careful. Ever since you escaped the Argents, it's like they extended their group by a hundred. And they're patrolling the forest more regularly."

"How did you even know I was here?"

"Like you always say, I'm a stalker." He partly joked, earning a sloppy eye roll from her and a head shaking. "That was a weak reaction from you."

"It's really rude to invade someone's privacy the way you do. Do I even need to ask if you heard Derek and I talking?" She sighed and pulled both hands through her hair.

"I'm sorry about what he said." Peter admitted, surprising her by looking genuinely sad. "Seriously, not fair of him. And obviously it's not jealousy. That kid is so dumb. All Kate had to do was bat her eyelashes and he was wrapped around her wolf-killing finger."

"Right, you're older than us..." She mumbled, reacting to the way he called Derek a kid. This would take a lot of time to get used to. "So soon after Paige?"

"I think it's some weird way of him to cope and finally and completely move on from Paige. A stupid way to do so, but that's what I think. He's so delusional right now because he wants to believe Kate's good. Plus it's been a year and a half." He suggested, shrugging a little. "You deserve be–"

"Don't." She cut him off and turned her head to look at him. "Spare me the cliché bullshit. This isn't even about me. This is about Derek being in danger and not realizing it."

"I think they're gone." Peter proclaimed, referring to the hunters. "You're right. He's my nephew, after all, and I do care about him. How do we get Kate out of the picture?"

"Oh no, we're not teaming up." She laughed humorlessly while standing up and dusting some leeves off of her. "I still hate you."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Peter."

"One last thing together." He wryly smiled. She folded her arms together and looked to the side. "Look, I'm sorry I lied. Vanessa, you're like the only person I've ever truly cared about and I'm not lying this time. In case you haven't noticed, I don't bother with other people. But I do with you, and I just want to spend some time with you again. So please, let's at least get rid of Kate together and then I'll leave you alone. I swear."

Vanessa heavily turned her gaze and focus to him. Peter had a very sincere expression on his face which was a change from his naturally cocky and self-confident one. She contemplated his offer and hated herself for it. If anything, she should've just left him there. But she didn't. And she found herself exhale deeply in agreement and watch him approach her cautiously.

"If you have any hidden agenda or any way to manipulate me–"

"I don't." He assured her and made her unfold her arms by seizing her elbows and then moving his hands down to her to her wrists. "And I thought you were the manipulative one of us?"

"No, that's just who you think I could be. Big difference." She pointed out, being the reason why he smiled softly at her. "I'm not doing this all again. We expose Kate and that's it." She negotiated, gently pushing his hands away from her.

"No strings attatched." He agreed, sliding his hands down his pockets.

Vanessa nodded, more to herself, and tried to ignore all her thoughts. Although having him alone in the forest in front of him was hugely distracting. After all the bad things that had happened, she missed that carelessness and rush that Peter brought with him. Maybe missing all that was the reason that led her to sigh over herself before she pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt and pressed her lips against his.

This time, she promised herself that this was the last time she'd let Peter close again. For now, she just needed to get away from reality.