Stiles was never one to ignore what he saw. As a hyperactive teenager with a chronic problem of overthinking, it was a habit to investigate things. And in this instance, it happened to be his friends. The distance Isaac and Erica had been keeping with him was growing as of late. They almost never saw each other outside of school. When they did, it was brief and concise. Always less than an hour. Almost never at the Hale house either. For some reason, Isaac always had a means in which they shouldn't be over there. It made Stiles' suspicions towards Derek magnify. Erica was similar.
She was dodgy and concealed. Hiding something that eluded Stiles, despite his best efforts. She and Boyd were doing well. Affectionate was ever. Goo-goo eyed and smiles. But there was something underneath all of it that didn't make sense. Erica was always lively and forward. Never mincing words or holding back. Now, she was subdued. Whenever the topic of the Hales came up, she became tight lipped. More so, out of the blue, Cora had become amicable towards her and Isaac. While Stiles was happy for it, he didn't trust it. Teenagers were petty, vindictive creatures on a good day. The fact that Cora had started being so nice was cause of suspicion. As bad as it sounded. Then there was the matter of the Hales themselves.
Stiles had intruded upon them several times in recent weeks. Never announced and never with warning. Every time bared the same result. Isaac or Cora would answer the door, surprised to see him. Though they never turned him away. He would spend time with Isaac. Be it a study session, or mindlessly playing video games. Either way, Cora was never around. She would retreat upstairs, away from the two of them. And she would always give Isaac a curious look just before he disappeared. Derek was another matter. He was always tense when Stiles was around. Never really saying anything. Not in words anyway.
His entire body seemed to coil in on itself. Tension gripping the muscles of his body. Like he was waiting for something. Almost as if he was afraid. Stiles didn't like it. Nor did he like how Isaac was around Derek. Whenever the two of them were in the same room, Isaac fell completely silent. Head bowed, eyes trained to the floor. Every single time. As if in fear. Which Stiles assumed. Once, Isaac had been laughing, and the moment Derek walked in, he stopped. Abruptly and completely. Derek never said a word. But Isaac cowered all the same. It further cemented his thoughts towards the older man.
Laura was the opposite. She was always happy to see Stiles. Face lighting up with radiance, taking him into a crushing hug as greeting. He liked her. Tristan shared in the sentiment. The young boy always giggled when Stiles would pick him up. The three year old never failed to fall asleep in his arms. No matter what they were doing. Laura laughed and said that Stiles would make a good parent if he could get Tristan to fall asleep so easily. Derek didn't seem to enjoy it very much. The older man would always glare daggers at him, eyes filled with mistrust and anger. If only for a moment. Then, he would saunter off, never saying anything. As always.
Things didn't improve when Stiles tried to confront Isaac. He had tried to bring up the subject as discreetly and as gently as possible. But his friend was tight lipped. He never said a word against Derek or any of the other Hales. Including their extended family. They had been over once when Stiles had dropped by. Most of them were like Derek. Regarding him with suspicion and something a tad darker. They lived in a separate house, slightly closer to town. There was a lot of them. The file he had looked at on the Hales hadn't said anything about there being this many of them in California. In fact, none of them had even lived near the west coast. They visited Laura and Derek often. The lot of them kept their distance, never getting too close to him while he was in the house. But like Tristan, all of the kids loved him. Especially the young ones.
He often found himself trapped under a pile of tiny bodies, squirming and laughing. Despite always being massively uncomfortable, he enjoyed nonetheless. Even if their parents weren't too pleased with it. Gabriel, the youngest boy loved bouncing on his chest. He failed to realize that three year olds were a bit big for that. The twins, Della and Marie, liked to cling to his legs as he walked. Forcing him to stomp as he went about the living room. Even the older kids enjoyed his company. They would ask him questions regarding their homework. It always fun, even if their parents did always cut the time short. That too, aroused thoughts of something being not quite right with the Hales.
He tried to confront Erica about Isaac's situation. But she too was closed mouth on the matter. Head bowed, eyes averted. Saying nothing. She always found a way to change the subject before Stiles pressed any further. It was then that he was determined to find something he could bring to his dad. Something that would prove that Derek was not who they thought he was. But it wasn't easy. Isaac had managed to hide his father's abuse for years. Now was no different.
Stiles paid closer attention to him in the locker room. Looking for signs. There were differences in bruises caused by lacrosse and bruises caused by fists. He's seen enough domestic abuse cases to know that certain patterns meant certain things. But Isaac never had any. No discoloring or signs of trying to conceal it. There was no affected gait, as if he had been beaten or whipped. Stiles even went to so far as to look at the boy's hands. Less Derek take a page from 's book. There was nothing. Nothing that was concreate or definitive. It didn't deter him. But there was something else that was bothering him. And it did take a considerable amount of his attention.
Scott had made a full recovery after his asthma attack on the field. His O2 levels were good. No sign of inflation in the airways or his lungs. The doctor's had adjusted his medicine and told him to take it easy. Everything seemed fine. Until he broke up with Allison. It came out of nowhere. For no discernable reason. She hadn't been ignoring him. Hadn't brushed him off. And to Stiles knowledge, she hadn't cheated on him. So when he called things quits, Stiles was suspicious and surprised in the same moment. Allison was a mess. Crying for days. Sobbing into Lydia's shoulder. Scott kept his distance in the cafeteria. Now, he no longer sat with the other lacrosse players. He sat with Stiles, Isaac, Erica, and Boyd. And oddly enough, the four of them were….usually close.
Scott had never been aware of any of them. He knew Isaac by proximity. Erica and Boyd weren't even on his radar. But after the breakup with Allison, he was lovey dovey and over the moon friendly. As if he had known them forever. Which he hadn't. Stiles asked him about it. The answer was the Scott wanted to make new friends. Not just a bunch of jocks. It was a half assed lie and Stiles knew it. Scott was never cruel or unkind. But he wasn't the type to go out and hang around with anybody. Stiles knew that well enough. They had been friends for ten years. But now, there was a distance growing between them again.
Stiles made more than one attempt to spend time with Scott. But nine times out of ten, there was always some excuse. Some reason that he wasn't going to make it. There wasn't anything obvious going on, until he saw Scott getting in a car with Cora. There was no way in hell the two of them were a couple. Not a chance in hell. Cora was beautiful and strong. But she was also icy and closed off. The exact opposite of Allison. Stiles knew that they were going to the Hale house. Melissa had never allowed Allison over unless she was there. Erica had made her way over to the Hale house as well. Along with Boyd. Stiles tried not to feel too torn up about it. He was still worried about Isaac living with the Hales.
Even though he had no real proof, he relayed his suspicions to his father. Telling him everything that he saw. Everything that he had noticed over the last two months. The sheriff listened and nodded, waiting until Stiles was finished. When he was done, he got the answer he suspected he would get. There was nothing that could be done, no means in which Derek could be arrested. Not unless there were obvious signs of abuse or Isaac came forward. In short, there was nothing that Stiles could do but sit back and watch. He didn't feel good about it.
Eventually, the time he spent with his friends was spent almost exclusively at school. In fact, he saw Lydia more often than he saw the others. She seemed amicable to his company. Some days, they studied for the AP classes. Others, she would force him to watch the Notebook on repeat. And there were the days when she would obscurely text him out of the blue, telling him she needed company. There would always be an open bottle of wine and mascara tracks down her face. It always involved her parents. They were going through a divorce, and her father had already moved out. He was trying to buy Lydia's affections, keeping her in good graces and such. It was the only real time he ever paid attention her.
Cold and somewhat conceded, but Lydia wasn't made out of stone. She was hard only on the surface. But if you dug deeper, there was a softness there that others had a hard time recognizing. She was like that with Jackson. He was loud mouthed, crude, and not so nice. But she was kind and tender with him. And the douche was the same around her. Stiles never asked why she never called him. Why she didn't trust her boyfriend with her troubles. He didn't need to. Sometimes, the people you cared about the most were the worst ones to talk to about your problems. Maybe that was the case with Isaac. If so, it was going to be a while before he opened up about what was going on with Derek. If there was anything going on to begin with. Stiles knew there was. He just had to prove it.
(*)(*)(*)(*)
Derek was going to murder Laura. Slowly and painfully. Leaving no trace of her to find. He had run out of patience concerning his betas. Isaac was closing himself in his room. Erica refused to answer his calls. And Boyd was being, well, himself. The three of them were sulking. Not to say the least of Scott. Derek had approached him in the hospital, explaining what he and the others were. And what he was offering. All of the risks. And all of the possible rewards. The young man was intrigued. He accepted without really understanding the consequences. His girlfriend was a complication. Laura had a shaky truce with the Argents. Dating the current matriarch wasn't the best of ideas. Scott tried to make excuses. That he could hide it. Derek didn't him much room to move on the matter.
The young wolf moped for days. Rarely showing up for training on time. And devolving into a state of extreme depression. The same as the others. And then there was the matter of Stiles. He was showing up, unannounced, at any given time. Laura's betas were less than thrilled. She assured them that he was harmless and their secret was safe. The betas' children threw themselves at the young man after seeing him with Tristan. He seemed to have a special way with wolf kids. It made a certain part of Derek rumble in a very unfamiliar way. He shoved it down, burying under anger and frustration. Stiles was human. And Derek wasn't willing to take the risk of them being exposed. When he gave the order for his betas to limit their contact, the reaction was unanimous. And not in a good way.
The four of them protested, saying that Stiles was a part of their lives. A friend. Someone they relied on. The suggestion was made that he made into a wolf. For him to join the pack. Derek was on the fence about. There were plenty of qualities that would make Stiles a good fit. But just as many that would make him a bad one. There were too many variables to consider the risk. He'd been burned once before. He had no intention of enduring it a second time. And that of course, is when things got strange.
Cora, of all people, came to Stiles' defense. She advocated for the young man. Albeit in short and simple words. She described him as feeling safe. His sister had seen the way Stiles interacted with the kids. How he was by Isaac's and Erica's side. For the first time, in a long time, she trusted a human. Not with their secret. But enough for him to be around. Derek wasn't convinced. That's when Laura stepped in. And she did it in her usual fashion. After dinner, when her betas returned to the house, she found Derek on the porch. It would be the full moon soon. And Derek was preparing for having Scott on board this time around. The other three were very nearly grounded. Able to hold back the shift, keeping in check. Of course Laura chose that time to talk to him.
She sat down next to him, saying nothing for the longest time. It was her way of moving towards the actual conversation. She simply took his hand, and looked up at the stars. They did it a lot when they first moved to New York. Central Park was quiet at night. Very few people. It was one of the only places in that city of concreate they could be themselves. The first few months were the hardest. And some nights, they just needed to get outside. Breathe the open air and feel with cold night air. It was how they dealt with it. The profound loss of pack. After a while, Cora joined them. She would cry more often than not. Then, one day, she stopped. The young woman became stone hard and rigid. Unable to feel much of anything. She built a wall, just like Derek. Six years later, and he still hadn't forgiven himself.
Laura was the alpha they needed her to be. Strong, grounded. Assured of what she was doing. They built a new pack. And in a few short years, it was almost like it was before. But here, things were different. Derek wasn't taking in omegas or people who had willingly came to him. He was finding humans to turn. People who would benefit from the bite. React to it, and grow with it. The process was far more personal, far more intimate. And he was struggling. He wanted the best for his betas. But he also wanted to keep them safe. Stiles and Allison weren't being safe. That what's he felt. Laura had other ideas.
"You know Stiles is a good person, right?"
"So long as he thinks we're human."
"Fair, but debatable. They need him just as much as they need you. He was a part of their lives before they turned. You can't expect them to just abandon the kid." Derek focused on the word kid more than anything else. They were all so young. All so unlearned in the ways of the world. His betas were still tied to what made them human. What their old lives were. Now, they were wolves. And the world had changed in ways they were still trying to understand. It didn't make a lot of sense. But Stiles felt like a piece of that world. But Derek didn't know how he fit. How he would fall into place. And that's what was so terrifying. The young man defied explanation.
"What do you suggest I do?"
"One of two things. Offer him the bite. And if not that, let him become aware. Lead him into the fold." Laura said plainly.
"You think either one is a good idea?"
"Your betas love him. The kids love him. He's well liked all around. But I understand your fear. But a young man shouldn't be left in the dark. It'll destroy him. Even if you think it won't."
Derek was still thinking about it. What Stiles would be like as a wolf. But he hadn't considered what he would be like as a person who was merely aware. There were humans in their family. But they had been raised in the pack. Been around wolves their entire lives. It was far different than introducing someone who had no knowledge about the supernatural. That was a whole other level of risk. A risk that made him think of ash and fire and burning screams. Of multiple caskets being lowered into the ground. Of Cora crying her eleven year old self to sleep. Of Peter, trapped in a burned body, unable to properly heal. When the insurance people came with the claims. When Laura cashed them, using the money from their family's death to move across the country. Of the first two years of feeling so utterly alone. Where he blamed himself, every single night before he went to sleep. He wondered if Stiles was worth the risk. It was Derek's choice to make. Didn't mean that it was going to be an easy one.