A/N:(( edit: Really really sorry about this guys but apparently I uploaded chapter 12 instead of this one and didn't realize until now. Super sorry but here is the chapter that was supposed to go in between and again sorry for the confusion! ))This can be my contribution to Sterek week and it's the longest chapter so far :) In case you haven't noticed, there has been a name change which I don't know, still not happy with it for some reason but come on, anything is better than 'All Hell Breaks Loose'. Thanks for sticking with this story! Lots of love to you all. Also in case you were wondering, 4 more chapter to go (not including this one)!
Chapter 11: 'Date'
The collar was scratching at his neck and his jaw felt too smooth, bare without the stubble that usually coated it. He glared at his reflection in the dark tinted windows of the Camaro. Why the girls had insisted on this was beyond him. A date! Of all the possible plans, they wanted Derek to take that thing on a date?
Derek didn't do dates. Dates where they had dinner and talked...talked. What would they even talk about? The weather? How the demon currently possessed his... Stiles and how Derek would really appreciate it if he left?
Growling to himself he made his way up the path to the Stilinskis' door. His hands felt empty which was stupid because what was he supposed to bring? A bouquet? That's what he had done that one time he and Kate had actually gone out in public. Later she had told him that everyone was staring and that she preferred it when it was just the two of them, away from their judging eyes. They had taken to the car after that, driving somewhere secluded and spending the night with their lips plastered together and barely any clothes between them. Just thinking about it now made him sick.
He knocked on the door, adjusting his jacket as he waited. It was the only piece of clothing he was comfortable with and he knew it was ridiculous but when Lydia had scrunched up her nose and told him it had to go he had snapped that it would stay. Stiles opened the door and for a second Derek just stared at him. He wore a plain blue button down shirt and black jeans that fit a little too snugly. The smell of blood and sulfur that had been hanging around him the past few days was gone in favor of cologne and Stiles.
Stiles! Derek almost believed it. He almost did until the boy's soft brown eyes shifted to black and that now familiar grin twisted his features. Derek let out his breath. There was a cast on the boy's hand that he kept half hidden in the sleeves of his shirt but it was still glaringly obvious and it made Derek's stomach turn with guilt as he remembered their last encounter.
"Don't you look dashing" said the boy brightly, hands shifting to Derek's collar and adjusting it where Derek had pulled at it in anger. He let his fingers linger by the alpha's neck "you do clean up well"
Derek hid his growl with a grunt. "We should get going" he said gruffly, turning towards his Camaro which was parked on the street "the film starts in less than an hour"
"Oh no!" the demon grabbed Derek's arm and pulled him in the direction of the jeep "I'm not stupid, Derek. If we go out we do it my way. I don't want any blood on our first date"
He had expected as much.
"You're really not into this are you?"the demon sat back in the chair and chewed his lip "why did you ask me out Derek? You look like you'd rather be at your cat's funeral"
"They're all staring at us" scowled Derek, gripping his fork so hard that he could feel the steel bending out of shape beneath his hands. He was used to the looks-almost. He knew that the second he turned his back they would start whispering. Beacon Hills was a small town and that meant everyone knew Derek Hale, the kid who survived the Hale fire and now the withdrawn man he had grown into, twice suspected of murder and physically incapable of a smile. This was different though. They weren't even trying to be subtle. Sure some were using menus to hide their gawking but others were blatantly staring at them.
"Maybe it's because the Sheriff's son is on a date with a twice suspected murderer" the demon suggested, smirking widely at a middle aged woman who may or may not have worked at the kindergarten down the road. She flushed and looked away, intrigued by her bowl of soup "you didn't think this would be easy, did you?"
"You could at least try to make it less obvious" Derek choked a little as the foot that had been sliding slowly up the inside of his leg found his thigh and slowly moved up.
"But where's the fun in that?" the demon smiled even wider at Derek's glare "Oh, come on! Let's give them something they can really talk about."
Before Derek knew what was happening, or maybe he did know and felt he didn't really care enough to actually stop it, the demon had reached over, kneading long fingers into his hair as he pulled him in for a kiss.
Derek didn't need his werewolf senses to hear the gasps going up around the room. He scowled as he saw the demon sit back down with a satisfied look on his face. He hated that look. It reminded him yet again that he was just a pawn in its endgame. He was just a pretty face to toy with. A pretty face with a temper who just happened to be the alpha of a pack of ragtag misfits. Stiles had never looked at him that way.
"Enlighten me Derek" said the demon smile fading into a frown. His face was half covered by the bowls between them that lay largely ignored "no, enlighten us. Stiles, despite what he likes to believe has a large number of possible suitors. Why should he choose you? You can't even kiss him in public without making it look like you're in physical pain"
"You're not Stiles" Derek ground out ignoring the fact that it was an argument he constantly used to rationalise why he didn't just make a move. That and the fact that Stiles would find it hard to reject him – not because he was some kind of catch, no. If there was one thing he had learnt about the other boy, it was that Stiles had a constant need to please everyone in his life and even though their 'friendship' was a new development the boy would still be torn. He saw it in Jackson and he saw it in Stiles. It surprised him that the two had anything in common aside from their love for Lydia but stranger things had happened.
"You know you say that but you seem to forget that actually I am Stiles" he fiddled with his fork "I have seen everything the boy has been through- felt everything he has ever felt and I know him better than anyone. Even himself because there are sides to him that he would never admit existed. I am Stiles. In fact, ask me something-anything-that you've ever wanted to know about the boy. I know there are tonnes of questions you want to ask and since we are essentially on a date... we can make it a game! Our first date so how about we get to know each other a little? One question each, only the truth"
"I don't trust you" Derek narrowed his eyes. In theory this could be a useful game. If the demon stayed true to his word and Derek asked the right questions... but the demon lied. The demon always lied.
"Well to be honest I don't trust you either" the demon replied "imagine it's Stiles asking the questions. It's your first date remember! I'm just a...chaperone of sorts. Here, I'll start-"
Derek shook his head and stood up, shaking the leg off his lap as he did so. "This was a bad idea" he growled, tossing some money at the demon to pay for dinner and heading out to where the jeep was parked.
He didn't check his watch until he had ducked into the shadows, well out of sight from the small restaurant's window. A few minutes early but it would have to do. He just hoped that the others would be ready.
It didn't take long for the silhouette of the teenager to appear at the far end of the car park. The demon walked briskly over to where Derek was standing with a strange expression on his face. It wasn't nerves but it was something close. He ran his tongue over his lips, exactly like Stiles used to do before he made some sort of announcement. Derek eyed him carefully.
"Look Derek" he started "If I'm staying we really need to get along. Truth is, until I find out what exactly the seal is, I have to protect this town. We want the same thing here" Derek stared at him blankly, disbelief hidden expertly. What was it going on about? They were wasting time. They had to go now. "Do I really need to apologise? Are you really that thick? Fine! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I tortured and almost killed you and your pack but I was just doing my job. I have orders you know. Stiles grew on me and so did the rest of you- well except for Dopey, he whines too much and maybe Jackson, he's a bit of an ass. While you've been busy getting drunk and dodging arrows, Stiles and I have been having a heart to heart. I need this town and Stiles..." he pulled up his shirt sleeve, revealing the bandage. Slowly he unfastened the silver safety pin that was holding it together and unwound it "He's not invincible. He can't heal like you can. He's human and he bleeds" the demon pushed the rest of the cloth aside revealing Stiles slightly paler than usual hands. The skin was soft and unmarked. All signs of the burn marks that should have left it scarred were gone "he needs me as well Derek. If he runs with wolves he is bound to be bitten someday. I can keep him safer than you ever could" Derek stared, trying to take it all in. It was too much. Had Stiles really agreed to this? He had to admit, the demon healing Stiles was definitely a turn of events.
He had often wished for Stiles to heal. He hated having to watch as the boy came home with bruises and gashes after he once again threw himself in the line of fire to save one of the wolves. Of course that line of fire was usually directed at Scott and there was no way Derek would ever be able to talk him out of saving his best friend. The power to heal would have been handy to say the least but there was no way Derek was going to put Stiles' life in the demon's hands. He would protect Stiles. As soon as they exorcised the demon he was going to cover the boy in bubble wrap and protect him.
No, Derek thought. The demon had hurt his pack, the only people left that he actually cared about. He had taken Stiles away from him. Stiles would never have been burnt in the first place. It was the demon's fault and Derek was not about to let that thing twist this around any further.
"Give me the keys" he told the demon, pointedly looking away from the outstretched hand "There's something...somewhere I have to take you"
The demon frowned, apparently contemplating whether to trust him or not. "Derek..."
"Not you" sighed Derek impatiently "Stiles. There's something I need to tell him"
"Fine" he pursed his lips "but only if you tell me where"
Derek rolled his eyes "If you want to strike a deal, fine. We can work on the terms tomorrow but like you said, this is my first date with Stiles. Tonight we do it my way. How am I supposed to trust you if you won't trust me?"
The demon thought about it for a second before shrugging. "Fair enough" he said as he tossed him the keys. He made his way around to the passenger seat, humming softly as he went. The alpha took the opportunity to check his watch. They were right on time now.
Derek took a long swig from the bottle.
"You know you really shouldn't be drinking that while you drive" said the demon matter-of-factly. Derek shot him a look that would have made anyone else cover in fear. The demon just smiled. It was another thing they had in common; the demon and Stiles. It had taken a while but Stiles had soon learnt that Derek's bark was actually worse than his bite. After that he just put an annoying grin on his face whenever Derek glared at him or told him to shut up. It was like he could see right through the alpha and it amused him. There was hardly anything in the world that Derek wouldn't give to have that grin back again. Along with the boy who usually wore it. "You know you're really hot when you do that" Derek swerved and cursed when he had to right the Jeep. The demon smirked at him.
"Shut up" he barked on principle "we're almost there"
They pulled up beside the run down old building. It was a real eye sore but being just out of town meant that it was allowed to stay and Derek had adopted it for storing some of his less legal possessions. There was nowhere to park so ignoring the demon's protest Derek left jeep on the roadside.
The smell of dust, rot and rusting metal wafted out to greet them although the demon, despite his improved sense of smell wasn't as affected as Derek had first been. Prime position in the centre of the warehouse was taken by a broken down old train lit by moonlight let in by missing rafters. There was a gaping hole in the wall through which they could see the streetlights but aside from that the place was dark and full of shadows.
"How romantic," sighed the demon sarcastically "is this your new home? Have you given up on the burnt out old dump?" he smiled "I'm sorry that was mean. This is a very... interesting place to stay. I hope you're happy here" he pointed at the bottle Derek still held "Here let me have some"
"You're not old enough to drink, Stiles" that was possibly the worst retort Derek had come up with yet and the demon rolled his eyes as though he agreed.
"And you're too old to be taking me home in the middle of the night but no one's complaining about that are they?" he returned without missing a beat. He plucked the bottle from Derek's hand and darted nimbly away. "I know why you brought me here Derek you kinky bastard. Last one in is a Big Bad Wolf...oh wait!"
He grinned playfully, stepping into the carriage and sticking his tongue out "come get this Sour Wolf" he teased, leaning against one of the poles still intact that held the train together. He winked-he actually winked at Derek and with his free hand gulped down the rest of the bottle.
It took a second but sure enough he was spluttering it everywhere. He screamed as the liquid burned his throat and Derek couldn't help but feel his arm twitch. Lydia had assured him that the holy water would only affect the demon and that Stiles would be fine but the instinct to rush over there and hold him till the convulsing stopped was almost too much to hold back. Stiles looked like he was choking, doubled over and ready to retch up his insides until there was nothing left. At least they knew it had worked.
"What the-" screamed the demon, literally panting in fury as his eyes turned black "you really shouldn't have done that you flea bitten mutt" he pulled himself up and flung himself out of the carriage, headed straight at Derek-or at least he tried to.
Derek grinned. He knew he looked like a maniac but for the first time in so long something was actually going to plan so he fucking curled his lips back and grinned, teeth and all. "Well this date has taken an interesting turn"
The demon had hit some kind of invisible barrier and it had stopped him from lunging as he intended to. He growled in frustration and tried to ram into it again and again but he was stuck. "What the fuck did you do Hale?" he snarled.
Derek pointed upwards and the demon followed his gaze. The pack had really outdone themselves. The red paint was barely visible as it had been covered in dust but you could still see the shape of the devil's trap in the dark if you looked close enough. Maybe there really was some hope for them. He had a feeling Lydia was the mastermind behind the genius camouflage. There was even one painted neatly on the roof of every other compartment. They weren't elaborate but they worked perfectly and Derek couldn't help feeling proud of his pups.
"Actually" a voice spoke up from the shadows "Derek only brought you here. We trapped you"
They stepped out from the shadows. All of them, they had all been there. Scott moved forward first with Allison by his side – she was holding her crossbow, fully loaded with what looked like an iron tipped bolt. Derek had no idea how she had gotten her hands on it. They were followed by Lydia with a smug smile on her face and Jackson who looked unimpressed as usual. There was someone missing though and even as Derek joined them he knew that they would never truly be pack until they had him back. They were a pack- but they weren't Derek's. Not yet.
A/N: ( I just needed to have Derek call them his pups just once okay.) Anyway, thank you for reading and tell me what you think, yeah?
((Edit: well wasn't that embarrassing! Beating myself up for that but yeah hope you enjoyed it now at least!)
