HE GUYS! OMG, FINALLY, I KNOW! I don't know how college works in your country but here in Portugal we have almost two months of exams, and I just finished mine! I'M A FREE BITCH :D oh well, anyways, here's a new chapter, I wrote it last year (lol ok don't mind me) in december but i was just too busy with my exams to post it. It's the worst, i swear, my english is very rusty; i'm currently writing the next chapter and i'm loving it so far, so yeah, please don't hate me too much for this one...

Also, i'd like to thank you all for staying with me and for reading my fic; also, welcome, new followers! :)

Enough with the rambling, ENJOYYYYYY!

23RD OF DECEMBER

And, in the blink of an eye, it was Christmas Eve-eve.

It was a wonderful surprise to open the front door and right beside the stairs there it was, a beautiful and very white-and-blue Christmas tree. There were too many presents under it, which was weird, given the fact that most of Mary's family lived in New York or Europe (at least for Keegan Bennett, whose sisters lived in Spain, Portugal and Greece - they loved the weather there). However, before all that, still inside Derek's car, Mary was feeling… like she was visible. You know that feeling when you're just friends with someone but then you snap your fingers and suddenly the world has changed, and the sun shines a little brighter, and the flowers smell a little better? Suddenly, that person can see you. You're no longer just friends, you're more.

"What's wrong?" He asked. The blonde shrugged; he scanned her face, but not a single word came out of her mouth. For a minute they just looked at each other while some new young artist was playing on the radio. "... I will run, and I will run, 'cause lovers love, and then lovers leave, and if you say you love me, where does that leave me?" she hummed to herself along with the kid on the radio – it was the third time they were playing that song, eventually it stuck to her head; that's what happens when you get tired of Taylor Swift.

"Let's just picture this for a second." She said mostly to herself. "Tomorrow is probably my last Christmas dinner-" Derek widened his eyes as he tried to interrupt but Mary tapped him on the shoulder like it was no big deal, commanding him to shut up and let her finish. "And as much as I love spending time with my family, I'd really appreciate it if you could come too. I MEAN, or after you have dinner with your family you could join us!... i'm sorry, I'm so rude…" The green eyed man sighed at the thought of his family. All he had left was Cora, but she was some place safe, far away. Peter wasn't even an option.

His hand reached for Mary's hand – her fingers were soft and she smelled like strawberries; the ocean in her eyes would keep all his secrets but maybe it wasn't the right moment yet. It would feel wrong to destroy the smile on her lips with such memories. Instead, the werewolf leaned closer and took a single lock of her blonde hair between two fingers and ran them all the way to the end. "You should probably ask your parents first." She lit up like a Christmas tree. "Wait, does that mean what I think it means, Derek Hale?"

24TH OF DECEMBER

Even thought there was a small and adorable bump on Juliet's stomach, she was still Mary's mother, therefor, intimidating. Keegan, however, was more like his daughter; he enjoyed a good laugh and would giggle like a little kid at every joke – sometimes Mary would even roll her eyes and say "Oh my God, dad, please stop." "Don't be rude, mermaid, we have a guest. I'm pretty sure your friend-" Keegan blinked at Derek, oh God, he frigging blinked. "wants me to share more stories of my college years." Derek smiled at Mary from across the table – her cheeks were as red as the dress she was wearing – and then he nodded politely at Keegan.

After dinner, Juliet thought it'd be nice to unwrap some of the Christmas gifts. "We're not supposed to do that until tomorrow morning." Said Mary, although Derek could tell by the look in her eyes that she was not displeased at that idea, at all.

Keegan's gift to his daughter was a box filled with colored paper with many different patterns, lots of glue, old buttons and glitter. "I remembered you were working on a Scrapbook so… I thought I'd help you finish it." Juliet's gift was, truth be told, very original. Inside a big green box there was a folded blanket, cupcakes, two movies, a bag of tea and a teddy bear. On top of all that there was a white paper that read 'Cuddle Kit – get ready for some serious snuggling! Love, mom.'

Ten more minutes and the living room was filled with wrapping paper, baby clothes and jewelry.

"Mary." He said after her parents left the living room; Derek could hear the dog, Ozzy, barking outside. The blonde sat next to him on the couch with curiosity in her eyes. "I have something to ask you, but first I need to know how you're feeling." He started. Mary arched an eyebrow and smiled reluctantly. "I'm ok…?" "I'm serious. No headaches?" "No. I'm good. I promise." She was telling the truth, her heartbeat was steady. He smiled softly. "Are you tired?" "Not really. Why are you asking weird questions?" "Well, there's a Christmas party at Lydia's lake house – it's mostly for Isaac, he was all alone so… she thought it'd be a nice gesture." He explained. Mary did not say a word; she just got up, grinning goofily at the werewolf, and shouted "MOM, DAD, I'M GOING TO A PARTY FOR ISAAC, I'LL BE BACK SOON!"

Turns out it wasn't the big party Mary was expecting; it was way better than that. There were only seven teenagers at the party and Mary knew most of them from school; Malia was on the swimming team, Scott and Stiles were on the Lacrosse team, Lydia was the popular girl (who was also a genius), Kira was the daughter of their History teacher, Jackson Whittemore (oh wow, Mary used to have a huge crush on him a few years ago) and finally Isaac.

"We know each other from school but we've never actually met, right?" the strawberry haired girl turned to Mary with a soft smile on her face "I'm Lydia. Nice meeting you, officially." And suddenly, and almost out of nowhere, Isaac popped up beside Lydia and put his arm over her shoulders. "Wait, you guys are dating? Like, boyfriend and girlfriend?" Isaac didn't even wait for an answer; he just turned around and yelled at someone. "YOU OWE ME TEN DOLLARS!" That someone turned out to be Stiles, whose mouth was filled with chips; he raised both arms in the air in disbelief. "What the hell?! They didn't even answer, I'm not giving you my dad's money!" "A bet is a bet, Stiles, and I'm pretty sure Isaac won." "I thought you were my best friend, Scott." And that's how Mary met Derek's friends.

Lydia was a sweetheart; right after formally introducing Mary to everyone, the strawberry haired girl practically dragged her to the couch so they could sit next to each other. Derek tried to follow the blonde but Stiles and Scott were blocking the way. "She's really nice!" Said Scott. "I'm gonna be one hundred percent honest with you; when Isaac told us you had a girlfriend, my first thought was SHIT, I bet he found a prettier version of Kate Argent aka another psycho bitch." Derek growled at the mention of those last words. Stiles took a few steps back and shielded himself with his best friend. "Dude, chill… I like her, she's cute. Finally I'm not the only human in the group."

"Always the outsider, uh, Stilinski?" And suddenly Jackson was on his left. The young werewolf forced a smile at Derek while his green eyes turned into a metallic and bright blue. "Good to see you, Jackson." And he meant it. "Lydia practically forced me to come." He explained with a shrug. Stiles rolled his eyes. "She didn't force you to get on the plane." "Shut up, Stilinski." "Sure, of course, now Jackson is a big bad wolf, I'm so scared." "You should be." And Jackson growled, his eyes turning into a metallic blue again. "GUYS!" Ah, there was Isaac again. "Just a quick reminder; Derek and Jackson, please don't growl, Mary though it was Lydia's dog even though the little devil isn't even here."

It was almost midnight but the boys were almost out of control and just a few more minutes and Stiles would be eaten alive. Lydia needed a distraction and what better than opening the presents? Lydia stood up and walked confidently toward the huge Christmas tree near the fireplace. "I have a very special present for Jackson." "Please tell me there's a helicopter outside waiting for him to take his fancy ass back to Europe." Scott tapped his best friend on the shoulder and dragged him to one of the corners of the huge couch. Turns out Jackson Whittemore's gift was a Christmas Sweater with two reindeers printed on it (and those two reindeers were having lots of fun, if you know what I mean). "I came all the way from London for this?!" Everyone was laughing, even Derek.

When his eyes met Mary's from across the room, she gestured for him to come closer, and he obeyed. He stood behind her on the couch but she motioned for him to lean closer so she could whisper in his ear. "Did you bring your gifts?" Derek moved away just enough to raise his eyebrow at her. "I honestly thought you were going to ask me something a lot different." Mary smiled goofily and shrugged. "Later. But did you bring them or not?" The green eyed man let out a long sigh and he nodded. "Good boy. Go get them."

Thank God everyone loved Derek's gifts. Lydia was delighted with her handbag. "Very predictable but I absolutely love it." "More scarves. From the both of you." The werewolf was about to complain but Mary was faster than him. "It was Derek's idea, we hope you like them." Isaac giggled adorably just like little kids do; everyone seemed to be enjoying their gifts until the moment Stiles let out a child-like scream. The small teen got up from the couch and pointed a finger at his best friend. "NOW YOU DON'T HAVE AN EXCUSE, YODA! MY HOUSE, TOMORROW, BRING PIZZA!" Scott just rolled his eyes and nodded at Derek with a grin. "Thanks dude."

After a few seconds, Isaac walked towards Mary and handed her a small box with her name in big round letters on it. Turns out it was a snow globe with a brunette mermaid inside. "I ordered it online, told them to paint her hair brown because… well, if you look close enough, you can tell that's Ariel, but now it's you. I mean, you're blonde now but still-" "Isaac, I love it." She really did love it – who knew he'd remember something like that, or even make a special order just for her.

Derek sort of half-coughed and started speaking rapidly "Hm, Mary, I have something for you too." "Ok, time to leave you two lovebirds alone. Merry Christmas guys."

Mary looked into his eyes with curiosity; he felt her smile filling his heart with joy and anxiety. Truth be told, his gift was so goddamn predictable and for a moment there he thought that maybe it'd be safer to say 'but I'll give it to you some other time, let's just make out outside the house, or maybe in your bedroom if we're quiet' but no. "I… It's not wrapped. I mean, it was, but I'd rather give it to you as it is. Hope it's ok with you."

Derek reached into the left pocket of his leather jacket.

Mary's big blue eyes widened with shock. "Oh, wow." She murmured, hands covering her mouth. "Do you like it?" The blonde did not answer right away, instead she lifted her eyes to meet his – Derek noticed the way they were glowing, as if she were trying her best not to cry. "I- I'm speechless, really." She murmured, her pale fingers gently brushing a silver bracelet as if it were an ancient treasure. Suddenly her smile widened and he swore that the sound that came out of her mouth could end wars. "Aw Derek, is that a little wolf? Is it howling at the moon?" Mary, you are the moon, and I'm going to miss you so much, he thought. "Suddenly you're Jacob and I'm Bella." She chucked.

Derek had no clue of what the hell she was talking about – which she noticed. The blonde raised an eyebrow as a mischievous smile curved her lips. "Oh my God, you're so screwed, now you have to watch them all. Anyway, The Twilight Saga. Jacob, the werewolf, gave Bella a bracelet with a little wooden wolf?..." "Sorry, doesn't ring a bell." Mary shrugged and put on the bracelet, only then to wrap her arms around Derek's neck and plant a gentle kiss on his lips. "Thank you." She murmured against his lips. He just smiled and pulled her closer to him.

From across the room, while everyone was chatting, Isaac glanced at the new couple; even though he couldn't be happier for Derek, he was also scared – her time was running out and what then? How would Derek Hale recover from that? Sitting beside him was Lydia, whose joy suddenly turned into a fearful expression. "Lydia? Are you ok?" The blue eyed werewolf asked in a whisper. He knew that expression. Lydia's face turned to the couple across the room, hiding in the shadows, but she was only focusing on Mary Bennett, wrapped around Derek's arms, giggling at something he had whispered into her ear.

"Something is going to happen." She said in a whisper, her voice weak and hoarse, almost as fragile as thin ice. Isaac noticed the way her hands were shaking on her lap. "When?" "I don't know. But I had the same feeling with Allison."

It was almost two in the morning when Mary and Derek left the lake house. Only then, while walking silently to his car, she remembered something. The blonde leaned against his car, arms crossed above her chest and head tilted to the right. "I have something for you as well." Derek looked honestly surprised and he reached the blonde and stood in front of her. "You are the only thing I want." Jesus Christ, if only… "I have tons of pictures, if you want." She joked. Derek rolled his eyes. She sighed. "Ok, jeez... I wrote you a letter, but it's still at my house and you're only allowed to read it when you're alone. That's the rule." At first the werewolf was feeling reluctant; there was a reason why she wanted him to read it alone. "Why?" He asked. She shrugged and smiled. "Deal or no deal, Hale?" And then her hands flew to his neck and he could feel her fingertips caressing his skin. He shook his head. "Deal."

Mary Bennett leaned close enough to kiss her boyfriend but instead of letting her capturing his lips in a kiss, Derek whispered against hers. "You're so damn pretty, Bennett." And that was it. That was his way of telling her he loved her - with whispers in the darkness. She didn't mind because his words were true.

For a little while they were happy, alone outside, leaned against Derek's car like two kids in love. Only when their lips parted and she grunted in pain Derek knew something wasn't ok.

It all happened really fast; one minute she was grunting in pain, the other she was struggling to breathe. "Mary, don't you dare, not now…"

Her heart was beating way too fast.

Derek took her in his arms, ran towards the lake house and slammed the door wide open. All eyes turned to him. Lydia was standing in a corner; her eyes wide open with horror. It was like watching Allison's death all over again, she thought.

Mary wasn't breathing.

"What happened?!" Someone asked; he wasn't sure who. Isaac jumped from the couch and ran towards Derek – suddenly the young werewolf took a step back. "Derek, you…" He started, looking down at his arms. He was trying to heal her. Again. Dark veins were marking his skin, small drops of sweat were dripping from his forehead and making their way down to his chin.

The werewolf fell to his knees and looked down at Mary's big blue eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispered. He was not going to lose her.

His green eyes turned into an electric blue and Isaac swore the whole house shook when he growled.

I TOLD YOU MY ENGLISH WAS RUSTY!

Hope you liked it. I'll try to post the next one really soon! :)

LOTS OF LOVE!

x abby