Derek's knee nudged against his under the table. Erica had been glancing at him knowingly for about half an hour, Cora on the other hand had been glaring daggers at him - he expected to get the obligatory 'new boyfriend of a family member' death threat at some stage in the near future - he also expected to have to set her straight.
"So, Scotty, what'd I miss?" Scott was sitting on Stiles other side and he turned a little toward him, closing off the discussion between Kira, Lydia, Danny and Isaac that was mid swing on their end of the table. Stiles was a little smug to see that Jackson, boxed in between Lydia and Danny, looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"Well... There was a Babadook."
"There was a what?"
"A Babadook, kind of like a bogey man but about a thousand times more terrifying."
"Right..." Stiles felt a little like Scott was having him on.
"They're apparently quite rare."
"Even rarer once we were done" Erica cut in.
"What was rarer?" Derek broke off his conversation with Boyd to join theirs. Wait, conversation? those two?
"The Babadook-s" Scott said 's' like he wasnt sure it was the right form of pluralization.
"Yeah, we burnt it." Erica grinned, they now had Liam's attention too.
"You burnt the bogey man" Stiles said it flatly.
"I guess it's one of those, 'you had to be there' things." Scott amended. "It was really terrifying man. Like Wolf Creek-late at night-home alone with headphones, level scary."
Stiles looked at them all disbelievingly. Derek was nodding and Stiles raised an eyebrow. "Really Derek? I'm out of it for one week and you've already gone dark side?"
He smirked "No, I've heard of them actually, Mom used to tell us stories about the bogey man when we were kids, but Laura would tell a different ones, about the Babadook. I don't know where she got them from, but they were terrifying." He looked distant, like he was actually remembering a now cherished memory of his older sister. Stiles was getting maybe a little bit sucked in by what he's still pretty sure, was a massive conspiracy amongst the wolves to BS him. "She'd tell us that the Babadook didnt care if we were good, it would come in through the gaps around your window like fog and hide in the shadows. She'd tell us that once it found its prey it would follow behind them during the day, in their shadow, whispering horrible things in their ears and when they were alone it would materialize into a tall grey creature with slime-y skin and claws for fingers, like an undead Wolf. She'd tell us that if we let it follow us for too long it would become so real it could lock us up, where it would slowly explain to us what it was going to do. How it would eat us piece by piece with its gaping rotted hole of a mouth as we watched. She said that it liked to eat young wolves because we would survive if it wanted to eat us slowly, starting from our feet so we couldn't get away even if we tried and then working its way up our body until it got to our heart, which it would leave, to keep us alive a little longer, so that it could drink our blood as it pumped out our veins as our bodies tried to heal." The whole group looked at once revolted and transfixed, hanging on Derek's every word. At some stage while he was retelling his Story, Danny, Lydia and the others had stopped talking to listen too. The whole table was completely quiet.
"Holy shit Derek." it was Jackson. "that is completely fucked up." They all silently agreed, still too disgusted and shocked to actually say anything. Derek gently pressed the back of his hand against Stiles thigh, catching his attention. Stiles realized there was a telltale glint in his eye.
"Oh my god you bastard!" Derek began snickering. "You- Really? Really Derek? You dick! I cant believe you!" Derek was outright laughing now. Head thrown back, guffawing at their collective gullibility. Stiles punched him on the arm rather then openly stare at how pretty he looked, so open and happy. The group dissolved into a thrum of angry or abashed babbling.
Stiles was one of the first to recover, throwing one last glare at Derek. So in the dog house. He turned to his best friend, cutting Derek out of the conversation as punishment. "So, Scott, did you actually fight a Babadook?"
Scott smiled. "Yeah, we did. Nothing like that though... it was more of a turn everyone against each other with fear and doubt deal than 'ill eat you alive while you watch'." he looked at Derek and shuddered as he said it.
Stiles nodded, he'd never heard of a Babadook, but it was Beacon Hills. Anything could happen.
"Scott, what happened?...`The night we left, how did you all... survive?"
"Well..."
Notes: so heres how its gonna go, i said this chapter was a monster and that it would be late, im so sorry. it is also unbetad - freaks out - but i wanted y'all to have it. it is going to be posted in three parts (800 or so words a piece) about six hours apart (im defs going to die of sleep deprivation. so forgive me if theres more like an 8 hour gap between the last two.) The whole lot should be done by late wednesday evening (LA time.)