Authors Note: HEYO! XD Please tell me what you think; I would love to know XD I own nothing and no one, apart from the following: Harlequin (Harley);Sam Campbell; Charlie Jones; Zane; Chase; Gabriel; Ben; Mia; Stiles' fox = Melrakki (Rak, Rakki); Stiles' wolf = Okami (Oki, Kami); Derek's wolf = Cana.
JUST SO YOU KNOW: I know we are now aware of Stiles' real name, as well as his Dad's, but I'm NOT about to go through every chapter and change them XD Also, I've made up Stiles' middle name XD
Please, please review XD
P.S. I know it's been a while; I'm back at University to do my Masters Degree in Creative Writing; I'm trying to finish my own book to send to a potential literary agent. It's kind of knocked me off of my fanfic writing. So, PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH ME!
Chapter 51 – Part 3
Stiles
"HAPPY BIRTH – OH MY FUCKING GOD!"
"Get out!" Charlie growled.
She didn't have to tell us twice.
Peter, Allison, Isaac and I all but leapt out of the room, slamming the door behind us and running back to the front door. I could completely, and honestly, say I wanted to scratch my eyes out and pour bleach into my brain. Not because I was disgusted at two women being together, not at all! It was because I saw Sam as a sister, and you should never see your sister naked, with her equally naked fiancée on top of her! I mean, come on!
And I wasn't the only one.
Allison was completely red; Peter was white as a sheet. Isaac? Well, Isaac was utterly shell shocked, barely breathing or blinking. And who could blame him? Out of our entire group, I was sure that Danny, Isaac, and I were the only ones that had never seen a naked woman.
For a while, we stood there in silence
"Any-Anybody know how to erase memories?" I murmured after a while, covering a squeak with a cough. "Because that would be really helpful right now."
"Trust me, my boy," Peter breathed. "If I could, I would."
"If I wasn't sure before, I definitely know I'm gay now," Isaac whispered.
I just nodded in agreement.
When I was younger, when other boys realised they liked girls, I realised the same about other guys. I found myself appreciating the muscles and law lines; I felt nothing when I saw the curves, or sway of the hips, of the girls my age. At thirteen, I had managed to sneak a peak of a porn site, seeing a woman in all her nakedness.
It had been and still was a boner killer for me.
Of course, I then managed to find the gay section of that porn site. Obviously, I responded far better to those images.
That had been the first and last time I had looked at porn. After that, I had been too scared. Rightly so, it had turned out.
Leaning against the wall, I sank down to sit on the floor, the others following close behind me. We sat close together, legs and feet pressed against each other, seeking comfort. Allison huddled into Peter's side, resting her head on his shoulder; Isaac took a light hold of my jacket sleeve, fingers brushing against my pulse.
"Agree not to talk about this, ever?" I asked.
They quickly agreed.
It was two hours before we heard footsteps coming closer; even then, it was only Charlie. The four of us stood, the scent of a protective mate overwhelming my senses. I pressed myself to Peter's side, his smell the closest to Derek's that my wolf and fox could find.
"What the hell was that?" Charlie growled, eyes flashing dangerously.
"We told you we were coming over," I defended. "We told you we'd be here at eight-thirty."
"So, you just burst in?"
As her anger rose, Isaac hid behind me, gripping onto the back of my jacket. Peter moved Allison behind him, a hand on her arm as he pushed her back.
"Charlie, my dear, we meant no harm," Peter said, softly. "It was a mistake. You know this."
Taking a deep breath, Charlie forced her eyes back to their human colour. We just waited, hoping she would calm down sooner rather than later if we did.
"Look, just…" Charlie sighed, tension not leaving her shoulders. "Give us an hour or two, yeah? Sam got…she got a bit freaked out. We'll come over in a bit, yeah?"
Quickly, we agreed. Throwing a quick 'see you later' and our apologies over our shoulders, the four of us left Charlie and Sam's place, heading back home.
The ride home was dead silent, the four of us refusing to look at each other in the eyes. The moment the car stopped outside the house, we were out and fast walking towards the door.
"Where's Sam and Charlie?" Boyd frowned as Erica opened the door for us.
"They were busy," Isaac muttered, face bright red as he hurried over to Danny. "They'll be over later."
Harley was the only person with no idea what we meant.
"In the meantime," Peter coughed. "Why don't we watch a movie?"
"Perfect idea," I agreed, quickly. "Harley, Sweetheart, you go pick the movie; I'll go get drinks and snacks."
I left before anything could be said, only just catching Harley skipping towards our vast DVD selection. Waiting for the coffee machine to wake up, I pulled bowls and packs of popcorn out of the cupboards, jumping up onto the counter.
I had only opened the first bag when Derek walked in, closing the door softly behind him. He wasted no time in striding over to me, slotting easily between my legs. He took the packet from me as soon as I had emptied its contents into a bowl, placing it far to the side. When my hands were free, Derek took hold of the one nearest the popcorn, his other hand turning my head by my chin to look at him.
For a moment, he said nothing, just staring into my eyes. I found I could stare into those beautiful forest greens for hours if I could; the colour quickly becoming my favourite. Second by second, I felt each muscle relaxing, shoulders slumping.
Leaning forward, I rested my forehead on Derek's shoulder, his arms snaking around me. I breathed in the leather and the scent that was uniquely Derek, letting it fill my lungs and surround me.
"You ok?" he whispered, pressing his lips to my temple.
"Yeah," I hummed. "I just don't need Harley knowing what we saw, you know?"
Derek snorted, softly, his grin pressing against the side of my head as his body shook lightly.
"It's not funny, Derek," I groaned, weakly hitting his chest. "It was traumatising!"
"I know, I know," he comforted, laughing. "Don't worry; I'll protect you from the big bad boobs and vaginas."
"Derek!"
Harley had chosen to watch Frozen, an hour and forty minutes of Disney bliss and everybody singing Let It Go at the top of their lungs. Harley dragged us up out of our seats as she danced around, with Phantasia, in her oversized panda hoodie, the baggy jumper having fitted wrist cuffs and ending halfway down her calves, black leggings underneath and panda slipper socks on her feet. After our first date, Derek and I had gone for a walk through town; as we passed one of the stores, Derek had spied the hoodie and decided he had to buy it for Harley. He found the slipper socks at the counter, picking them up without a second thought. Derek had insisted the child need them both.
Harley, of course, had fallen in love with them instantly.
It was strange to think that Harley had only been with us for four months; she seemed to fill the gap no one knew had been there.
When we had sat back down, all of us collapsing back into our seats, Harley continued to run around the room, pretending to have ice powers like Elsa, even though she could literally do it and more.
It was still cute as hell.
Snuggling into Derek's side, the Alpha wrapped his arms around me tighter, nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck. Reaching back with my left hand, I ran my fingers through his soft hair, letting my eyes fall close and a peaceful smile grace my face. I only opened them again when Harley stopped running, falling back into place on top of me. Encircling Harley with my free arm, rubbing my thumb along the back of her hand.
"Having fun, Sweetheart?" I grinned as she rested against me.
"Yuh-huh," she giggled. "Can we watch another movie after this?"
Isaac perked up, starting to bounce in his seat next to Danny.
"Oooo, can we watch Brave?" Isaac asked. "I like their funny accents and the bears."
"You like most animals," Danny laughed, lovingly. "You like blobfish!"
"They're so ugly that they're cute!"
Snorting softly and shaking my head, I gave Harley a slight nod. She jumped up, quickly walking to the DVDs and taking out Brave, placing the box next to the TV for when we finished Frozen. She was back in my lap within seconds.
"Oh, so that's why you love me?" Danny joked, poking Isaac in the side.
"Daniel LeolaniMãhealani, you are not ugly!" Isaac growled, glaring at the man next to him. "Take that back, now."
"Oh, come on, it was a joke."
"Don't care; take it back."
It took a moment for Danny to calm Isaac down and make him relax, taking back the comment about himself. Danny had to all but drag Isaac into his lap, kissing the light-haired Beta to get him to stop talking.
"You really shouldn't make a joke like that, Danny," Allison admonished once Isaac curled into him, happily. "You're really handsome."
"Aw, I'm blushing," Danny chuckled, cheeks reddening ever so slightly. "It's the muscles, right?"
"I'm serious, Danny; why'd you keep doing that?"
Slowly, with the movie filling the silence, the smile dropped from Danny's face. He buried his face into Isaac's hair, pulling the younger Beta closer to him.
"Don't know what you're talking about," Danny shrugged, heart rate jumping. "I was just making a joke."
"Liar," Lydia sassed, raising an eyebrow. "Come on, tell us the truth."
"Don't you trust us or something?" Erica pouted.
"Guys, leave him alone," Jackson sighed. "If he doesn't wanna talk about it, you can't make him."
Everyone turned to Jackson.
"So, you know?" Scott asked, leaning forward.
"Duh," Jackson huffed. "We've been friends since kindergarten. But I'm telling you nothing."
"Come on, it can't be that bad," Boyd sighed.
None of them seemed to notice how Danny pushed himself into the couch. Carefully, standing up, I removed myself from Derek's lap and placed Harley in my space.
"You know, I could use another drink," I said, collecting up empty cups. "Anybody else? Yeah? Danny, why don't you come help me."
I had never seen Danny look so relieved.
After detangling himself from Isaac, the younger Beta reluctantly letting him go, Danny whispered into Jackson's ear, too low for any of us to hear, before following behind me to the kitchen. Danny didn't relax until he closed the door. His shoulders slumped as he walked towards the table, sliding heavily into his chair and resting his head on folded arms.
Giving him a moment to himself, I began to rinse out the cups before placing them into the dishwasher. Not that that took up much time. So, as soon as I was done, I decided to start lunch. Initially, we were going to wait until after we had finished Frozen, which we were hopeful would be when Charlie turned up with Sam, but I doubted anyone would mind having food a little earlier.
Not that Danny took long before he started speaking.
"I, uh," Danny began. "I used to have a lot of puppy fat. Like, when I was a kid."
Putting down my knife and turning to face the Beta at the table, I found him sitting up a little, still staring down at the table. It was the first time I had seen Danny look uncomfortable; the biting of his lip, somehow, making him look younger.
After a moment's hesitation, I decided to sit at the table, opting to sit next to Danny. I sat sideways on the chair, resting my arm on the back.
"I wasn't overweight, but I was getting there, I guess," Danny sighed. "And you know what other kids are like."
Didn't I just.
"They, uh," he continued. "It was awful; if it wasn't because I was from Hawaii, then it was my weight. At first, I ended up comfort eating, which only made things worse. After a while, though, when I fully realised and accepted I was gay, I decided to starve myself."
I didn't know what I had expected, but I didn't expect that. Danny, like the other wolves, could eat. Of course, that was because creatures like us seemed to shed off calories by breathing, meaning we needed to eat a lot more to keep ourselves going.
I would never have thought that Danny, Danny, would have had an issue with his weight.
Many children had excess baby weight. That was expected. Some kids just managed to drop it off quicker and easier than others. He shouldn't have been worried. But that was easy for me to say.
"I hid food or, if I couldn't do that, I would make myself throw up," Danny admitted, still refusing to look up. "And I walked and ran as much as I could, wearing loads of layers. It got so bad that I had a seizure at school, from low blood sugar; that was when my parents found out."
Danny began clenching and unclenching his hands, squeezing his eyes shut for a few seconds.
"Over the summer, they put me into this program," Danny sighed. "The people there were…they were amazing. They got me eating again and set me up with an eating plan; I lost weight the healthy way whilst I was there; started playing sports. By the time I went back to school, I had dropped a lot of weight, and I was actually gaining some muscle; I took up lacrosse with Jackson and, well, all of a sudden, everybody decided they wanted to be my friend."
Danny leant back in his chair, slumping further down as he dragged his hands over his face.
"Sometimes, I still see that chubby kid, you know?" Danny told me. "So, I don't think I look all that good; I've always had issues with it."
Pulling the Beta in for a hug, I made sure to tell him just how good looking he was, reminding him that he was loved, no matter what. I told him how, despite what he thought, he was perfect the way he was; making sure he remembered that Isaac loved him and that it wasn't his weight or appearance we liked, but him. Sure, I knew it would take more than that to change his mind; I knew it would be a lifelong battle. But I could hope that, one day, he could love himself.
Danny had stayed and helped me make lunch; he told me how he had asked Jackson to fill the others in on what he had told me. The moment we were back in the living room, Isaac had attached himself to Danny and refused to let go of him or be removed. Danny had grabbed him in a tight hold, hiding his face in Isaac's shoulder.
Thankfully, no one brought up the conversation, and we carried on with our day. We finished watching Frozen as we ate, Harley getting up to change the DVD once it had ended, giving Danny a quick hug on her way.
We were fifteen minutes through Brave when Charlie and Sam turned up. We paused the DVD and yelled 'Happy Birthday' to Sam, ushering the two into the living room and shoving plates of food into their hands.
At Sam's request, we restarted Brave.
"You know, I thought you wolfies had super hearing," Sam smirked when Harley had gone to the bathroom. "And super smell. Thought you'd be able to tell we were busy."
"Shut up," I rolled my eyes.
"Hey, I deserve my pussy to be eaten until my legs start shaking uncontrollably."
I had my fingers in my ears, loudly singing 'la-la-la' to myself way before she finished talking. Unfortunately, Sam was a little shit and fought to pull my hands away. Nothing made me happier than know Harley wasn't around to hear what Sam was saying.
"What?" she giggled. "You don't want someone to swallow your dick, way down their throat, until your legs start shaking uncontrollably?"
"Sam!" I shrieked, pushing her away, lightly. "Don't be so crude!"
Sam just cackled, the others snorting at the looks on the faces of Peter, Allison, Isaac and me. But they would; they hadn't been there.
Before anything else could be said on the matter, Harley came running back into the room, throwing herself back onto me. Peter lifted the remote to restart the movie but, before he could, Harley gasped.
"Aunty Sam, your necklace is so pretty!" Harley gushed. "Did Aunty Charlie get it for you?"
Instantly, the colour rose on Sam and Charlie's cheeks, their heartbeats rising rapidly. Around Sam's neck was a black leather choker, a green infinity symbol threaded onto it through the loops; the green was so close to the colour of Charlie's eyes,
"Yeah," Sam squeaked, coughing to clear her throat. "Yeah, she did, Little Buddy."
"That's beautiful," Lydia awed. "So simple and elegant."
As much as I agreed, I was slightly suspicious of their reddening faces.
For the rest of Sam's birthday, we did whatever she wanted to do.
So, after we watched Brave, we went to the park. Both Harley and Sam loved the park. The two would run around with boundless energy, jumping and skipping around. Before Harley, when we would come to the park and Sam's hyperactivity was through the roof, we always got weird looks from people. They thought it strange that a grown woman was having fun. However, with Harley, people just saw someone playing with a child they knew; they didn't give us a second look.
When Sam had decided she had her fill of the park, she dragged us all to a comic book store. Not that I minded. Sam grabbed my hand as we neared the store, the two of us sprinting towards the door.
We left the others about half a mile behind us.
"I haven't been to a comic book store in forever," Sam said as we walked in. "Like, I lost some of my comics back in London, so I need to replace them."
"Ok, but I'm pretty sure I would cry if I lost even one of my comics," I nodded. "How have you survived."
"I didn't. I'm actually a ghost; I'm haunting you."
"You're a shitty ghost."
"You're a shitty ghost!"
We stared at each other for no more than five seconds before devolving into giggles. Making our way further into the store, Sam and I rummaged through all the comic books and looked at the merchandise available.
At first, as we walked around, nothing seemed to catch our eyes, comic wise. Plenty of the collectables did, don't get me wrong, but Sam had her heart set on comics. But then something caught out eyes.
We saw them at the same time, the two of us moving in sync.
It was as if an alarm only we could hear had gone off.
"Is that what I think it is?" Sam whispered.
"I think it is." I nodded.
New. Marvel. Comics.
By the time the others had found us, Sam and I had our arms full of new comics, the two of us still browsing for more. Scott and Isaac happily got stuck in with us, picking up comics for themselves. As Sam and I continued to search, we came across a new X-Men comic – Savage Wolverine #23.
"It's Derek," Sam snickered, pointing at the lone character.
"No," I frowned, pouting and pointing towards the DC comic stand. "He's Superman."
"Alright, Lois Lane."
"I look nothing like Lois Lane. Derek, however, could one hundred per cent be Superman."
Before Sam could reply, a pink-faced Derek and smirking Charlie joined us. Charlie slipped her arms around Sam from behind as Derek stood next to me and took my hand. As the two women whispered, I couldn't help but grin in satisfaction at the light blush on Derek's cheeks.
"Hey, Superman," I said, nudging him gently.
"Shut up," he mumbled, blush darkening.
"Oh, come on, you love it."
He said nothing; I took it as a win.
When we left the store, around an hour later, Sam had managed to replace a portion of her lost collection, as well as adding new comics; Scott, Isaac and I just added to our growing collections. The four of us were rather pleased with ourselves, in all honesty.
Since it was getting late, we headed back home for dinner and to marathon season one of Supernatural, at the very least. That was when Sam found out Charlie had started making homemade meatballs for meatball subs.
"Bu-But you don't like making them," Sam stammered as we sat at the kitchen table, watching Charlie cook. "They always take you too long."
"It's your birthday." was all Charlie responded.
Since Charlie had premade the meatballs, somehow without Sam noticing, it didn't take as long as Sam thought they would. Meaning she was thrilled because she didn't have to wait long before she could dig in. And, honestly, I didn't blame her – they were delicious.
The entire evening of Sam's birthday consisted of stuffing our faces and watching Supernatural. Sam and I saw nothing wrong with that scenario. It was, actually, a pretty perfect night, all of us falling asleep in a pile on the floor.
By morning, Sam admitted it was the best birthday she ever remembered having.
Thursday and Friday passed uneventfully, unlike Saturday.
As usual, Sam and Charlie came over. They were barely in the house when Isaac grabbed Sam's hand, asking to speak with her in private. What was strange, however, was the excited grin on Charlie's face.
"I need your help with a wedding thing," she explained. "We have to go into town, though. Is that ok?"
"Um, I mean," I stammered. "Y-Yeah, I guess. Just us, or…?"
"Just us. And Harley, of course."
Harley, dressed in a long-sleeved pale blue top and black dungaree shorts, appeared from nowhere; the child slipped on her blue and green reversible sequin converse high tops before I could say a single word. Charlie began to bounce where she stood, her hair jumping with her as she waited. Still a little confused, I shoved my shoes onto my feet, grabbing the new satchel Derek had bought me and called out a quick 'see you in a bit', knowing Derek had heard Charlie invite Harley and me out.
Quickly, I was pulled out of the house, Charlie's hand wrapping around my own; Harley skipping along beside us.
"Woah, what's the rush?" I frowned, stumbling along. "Where're we going?"
"Into town," Charlie replied. "I already told you."
"Where in town?"
"You'll see."
"Oh, come on!"
Charlie all but threw me into her car's front passenger seat, with Harley sliding into the seat behind me with Phantasia peeking out of her bag. She bounced where she sat, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, beaming at me in the rear-view mirror. Charlie jumped into the driver's seat, quickly pulling her hair into a high ponytail before buckling up like Harley and me.
"Right, off we go, my lovelies," Charlie smiled.
"To?" I asked again.
"Like I said, you'll see."
The drive wasn't long, thankfully. Charlie pulled into a space in the parking lot, outside of the mall, her entire body vibrating; I was surprised she had managed to contain herself whilst driving.
The first thing Charlie did, when in the mall, was drag Harley and me to Costa, insisting on buying us both a drink. For some reason, Costa and Starbucks were very close together, the two a few stores down from each other. I had never tried Costa, though, always going for Starbucks.
"Trust me, Costa is awesome," Charlie assured me. "I had it back in London, and I haven't been back to Starbucks since."
Unsurprisingly, Harley asked for a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows. Ever since she first tried the drink, Harley didn't want to have anything else. We had taken to stocking up on hot chocolate powder, squirty cream and mini-marshmallows at home, attempting to hide them so she wouldn't go too crazy. For herself, Charlie ordered a pumpkin spiced latte, whilst I decided to try the peach iced tea.
We waited to the side for our drinks, Harley leaning back against my front as she pulled Phantasia out of her bag. I ran my hand through her hair as she hugged the elephant toy to her chest; Charlie glanced at the time on her phone every few seconds.
"Ok, seriously," I sighed. "What are we doing?"
Biting her lip, Charlie shifted from foot to foot, right hand rubbing at the back of her neck. A mix of guilt and embarrassment washed over her as she smiled, coyly; I felt a little sick.
"If I tell you," she said, cautiously. "Promise you'll help?"
She looked at me with puppy eyes, though they were nowhere near as powerful as Isaac's. Still, I found I couldn't say no.
"Ok…" I replied, slowly. "I promise."
"I need you to get your nails done," Charlie rushed, voice low. "Please."
I blinked, body stilling as I stared at her. For a moment, I thought I misheard. There was no way that was what Charlie had said. But I couldn't think of a single thing that it could have been instead. Surely, surely, she had to be joking.
"…Excuse me?" I asked, voice flat.
"Please, please, please, please, please," Charlie begged, grabbing hold of my hand. "I want to get my nails done for the wedding, and if I get all the different colours to test them out, then Sam'll know!"
"Then why not ask one of the girls?"
"Because you and I have the same skin tone."
Is she serious?!
I felt Harley's head lean back and bend to look up at me; I felt her shoulders shake against me as she tried to stifle her giggles. I knew she could hear the running commentary inside my head.
I mean, come on; wasn't there enough about me for people to attack?
"Sti, you'd look so pretty," Harley chuckled, lightly, turning around to hug me. "I didn't know boys could have coloured nails too!"
"Sure, they can, Nugget," Charlie smiled, stroking Charlie's cheek. "I know, how about we get yours done too, yeah?"
"Really?!"
Harley jumped up from where she rested against me, bouncing up and down in front of us with a beaming grin on her face and small squeals squeaking out. Lydia and Erica usually wore acrylic nails, and Harley quickly became fascinated by the shine and colours. They had said, the next time they went, they would take Harley too, so she could get her nails done. But, with classwork and drama being thrown at us left and right, there just hadn't been any time.
Charlie let go of me in favour of wrapping her arms around Harley, and spinning the little Fairy child around in small circles, hugging her close. When the spinning stopped, Charlie kept hold of Harley, not that the little one seemed to have any intention of letting go. Over Harley's shoulder, Charlie glanced at me, making sure it was alright that she had said Harley could get fake nails.
What could I do except smile and nod when she was so excited?
"I guess it wouldn't hurt," I sighed. "But you owe me, Jones."
"No joke, if you do this for me, I will do or get you anything you want!" Charlie beamed. "Name it, and it's yours."
"Trust me, I'll hold you to that."
I wasn't going to lie, the peach iced tea tasted awesome. Was it as good as Mom's? Hell no. But it was the best one I had had since she passed. Charlie revealed that she had set up an appointment for us. Unfortunately, because she hadn't known when she could get me out of the house, we weren't expected for another two hours.
It was inevitable that shopping occurred.
Charlie and Sam, much like the others in the Pack, loved to spoil Harley. However, they seemed to take it to a whole new level. One, or both, could take Harley out for a few hours, and they would come back with a whole new wardrobe for the child. Or new toys. It got to the point where we were considering knocking down a wall and extending Harley's bedroom so that it would all fit. In all honesty, however, I could never say I was mad. Harley was always grateful and never actually asked for the things bought for her; she never expected any of them. The smile on her face was always worth it.
Derek and Peter had given me a bank card, as they had the others in the Pack, that was connected to the Hale account. I hadn't had it long, always refusing to take it. I only accepted it when they mentioned how I could use it for Harley if the little one ever saw something when we were out and about with anyone else. I hadn't used it much in the time I had had it. Honestly, I hadn't been anywhere to use it and, if I had, I was with one of the Beta's. Shopping with Charlie and Harley, however, I was putting it to good use. I had found presents for upcoming birthday's – Lydia's the next to be celebrated; I had found a little joke gift for Derek because I wanted to see him go that lovely shade of pink. It was the most I had ever bought in a long time.
I was dragged from store to store, mainly by Harley. Clothes, make-up, toys… You name it, and I was taken to it. Charlie just went with the flow, flowing us with ease and egging Harley on. Not that she needed it.
It was as we walked out of one of the many toy stores that Charlie spoke up.
"Hey, Nugget," Charlie grinned as we left a toy store. "I got an idea. What d'ya say you go pick out an outfit, and Aunty Charlie will get it for you?"
"Really?" Harley gasped, eyes wide. "Sti, can I?"
"If that's ok with Charlie, then it's alright by me," I sighed, smiling, not bothering to put up a fight. "Now, where do you wanna go?"
Beaming madly, Harley grabbed hold of Charlie and me, dragging us towards the nearest clothing store. I was sure, by the end of the day, I was going to need a nap for, at least, a few hours. Harley didn't let go of us until we had entered the store. She sped off towards the different items, flitting from top to dress to skirt, as Charlie and I kept an eye on her from a few feet away.
"Maybe we should get you a new outfit, too," Charlie smirked, nudging me in the side. "Or, at least, some new jeans."
"And why do I want new jeans?" I questioned.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you could have some tighter jeans to show off a certain asset and send a certain Alpha a little wild?"
"Charlie!"
Giggling, Charlie hooked her arm through mine; she dragged me further into the store as the top of Harley's head bobbed away from us. I could feel my face burning up, my heart beating that little bit faster.
"Just because neither of you are ready to take that kind of step, it doesn't mean you can't get Derek all hot and bothered," Charlie winked, whispering. "And have a very nice make out."
I wasn't going to survive the rest of the day.
"What the hell happened to your nails?" Boyd snorted.
As soon as the three of us had gotten home at lunchtime, Charlie and I had dumped the bags we had by the door, resolving to deal with them later as we followed Harley into the living room. Harley ran to Derek, showing off the different coloured nails she got. After looking at the styles, Harley had gone for short stilettos with a safety file and shiny rainbow colours. One her thumbs and little fingers, Harley had white holographic; red holographic on her right index finger, orange holographic on her right middle finger and yellow holographic on her right ring finger; green holographic on her left index finger, blue holographic on her left middle finger and purple holographic on her left ring finger. Each nail had black detailing, making each nail look like a butterfly wing.
Safe to say, Harley loved them.
Charlie, to make things less suspicious, had gotten her nails done, as well. Like Harley, Charlie had gone for the short stilettos with a safety file but had stuck with something she called French Tips, whatever that meant. The moment she sat down, Sam took Charlie's hand and placed it on her head, urging Charlie to run the nails through her blonde hair. I pretended not to hear the increase in Sam's heart rate and the faint smell of arousal in the air.
And, then, there was me. I perched myself on the arm of Derek's, and I suppose my, armchair; Derek slipped his arm around me as Harley curled up on his lap. Charlie had, oh so lovingly, allowed me to get the short stilettos with a safety file, as well. And, you know, thank God for that because, if she made me get the actual length stiletto nail she was having for the wedding, I didn't know how I was going to do anything! Especially go to the bathroom… Charlie chose four colours that went with her skin tone and hair colour – matte forest green, matte dark blue, matte red and matte dark purple. I was allowed to choose the 'pattern'. On both hands, I had gone the green on my thumbs and blue on my little fingers; purple on the middle three fingers of my right hand and red on the middle three fingers of my left, opposite to my eye colours when I hybrid-wolf-foxed out.
But that's not where it stopped.
Like Harley's butterfly wing details on the nails she had, Charlie was going to get white roses drawn on hers. So, of course, I had to experiment with that, so Charlie could see how it all looked together. However, I was allowed to choose what I had on mine. On my thumbs and little fingers, I got the triskele. Duh. Somehow, the woman was able to recreate a likeness of Okami over the three red nails and a likeness of Melrakki over the three purple – Charlie had allowed me to have other colours of detailing for those two.
"Shut up," I grumbled, folding my arms over my chest.
"I think they look pretty," Harley giggled, resting her head on my leg. "And Aunty Charlie said everybody can get their nails done, and their make-make up, and wear pretty clothes because clothes don't have gender, and people deserve to wear whatever they want if it makes them happy, no matter what other people say!"
"Good job, Nugget," Charlie grinned. "That's exactly right."
Resting my hand on Harley's head, I let out a sigh. I mean, if I was completely honest, they did look kind of cool. Maybe. A little. When we had gone to Pride, many male presenting people with fake nails, and, privately, I had a quiet thought of wanting to give it a try one day.
Was this how I wanted to try, though? No.
"Whilst all that is, obviously, one hundred per cent true," Lydia nodded. "I never took you as someone to wear acrylics, Stiles."
Leaning back, I just rattled off the story Charlie and I had created.
"Charlie decided to surprise Harley with getting her nails done," I shrugged. "When the woman asked if I wanted mine done too, our little Fairy got all excited. How could I say no?"
With a quick flash of my red eyes, they made sure not to say I was lying.
"Now," I coughed. "What shall we have for lunch?"
It was after lunch, and after Harley had shown off her new knee-length pastel rainbow summer dress, that Harley decided she wanted to practice her make-up skills. Skills Lydia, Erica, Allison and Charlie had been teaching her.
Her targets? Me and Derek.
I didn't put up a fight. I knew, no matter what, I would give Harley whatever she wanted, and so would Derek. Both of us wanted to give her a better childhood, teen-hood, that we had ended up enduring. If that meant letting her attack us with make-up, then so be it.
Derek and I sat on the floor, backs against the front of the armchair, as Harley knelt in front of us. A couple of packs and tubes were gathered at Harley's side, all varying in size and colour; I could only name a couple of things, at most.
"So, what colours are you thinking, Bud?" Derek smiled as Harley looked over the make-up. "Who's going first?"
"Both of you at the same time," Harley nodded, seriously. "That way, you can't cheat and tell each other what you look like because I want it to be a surprise."
"Oh, of course. We wouldn't have it any other way."
I couldn't help but snort at how Derek matched Harley's tone, a small smirk pulling at the edge of his mouth; elbowing him in the side, I had to hide my face in his shoulder in an attempt to hold back the laughter.
"You're such a little shit," I snickered, quietly. "Why am I laughing? It wasn't even funny!"
"Yes, it was," Derek chuckled, leaning the side of his head on top of mine. "I'm hilarious."
"You're an ass."
Somehow, we managed to compose ourselves when Harley turned to face us, one of the thin rectangular packs in his hand. She shuffled forward, sitting half on Derek's knee and half on mine. She looked between us, that serious look still on her little face as she thought, tapping the handle of a brush against her bottom lip.
It was a minute before she nodded to herself, opening the pack. Inside, there were a dozen or so colourful and sparkly squares that I managed to recall were eyeshadow. I had seen similar packs when we had gone to Pride or when I had ventured into one of the Betas' rooms to talk to one of the girls. Harley didn't say anything as she dabbed the brush into a black eyeshadow, carefully leaning in towards Derek.
"Close your eyes, Rek," Harley whispered. "Please."
That had been a fairly new development – Harley calling Derek 'Rek'. After Peter had told her some stories about his girls, about the nickname the youngest had for Derek, it had slipped out of Harley's mouth. At first, she had been worried, noticing how Derek froze up. She started to apologise, tearing up with the fear of making Derek sad or angry. Derek just scooped her up, kissing her head and telling her everything was alright, how he just hadn't expected it, that she could one hundred per cent call him that if she wanted.
Derek did as he was told, a smile gracing his face. To his credit, he only slightly flinched as the brush touched his eyelid. Harley started at the inside corner of Derek's eye; I couldn't see how far she brought the black out since she wouldn't let me lean forward to look. As soon as the black was done on Derek, Harley switched over to me. I closed my eyes as Harley moved towards me, managing to stay still as the brush touched me. It was a strange sensation, as it would be with something brushing against your eyelids; it was kind of soft but rough. Just from the feel, it seemed that Harley used the black on, about, a third of the inner part of my eyelid.
When she moved away and I opened my eyes again, Harley moved back to Derek. With a new brush, Harley dipped into a gold. She seemed to repeat the same thing as she had with the black but, without looking properly, I assumed it was another third or two thirds to his eyelids. I didn't see if Harley used the same colour for me when she was finished with Derek.
For the rest, Harley refused to let us open our eyes.
It wasn't long before Harley was finished, announcing it with a squeal of delight. Still, however, Derek and I weren't allowed to look at each other. Instead, we had to wait until Harley grabbed a mirror so that we could see ourselves and each other at the same time. She even had Sam watch us, making sure we didn't cheat.
When we finally were allowed to open our eyes, I looked at Derek first.
Derek's eyes, as I had thought, black stretched from the inner corner until, about, a third of the way out, the colour shifting into a sparkly gold; black winged eyeliner framed them. Dark red lipstick painted Derek's lips, the colour, somehow, complimenting his eyes and skin tone perfectly. In all honesty, though weird to see him with make-up on, Derek could pull it off!
Then I looked at myself.
My eyes were the same as Derek's with the black eyeshadow and eyeliner; only, instead of gold, the other eyeshadow was purple; dark red lipstick also stained my lips, the colour popping brightly against my pale skin. It was…strange. To say the least.
But I couldn't hate it.
"This looks really good, Sweetheart," I smiled, careful of the fake nails as I pulled her into a hug. "You're so good."
"Really?" she beamed, eyes wide. "You mean it?"
"Of course! I wouldn't lie to you."
Harley hugged me tightly with another little squeal, squeaking as Derek lifted her away from me and up into his arms.
"You, my little Flower Bud, are very talented," Derek grinned. "And, to prove that to you, I shall smother you in kisses."
Harley shrieked and giggled as Derek pecked kisses over her face, leaving red lip marks in his wake. I didn't think it was possible to fall any more in love with the two of them.
P.S. I know it's been a while; I'm back at University to do my Masters Degree in Creative Writing; I'm trying to finish my own book to send to a potential literary agent. It's kind of knocked me off of my fanfic writing. So, PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH ME!
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