There will be no Derek/Jennifer or Stiles/Heather in this story. I don't want anyone coming between my babies.

Now, without further ado!

Chapter 2: Circle of Trust Part 1

Stiles didn't want to go to a party at a time like this. Erica and Boyd were still missing, they had no leads with Isaac. Stiles still wanted to stay and help with something, anything. Even if it was just riling up Derek and keeping him distracted so he wouldn't worry about his betas as much.

Stiles was good at that, right? Talking and being distracting?

But Scott insisted they need a little change of scenery to help reboot their minds. So as soon as he heard about Stiles' childhood friend Heather throwing a birthday party, he snatched Stiles' phone with his werewolf speed and texted her that they would be there.

Not fair Scotty, Stiles grumbled inwardly as they approached a house bustling with music and the smell of beer. He was not looking forward to spending the night getting drunk or mingling with strangers. But Heather and he were pretty close when they were little; not just them, but their mothers were pretty close friends too. So Stiles agreed to show up and wish the girl a happy birthday, even though his mind was swirling with ways to help a certain Alpha and his betas.

As soon as Stiles and Scott stepped inside Heather's house, they spotted her trudging over to them with a happy skip in her feet. Stiles saw her in passing a few times in the last couple of years, but she never looked so beautiful. Maybe it was a birthday thing.

Heather approached Stiles with a purposeful look in her face. Stiles saw her hands moving closer to his face and her face leaning up. She was going to kiss him. Stiles immediately held onto her shoulders with a firm but not hard grip. He slowly pushed her away and let out a nervous laugh.

"Hey, hey, Heather. Long time, huh? Happy birthday! Wow, you have grown up so fast. Also, nice party even if we've only just seen the entrance. By the way, this is Scott, my best friend." Stiles said all of that in one long breath, all the while pushing the girl away from him.

It wasn't that she wasn't attractive or anything, but Stiles was not going to let something this casual be his first kiss. Call him a hopeless romantic, but he wanted his first kiss to be with someone special, someone he cared for.

For the longest time, Stiles dreamed of kissing Lydia Martin, preferably in front of the entire school or something. But after seeing her bring back Jackson from his Kanima form, Stiles could finally admit the truth to himself. Lydia was not the one for him, it was time to move on from his childhood obsession. Plus, they worked better as a team anyways, as friends. And he was grateful for the friendship this crazy supernatural world brought him. Unfortunately, that also meant less luck with his love life since he was spending most of his time figuring out ways to beat lizard-beasts and Alpha packs.

But that also didn't mean he would jump into something with just about anyone. If there was one thing Stiles Stilinski was known for, it was his devotion. When Stiles falls, he falls hard. So he let out a sigh of relief when he saw Heather shifting her focus onto Scott and flirting with him unabashedly.

Looks like someone else would be getting a gift tonight along with the birthday girl. Stiles couldn't help but smirk as Heather dragged Scott away.


Jackson wanted to rip the smug smirk off Peter Hale's face. Ever since he learned about the torment the elder Hale put Lydia through, he had to focus on every last bit of his training not to rip out the resurrected former Alpha's throat.

As Peter dug his claws into Isaac's neck and saw his memories, Jackson felt a slight tingle on his own neck. Maybe it was the pack bond being triggered by what Isaac was going through. Derek stood by the side, still as a statue. His face was blank as usual. Jackson tried to recall the last time he saw any emotion cross his Alpha's face but he turned up blank.

Peter released Isaac with a gasp and told them what he saw. Apparently, the Alpha of the douche-wolves was keeping Erica and Boyd locked somewhere until the next full moon, which was the next day. They didn't have much time.


Another life was at stake due to the supernatural crazy of Beacon Hills. Heather went missing and Scott was the last person to see her. Scott told Stiles about how he and Heather made out in the wine cellar, but Heather definitely wanted more. But Scott kept resisting as he was not ready for something like that so soon after Allison.

He apologized to Heather and left the cellar. A few minutes after that, a friend of Heather's was looking for her and Scott went down to the cellar to find her but she was missing by then. Sheriff Stilinski called both Scott and Stiles out of their Econ class to ask them about Heather. They told them everything they knew, minus the supernatural angle.

Stiles felt guilt rising up his chest since he was continuing to keep his father in the dark. But if it would ensure his safety, then Stiles would rather die than risk it.

Lydia and Allison demanded to meet with Derek, showing identical bruises on their arms. It was no solid lead, but they were desperate. Scott agreed immediately but Stiles hesitated. He knew that Scott still hadn't cleared the air about Allison's mother's death and was worried about how she would react to Derek.

The Argents screwed Derek's life over and over again; he didn't deserve shit from any member of that family. Stiles braced himself for something ugly when Derek and Jackson showed up to hear what the girls had to say.

After pointing out how Derek trusted neither Lydia nor Allison, the tension in the room kept rising. Stiles tried to diffuse the situation with his humor by claiming how there was no maiming, miming or death.

That rubbed Allison the wrong way.

"That's not entirely true. My mother did die." Her eyes were fixed on Derek as she said that, her gaze full of accusation.

Derek's face was a blank as usual, nothing betraying what he was feeling. Jackson already learned what happened with Victoria Argent when she tried to kill Scott. Apparently, McCall lacked the decency to tell Allison the truth about her mother's death. Jackson was not going to sit back and watch as his Alpha was wrongly accused.

Argents and their stubborn honor code was the reason Allison lost her mother, not Derek. He only did what he thought was right at the moment to save Scott.

Jackson opened his mouth to voice out his opinion when someone else beat him to it.

"Hey! If you don't have all the facts, then you cannot come to a conclusion just like that, okay? You don't know why Derek did what he did. So you don't get to give him crap about it." Stiles paused to take a breath, his gaze softened a little as he looked at Allison. "Look, I'm sorry your mom died. Trust me, I know how it feels. But you can't blame someone just because you need a way to vent out your anger."

He hopped down from the bench he was sitting on and walked over to Scott, standing right in front of him.

"Really, Scott? If you're going to apologize, then do it right. What part of clear the air was unclear? How can you expect us to work together if there is a fog between us making everything look hazy?" Stiles stood a little taller than Scott, but even if he hadn't, Jackson was sure he would still look as determined as he did at that moment. He felt respect towards the fiery human and his no-bullshit attitude, even if it was directed at his own best friend.

It was unlikely that anyone else in the room paid attention, but Jackson felt something coming off his Alpha. The pack bond let him know that Derek's mood had shifted from sour to something.. less sour?

Jackson swore he could see the Alpha fighting back a smile as he stared at the boy who stood up for him. But it was gone so soon that Jackson couldn't be sure whether he really saw it or not.

The door slammed shut as Stiles walked out of the room, Scott had a hint of shame on his face as he stared after the closed door.

"Call me when you have something real, something worth my time," Derek said with a firm voice directed at Scott. He glanced around the room one last time and left.


Stiles leaned on the hood of his jeep as he let out deep breaths through his mouth. He was not one to hold a grudge against someone, or hold someone accountable for something. But right now, he was doing everything he could to fight the anger he felt towards Scott.

When it comes to Allison, Scott has always been unashamedly biased. But his feelings didn't mean he could throw anyone else- in this case, Derek- under the bus. The resident werewolf has been through way too much to deal with other people's miscommunication. Derek may not be the most conversationalist guy, but he is trying to learn from his mistakes. The least Scott can do is make things easier for him instead of letting Allison run all over Derek for something that wasn't even his fault.

Stiles was so focused on keeping his breathing under control, that he didn't hear the footsteps approaching him.

"Never thought I'd see this day."

"Aah! Jesus!" Stiles jumped up from his hunched over position and almost knocked his elbow on the hood. He relaxed after seeing the stubbly face of the Alpha he was just thinking about.

"How do you feel about wearing a bell around your neck? I can fashion out a necklace. I'll even add some spikey and leather charms so it goes with your overall demeanor." Stiles waved his hand over Derek as he spoke. Derek's lips twitched as he stared at the spastic teenager. It took a few more seconds for Stiles to register what Derek said before he scared the living spirits out of him.

"Wait, what do you mean you never thought about seeing this day? What's so special about today?" Derek walked closer and leaned against the hood with his back to the jeep. He rested his large hands on the cold surface of the hood and turned his head to look at Stiles. There was about a foot of distance between them. Stiles's usual scent of lemongrass and coffee was tinted with anger, making it a little sour. Derek resisted the urge to scrunch his nose. He didn't like that sourness associated with the brilliant teen's scent.

"You," Derek started. Stiles felt his breath hitch a little. "Standing up for me. To Scott nonetheless." Stiles couldn't read the emotion he saw in Derek's eyes. He suspected anyone could. But he was sure it wasn't something the older man usually felt. His beautiful blue-green eyes had a slight glint that wasn't there before, especially when he was being accused of murdering Victoria Argent.

"I know you always try to do the right thing. Sometimes your ways are a little annoying," Stiles smiled at that, confident that the wolf meant it as something akin to fondness now instead of hostility. "But your heart is always in the right place. So, seeing you standing up for me.. it meant a lot." Derek looked over Stiles' shoulder as he spoke, avoiding meeting those whiskey-brown eyes. Stiles played with the hem of his plaid shirt, avoiding eye contact himself.

"I'm sorry, Derek. I thought Scott had already told Allison everything. You don't have to deal with his inability to look his ex-girlfriend in the eyes and tell her about how her mother tried to murder her daughter's boyfriend. Even I didn't know what Victoria was doing. If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have broken the mountain ash barrier. And Scott could've- he could-" Stiles cut off as he thought about seeing his best friend lying motionless, lifeless.

He heard shuffling and then felt a large, warm hand on his shoulder. Surprised whiskey-brown met compassionate blue-green. Derek was standing straight now, looking at Stiles with a fierce determination on his face. His left hand rested on Stiles' right shoulder. The grip was firm but not hard enough to hurt Stiles even the slightest.

"Now you listen to me. I told you before. You don't have to apologize. You are not responsible for someone else's actions, even if it's Scott. You two may be a package deal, but he is his own person. He needs to take responsibility for his choices." Derek placed his other hand on Stiles' left shoulder. His thumb brushed the side of Stiles' neck. The younger teen had to remind himself to keep breathing and not focus on the thumb touching his skin.

"If I'm not responsible for Victoria Argent's death, then you are not responsible for what could've happened to your best friend. You did break the barrier. You saved him." His voice kept sounding softer and softer as he spoke. Or maybe Stiles was imagining it. Derek Hale showing even a sliver of emotion was nothing short of a miracle. He blinked several times to clear his head. A teasing smile graced his lips as he looked at the Alpha.

"Okay. Who knew you could be such a preach-wolf?" Derek rolled his eyes and stepped back, his hands leaving Stiles' shoulders. He turned his back to the teen and smiled to himself as he breathed in the fresh scent of lemongrass. With a hint of coffee. No longer tainted with anything sour.

I'll try uploading the next part sooner. Please tell me your thoughts. I'd really appreciate it.

'Till next time!