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: Sam Campbell, Charlie Jones, Zane, Chase, Gabriel, Ben, Mia, Harlequin (Harley),Stiles' fox = Melrakki (Rak), Stiles' wolf = Okami (Oki), Derek's wolf = Cana, Diego, Serena, Akylas Stavros, Yiannis Stavros.
JUST SO YOU KNOW: like everyone else, I have no idea what Stiles' real name is, so I'm going along with what everyone else puts :) and I've made his middle name up XD
Please, please review XD
You guys are all so amazing and I love you all! In a non-creepy non-psycho kind of way XD
SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT, BUT I'M AT UNIVERSITY!
Chapter 48 - Part 2
Stiles
We were all up a six in the morning on Tuesday, July 29th. We all had an hour to get dressed, pack a few things into a carryon bag and get in the cars to drive to the airport.
Yet again, we were going to Chico Municipal Airport. We were hoping to get to the airport just after eight, ready to go for our plane that was expected for ten that morning. It was hard for a lot of the Betas to get up at six, just like it was difficult for Harley... Derek, Peter and I seemed to be the only ones not affected, at all, by the time.
Honestly, the time from getting up to getting into the cars seemed to fly by. Before I knew it, I was sitting in the back of Derek's car with Peter, Harley and the man himself. The others were following behind us, split into Jackson's and Danny's cars.
We had only just managed to get four people in a car, what with all the luggage.
In the car, we had the radio playing softly. I blocked it out to the point of only being able to faintly hear the music, nothing else. It was just nice, sitting in the calm.
Peter sat in the front passengers seat, reading glasses on as he read his book.
Harley sat behind him, playing with Phantasia for the time being.
Derek, obviously, was focusing on the road, as I hoped he would be doing.
I was just sitting there, staring out of the window, smiling.
I hadn't been able to stop smiling. I couldn't get the happy look off of my face. I couldn't remember a time I had smiled so much!
The holiday was going to be such a relief, such a welcome relief, after the past couple of weeks we had been having. After everything with Dallas, with Dad, with Zane... Everything that I feared would happen had happened!
But I was fine. It was all fine.
Sam and Charlie met us at the airport, in front of one of the eateries.
The idea was we would meet them there to have something to eat, considering how early we all had to get up. I mean, by the time we got to the airport, it was somewhere are ten past eight.
We had just under two hours before our flight. We were all planning to eat and grab a drink for the flight from one of the stores, considering we'd get food on the plane. So, yeah, we were going to eat. We could spend almost two hours eating and talking - we'd done it before, we could do it again.
Immediately, as soon as we had met up with them, Sam jumped on Peter, whilst Charlie and the other girls started talking rather loudly about tans, or something about that. Derek, Harley, the guys and I just walked away slowly, heading for a table without them. It was easier than being caught up in the whirlwind.
As we sat down, Harley on the inside of the booth next to me, I felt a tug on my shirt.
"Are they always going to be like that?" Harley asked me, glancing back at Peter and all the girls.
"I think they will be, Sweetheart." I laughed.
"They're so weird."
Wrapping my arm around his shoulders, I just smiled, watching as Derek and the guys chuckled. To be honest, I think they were all agreeing with him.
"You're not wrong there, kid." Jackson snickered.
Derek, as the adult he was, moved the conversation along, realising that it probably wasn't a great topic to discuss when we could be joined by the rest of our group at any minute. Instead, he began handing out the menus, telling everyone to just pick something to eat already.
He couldn't hid the grin from any of us.
First class.
Derek and Peter had gotten us first class tickets.
We were the only ones in that part of the plane.
The moment we all realised, Sam and Charlie had started chewing the elder wolves out. They were grateful, don't get me wrong, but the fact that both men had refused to let anyone help pay for the trip... Well, come on, it was a lot of money. And we were staying all inclusive at the hotel! Sure, Peter had a friend at the hotel who gave us a good deal, but still!
To be honest, I was a bit pissed too. Almost all of us were.
But neither of them cared. They just shrugged it off and said they wanted to treat us all. The matter was dropped after that. I couldn't tell if it was because no one wanted to fight, or because no one needed Derek or Peter to explain why.
When we were up in the air, I couldn't get enough of the look on Harley's face. He was so mystified, mesmerized. He couldn't seem to grasp that we were all flying. He kept asking how it was possible, how this massive thing was flying. He kept asking how the plan flapped its wings.
It took a little while to explain to him exactly how it all worked.
The questions stopped once he fell asleep, after lunch. I couldn't blame him - almost everyone was asleep by that point. Everyone but Peter, Sam, Derek and me. Sleeping was probably a good idea though... I mean, the flight was going to take, around, fourteen and a half hours! But the four us just didn't seem to be able to.
It was fine though. We just sat there, talking to each other.
Sam and I got Peter to tell us more about what Cyprus was like the last time he had been.
We got both Derek and Peter to tell us about any other trips they had taken before the fire.
We just got them both talking, telling us about all the wonderful things they could remember. Of course, it dredged up hard feelings for the both of them. Obviously it would! It would be a little weird if it hadn't...
"I barely remember going to Paphos." Derek admitted. "Just bits and pieces. Little flashes. Not many memories of it."
I just reached out a hand, my fingertips only just brushing Derek's arm as I did so.
"Then you make new memories. With all of us." I told him. "I know it's not exactly the same, but it's something. Right?"
"Right."
Derek moved slightly until he could grab my hand, holding it gently in his. He just sat there, smiling at me. Already, the holiday was turning out to be great.
After arriving at the airport, on Wednesday July 30th, at ten forty in the evening, Cyprus time - twelve forty in the afternoon, California time - and getting to the hotel at, around half eleven, we were all exhausted. We were ready to just go to bed.
The Louis Ledra Beach Hotel – where we were staying – was a large, white building. The lights outside was just enough for me to see the building and the blue letters on top of it, signalling which hotel it was.
The name was engraved on this little porch type thing that covered the stairs and ramp up to the doors of the hotel, almost gold/silver.
It looked rather nice.
But the inside was better.
When you walked through the doors there was a bar to your left, reception to the right, seating areas spread out, a stair case and outside seating area on the opposite side, a small shop near the reception desk and an elevator.
There were different mosaics on the walls, and it was all lit up by a soft light.
Since it was so late, no one was really around, everyone sleeping, but drinks and food had been laid out for those of us arriving at that time.
We all agreed to take it in more in the morning - we just really wanted to sleep!
Derek booked us in, all of us grouping behind him. The moment Derek came back to us, he had fourteen wristbands and seven room keys. Gold wristbands were given to those of us eighteen and over, whilst Harley got a yellow wristband to show he was under eighteen. The wristbands were a sign that we were staying all inclusive, meaning we didn't pay for the meals or drinks we got from the bar, because the price was all included in what we paid to stay at the hotel.
The five of the keys were handed to the five couples - Scott and Allison, Danny and Isaac, Jackson and Lydia, Boyd and Erica, Sam and Charlie - one key was handed to Peter, whilst the last key was left for Derek, Harley and me. We all thought Peter deserved to have a room to himself, give him the space and the quiet after having to deal with all of us.
No one really spoke as we put on the wristbands, dragging our bags towards the elevator. Considering how many of us there was, we had to go up in groups. Peter, Derek, Harley and I were practically pushed in as soon as the doors opened.
We were too tired to argue.
The ride up to the third floor was quiet. Harley leant heavily against my side, his eyes slowly closing before he snapped them open again. I think the early morning and the long flight affected him more that anyone, not ever flying before in a plane, not used to being in a confined space for so long.
He was going to fall asleep before the elevator even stopped.
Turning slightly, I managed to get my arms around the kid, lifting him up. I rested him on my hip, keeping a tight hold on the kid. There was no need to keep him awake.
When the elevator stopped, I went to grab mine and Harley's bags, only to find them both in the hands of Derek and Peter.
"You have your hands full, my boy." Peter smiled, gesturing for me to step out.
"And so do both of you." I muttered, walking out from the metal box.
"But you're the only one holding a child."
Rolling my eyes, I dropped the subject, just focusing on keeping quiet enough to keep Harley sleeping.
It didn't take long for the others to join us on the third floor, the ten of them splitting into two groups of five. It was only when everyone was back together that we went to find our rooms.
The rooms were all along the same hallway, right next to each other. Derek had already given them the warning of the walls not being soundproof, unlike at home, so all couples would have to keep their 'activities' quiet. I mean, come on, we may all be close, but we weren't that close...
Finding the rooms was easy enough so, with a quick goodnight, we all went into our own.
The hotel key acted as a switch for the lights. All you had to do was place the key into the holder by the door and the lights came on. As soon as you walked in the door, to the left was the bathroom and to the right was a closet with a safe and a mini-bar, a full length mirror attached to one of the closet doors.
There were three beds. Two double beds pushed close together, a nightstand bracketing them both in. Against the far wall was a small single bed, for a child. At the end of the single bed, was a door. The door led out onto a small balcony where a round table and two chairs were kept. From our balcony, you could see the sea. You could see parts of the other hotels, you could see the area where some of the activities would be held. At that time of night, lights were illuminating the pathways, lighting it up enough that I could see the palm trees.
If it looks like this at night, I wonder what it looks like during the day...
I walked over to the single bed, carefully pulling back the covers and placing Harley into it. He only shifted slightly as I pulled the covers back around him, the kid burrowing down but still sleeping peacefully. I just stood there for a moment, making sure he was ok, moving a lock of hair from in front of his face before I walked away.
Turning around, I found Derek had placed my bags at the end of the bed closest to Harley, already opening his own suitcase of the bed next to mine. For a moment, it just felt very family-ish. Yeah, that wasn't a good explanation... But that was the only way I could say it. It was a good feeling, let's just leave it at that.
"I, uh... I thought you'd prefer being closer to him." Derek said as he looked up.
"You thought right." I smiled. "Thanks."
Derek just nodded, smiling back, digging out a pair of sweatpants.
I had a feeling it was going to be a good holiday...
The next morning - Thursday, July 31st - we woke up at seven.
I woke up to find Harley, changed in his pyjamas, sleeping against my chest, whilst I felt the heat from Derek coming from behind me. Words couldn't describe just how ok I was with my current situation...
But we had to get up.
Holding Harley close to me, making sure he wouldn't slip, I rolled onto my right hand side, facing Derek. He was still sleeping, just like Harley. He was so relaxed and peaceful... To be honest, I just wanted to stay like that. I just wanted to stay lying in that bed.
The only thing that made me move? The thought of hungry pups knocking down the door to see what was taken us so long.
Sighing, I placed Harley down onto the bed, slipping out as quietly as I could. I walked around the beds, until I reached the side of Derek's, touching his shoulder gently. All he did was move with my hand, rolling slightly as he tried to follow it. I tried a number of times to wake him up, even pushing him a little.
He must have been ridiculously tired if he's sleeping this deep...
Taking a chance, I ran my fingers through Derek's hair. I could never get over just how soft it felt. It didn't look like it should have been as soft as it was! I loved his hair, not as much as his eyes, but I loved his hair.
That seemed to wake Derek up, just the motion of my fingers. His eyes blinked open sleepily, his mind still fuzzy enough for me to remove my hand and for him not to realise what I had been doing.
"What time is it?" Derek mumbled, his voice rough from sleep.
"It's just after seven. I say we had until, about, eight before the others come for the three of us." I told him. "I'm going to get changed, so you have some time to wake up."
All I got was a lethargic nod and a yawn.
Grinning to myself, I searched through my suitcase to get some clothes, before disappearing into the bathroom. To the right of the room was a bathtub, a shower attached to the far wall. A toilet was directly across from the door, a sink with a large counter space to the left. It was smaller than the ones we had back home, but it was a nice size for how long we were staying in the place.
"It's all nice." I chuckled to myself.
We all met by the elevators, going down to the ground floor of the hotel in the same groups as the night before.
The restaurant was down on the ground floor, along with access to the indoor pool, outdoor pool, poolside bar and the beach.
The restaurant was a load of tables with drink machines in a few places and food placed in these metal tray things to the back of the room. There was a lot of choice, which was nice. Apparently, not many places gave you so much choice. Plus, there was no limit on how much you could eat, thankfully, so we all got stuck in.
We spread out over a few tables, close to each other, since there wasn't actually a table of fourteen anywhere. Not that any of us cared.
"So, what's the plan for today?" Allison asked, looking around at everyone happily.
"Well, I for one want to sleep." Jackson yawned.
"Maybe it would be better for us all to stay in the hotel for today." Peter chuckled. "Everyone will be jetlagged - going into the town wouldn't be the best idea as of right now."
"I second that." Sam muttered, raising a hand groggily.
It was funny, really, watching all of them. I thought at least Sam would be able to handle the time difference. I mean, with all the travelling she mus have done, with all the sleepless nights... I thought that, surely, Sam would have been able to handle it.
Harley was quiet next to me. He was still getting used to the time shift, just like the others. He leant against me, just like he had in the elevator the night before. Well, scrap that, he was practically sitting on me. In the end, after I had finished eating, I had dragged the kid onto my lap, moving his plate in front of him so he could keep eating... Harley was rather happy with outcome.
"It would be nice to get to know the hotel a bit more." I mused. "Go in the pools, eat, have some drinks... We've got plenty of time to explore."
"And I'm sure it won't be our last visit." Derek smiled.
As soon as the words left Derek's mouth, I couldn't help but imagine coming back, every year. Maybe even, in the future, some little wolves running around... I could see it happening, I could really see it happening.
I was never able to do that before... I could never see a future for myself. I never thought I would live to see my twentieth birthday, either, but it was only twenty six days away. But, now, I could actually look forward to one. I could actually think about one. I could actually see one.
Not many people would understand just how amazing that truly was.
The outdoor pool was packed. It was like everybody and their mother was out there! The indoor pool, which was not even twenty steps away, however, was empty.
Three guesses on which pool we chose.
The indoor pool was nice, rather large with three rows of sun loungers along the length of one side of the pool. Harley, the girls and Peter were all set up on the loungers, laying back and just relaxing. Derek, the guys and I were actually in the pool with a small, inflatable ball.
What had started as just throwing the ball around to each other, ended up as a game of seeing who could hit the most people on the head with the ball... It was mainly between Scott and Jackson, but still.
I ended up swimming over to Derek, where the man was sitting on the submerged steps watching his Betas, sitting next to him. He glanced at me as I settled down next to him, smiling gently.
"This is nice." Derek told me. "I've missed doing this."
"It is rather spectacular." I agreed.
"I don't mean the place. Well, yeah, the place, but the Pack. I've missed having a proper Pack and doing things like this."
Derek had this far off look in his eyes, a distant smile on his face. He seemed both sad and happy, the two emotions mixing weirdly into his scent.
"You don't have to miss it now." I told him. "You have us. We're here. It won't be the same as before, but you can do everything over again with all of us. We're not going anywhere, Derek."
"Promise?" he whispered, turning his head to face me.
"Promise. No one wants to leave. No one will ever leave. We love this Pack; I love this Pack. You're stuck with all of us, for the rest of your life."
"I like the sound of that..."
The day was filled with swimming. We would only take a few breaks to eat, whether that was at the poolside bar outside, or going in doors to have lunch.
The only time we actually came back into the hotel to stay, was when it was closing in on dinner. Everyone went back to their rooms, showering and dressing for dinner, meeting in the restaurant. Just like breakfast and lunch, it was a help yourself and eat as much as you want kind of deal.
It was fucking awesome!
It was once we had all ate our fill that we wandered back upstairs, going to sit in the outdoor seating area near the bar, which was on a balcony looking over the left side of the outdoor swimming pool and the over eighteens pool, as well as part of the sea. Derek and Peter had ordered drinks for us all, the couple of bar staff bringing them out to us as soon as they were ready.
We all just sat there, talking.
Relaxing.
We all knew that, that night, we wouldn't be sitting there for long. Everyone was still tired, so it was to be an early night for us all. Not that anyone was complaining about that. We had already decided that, the next day, we were going to explore the town. Peter, thankfully, remembered the bus we needed, even checking with the friend of his that worked in the hotel - a friend we were to be meeting either the next day, or the day after.
We must have stayed up talking until, about, nine that evening. That was the point when everyone crashed to the point of no return. It was, either, go to our rooms, or fall asleep in those chairs. No one wanted to fall asleep in those chairs.
The moment Derek, Harley and I were back in our room, all changed and ready for bed, I didn't bother with getting Harley to get into the single bed. I gathered that, in the middle of the night, he would climb in with me anyway, so it was easier to cut out the middle man. The kid didn't seem put out by it, so what was the harm?
Besides, it was easier to sleep, knowing both he and Derek were there.
The next day, we got up at seven again. Everyone had gotten a bit more used to the time difference, not as sluggish as they were the day before. They also ate a lot more than the day before, filling their plates, at least, four or five times.
By half eight, we made our way back to our rooms, grabbing bags and money and bottled water, putting sunscreen on those who needed it - Sam, Allison and Harley to be exact.
By, just after, nine that morning, we had made it into the town. It was three Euros for an all day ticket on the bus. That was, about three dollars and seventeen cents. It was a pretty damn cheap ticket!
We all stuck together going around town, no one really wanting to get lost and then get our Alpha all worried and angry and grrr. It was the best thing for all of us. Besides, Peter was the only one that knew his way around the place!
It was far nicer that I thought it would be, walking along the busy street and going into all the different stores around the town. Some of - well, a lot of - the stores were quite squashed. To the point where Boyd and Derek could barely fit down the aisles squashed.
It was hilarious, to be honest...
There was a little gap further down the street, if you turned left at the bus station and just kept walking straight, which branched off into a little market place. The first thing I saw was the t-shirts on the first store to the left...
Of course, I was drawn to it first.
I managed to run - literally, run - away from all of them and to the shirts, before anyone had the chance to grab a hold of me. I could hear the groans from behind me. They all pretended not to love my little quirks, but they couldn't lie to me.
It wasn't a surprise when I walked out of there, a few minutes later, with three large bags full of new t-shirts... It was a good thing that I had quite a bitof money to spend, thanks to all I had saved up.
"Before you say anything," I said, facing everyone. "Just remember I lived on four or five shirts when I first came to Beacon Hills. You can't blame me for overcompensating."
They just laughed, grinning.
We walked back towards the bus station, continuing passed it along a different street.
There was a small stall set up for an artist to do a portrait of those who paid, only it was a caricature portrait.
There weren't many shops along this part, but it still followed along the sea.
The path ended at a castle. A small, rundown thing that you could look around, with an ice cream place nearby.
We only looked around the castle for a few moments, nothing in there holding our interest. Just bricks and chains and the like... The ice cream, however, was amazing! It had been worth the trip down.
There wasn't much more to do.
We had been into every store that looked interesting, without going too far and tiring anyone out. Not to mention, it was slowly getting closer to lunch and, trust me when I say, no one wanted to deal with hungry wolves. It was not a pretty site.
That was when we had headed back to the hotel.
We swam more that afternoon, this time heading out towards the beach. Like the indoor pool, there wasn't many people there.
We had lain our towels next to some sun loungers where Lydia and Erica had set up camp, choosing that moment to try and catch some sun. The rest of us, not nearly as boring as that, actually went in the sea.
Scott, Allison, Peter, Sam and Charlie had all bought some goggles, swimming out a little way and going under the water, trying to see if they could find any fish.
Boyd, Jackson, Danny and Isaac were all dunking each other under the water, sending waves crashing over each other's heads.
Derek stayed with Harley and I.
The kid seemed to love the beach, even collecting some small shells. We had managed to find a small plastic bucket he could put them in, keeping them somewhere safe whilst we were outside. He just walked along the edge of the sea, stopping and stooping every now and then, picking up a shell and washing it in the water before placing it in his bucket. Derek and I just followed behind him, walking a little deeper in the sea than he was.
"This was a great idea." I sighed, contentedly. "It's nice, not having to worry about anything."
"Hopefully we can do it more." Derek smiled. "At least once every year, like my parents used to do for us."
"You went on holiday every year?!"
"Oh yeah. We came here, we went to: Turkey, England, Japan, Canada, Phoenix, India, Paris, New York... They're only the places I can remember."
And, yeah, wow... I thought I was lucky to get to California, to go to Los Angeles... Those places and more were on my non-existent To Do List. They were places that just seemed so beautiful...
"I can tell you about them, if you want." Derek told me. "And, hopefully, Peter and I can take you all there one day."
I looked up at Derek, the sun hitting him from behind, giving his skin this warm golden glow, making his hair seem that little bit darker, casting a shade over his face.
"I'd like that." I nodded.
There were a few hours before dinner and we all wanted to do something. We didn't want to sit around the hotel, as nice as it was. Everyone just seemed to have a lot of energy...
So Peter suggested mini-golf.
The course took, about, five or ten minutes to get to on foot.
As soon as you walked out of the hotel, you took a right, walking to the end of the road, where you turned left and kept walking. You just followed the road and, bam, you were there.
After paying, we were given a score sheet. We were given a putt and ball each, as well as a net between us all, just in case a ball was hit into the water.
At first, I didn't know what to make of it.
I mean, what would anyone think of a mini-golf course? Come on. Most people would think it was the shittest thing to do on a holiday and, at one point, I probably would have believed them.
And then I actually played.
It was way more fun than I expected it to be and I even managed to get a hole in one! I had never played any type of golf before in my life. Never in my life had I ever gone near a golf putt.
I went a little bit beyond happy...
Surprisingly, the worst person at the game, was Derek. Honestly, I thought he would be one of the best, just like he was with everything else. I thought both he and Peter would be getting the ball in the hole first time round.
Nope.
Derek would keeping hitting the ball into the water, or kept missing the hole. We may have had a little more fun with mocking him than anything else... He acted like he was annoyed with us because of that, but really he just loved that we were all having fun. Even if it was at his expense.
We met Peter's friend the next day - Saturday, August 2nd. The friend that got us the deal at the hotel.
We had been sitting in the lobby of the hotel, having a drink - not alcohol - and just relaxing. We weren't talking about anything in particular, but we made sure not to bring up anything to do with school, or work, anything involving the Big Bads back at home.
We just spoke about random stuff.
That was when the man had walked up to us.
"Welcome, friends!" he grinned, spreading his arms wide. "I am glad to see you enjoying yourselves."
His name was Akylas Stavros. He was a tall man, just an inch or less taller than Peter. His hair and eyes were dark, his skin had a golden tone to it. He looked very good for a man in his early forties.
Akylas Stavros spoke English, with a rather heavy Greek accent, obviously. He was a very boisterous man, rather loud and friendly. He greeted everyone with a loud hello, encasing Peter in his arms tightly.
"It's good to see you again, Ky." Peter chuckled. "I'm sure you'll remember my nephew, Derek."
"This is Derek? No, surely that is not true." Akylas gasped. "My, when did I get so old?"
Standing, Derek shook the man's hand, he and Derek introducing the rest of us one by one. The man shook every hand, he smiled at each one of us.
I only trusted him fully when Harley didn't shy away.
He introduced us to his son, Yiannis Stavros. This man was in his early twenties, close in age to Derek. He was around my height, had black hair and dark blue eyes, a slight stubble covering his jaw. His hair was pulled back in a loose bun, a dark brown beaded necklace sitting against his golden skin.
Yeah, he didn't make me feel self conscious. Not at all... Yeah, I wasn't believe myself either.
It made it worse when I saw how he was looking at Derek.
They all saw how he was looking at Derek, apart from Peter, Akylas and Derek. I even had Sam move to stand next to me, taking hold of part of my shirt. I hadn't realised, until then, that my claws had started to slowly make themselves shown.
This isn't good...
All day, Akylas and Yiannis was with us. Apparently, it was their week off - Yiannis worked as part of the bar staff, Akylas worked as... Well, to be honest, I didn't know what he worked as.
Yiannis made sure to stay right by Derek.
Countless times, I had Sam drag me away from everyone, disguising it as getting more drinks for everyone, or even needing advice on a gift for some of her friends back in Beacon Hills. She tried to get me to calm down, tried to get me to 'see sense' because, apparently, Derek didn't 'want' this guy, he 'wanted me'.
It didn't work in calming me down. At all.
It got to a point where Yiannis was openly flirting with Derek. At first, it was kind of subtle, as if he was trying to hide it... Then, when he saw the reaction he was getting from me, he smirked and slowly made it more and more obvious.
Touching Derek, whispering to Derek...
In the end, I just mumbled an incomprehensible excuse, walking towards the staircase not far from us. The staircase was this spiral, like one you would find in the movies, like, for a wedding, or something.
I didn't pay much attention to it though. I was more concerned with getting outside.
I walked outside, past the door for the indoor pool, past the outdoor pool. I just kept walking until I hit the beach.
I kept walking along the sand, away from all the people around me. I just walked, away from the sun loungers, away from anyone that would bug me.
I sat on the sand, slipping off my sandals and pressing my feet into the sand, pulling my knees to my chest. All I wanted, all I needed, was a few minutes to myself. I needed some time away from Derek, away from Yiannis.
Everything was going great until he showed up.
I sounded pathetic. I knew I did. I didn't understand why I was so wound up about it all! Derek and I weren't together. We had never been together... He was free to date, or flirt with, whoever he wanted.
I was sure that person wasn't me.
Derek cornered me that evening, when we were all turning in for bed. Harley was already asleep, curled up in my bed. He was knocked out until the morning.
I had just walked out of the bathroom, ready for bed, expecting Derek to be in bed already, trying to fall asleep. Nope. He was sitting on the edge of it, waiting for me. He looked up at me as I walked into the room, a frown marring his face, his shoulders hunched and hands folded in his lap.
Oh boy...
"Just say it." I sighed, bending down to put the clothes I had worn that day into a bag, keeping them separate from my other clothes.
"What's been with you today?" Derek blurted out. "You've been acting really weird."
"I'm always weird."
I was hoping he would drop it.
I was hoping it would go away.
I knew it wouldn't happen, but I was hoping.
"A bad kind of weird, Stiles." Derek groaned. "Like your hiding something, like you're not happy. I thought you were happy..."
"I am happy." I protested.
"You sure weren't acting like it today!"
Sighing, I sat on the bed near him, keeping a gap between the two of us, where we sat. I rubbed my hands over my face, resting my elbows on my knees.
"I just needed some time to myself." I told him. "That's all. I guess I was a little...overwhelmed, or something. I don't know."
Technically, it wasn't a lie. I had felt like that, a bit. It just wasn't the main reason why I had been acting how I had. But Derek didn't need to know that...
Sunday, we saw the mosaics and the King's Tombs, or whatever they were. To me, they were boring. In fact, they were both dubbed the 'Bomb Craters', courtesy of Jackson and his heat fuelled mutterings.
It was just so boring and, on the Monday, Derek and Peter wanted to go there again. So, who offered to go with them? Akylas and Yiannis. Of course Yiannis offered! Why wouldn't he?!
On that Monday, Sam, Charlie, the Pack and Harley all tried to take my mind off of things.
They had dragged me into the pool.
They had dragged me out to the sea.
They had dragged me to the store in the hotel.
They had dragged me to the store to the right and across the street of the hotel.
For a while, it was actually working. I was actually starting to relax a bit and started to have fun again.
And then they came back.
We were sitting on the balcony, by the bar, again and having a drink after a swim. Sam was teaching some of the guys to play poker, beating all their asses. What did they expect when they had never played before?
We had heard laughing. Laughing and loud voices echoing through the hotel. You didn't need supernatural hearing to know exactly who it was.
I hadn't wanted to glance behind me. I hadn't wanted to look. To be honest, I just wanted to go take a shower and take a nap, just so I could get away from the annoying man that kept clinging to Derek.
I'm so pathetic.
"No, not pathetic." Okami growled. "He's touching our Mate. You should rip his head off."
"I am not ripping his head off, Oki!" I yelled in my head.
"No, I agree. Rip his head off." Melrakki snarled. "He has no right to touch Derek."
Those two weren't helping either.
I ended up turning around. Stupidly, I had turned around.
Yiannis was clutching Derek's arm, leaning against him, laughing about something or other. Derek was just smiling.
It was like a knife through my chest.
We managed to get away from Peter's friend and his son on Tuesday - August 5th. Don't get me wrong, Akylas was a lovely man... It was just his son!
Peter had ended up taking us to this beach, a because I couldn't remember the name of, for the life of me. There were no rocks in the sand, the sea a crystal blue... It was so calming, so relaxing. The clearness of the sea lulling me into this state of peace.
I ended up lying back against a sun lounger, instead of heading into the sea with everyone else. I mean, even Peter went into the water this time. I just sat there, watching them all crash into the water, creating waves in the otherwise still blue.
The sun made the water glisten, reflecting in the droplets that clung to them all. I couldn't help but think of those sparkling vampires in those teen movies Erica liked - it was her 'secret, embarrassing, guilty pleasure'.
I could hear them yelling at each other, tackling one another into the shallow water. They were acting exactly the same as they did when we went swimming in the dyke... It was nice, just seeing them all together and having fun.
This was what was supposed to happen.
I couldn't help but smile as I watched them, seeing them all enjoying themselves. Harley was even interacting with all of them, far more than he had at home! He would actively involve himself into whatever they were doing, jumping onto the Betas and beaming from ear to ear.
I always found it amazing how much he had changed over the few months he had been with us.
One thing I couldn't get over? The way Derek looked in the water, the beads of crystal clear water clinging to his chest, the sun reflecting in them making his skin look darker. His trunks were plastered to him, the water weighing them down slightly on his hips.
It was unfair. How he looked in that water was extremely unfair. The universe was testing me! I mean, it wasn't like one of those movies sequences, with the slow motion hair flick and the slow walk out of the water... But, it was the least amount of clothing I had seen him in, he had a ridiculous body, so it was as close as it would ever get to one of those movie sequences.
"Jump him. Do it now." Okami whispered in my head.
"Shut up, Oki." I sighed.
"I think it's a good idea." Melrakki mused. "Derek will like it."
Rolling my eyes, I shifted slightly in the sun lounger, turning my face up to the sun.
"Why are you both so hung up on this?" I moaned.
"Because he's our Mate. Duh." Okami laughed.
"What does that even mean?!"
In my head, the two of them just shook their heads, grinning. They always refused to tell me, always kept that a secret. Apparently it was for me to find out for myself, it wasn't for them to tell me. The books I had on it never really said much. It didn't give me the answers I wanted. All I knew was Derek was it.
We only left the beach to go back to the hotel for lunch.
We were just going to spend the rest of the day at the hotel, maybe go to the store across the street and to the right of the hotel. We hadn't exactly decided, but we didn't want to swim anymore that day or go out into the town.
We were discussing what we would do after lunch, when we were all up in the lobby having a drink. We sat on the couches this time, instead of out on the balcony, as it was already occupied. Peter, Harley, Derek and I were the only ones in the lobby at first, the others going to their rooms to put away some of their things.
Derek had gone to get the four of us drinks, Harley going over to the bar with him to help. Derek had the kid on his back, Harley's arms wrapped around his neck.
Was it bad that I loved to two of them together?
Was it bad that I loved how Derek was with him?
Maybe if Yiannis sees Derek with Harley he'd back off...
"Your jealousy is misplaced, my boy." Peter chuckled, leaning back against the cushions of the armchair he was sitting in.
"What are you talking about, old man?" I grinned.
"Yiannis."
My grin dropped.
"You think I haven't notice, but I have." Peter told me. "Derek, however, hasn't. He doesn't realise what's going on - on your end, or on Yiannis'."
"I don't know what you mean." I said, clearing my throat.
"You can't lie to me, my boy. Just know you have nothing to fear - Derek may be bisexual, but he would never go for Yiannis."
My head snapped round to face Peter. I was surprised I didn't get whiplash! But could you blame me? All this time I had thought Derek was straight. I thought he was strictly into girls, whilst I was strictly dickly.
But he was bi?!
I didn't get a chance to ask Peter anything, as Derek and Harley made their way to us. Harley walked carefully over to me, staring at the drinks intently, making sure neither of them would spill over. Derek walked behind him, his and Peter's drinks in hand, making sure the kid was alright.
Harley kept staring at the drinks until he was standing right next to me. As slowly as he could, he passed me my drink, keeping his clutched in his other hand. His face was so intense, his tongue slightly sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he focused.
He didn't relax until my glass was in my hand and his own was placed on the table.
"I did it!" Harley grinned.
"I said you could, Bud." Derek chuckled, sitting on the couch next to me, dragging Harley onto the couch to sit half on me and half on him. "See, you shouldn't doubt me."
Derek rested his arm on the back of the couch, the tips of his fingers lightly brushing the back of my neck.
Yeah, Yiannis should definitely see this...
Wednesday, August 6th, we visited this market.
The market was a little way away, but it was worth it. They had all these landscape pictures, all these colours splashed on the canvases. Sam and I were drawn to the stall. You couldn't blame us, we were art students after all.
Besides, they looked nice...
The two of us spent as much time as possible there, looking through every single painting there. The others pretty much left us to our own devices, letting us do what we wanted to do...
Honestly, what did any of them expect? I mean, you could usually find the two of us buried in our art books, drawing something or another. Sometimes it was each other, sometimes it was someone else in the house, sometimes it was just whatever popped into our heads. But the two of us loved our art - we loved to draw and paint...
And it was the thing that brought us together as friends.
I couldn't say how long the two of us looked through the paintings. All I knew was, when it was time to leave, we had bought about five. Each.
But, hey, Sam was going to use them to help decorate hers and Charlie's new home, once they found one, and I was going to gift a couple to Deaton that I thought he'd like. It wasn't like we bought them just for the sake of buying them!
The looks we got from the others, though...
They looked at us as if we were mad. Like they loved us, but we were mad.
Sam and I didn't care. We were both rather proud of our finds.
"Say what you want, I don't care." Sam grinned, bounding over to Charlie and wrapping her arms around her. "I like 'em, so I bought 'em."
Rolling her eyes, Charlie just hugged Sam to her, whispering into the blonde's ear before getting Sam to show her the paintings.
The Pack looked to me, as if waiting for an explanation. All they got was a shrug and a grin from me. They didn't need for me to say anything, they were just seeing if I was going to say anything.
It didn't matter if I said anything or not.
They all loved me anyway.
Yiannis was there the moment we got back to the hotel. He was leaning against the bar, talking to a man I assumed was a friend of his.
At first, none of us saw him, no one was even looking for him. We were all laughing, joking around. Enjoying our time before we had to leave the next evening. We were all thinking of going for a swim, since we wouldn't really be able to do that the next day...
That was when Yiannis clocked us.
I was hoping he would stay where he was.
I was hoping he would leave us alone.
Unfortunately, he came over the moment he saw Derek.
"Derek!" Yiannis beamed. "I was wondering where you had gone!"
"Oh, we had just-" Derek started.
"It does not matter. Come! Walk with me."
Yiannis just grabbed Derek's hand, dragging him towards the staircase on the other side of the hotel, directly opposite us. My shoulders dropped the moment Derek started to walk away from us, the disappointment from the others filling my senses.
We wouldn't see Derek until dinner, if we were lucky.
None of us expected Harley to run after them, hugging Derek and clutching onto his shirt, digging his heels in to try and stop Derek from walking any further. Derek stopped as soon as he felt the small arms surround him, removing his hand from Yiannis' grip and turning to face Harley.
"But you said..." Harley muttered, quietly, not moving his head from Derek's stomach.
I could see Yiannis from over Derek's shoulder. He was glaring at what little part of Harley he could see...
I wanted to listen to what Okami and Melrakki had wanted me to do and just rip his head off. If Derek wanted him, that was Derek's choice... But no one would do anything to Harley. They would have to go through me first.
Walking over, I placed a hand on Harley's head. He turned his face to look at me.
"We can still go swimming, Sweetheart." I told him.
"But, Derek-" Harley started.
"Hey, have I ever gone back on my word?" Derek smiled. "I've already told you not to doubt me, Bud."
Derek lifted Harley up, holding him close. Harley buried his face into Derek's neck, his hands fisting yet again into Derek's shirt, as if that alone could stop Derek from going anywhere.
"I'm sorry." Derek told Yiannis as he turned to face him. "We had just made plans to go swimming."
I was hoping this would be it.
I was hoping this would be all that was needed for Yiannis to leave us alone.
"Then I shall join you." he said.
Or maybe not...
Yiannis was everything I was not.
His skin was smooth and flawless, he actually had muscles and, though he was slim, wasn't overly so like I was. He was one of those that people would consider to be 'perfect'. It was disheartening.
Just like he would anywhere else, Yiannis stuck close to Derek in the pool. He was almost plastered against the Alpha wolf, always 'accidentally' swimming into him.
It was hard to keep myself in control.
I stayed with Harley the entire time. Staying with the kid helped me ground myself. But it didn't block out anything I would hear... I would hear everything Yiannis said to Derek. I would hear him laugh at whatever Derek had said.
I couldn't stop it.
I wanted to go up to the room. I wanted to get away from him... But I wasn't prepared to leave Harley. This was supposed to be a fun holiday, just the fourteen of us. No one else. I may have sounded like a petulant child, but those had been Derek's words, not mine. Yet, somehow, this stranger had managed to encroach on, what was supposed to be, a fun time away.
Even Peter had started getting annoyed!
"Stiles? Why is that man always around now?" Harley asked, sitting on the edge of the pool with me.
"Because he can't take a hint and go away." I sighed. "He just really likes Derek."
"Is he going to take Derek away?"
"No, of course he won't..."
Honestly, I didn't know if I believed it. I didn't know if Yiannis would 'take' him away... I was hoping he wouldn't. I was hoping Derek wouldn't go, or bring this man into the Pack. I was hoping that, by the time we left, this man would be left behind in our past.
"It'll all be ok, Sweetheart." I told him. "Now, why don't we team up against the guys, huh?"
Harley grinned, all other conversation dropped. He waited for me to get into the water before I moved, still a little wary about getting into it without me, what with how deep it was.
I glanced over to where Derek was with Yiannis, watching the man move in from of the Alpha, almost blocking his view of the rest of us...
I just hoped it was all over by the time we left.
Thursday, August 7th - our last day in Paphos.
We had left to go into town after breakfast, for one last time before we left. We walked along to the ice cream stand first, to keep us cool for a short time as we walked by the store fronts with the sea on our right.
We went into a lot of the same stores as before, relooking at a lot of the things that were there, seeing if there was anything else we wanted to buy whilst we were there.
Yet again, Boyd and Derek had trouble fitting down some of the aisles, because the stores were so small and so close together. But it was worth it when, in one store, it meant we were able to put hats on them both, everyone snapping as many pictures as they could of the ridiculous looking pair.
They both took it in good humour, even playing along with us all whilst pretending to fight everyone off.
We just had fun.
The day got better when, just before we left, we walked further up the town, almost following the road the bus took to get in. This was when I found a certain store...
Hoodies.
That was what I had found - lots and lots of hoodies.
I practically dived into that store.
It was kind of dark inside the store, the walls hidden behind racks and racks of hoodies. I felt like I was in heaven!
When I was a kid, I loved my hoodies. I remember my Mom had bought me one when I was, about, six. A red hoodie that I wore every single day. I hated taking it off and putting it in the wash. I liked having it with me. I liked having it on me.
I loved that hoodie.
My eyes were drawn to so many of them...
My eyes were drawn all around the room...
"Hey, need any help?" a voice asked, coming from the back of the store.
Turning, I found a man with short, dark blond hair and green eyes standing behind and leaning on the counter. He had a friendly smile on his face, a tattoo on the side of his neck and a couple of rings on his fingers. He had a simple nose stud in, a small hoop earring in his ear.
"Uh, no, just looking." I told him. "Thanks."
"Alright, let me know if need anything." he nodded.
"Will do."
I wandered around the store, looking at each and every hoodie there, the sound of the others entering the store the only thing I heard.
By the time we left that store, heading towards the bus station, I had bought more than a few hoodies. I had: a black and neon green hoodie; a black and neon red hoodie; a black and neon orange hoodie; a black and neon blue hoodie; a black and neon purple hoodie. The black was the main part of the hoodie, the colour on the bands around the cuffs, the bottom of the hoodie and used for the words written over the body of it.
I may have went a little overboard, but I loved them all.
God, I'm worse than Lydia...
We stayed at, or at least very close to, the hotel from lunch onwards. We had to be out of our rooms by six that evening, so we thought it would be easier, you know?
We had gotten into a routine of, after lunch, going up to the lobby and having a drink. It was something that had just kept happening since our first day in Paphos. If I was being honest, I would kind of miss it. I would miss not having anything major to deal with. But, I knew, that it couldn't last forever. That we needed to be in Beacon Hills, just in case.
As we were sitting there, I ended up standing up and walking in the direction of the elevator, to go to the small store in the hotel.
I heard everyone calling after me, asking where I was going. I just kept walking.
It wasn't like they wouldn't see where I ended up.
Now, when I say the store was small, I mean small. Boyd and Derek would definitely have trouble getting around everything, if they could fit in at all. But it was just fine for me.
There was a table, just as you walked in, right in the middle. It had all these different coloured ornaments on there... But my favourite had to be the yellow frog... I may have picked it up.
The next thing I found was this red and black bracelet. The first person I thought of when I saw it was Melissa. I thought it might be a nice little thing to give her. So I picked that up too.
I spent my time looking around, even if there was barely anything to it.
I didn't mind. It just meant I could spend more time looking. Not that there was anything interesting there.
I ended up just buying the two items that I had in my hand, keeping the bag tight in my had as I walked back out.
"Why'd you go in there?" Danny frowned, leaning his head back against the back of the couch he was sitting on, watching as I walked back over to them.
"Am I not allowed to look?" I asked, smiling.
"That's not what I'm saying and you know it."
"Hey, it was just a question."
It was an hour or two later when we all just needed to go outside and do something. So we ended up going to the store near the hotel - turn right when you walk out the front door and go across the street.
The store wasn't massive.
There was food and drink to the left.
There was clothes to the right.
There were ornaments and souvenirs in the middle.
We were just having a look around, all of us grabbing things for the plane ride, just in case people got hungry on the journey home. It was, as we were looking around, that I found this beautiful glass rose...
I hadn't realised I was staring until a hand was placed gently on my shoulder. I turned, finding Derek standing next to me a small frown on his face.
"You've been staring at that thing for five minutes." Derek told me.
Looking back at it, I sighed a little.
"Mom had one when I was younger. She loved it, said her Dad gave it to her." I explained. "After she died, I took care of it... Dad used it once, before he dragged me down to the basement, smashing it."
"Why don't you buy it?" he asked, his voice gentle.
"Have you seen the price?! I can't pay that much for something I'll only break. It's better if I just forget it."
Looking down at the floor, I tried to think of something to say to change the topic. Before I could, however:
"Hey, Stiles! Come look at this!" Scott called excitedly from the other side of the store.
Rolling my eyes at the excitable pup, I smiled a little, facing Derek again.
"Looks like I'm needed." I chuckled, sliding around him.
Derek
By six o'clock, we were checked out of our rooms, gathered in the lobby waiting to be picked up to go to the airport. We were just sitting there, talking, all of them saying what they'd miss about Cyprus when we got back to Beacon Hills.
Words couldn't describe how elated I was that they had all enjoyed themselves, that they had all liked coming to this place. It made me wonder where else we could visit, where else we could go and have the same experience...
It was as much fun as it was when I had gone on holiday with my family, before the fire. It was as much a great experience as it was back then with them all.
I loved having those feelings. I loved feeling closer to my family, whilst being with this family.
That was what we all were. A family.
It was all I ever wanted.
The coach came to the hotel just before eight o'clock that evening, collecting anyone that was going to that airport that night. We all grabbed our suitcases and bags, Stiles made sure Harley was walking just in front of him, all of us making our way towards the front doors.
Which was when my arm was grabbed from behind.
The scent was familiar. It would be, after being around it so much for the past few days. Sighing, I turned.
"Yiannis." I greeted him.
The man's hand kept running along my arm. Ever since I had met him he kept touching me, kept trying to get as close as he could to me... It was ridiculous. I didn't know him, he didn't know me, yet he was all over me.
He was the reason why Stiles kept disappearing from us, kept acting differently. It took me a day or two to realise, but I did make the connection. It was made even clearer to me when Harley had grabbed me, when we were supposed to go swimming.
"It is a shame you are leaving." he said to me, stepping a little closer to me. "It would have been nice to get to know you better."
"Well, I do need to go." I told him, taking a step back from him.
It was then that a slip of paper was pressed into the palm of my hand.
"Call me some time." he grinned. "Maybe we can meet up."
It took me seconds to give him the paper back.
"Look, I'm flattered... But I'm not interested." I sighed. "Besides, I had my eye on someone else."
I didn't give him time to reply. I just picked up my things and walked away from him.
As soon as I was close enough, I wrapped an arm around Stiles' shoulders.
"Ready to go home?" I asked him, smiling.
"Yeah, home." Stiles nodded, leaning against my side.
Yiannis had had no chance.
NEXT PART IS FINISHED AND READY TO UPLOAD ON, EITHER, MONDAY OR TUESDAY
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