Hey, guys! I'm so glad that you guys are enjoying this story so far! I have so many ideas for this and I'm so excited that you can't wait to see them also! So here's the second chapter of No One Else!
This was ridiculous. Who would have thought that finding a twenty-one year old woman in Beacon Hills would be so hard? Apparently Derek didn't, and he was finding that out the hard way. Dark circles were marked under his green eyes. He couldn't even remember the last time he has gotten any sleep. His body was craving rest, but he was so damn dedicated to finding Anabelle that if he had to suffer in order to do so, then so be it.
"Fuck!" Derek cursed to himself as he slammed his car door shut.
He had just gotten himself kicked out of the local bar for trying to start a fight. His intentions were to ask around to see if anyone knew where Anabelle lived, but he had no such luck. No one had claimed they knew, but then a couple of horndogs started talking about the dark haired girl and made some very vulgar comments about her. Fire burned inside Derek as they talked about his childhood best friend the way they were. Having zero tolerance with the perverts, he punched one of them in the face, breaking the guy's nose. The owner of the bar had witnessed this and forbad Derek from returning.
Now the alpha was sitting in his Camaro with his hands gripping onto the steering wheel and his forehead resting against it. He was finally calming down from the fiasco in the bar as he took a couple of deep breaths.
"You're gonna be the death of me, Anabelle," he murmured to himself. Once Derek had settled, he turned the ignition on and drove off.
Derek tried to put himself in Anabelle's mindset. What were some of her favorite places in Beacon Hills? Where did she love to go when she wanted to get away from the supernatural life and wanted to feel normal for once? Then it hit him. Music. Anabelle absolutely loved music. Derek remembered exactly where she loved to spend most of her free time at.
Eight minutes later, Derek parked in front of Harvey's Music Emporium. He got out of the Camaro and walked in the store, a bell dinging as he strode in. A bunch of music equipment were stocked on shelves, music books and sheets were placed in racks, and all different types of instruments- ranging from trumpets to electric guitars- surrounded the whole store, which wasn't really that big.
A man that seemed to be in his late twenties walked to the front of the store. His black hair was spiked up in a faux-hawk. Tattoos covered both of his arms and by the way he was dressed, he looked like he belonged in a punk rock band rather than running a small-town music store.
"Hello, sir. Welcome to Harvey's Music Emporium. How can I-" Harvey paused as he took a good look at the man in front of him and smirked. "Well, I'll be damned. Derek Hale. Long time no see, man." He walked over to the alpha and shook his hand.
Derek nodded. "Harvey. I see you and your father are still keeping the shop in good shape."
Harvey chuckled. "Of course. This place is my baby, and I gotta take good care of my baby." He motioned Derek to follow him over to the checkout counter. "So, what can I do for you, Derek? Looking for anything in particular?"
"Actually, I am." Derek leaned against the counter. "When was the last time you talked to her?" When Harvey's eyes grew wide and he hesitated to answer, the alpha let out a sigh. "Look, I know I fucked things up with her, but I really need to find her. Something big happened the other day and now I'm gonna need her help dealing with it. Do you know where I can find her?"
The store owner was conflicted, Derek could tell. He scratched his chin and grimaced. "I don't know, man. The last time I even mentioned your name, she got so mad at me that she didn't come in the store or talk to me for a month. I don't think you going to find her in person is such a good idea."
A groan ripped from Derek's throat as he rubbed his eyes. Leave it to Anabelle to be so damn melodramatic. As much as he hated to admit it, Derek was desperate at this point.
"Come on, Harvey. Despite all the shit that's happened with Kate, I still think of Anabelle as my best friend. We need to settle our issues to so we can find a way to work together. Trust me, I think I'd be doing everyone a favor if you gave me her information."
With the look on Harvey's face, Derek knew that he had just won the argument. He couldn't help the smirk forming on his face when Harvey let out a sigh of defeat.
"Ugh, Anabelle's gonna kill me for this," the man grumbled as he pulled out a notepad and pen. He scribbled something down really fast, tore out the paper, and handed it to Derek. "Here."
Palmville Apartment Complex, Beacon Hills, CA, 92395. Room number D15.
Derek stuffed the paper in his pocket. "Thanks, Harvey," he said, "I owe you one." Harvey nodded in return as Derek walked back out to his car.
It was a bit tricky finding the apartment complex, but about fifteen minutes later, he finally did. He parked his car in front of the building and got out. When he went inside, Derek decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator so he could really think about what he was going to say when he saw Anabelle. He never got nervous about anything in his life, but he'd be lying if he said that his heart wasn't pounding furiously against his chest.
'Come on Derek,' he thought to himself, 'You have fought hunters and killed your uncle. You're an alpha now. Get your shit together.'
He finally reached floor D and walked down the hall until he reached his destination. Derek looked back at the paper Harvey gave him to make sure he was in front of the right room. D15. This was it- the wall that separated him from the girl he grew up with. He could only imagine how Anabelle would react when she sees him again since the previous day in the woods. When she sees Derek, will she slam the door in his face? Most likely. Will he back down? Hell no. Was she with someone, like a friend? Or maybe… even a boyfriend? Oh god, if Anabelle had a boyfriend, he would have to restrain himself from ripping the guy's throat out. Great, now Derek was jumping to conclusions. He pushed that thought far in the back of his head- he really needed to pull himself together.
Refusing to give in to his nerves, the alpha knocked on the door three times.
"I'll be right there!" he heard a friendly voice call from the other side of the door.
A few shuffles later from the other side and the sound of bolts unlocking, the door finally opened. Derek's face remained emotionless as he saw Anabelle standing in the door way. Her brown eyes grew wide as can be when she took in his presence. Judging by Anabelle's appearance, she was not prepared for a visit from anyone. Her dark hair was piled high on top of her head with a few curly tendrils framing her tan and makeup-free face. She was wearing a black off-the-shoulder tank top (Derek didn't miss the huge rose tattoo exposed), dark grey lounge shorts, and black moccasin slippers. She also had her glasses on and Derek assumed that she was either reading or had already taken out her contacts for the night.
The surprised look on Anabelle's face immediately switched to a glare shooting towards Derek. "Fuck you," she snarled at him. She slammed the door in his face and locked it as expected.
But Derek still would not give up. He refused to. "Anabelle, we need to talk."
"I have nothing to say to you!" she said from the other side of the door.
"Fine, then I'll talk," Derek tried to compromise, "But It's been six years, Anabelle. You can't keep ignoring me for much longer. Sooner or later, you're going to actually have to talk to me." All he was met with was silence. Deciding that he had enough of this attitude, Derek growled. "I swear to god, Anabelle, if you don't open this door, I will literally break it down!"
"You're bluffing!"
"Wanna bet?" Derek challenged.
Anabelle listened closely to the alpha's heartbeat and found out that he really wasn't lying. Oh no.
He backed up and clenched his fists. "One… two… three-"
The door flew right open. "Holy shit, alright already!" Anabelle caved, "I'll let you in. Just shut up!"
The alpha smirked and walked inside while Anabelle shut the door behind her. She walked into her kitchen but instead of following her, Derek looked around the apartment. There was nothing really special about the place. It just had the basic necessities of a home like the dark blue couch and loveseat, small but good quality flat-screen TV, kitchen area with a bar, and a hallway that led to the bathroom and one bedroom. Derek also took note of the pictures that Anabelle had up on the walls. The apartment definitely suited the girl- laidback and comfortable.
"You can sit wherever you'd like," Anabelle mumbled as she opened the refrigerator.
Unsure of where to sit in worries of irritating Anabelle even more than he already is, Derek just leaned against the bar. The brunette pulled out a bottle of UV vodka and shut the refrigerator. She placed it on the counter of the bar and screwed the cap off.
Derek assumed that she was going to offer him some so he said, "No, thanks. I don't want any."
Shaking her head, Anabelle responded, "This is actually for me."
She brought the bottle up to her lips, tilted her head back, and began to chug the vodka. By the time Anabelle set the bottle back down, the once full bottle was now half-empty. Derek raised an eyebrow. It was sort of weird yet impressive to him. But he knew that she was beyond pissed at him being there. He had to be really careful about what he said so she wouldn't go at his throat.
It was awkward. Extremely awkward. They were both staring each other down, urging the other to say something first. What was Derek supposed to say? That he missed her? Well, of course he missed her. Words could not even express how much he wanted to hold her, tell her how sorry he was for everything that happened six years ago, and never let her go. But Anabelle didn't want some lame apology, just the reason why Derek was standing in front of her in her apartment.
The silence was killing them both. Deciding to just get this over with, Anabelle, took one more swig of her vodka and wiped her mouth before she spoke. "So you wanted to talk. Now talk."
"How have you been?" Derek could have punched himself. That was probably the worst way to start a conversation as uncomfortable as the one they were about to have.
"Wow, are you serious?" Anabelle snorted, "Well, where do I begin? Your crazy bitch of an ex-girlfriend burned our house down and killed most of my family. Then you and your sister fell off the face of the earth so my brothers and I had to find a place to hide from hunters. I come back to Beacon Hills to find out that Laura's dead and have even more hunters and an alpha who turned out to be your uncle on my ass over the past couple of months. And to top it all off, my dickhead ex-best friend almost killed me the other day just because I stole a stupid shirt and a pair of shorts from the house that I also used to live in. Tell me, Derek. How do you think I've been?"
Derek sighed and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "Okay… I deserved that."
"No shit." Alcohol burned Anabelle's throat as she took another drink.
"Can you put the bottle down so we can have a normal conversation?"
"A normal conversation?" Anabelle exclaimed, "What about us is fucking normal? We're werewolves, Derek! That's about as normal as we can get. And this is my apartment. And you know I can't get drunk. But if I wanna drink, I will drink as much as I please! You don't control me!"
Now Derek was getting irritated with the girl when she continued to drink like it was no big deal. This was not the sweet and innocent girl he used to play around with in the pond. He had destroyed that girl and it pained him to admit that. Did Anabelle drink like this on a daily basis? If she did, then Derek now had a more reason to hate himself. Even though werewolves couldn't get drunk like she said, it saddened him that Anabelle turned to alcohol when she got upset, which Derek guessed was often. But he didn't come here to attack her- he came to talk about some very important issues. In order to do that though, Derek needed Anabelle to be focused.
Just as she was about to take another drink, Derek stood up and ripped the vodka out her hand and walked over to one of the windows. He pushed it up and threw the bottle out. Cars screeched and people cursed up at Derek as the bottle crushed onto the street, vodka splashing out and shards of glass splattering everywhere. Derek didn't care. All he cared about was Anabelle, whose brown eyes were wide and jaw was dropped.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" she yelled at him. She pointed to the window. "I'm gonna get so many complaints because of that, asshole!"
Trying to keep his cool, Derek sauntered over to Anabelle and gripped onto her arms, but not hard enough to hurt her. "Anabelle, I don't want to fight with you right now, but I can't talk to you if you're not functioning like you should be. We're adults, so you need to calm down and behave like one."
Glaring and flaring her nostrils, Anabelle waited until her heartbeat had slowed down and thumped normally. When she was finally calm, she pried Derek's hand off of her and shut her liquor cabinet.
"So how long have you been living here?" Derek asked her.
"Just a few months," Anabelle answered, pulling a couple of water bottles out of the refrigerator. She handed one to Derek as she continued. "After you and Laura left, Caleb searched around for houses to buy. He found one in San Diego and he, Leanne, Parker, Renée, and I moved over there. After I graduated from the local high school, I decided to go off on my own to Sicily for a few years."
"You were in Italy?" Derek asked, "What were you doing over there?"
"Anything to keep myself busy," the she-wolf shrugged, "I picked up the language pretty quickly so I was able to find work there. I was spending most of my time working in restaurants as a chef."
One of Derek's eyebrows rose up. "I would've thought that you were gonna go into entertainment since you always wanted to be an actress and singer. You were really good at it, too. What made you decide to change routes?"
"It's not that easy to get into show business in Italy. And I didn't want to get too close to anyone since I didn't know how long I was going to be staying there. So I went into the restaurant business and worked pretty much 24/7. I actually enjoyed it and learned a bunch of things from incredible people. But then some shit happened so I left and, well…" Anabelle shrugged her shoulders once again. "Here I am."
Judging by the solemn look on her face and lack of detail, Derek figured that she didn't want to talk about it anymore. He fiddled with the water bottle in his hands.
"And your brothers? Laura and I tried to stay in contact with them as much as we could but with long-distance, it was pretty hard to keep the calls consistent. But how are they doing?"
"Good. They're all still in San Diego. Caleb and Leanne have a five year old daughter. Her name's Lilly. The cutest kid you'll ever meet. Parker and Renée got married. They're expecting a little boy soon. So yeah, everyone's doing well from what I know."
"Well, good," Derek said, "I'm glad everyone's doing fine. That's really… good." He winced at his weird behavior and took a drink of his water.
Back to the awkward silence. It only lasted the minute Anabelle downed her water in one drink and crumpled the bottle in her hands and tossed it in the recycle bin. She paced back and forth and rubbed her tired and stressed out eyes underneath her glasses. Finally, Anabelle stopped pacing, leaned against the counter, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Light brown eyes met emerald green ones.
"Let's just cut the shit, Derek," she said, "We both know that you didn't come here to make small talk. Why are you here exactly? Shouldn't you be out basking in your new-found 'alpha glory'?"
"That's actually why I came here," Derek said as he set down his water bottle, "Listen, now that Peter and Kate are dead-"
Anabelle snorted. "How could I have forgotten about that already? I'm not gonna lie, a huge part of me wanted to belt out 'Ding Dong, the Wicked Witch is Dead' when Peter slashed Kate's throat."
"God, Anabelle," Derek groaned, "Seriously? Can't you be just a little bit more mature about this?"
"Well, can you blame me? That bitch had it coming. She murdered our families just because she felt like she could. So, yeah, I have every right to enjoy this."
Shaking his head, Derek pinched the bridge of his nose. He was now starting to regret throwing out that bottle of vodka. An alcoholic beverage could really come in handy at that moment.
"Look, that's not important right now, okay?" Derek said, "Yes, Kate's gone, but now hunters are going to be really pissed off at our kind right now. They're going to want revenge for Peter killing one of their own, meaning that they will set out to kill each and every one of us. I need to start building a pack if I want to stand a chance against them. And because we both know that Scott wants to part of my pack, I'm fucked if I don't come up with something fast."
"So what you're saying is… you need my help," Anabelle stated.
"In other words, I suppose," Derek admitted, shrugging his shoulders.
Her eyes narrowed. "Give me one good reason why I should help you, because you barging into my home and throwing my stuff out the window isn't really that convincing. After all the shit you put me and my family through with your little teenage romance, why would I wanna help some selfish asshole like you?"
Damn. This was going to be a lot harder than Derek thought. Not that he was expecting this meeting to be smooth-sailing. But he refused to give up on Anabelle so easily. Not when she just popped back into his life. She was still his best friend, even if she wanted nothing to do with him. So Derek walked back over to the brunette and placed his hands on her arms again, only much more gently this time. It still made her tense up, but she didn't push the alpha away. When Anabelle looked up at him, he almost lost his train of thought when he gazed into her eyes. He quickly managed to gather back his thoughts before softly speaking to her.
"Anabelle, I understand that I'm not your favorite person right now. Okay, I get that. But I can't turn back time- what's done is done. And I could spend hours trying to tell you how sorry I am and ask you to forgive me, but we can't afford to waste any more time. We don't know what these hunters are planning so we need to do what we can to be prepared for anything they're gonna throw at us, starting with building a pack and training them whenever possible."
"But why me?" Anabelle asked.
"Why not? We grew up together and you know me better than anyone else. You know who would be good betas for me. And you have to admit that we make a pretty good damn team."
The brunette chuckled lightly. "They used to call us the Dynamic Duo. I even remember our parents buying us customized capes for Christmas and we ran around the house pretending we were superheroes." Then her face turned more serious. "What's in it for me?"
"Protection," Derek answered immediately, "I know that you're an omega, and I'm pretty sure that the Argents know that, too. There's a higher chance that they're going to try to get to you first. But if you're with me, they'll assume that you're part of my pack. We'll be stronger together than alone, especially when we have a pack to stand behind us." He gave her shoulders a light squeeze. "How about it, Anabelle? Are you in this with me?"
Biting down on her bottom lip, Anabelle's eyes trailed down to her and Derek's feet. He was right. There was no point in denying that. Omega werewolves were the most likely of their kind to die first since they were known as the 'lone wolves'. Fuck, Anabelle was surprised that she has managed to survive on her own for the past few years. And now that she has made herself known in Beacon Hills (more as the white wolf than her as a human), she's at a higher risk of being hunted down. Another thing that Derek was right about was that they did work really well together. When they were younger, their parents always said that together, these two were unstoppable. They could solve any problem thrown at them with a blink of an eye, which was why they were never allowed to play hide-and-seek with their cousins since they were always able to find them in less than a minute.
No one told Anabelle that she had to necessarily like the guy- she just had to work with him. If that was the case, she figured that she could suck it up and put their differences aside for now. There were much bigger problems at hand than her hatred for Derek for something that happened six years ago. It was time for Anabelle to become the adult she was supposed to be and help another werewolf in need.
She raised a finger. "One wrong move," she told Derek, "That's all it takes. One wrong move and I am out. And I'm only doing this because I don't wanna see you fuck up any innocent lives, not because I like you. Are we clear on that?"
Derek gave a curt nod before finally letting go of her arms. "Crystal."
"Alright then." Anabelle's eyebrows furrowed when she took a good look at the man's face. "When's the last time you got any sleep? You look like shit."
"Maybe some time last week," Derek sighed as he rubbed his bloodshot eyes, "I've been too busy getting electrocuted and shot at to really rest. I was gonna go back to the house and maybe sleep for a bit after coming over here."
"Wait, have you actually been staying over there all this time?" Anabelle asked with wide eyes, "Derek, that place is not stable enough for you to live in."
"I know, but once I get my pack forming, I'll find a better place to stay."
Shaking her head, Anabelle crossed her arms again. "Well, you're not going back to that house. You're sleeping here tonight."
"Are you sure? Because I really don't mind-"
"Derek," Anabelle interrupted sternly, "Shut up. You can stay the night. But your ass is sleeping on the couch. Stay in here while I get you some stuff."
She walked out of the kitchen and disappeared into the hallway. Derek stuffed his hands in his pockets as he eyes roamed around the room. When they landed on the pictures in the living room, he decided to go get a better look at them. All of the pictures on the wall were mostly of Anabelle's family and friends from high school. There were even some of Derek's family, like his sisters Laura and Cora. He chuckled lightly when he saw a picture of Anabelle when she was a freshman in high school. She was performing as Little Red Riding Hood in the school musical Into the Woods. Oh, the irony of it all…
The next picture Derek saw had to be his new favorite. He must have been about seven years old and Anabelle six. In the photo, he was kissing her cheek and her nose was scrunched up adorably. She was clutching onto Boo Boo and it made Derek remember that she always refused to leave the house until her favorite stuffed animal was in her arms. Reaching up, he lightly traced her face with the tip of his finger.
God, he missed that smile so much! It has been so long since Derek has last seen those deep dimples imprint her cheeks. How could he have been so stupid back then and hurt Anabelle? Their lives probably would have been much more different if he didn't make those careless mistakes. But he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he had actually found her after so many years of being separated. And now Derek would be with her a lot since she decided to team up with him. It was almost a blessing in disguise them both coming back into this town around the same time, even it if was to deal with an unfortunate event. Derek could not afford to fuck things up with Anabelle this time. He needed her right now, and he knew that despite her feelings for him, Anabelle needed him, too.
He stepped away from the pictures as soon as he heard Anabelle come back into the room with blankets, a pillow, and some clothes in her hands. After setting them down on the couch, she went to go shut the window Derek had opened earlier.
"I washed those clothes I took from the house since they were dirty from our little tussle in the woods," Anabelle told him as she fixed the bedding on the couch, "I figured you'd be more comfortable in those than what you're wearing. Umm, the heater's broken so I brought you an extra blanket because it gets cold at night. And if you get hungry or thirsty, you can help yourself to whatever's in the fridge." She placed her hands on her hips as she looked at Derek. "Do you need anything else?"
Derek looked over at the couch and shook his head. "I think I have everything I need."
The she-wolf nodded her head. When she started to feel awkward, she turned to go to her room for the night.
"Anabelle." Said girl stopped and looked back at Derek. "I really appreciate you doing this for me even though you didn't have to. You could have just kicked me out and made me find somewhere else to stay. I guess what I'm trying to say is… thank you. It means a lot to have you let me in your home and see you again."
The corner of Anabelle's mouth went up just a bit. It wasn't exactly a smile, but Derek accepted that over nothing. "Get some sleep. We got a lot to do tomorrow so you'll need as much rest as you can get." She flicked the lights off before heading off to her room.
As soon as she was out of sight, Derek peeled his clothes off and kicked off his shoes and socks, leaving him in only his boxers. He grabbed the clothes Anabelle left him and brought them up to his nose. Surely enough, they smelled exactly like her, and it made him smile softly. He pulled the shirt and shorts on before slipping underneath the thick blankets. They weren't really necessary since werewolves already had so much body heat, but Derek was very comforted by their feel and scent so he didn't mind that much. The alpha didn't even realize how tired he was until his head hit the pillow. When he finally got comfortable on the couch, Derek shut his eyes and let Anabelle's vanilla scent lull him to sleep.
I hope you guys liked the chapter! I really hope I wrote Derek well and I'm sorry if he seems OOC. He's a really hard character to write for and I know some people get annoyed to see him have a softer side or like his feelings change suddenly because of a girl. But like I've mentioned before, everything I have Derek say or do has a purpose and reason. I hope you guys don't get too frustrated with that. Anyway, PLEASE review and let me know what you think! And if you haven't, go check out my StilesxOC story Awake and Alive and my IsaacxOC story Scars. It would mean so much to me and seeing your guys' feedback motivates me to keep going!
Now since the next chapter of every story is going to be the first episode of season 2, I would recommend that you guys read all of them since it would make much more sense and you wouldn't get confused. Also, I guarantee that you guys will see a lot of repeated stuff in future chapters and I understand that it could get annoying seeing something in a chapter of No One Else and seeing the same thing in Scars, but they will be in different perspectives so please don't just discard the stories because of that. I'm gonna try to update the stories all in the same day so it would easier. Since I'm only gonna have classes two days a week, it shouldn't be hard for me to keep the updates quick, but I'm apologizing in advance just in case it does take me a while to update.
I'll definitely be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)