Chapter III: The Preparation for the Truth

"But bib youb bink ub berik?"

"How can you honestly think I understood what you just said when you have toothpaste spilling out of your mouth."

Stiles made a b-line for the sink before he snorted the toothpaste of his nose.

"What did you think of Derek?" he clarified from the bathroom.

"He was okay."

"Okay?" Stiles questioned., returning to the bedroom.

"He kinda seems a little lonely," Emory put down her book on her cousin's bed.

"Well that's a fact," Stiles narrowed his eyes. "Was he mean, rude, aggressive towards you at all in the car last night?"

"Aggressive? No, actually he saved me," Emory looked down at her book. She hadn't actually processed that part of the night yet. Despite what came out of Derek's mouth, everything he did was in Emory's best interest.

"Saved you? What, from a party full of hormonal teenagers?"

"No, from being run over." Stile's eyebrows shot up. "I mean," said Emory seeing Stile's reaction. "I think that's what happened. It's all kind of a blur."

There was a pause.

"Well, I don't like him," Stiles said simply.

"And what is with his attire? Why the all black?" Emory scoffed. "Is he always that dark and mysterious?"

"Wait a second, Emory." Stiles glared at his cousin. "Dark and Mysterious?" Stiles repeated. "Isn't that how girls our age describe guys they are interested in?"

Emory thought of throwing her book across the room hitting stiles square in the chest for even thinking of such an idea. She, instead, reached for Anna Karenina and opened it again. "Oh please, what would I know about being interested in guys our own age?" Emory justified.

"Fair enough," said Stiles before attempting to kick Emory off his bed causing her to actually throw her book at his chest.

"Derek!" Scott yelled outside the half burned down house. "I know you're in there!" Scott didn't know he felt this way until he watched himself furiously ride to Derek's house instead of school the next morning. Stile's had texted him this morning that Derek had taken Emory home last night before meeting him in the woods against the hunters.

"Just stay away from her!" Scott had always gotten along with Emory. Every time she had visited for weeks in the summer, they always bonded really well. Stiles viewed her as a sister and so it was almost impossible for Scott not to feel the same. He involuntarily felt protective over her.

Derek emerged from the house. "Stay away from her!" yelled Scott. "She doesn't know anything!"

"You don't think she will?" asked Derek calmly. "I don't know it yet but I'm looking out for you. Think about what could happen. You think your little buddy Stiles can just Google lycanthropy and then you've got all your answers. You play lacrosse, you get a little heated in an argument, and you shift in front of her," Derek's voice got deeper and more strained. "When she sees you, do you think she'll be okay and pet your head or scream out in terror," Derek's eyes glass over as if thinking of a memory. "I'm only protecting you. Both of you," he ended calmly.

Scott was at a loss for words. What if he hurt Stiles or Emory or his mom? He wouldn't be able to live with himself.

"Dude," said Stiles lifting his shirt to display his chest. "Look at what Emory's copy of Anna Karenina did to me last night."

Scott laughed silently at his best friend's misfortune.

"I mean," Stiles gestured something with his hands. "I love her. I mean, she's my cousin. But man does she have good aim and strength," He said rubbing his chest. "Are you sure she's not a werewolf?"

"I think you would know if a werewolf was sleeping in you house," Scott reasoned.

"Maybe we should just get her a boyfriend that she can take all her anger out on."

The two boys walked out of the gym locker and into the gym just in time to see Emory deck a guys in the testicles and a friendly game of dodge ball.

"I don't think that'll be enough," flinched Stile who had a little taste of what that dodge ball hit felt like.

"She sure has a lot of stress built up after the whole thing with her parents and the rest of her life."

"Maybe sports aren't the right place though," said Scott, getting an idea for once.

"What do you mean?"

"Has she seen Derek again?"

"I don't think I like this idea."

"Look, I know you don't like him but he's the only one who can help me. If I can't control myself, I can't start in the game on Saturday. If I can't play in the game on Saturday, Coach will hate me and I'll fail his class. If I fail his class I wont graduate and eventually become homeless and die."

"I think you've been listening to Emory's depressing music too much." Stiles placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You need to give Derek a chance. Yes, he sucks. But I need him. We need him."

Stiles pouted. "You may need him. But Emory certainly does not need a twenty year old powerful werewolf as her friend."

"So you won't allow Emory to at least have one friend in Beacon Hills who understand her before she even opens her mouth, someone who can comfort her because he knows what she is going through?"

"Well, when you put it like that," replied Stiles while still pouting.

Stiles had two periods before lunch and two periods to think about what Derek could do to Emory, which was plenty of time for Stiles to change his views on this particular matter.

"Derek is not hanging around my cousin," said Stiles biting into his apple. "Derek will not enforce his depressing nature on her naive mind."

Scott laughed, "Naive mind? Emory beat us both at Red Dead Redemption because she was willing to look past all the whore, killing, disease stuff."

"Speaking from the guy who just wanted to ride the horse around instead of finish the missions."

"I guess that's true. Maybe she just has more motivation than us," said Scott.

"That's right," Stiles laughed. "No matter how good she is at Red Dead Redemption; she is not hanging out with Derek."

The two friends started walking out of the school when Scott stopped, seeing something parking lot. "That might be a little harder than you thought," Scott nodded towards Derek and Emory. Derek had his hand on the roof of the blue jeep out of support while the rest of his body was struggling to keep up right. Emory seemed to be yelling at him. Derek looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

As Scott and Stiles got closer, Derek's skin seemed paler than usual and his eyes had lost their brightness.