Hey all!

I'm so excited to be back and writing again. It feels gooooooood! So, I started with this story because Allison and Derek wouldn't leave me alone until I finished writing this chapter. It's longer than normal but I couldn't seem to stop.

I'm trying to incorporate as much of the first season into it, trying not to change major events but as the story progress, the events will be changed a bit. This chapter starts in S1EP5 The Tell, very loosely. It starts with Allison's birthday and move along the story line till the very start of S1E7 Night School.

I have a general idea of how I want this to go…. but I'm open to suggestions on the plot line. Please see the AN at the end for updates on the other stories I have going on.

Chapter 4: History

Allison's breath was heavy as she pushed forward, her footsteps thudding against the leaves covering the forest floor. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead but she didn't wipe them off, too focused on trying to keep her breath somewhat even. It wasn't quite six in the morning yet, but there was no better time for a run than in the very dusk of the day. There was no one around and it was quiet and peaceful. Allison loved it.

It was one of the few moments that she relished because she could actually think and there was plenty of thoughts running rampant through her mind. It had been a few days now since she last ran into Derek; it seemed like he had disappeared from the face of the Earth, but Allison knew well enough that he just needed some alone time. Her heart went out to him, unsure of how exactly he was doing with everything going on. It seemed like life for him only continuously got worse and worse.

The day before, Allison had sent him a text message – Derek had somehow managed to get her number and messaged her after their encounter at the café, but Allison was sure that Scott or Stiles must have given it to him – to check up on him but she hadn't heard back either. Allison didn't take it heart. While their friendship was tentatively growing, Allison had begun to understand him more and more. Trust was perceptibly a immense thing for him and as they grew closer, Derek slowly opened up and more. He reached out more, wasn't so closed off, he talked more. The biggest example was the way he opened up to her about Laura. Allison never expected him to share such intimate details of his sister with her, but he had. So, when Derek didn't answer her text message, Allison knew it had nothing to do with her exactly, but more so with his struggle to let her in completely. The way she looked at it, at least he knew that someone was thinking about him and was concerned over him.

Her mind drifted from the brooding man to Scott, the young goofy kid she often found frustrating and adorable all the same time. Most of her days had been spent with Scott, and she was starting to genuinely like him but there was a connection missing between them. A spark she only felt when she managed to get a small smile out of the last remaining Hale. She didn't know exactly what they were, but she was trying to stay as far away from labelling their relationship as she could. She didn't want to completely lead him on because while Allison liked him enough, she knew that her affections weren't fully placed on him, as much as she tried to deny it.

Allison huffed, bringing herself to a stop as she exhaled heavily. She needed to stop thinking like that. The vow she had made to befriend Derek was only meant to offer a friendship and nothing more. Whatever crush or growing affections she had for him had to stop because in the end, Derek would probably never return them, and she would be left heartbroken.

Visibly shaking off the wild thoughts, Allison rested her hands on her knees as she panted, trying to catch her breath. She still had about half of her route to go but she needed a break. She didn't realize how fast she had been going until her lungs had nearly collapsed on her. Finally, able to somewhat breathe, Allison took out her earphones and bent down to tie her shoes.

"Giving up already?"

The deep voice that came from behind her had Allison screaming, falling from her crouched position to the ground with a thud and scampering to turn and face the person now with her.

"Derek!" Allison yelled, laughing at her own reaction. Her heart was racing but Allison wasn't sure if it was due to the running, the scare, or having Derek so close by.

Derek smiled at her, but she could tell he was holding back laughter. Allison wished he smiled more often; it was a beautiful smile and it was a shame the world didn't get to see it but if she was being honest, she was happy that she was privy to seeing it.

Trying to tame some of her hair, Allison shook head and smiled back at him. "What are you doing here? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Derek chuckled and shrugged. "Maybe," his eyes shifted around them, almost as if he had heard something she hadn't. It had Allison looking around too but was unable to spot anything in the tree line around them. "You're running the same path I do." He commented, finally reaching down and offering her a hand.

Allison took his outstretched hand and pulled herself off, dusting off the leaves and debris that had stuck to her clothing from the forest floor. "You disappeared, you know? I haven't even seen you at the café. Haven't heard from you at all." She said, wiping at her forehead with her forearm. Her hand was still warm, tingling from where he had touched her, but Allison did her best to push that sensation aside. Looking up at him, Allison couldn't help but wonder if the cause he was flexing his hand was for the same reason.

Derek shrugged again and nodded for her to start running again. "I've been busy. Besides, you're the one who likes that place." He pointed out, turning his head to look at her.

Allison huffed in agreement. He was right. The café was her place and small part of her had hoped that he would seek her out there, knowing full well how much time she spent there but then again, she had to remind herself, she was nobody to him. They were barely classified as friends and that thought burned.

Shaking her head, Allison reached over and shoved him. Derek hardly moved but shock did gleam in his eyes when they met hers. "Race you to the tree over there?" She said playfully, a grin on her face.

Derek laughed and nodded. "You're on." He took off full sprint, leaving an affronted Allison behind.

"Hey! No fair!" She shouted before laughing and taking off full speed as well, barely catching Derek's chuckle.

The Argent daughter didn't miss the fact that Derek slowed down considerably in the end to let her win, though he denied it as they both tried to catch their breath. She had feeling that she was more winded than he was, but he was acting to make her feel better. "Cheater." She muttered, smiling at his chuckle and shrug.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I just returned the head start I took."

Allison hummed in mock agreement before glancing down at her watch. It was time for her to head home if she wanted to have any hope of making it to school on time.

"I should get going," She paused, looking at Derek as he used his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "We should do this again tomorrow." She prepared for the rejection that was to come, or the vague uncommitted answer but the sting of the words never came. Instead, Derek nodded and gave her a small smirk.

"I'd like that. We can settle this race once and for all."

Allison stared at him blankly for a moment, unable to wrap her mind around the words. It was the first time he had completely agreed to spending any time together. It shouldn't have made her as happy as it did, but Allison could hardly help the grin that overtook her face.

"Okay." She said, giving him a playful shove on the shoulder. "I'll see you later." Without another word, Allison turned and started to make her way back home.

"Allison!" His voice stopped her, and she turned around, her eyes curious. "Happy Birthday."

It was the last thing he said before Derek took off in the opposite direction, leaving Allison confused as to how he knew it was her birthday but with a smile on her lips nonetheless.

The school ground was quiet, just a few students littered around the premises that shared the same free period that Allison did. It had been a couple of days since her disastrous birthday. The horrible idea to skip school had gone from bad to worse and Allison swore she would never do it again.

Sighing, Allison looked back into her books, diving into what had recently become her obsession. Her fingers toyed with the amulet of her newly gifted necklace. Kate had given her some insight into their family lineage and Allison couldn't seem to get enough of her family history. It finally made sense to her what the wolf in the middle of the amulet meant.

As her eyes scanned through the book she had read for the fifth time, her mind wandered to a couple nights ago when she found out about this part of her family history.

She wouldn't lie and say it wasn't a nice to spend the day with Scott, carefree and alone from the world, on her dreaded birthday but it had not been worth all the trouble that came afterwards. She much rather would have spent it with Derek, wandering the woods. At least with him, she wouldn't have been punished. She was grounded for a week. That meant a week without seeing her friends. A week locked up in her bedroom, sure to die of boredom.

She had just clicked send on the email she had been drafting to PETA when a knock came from her bedroom door. "Come in," Allison called out, running a hand through her curls as her aunt sauntered into her bedroom.

"Hey…" Kate said with her easy, care-free smile. She walked over to where Allison was sitting, picking up a picture frame along the way. She watched her niece with the same calculating eyes that she had been giving her from the day she had come back. "Whatcha doing?"

Allison stiffened, she could feel Kate's gaze and for some reason, it made her uncomfortable. The young girl had grown up viewing Kate as her older sister. The two were inseparable. Allison had always trusted Kate more than anyone else in her life and she knew that when things became tough, Kate would be there for her. Recently, she had started to feel as if the elder was watching her, stalking her as one would with prey.

Kate seemed to be waiting for something, scheming, and it made being around her more and more unnerving as the days went on. The more Allison thought about it, the more she noticed that it wasn't just her aunt…it seemed her entire family was acting that way.

There was secret that was being kept from her and no one wanted to tell her.

"Just finished sending an email to PETA about how my wing-nut father shot down an innocent mountain lion in the school parking lot." Allison said with a grin, turning to face her aunt.

"And that wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you're grounded and can't see your friends?"

"I'm not going to be one of those whining teenagers who looks at her father and says, "I hate you and I wish you were dead.""

"But…" Kate trailed off, putting back the picture frame in her hand and grabbing another one and turning it over in her hands.

"But…I hate him and I wish he were dead." Allison finished with a laugh, shaking her head and turning back to her computer screen. Kate laughed at her, moving to sit on the corner of Allison's desk.

"What are you working on?"

"A history project…" Allison sighed, giving Kate a dramatic eye roll. "I have to come up with a report that has some relevance to my own family history." Her eyebrows raised and she spun her chair around aimlessly. "Any ideas?"

"Specific to your family?" Allison nodded, and Kate simpered, leaning forward. "Type this in…. Le Bete du Gevaudan."

The young Argent glanced between her aunt and the computer but did as she was told. "The beast of Gevaudan?" She questioned, unsure of what a beast of ancient France had anything to do with their family. "What is this?"

"It's an old French legend…that believe it or not, has something to do with your family." Kate grinned that cat-like grin she was so good at.

Allison read aloud part of the article, outlining the bloody history of La Bete back in 1766. Kate snickered humorlessly at her as she finished. "Sounds similar, huh? Mysterious animal attacks just like a small town called Beacon Hills."

Allison shivered at the tone of Kate's words. They were eerie, sounding like they were hiding a dark past that wasn't privy for her knowledge yet. "What was it? The animal?", she asked, taking her eyes from the glow of her laptop to look at Kate.

Kate stood up and shrugged, her eyes trained on the computer screen. "Nobody knows for sure, but I can tell you one thing." She chuckled darkly. "It definitely wasn't a mountain lion." She turned to look at Allison. "What does it look like to you?"

Allison hummed, rubbing her neck with her right hand as she took in the picture of the beast on her monitor. "Huh…" she said, eyes narrowing as she leaned in. "It looks like…." She paused, eyes widening slightly. "It looks like a wolf."

Allison snapped out of her thought when the school doors near where she was sitting opened. Curiosity had her glancing up and she was surprised to see a familiar figure emerging from school.

"What are you doing here?" she inquired, only raising her voice somewhat. It didn't surprise her that Derek was able to hear her. He seemed to have supernatural hearing and had often heard the softest of her words when they spent any time together.

Derek's face morphed to momentary shock, clearly not expecting to be spotted on his way out, before changing back its natural state of indifference. He glanced back at the school before walking towards where she was sitting. "I came to see Scott." He said smoothly, and if it had been anyone else, Allison might have believed the words.

"Oh." She said, furrowing her eyebrows. Scott was in class right now. His free period wasn't until after this one. Derek scrutinized her, noticing that she hadn't bought the lie that had so effortlessly slipped from his lips. Not wanting to answer more questions than necessary, Derek turned his eyes to the book in her hands.

"What are you reading?" He took a seat across from her, fixing the leather coat that he always wore. He leaned towards her, clasping his hands together and resting them on the table. Allison watched him and snickered internally at how completely unbefitting he appeared. As if reading her mind, Derek cleared his throat and shifted uneasily in his seat.

Allison shook off the unease from his lie and turned her attention back to the book in her hands. She grinned at him and for a moment, she swore she saw the corners of his lips lift up in response to her smile. "Old family legend." She said, flipping the page. "Want to hear some?"

Now it seemed that Derek was the one who became more uncomfortable but he gave her a nod nonetheless. "Well…legend has it that beast terrorized the people of Gevaudan back in 1766. Cryptozoologists believe it may have been a subspecies of hoofed predator." She glanced up at him, a grin still on her face as she switched the tone of her voice to a low whisper, attempting to sound somewhat mysterious. "While others believe it was a powerful sorcerer who could shape shift into a man-eating monster." She paused, flipping the page again and failing to see how Derek had tensed up, his hands fisting up. "It is believed that Le Bete was finally trapped and killed by a renowned hunter, who claimed his wife and four children were the first to fall prey to the creature." She looked up from the book with a proud smile on her face. "His name was Argent."

The look on Derek's face wasn't what she was expecting. He almost seemed angry but she couldn't pinpoint where the anger was directed. It didn't make any sense. Had she said something wrong? Frowning, Allison reached over to the clenched fist that rested on the table and covered it with her own hand. "Derek –"

The rest of her sentence was cut off when the school doors opened again, Scott and Stiles stumbling out. Stiles was heatedly talking to Scott, while Scott looked like he was dreading whatever was to happened. In Stiles'' hand there was an overstuffed gym bag and a lacrosse stick but before Allison could wonder any more about what they were doing, both pairs of brown eyes turned to face her and Derek.

Derek quickly took his hand away from Allison's and Allison returned her hand to her lap, the book falling with a thud onto the table.

Scott and Stiles exchanged a look before approaching them and if it were possible, Derek seemed to tense even more.

"Well…well…well. What do we have here? Allison and Derek. Derek and Allison." Stiles grinned lopsided at them, plopping next to Derek with a wink.

If the tension between them had not been near smothering, Allison might have laughed at the way Derek glared at the boy. If looks could kill, Stiles would have been six feet under a long time ago and from the disregard Stiles gave the look, Allison would guess it wasn't the first time he had been gifted with that steel cold gaze.

"What are you doing here?" It was Scott's voice that drew Allison's attention back to the group, eyes skimming between her friend and Derek.

When Derek didn't reply, Allison pipped in. "Oh…. we were just talking. I was telling him a little bit about our history project."

The answer didn't seem to satisfy Scott considering he didn't even turn to look at her, his brown eyes burning into Derek and for a moment, Allison swore she saw a flash of amber.

"It's none of your business." Derek stated coldly, ignoring Scott's sputtering. Scott clearly want to say more, anger boiling in his eyes, but he held back. To Allison, it was obvious the only reason he did was because she was there and that didn't sit well with her. Derek stood up from the bench, glancing down at Allison.

His look softened slightly and she gave him a small smile. "I've got to go." Allison merely nodded, catching the silent message that she would more than likely hear from him soon. There was something he wanted to tell her about what they were discussing before their time was interrupted. She watched as he departed, only then noticing the Camaro parked in the student lot. How had she missed his car?

"I thought you said you guys hadn't talked much on the night he gave you a ride home?"

Allison watched the sleek black car peel out of the school lot, only turning her attention to her classmates once she couldn't see Derek any more. Her eyebrow raised at his question and started to collect her things. The free period was almost over. "We didn't. He hardly said more than a few sentences." She replied, failing to see why it mattered. As far she was concerned, whether or not Derek and her talked wasn't up for Scott's approval and she didn't understand why he seemed so bothered by it.

"You guys seemed to be friends just now."

"We are." She paused and shook her head. Were they? Allison had grown to consider him a friend, even if their interactions were usually always so short but the connection between them was undeniable. Did Derek consider her a friend as well? Or was it all one sided? "At least, I think we are. I like him. He's different." Allison turned to look at Scott, standing from the bench. Her eye brows furrowed as she fixed her belongings. "I thought he was your friend, too?"

Scott scoffed and looked at Stiles before looking back to Allison. Stiles just shrugged at him, gnawing the strap of the gym bag in anxiety. "He's definitely not my friend." Scott softened his stance, clearly picking up on the fact that the tone of his voice and his questioning was beginning to irk Allison. She wasn't one to be told who she could and couldn't be friends with, especially given there was no real reason as to why she should stay away from him. Scott sighed and move to take her hand. "Just promise me you'll be careful. He's dangerous."

Allison looked back to where Derek's car had been parked and shrugged. She wasn't blind; there was clearly something Scott wasn't telling her about Derek, about how they really knew each other. "Doesn't seem too dangerous to me."

Stiles shot up suddenly, palms slamming against the plastic surface of the table they were sitting on. Allison jumped slightly, turning to look at him with a bewildered expression while Scott seemed to just be patiently – and frightfully – waiting for the explanation to the outburst.

"Did you say you liked him?" Stiles questioned, leaning forward over the table. "Derek Hale? Brooding King?"

Scott and Allison exchanged looks before Allison just shrugged. She didn't understand why the two of them were making it such a big deal. Derek had never done anything to gain her distrust, except for the small white lie he had told her a few minutes ago, and quite frankly, Scott had done more for her not to trust him.

"He's never given me a reason not to."

Stiles sputtered, leaning forward even more till he was basically on top of the table. "Derek has never given you a reason to not like him?" When Allison didn't react, Stiles continued, "Have you met the guy?!" he screeched, shaking his hands furiously in the air.

Allison smirked and shook her head. She reached over and placed the palm of her hand on Stiles' forehead and pushed him back until he was sitting back down, blatantly ignoring Stiles' sounds of protest.

"You two have given me more reason to not trust you."

Both boys looked affronted by her comment, Scott extending his arms out in defense before Allison continued. "You." She pointed at Scott, "Left me at the dance with the world's most vague explanation and I know you're still keeping something from me." She turned to Stiles and pointed her finger at him. "And you constantly cover up for him."

Both boys made sounds of remonstration and Allison laughed, starting to walk back towards the school building. She turned around, walking backwards. "I never said that it has stopped me from hanging out with you guys, but don't be so quick to judge the guy." She smiled, eyes finding Scott's as she gave him a wink. "Save me a seat at lunch." She flashed another smile before turning and walking into the building, missing when Scott reached over and slapped Stiles in the back of the head before continuing their way to the lacrosse field.

Later that night, Allison sat down on her bed, unlocking her phone to see if Scott had messaged her yet.

They had agreed to hang out with Jackson and Lydia tonight – movie night – at eight-thirty but it was now nearly nine. She hadn't heard a word from him and Allison couldn't help but not be surprised.

This is what she had meant earlier in the day. It wasn't the first time Scott let her down and she was sure that tomorrow, there would be some incredible and vague excuse and apology as to why he bailed on her again. There was only so much an apology could fix. She was happy that she had decided to take it slow with him, not committing to anything because he hadn't earned her trust back.

Tapping her phone on her leg, Allison sighed. She should have seen this coming or at least known better. Shaking her head, Allison looked up Lydia's name on her phone and sent her a text.

Still nothing. I think I better cancel.

It wasn't two seconds later that her cell phone rang, Jackson's name playing across the screen. She smiled slightly; she never would have thought that her and Jackson would have anything remotely close to a friendship but in the last days weeks, he had really tried to make a change. "Don't try to talk me out of it. I'm cancelling." Allison said as a greeting, standing and pacing around her room.

"Uh…no. You are not cancelling, but you better cancel whatever you have with Scott because this is unacceptable." It was Lydia's voice that sang through the phone and she laughed, leaving her bedroom and going downstairs. Knowing her best friend like she did, she knew that they were probably on their way to pick her up. Having that knowledge did not mean it would stop Allison from protesting until her theory became a reality.

"You're one to talk." Allison snipped, remembering back to the day she was supposed to meet her at the café and had bailed on her for hours. Lydia quickly picked up where Allison's mind had gone to and she heard a faint hmph but chose to ignore it. "You go alone with Jackson. It will probably be more fun that way."

"We're coming to get you. Get over it, Argent." This time it was Jackson's voice that floated through the phone.

"Please don't. I'm sure he'll be here soon."

A pair of headlights flashed in her direction and for a moment, Allison thought that Scott had actually shown up, but that momentary thought was vanished when she noticed it was the Porsche.

"Too late." Jackson's voice sang, and she could see his smirk through the lights of his car. Hanging up the call, she smiled at her friends, rolling her eyes at Lydia's smug grin. As she rounded the car to get inside, her phone beeped.

Meet me at school. It's urgent – Scott

The text message seemed odd and out of place but she couldn't ignore the gut feeling that was telling her she should go. "Jackson…we need to go to the school."

And there that's! Chapter 4! Whoop!

Again, story is loosely planned but I'm so open to suggestions.

As for the other stories, I have started working on the outline of Rising from the Ashes. I had the entire story lined out previously but lost all my research and outline when my old laptop crapped the bed. I promise, I cried a lot so now I'm back to square one which I am taking as a blessing. This gives me the chance to start fresh.

Anyways, I'm in the preliminary outlines of it and working on the over all outline of the story. I will be reading the reviews to see if any of you have any ideas from that story. I'm projecting to have the next chapter for that story up by 9/24/2018 :D

After that story, line up is looking My Mate and then Broken. Let me know what you would like to see.

As always, review!

Love, Marie.