CHAPTER TWELVE: SEASON ONE: WOLFS BANE/CO-CAPTAIN

My ghost, where'd you go?

I can't find you in the body sleeping next to me

My ghost, where'd you go?

What happened to the soul, that you used, to be?

Halsey

"What the hell is this?" Is the first thing I am asked when I get back home from dropping Scott off at school.

My eyes narrow as I look around my bedroom in confusion. Derek is sitting on my bed. He has a photograph in his hand and his thick brows are raised expectantly. Then I see it.

"You- you went through my stuff?" I question furiously. I smack the door loudly behind me as I storm over to the bed.

Derek doesn't appear fazed by the rage seeping out of me. "Yes. What is this?"

He holds out a picture of me at seventeen. I glare at the image of my face bruised, bloodied, and swollen. It's the worst of all the pictures. Took months to heal.

"What does it look like?" I retort.

Instead of respecting the fact I am home and angry at him for going through my very secret box, Derek stats to take out all the pictures. Pictures of Jacob and me. Pictures of all my bruises, cuts, broken bones. "It looks like someone beat the shit out of you. What happened? What are these?"

"It's none of your business Derek."

"Yes it is!" Derek seethes.

I laugh, "Oh? Really now?"

"You are mine," he growls.

My mouth falls open. No, no, no, no, no. We weren't supposed to be having this conversation this early. We weren't supposed to be having this conversation ever. Mine? Mine? Nonononononononono. "Excuse me?"

Derek stands from the bed. He's in front of me a second later, one arm slung around my waist and the other cupping my cheek. His minty eyes are heavy as they bore into mine. "Who hurt you like that?" he asks again.

And how can I resist him when he looks so… caring? "J-Jacob."

He shakes his head. "Your boyfriend?"

I bite my lip and nod once. "Ex-boyfriend."

"Why were you with him? These are… these are old. How long was he doing that for?"

"Years."

He repeats it as if he hadn't heard me correctly, "Years?"

"Sure, yeah. Years."

Derek frowns. "Why?"

"Why? I don't know. He was drunk most of the time."

"I mean, why did you stay with him?"

"Because without him I had no one. At least he pretended to love me."

"What about your Mom? Scott? Your Dad?"

A tired laugh escapes me. "My Dad had full custody over me while Mom had full custody on Scott. And Dad… he hates me."

"I'm sure your father doesn't hate you," Derek says.

Anger sizzles through me all over again. First he goes through my things, digs up some shitty history, and now is acting like he understands what the fuck I'm going through? "Oh okay. Because you know all about him, right? Is he in on your little whatever with Scott and Stiles too? You can't even begin to understand the emotional torment that man put me through growing up."

"You're right. I'll never understand. Because my parents are dead," Derek bites out bitterly. "I'll never know what it's like to be pissed off at my Mom and Dad again. I'll never have my sisters get mad at me for chasing away their boyfriends. Or have to be forced to listen to some dumb lecture about staying out too late."

"You want pity?" I question slowly. "Do you think you're the only one that deserve sadness because your family is dead? Just because my family is alive doesn't mean I'm not allowed to have troubles, Derek Hale."

Instead of responding Derek heads over to the bedroom window and jumps out. I stare blankly as the blinds flutter in the morning breeze.

My head is pounding and I want to sleep for eternity. But Scott has a lacrosse game tonight, which I will be attending. I take my favorite pill, a little bit vengefully at the thought of Derek being disappointed in me. SO what? He is a dick anyway.

"Haldey?"

I glance up from where I'm lying on my bed reading. Mom's curly hair is wold from her overnight shift at work. She smiles and her exhaustion shows with the heavy bags under her eyes.

"Hey Mom. How was work?"

She sighs, "Exhausting. How was Scott this morning?"

"His usual angsty self."

"You're going to his game tonight, right?"

"Of course."

"Alright, I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up in an hour?"

"Sure Mom."

I set an alarm to remind myself and resume reading. A smile quirks on my lips as I read the romantic words between my two favorite characters:

"Wolf, are you asking me to be... your alpha female?"

He hesitated.

Scarlet couldn't help it - she burst into laughter. "Oh - I'm sorry. That was mean. I know I shouldn't tease you about this."

Still grinning, she made to retract her hand, but he was suddenly gripping it, refusing to relinquish the touch. "You just look so scared, like I'm going to disappear any minute. We're stuck on a spaceship, Wolf. I'm not going anywhere."

His lips twitched, his nervousness beginning to ease away, though his hand stayed tense over hers.

"Alpha female," he murmured. "I sort of like that."

Beaming, Scarlet gave a mild shrug. "It could grow on me."

"How fucking adorable," I mutter as I shut the book. My sky blue nails slide down the red cape on the cover of 'Scarlet.' "You know, my life would be a billion times better if some human-wolf hybrid were to come sweep me off my feet."

God, and who wouldn't want Wolf? He's so. freaking. dreamy. Whatever. My inner fangirl is totally all about Wolf and Scarlet. Thanks Marissa Meyer.

I decide to start straightening up my room. I really needed to get rid of my childhood things. Like my Hello Kitty piggy bank. That shit has gots to go. Especially if there is going to be hot older man sleeping in my bed nightly.

Slowly I begin to pick up my dirty clothes around the room to do laundry. That's when my eyes catch my box of Jacob's things. I drop the clothes to the ground and pick it up. My hands shake as I open the lid. Inside are the same pictures. The same pictures I've stared at for hours, crying. Moping. Defending.

There's my favorite picture of Jacob and me. We are in our crummy little apartment. There's a hookah, cheery flavored, and so much smoke inside the dingy room. You can see the the light yellow paint peeling off the walls and the numerous movie posters we put up to try and cover them up. I'm wearing light blue plaid pajama bottoms and one of his baggy white tees. Christmas lights shine from the high ceiling eloping us in multi-colored hues. My hair is my natural colored chestnut locks; it's wavy, wild, and reckless. Jacob's got a thick arm snug around my waist and a hand on my ass as he was pushing me into his body. He's got a bright red baseball cap on his messy golden head, and those bright blue eyes are closed as he presses a kiss to my cheek.

I rip it in half.

I rip all the pictures in half. Then I flush them down the toilet.

I burn the box outside in the backyard.

I wake up Mom.

"Thanks sweetie," Mom says sleepily as she shifts under the blanket. "Leave in an hour?"

My smile is wide. "Yep. I'm going to get ready now."

We shower, we eat, and we leave to Beacon Hills High School. Mom is telling me how John told her Stiles made first line for this game, which is super exciting for them. Then she talks to me about her patients and how she spilled chocolate pudding all down the front of her favorite scrubs on her lunch. It feels for a moment as if Jacob was never real.

The stadium is packed. Mom and I find seats and John joins us again. He's frowning down at the field when the team comes out.

"I wonder where Stiles is?" he muses.

"What number is Stiles?" I ask.

"Twenty-four."

I scan the maroon team, but there's no twenty-four. I do recognize the eleven on the bench though. He's sitting on the bench conversing with thirty-seven. The teen is model worthy in that too-perfect cheekbones kinda way. Not my type. I prefer the messy hair, scruffy face, disastrous type.

The game starts. Everyone is cheering and I'm happy that the team isn't not passing the ball to Scott in this game. Apparently they realize his talent now, or some shit.

During half-time John jogs down to Scott to ask where Stiles is. Scott doesn't have a clue and Stiles isn't answering his phone, so, John is freaking out a little. His foot taps restlessly on the cold metal bleachers and his blue eyes shift around wildly.

"I'm sure he's fine," Mom tells John. She brushes her shoulder comfortingly against his and I make a mental note of that for later. I should ask Scott if the sheriff and her have a thing. "He probably got nervous."

John snorts. "I don't think my kid has stage fright."

Number twenty-four never shows up. They do win the game! And we are going to State! Which is awesome. I wonder if Mom and I will be traveling to it with the boys.

"Hey, mind waiting for Scott? I'm going to make a call to the hospital to see if Stiles turned up there while John calls the department," Mom asks me.

"Yeah. Sure."

I go into the school to search for Scott. The hallway is almost completely vacant. Excluding number thirty-seven and my brother. Their faces are close as they talk and it doesn't appear friendly.

"Scott?" I interrupt with a frown. Both boys glance at me. "Mom told me to wait for you."

He nods his head in understanding. Thirty-seven smirks at Scott as he disappears into the boys locker room.

"Everything okay?" I question.

Scott shakes his dark hair to bring himself back to the present. "Yeah… I'll be out in a few minutes. I have to shower."

"Okay."

I lean against the wall as I wait. The school is creepy this late at night. All the lights are out and the only light is from the moon outside. It's eery. I kinda feel like I'm in a horror movie. Not to mention the incident at the school involving Scott, Stiles, Derek, and the dead janitor (which still doesn't make sense to me).

Some pumped up boys rush out of the locker room. One in particular that can't seem to stop shouting, "STATE! STATE! STATE! STATE!" I shoot him an irritable glare when he steps too close to me and a few of the boys snicker at him being shot down.

My eyes dart down to my phone. I take it out and start flipping through some old text messages. Not many of my friends keep in contact with me. It doesn't surprise me. Most of them were really Jacob's friends and just tolerated me since we were dating. I never really had my own friends. I never even had a best friend before. I kinda feel like Derek is my best friend. He's the first person to ever see me so… raw. Go figure. Potential murderer Derek Hale is my best friend. I suddenly feel terrible about our fight earlier.

"Hi."

I look up at the male voice. It's number thirty-seven. He's all chilled jaw and smiles. I raise a brow. "Hello."

"My name is Jackson." He holds out a hand and I shake it warily. "I'm a friend of Scott's."

"And I am said Scott's older sister."

"Well, we know where all the good looks went in the family," Jackson jokes. I pretend to laugh because I don't know what else to do. "I didn't know Scott had a sister."

"Oh, well he does… and here I am."

Jackson bites his lip. "You have the most gorgeous eyes."

Subconsciously I reach a hand out to my temple. "Um, thanks. They are just… brown."

"Don't downplay it like that. You're eyes are gorgeous," he eases with a smirk. Then he reaches out a hand to tug gently on one of the teal strands. "I like your hair. It's different."

Well, that is nice of him. Maybe Scott and him weren't having an unpleasant conversation? Maybe that's just his face? Resting bitch face? "Really?" I ask.

He nods sporting a dimpled grin. "Yeah."

Just then the doors at the end of the hall burst open. A familiar missing buzzed head teen scrambles through them. Jackson raises an unamused brow at the teen.

"Stiles?" My voice is serious. "Where the hell were you? Does your dad know you're here?"

Stiles squawks. "Ughhhhh, yeah. Totally knows I'm here. Is Scott in there?" He shoots a thumb towards the locker room. "J-just gotta talk to Scotty. My best friend. My bro. My homie. Be right back." He disappears into the room.

"What a freaking weirdo," Jackson grumbles.

I laugh. The kid is sweet, but I definitely agree with Jackson. Stiles has always been on the odd side.

Jackson's shimmering eyes meet mine. I can't help notice that his are pretty gorgeous. Not more gorgeous than the water colored green that are Derek's eyes, like when you put too much water in the green paint cup as a child.

"It was nice meeting you…" he reaches out a hand for me to shake once more (which is kinda unnecessary, like, we just shook hands).

"Halden," I say with a smirk as I slip my fingers between his. His hands are calloused and dry, probably from lacrosse. "It was nice meeting you, Jackson."

He swiftly makes his exit after our hands drift apart. I watch him swagger out of the hallway. Did a sixteen-year-old boy just try and seduce me with his hips? Because those don't lie -metaphorical knee slap implied with my terrible pun.

Stiles and Scott emerge moments later looking stressed.

"What's wrong?" I immediately question.

Scott sighs, "Nothing. Everything is fine. Let's go home, I'm exhausted."

"Okay…"

"Wait. Haldey-" Scott grabs my arm. He turns me to face him, both hands on my shoulders and his eyes meet mine in a serious stare. "Please. Stay away from Derek. Tell me if you see him… he's… just please."

The look in his face is unlike the other times Scott told me Derek is dangerous. He's said it before, but it's always sounded like a lie. Like spiteful anger. Now… the look of fear in his narrowed chocolate orbs, and the heavy bags under his eyes. I believe him.

"O-okay. If he comes by at all I'll let you know. Promise."

He gives me an unconvincing smile.

We head to the car where Mom is waiting with her arms crossed over her chest. John and her don't look very happy when Stiles stumbles along behind us. He's attempting to use us both as human shields, but it's not exactly working since he's taller than Scott and me. Like we can prevent the oncoming doom of whatever trouble he is in anyway.

"Stiles Stilinski, when we get home-" John seethes with a parental glare. He appears to not be able to finish his sentence. He just points a stern finger at his son. "Home. Now."

"Yes sir," Stiles grumbles. He gives all of us a half-hearted wave and darts off to his jeep.

Mom lifts a brow curiously as she slides into the drivers seat. I slide into the back while Scott takes the front.

"What was that about?" Mom asks. "Where was he?"

"He didn't tell me," Scott says.

"All he's wanted since high school is Lydia Martin and to be first line. He finally gets first line and he doesn't show. I just… I can't believe he wouldn't show."

Scott shrugs, but I can tell that he knows the real reason behind Stiles not showing up. "I don't know," he lies. There's no way he doesn't know.

That is weird. Very, very weird.

Whatever it is involves my not boyfriend + Stiles + Scott, which therefore equals (=) something absolutely not good.

And I am going to figure it out.

Derek doesn't come over. I know there is no attempt because my pill keeps me up throughout the night until the early morning sun rises. He must be really pissed off if he isn't back.

Or he's in jail.

I knock on Scott's bedroom door early the next day. He's getting ready for school and he yells, "Come in!" Entering, I close the door behind me and lean nervously against it.

"Can you ask Stiles if Derek is in jail?"

Scott turns to me with furrowed brows. "Why?"

"I'm curious."

He tilts his head and scowls in contempt. The answer is hesitant as he tells me knowingly, "He's not in jail."

"Thanks," I say.

He looks like he wants to say something mean, but manages to bite his tongue. I go back to my room and apply for more jobs because I want to say a lot of mean things to him too.

Derek doesn't come over today either.

I hope he's okay. I want to call him, but I don't have a number. I doubt he went back to his house. Where else would he go?

Mom excitedly barges into my room without knocking. I smile at the sheer look of happiness on her face and decide not to point out how she didn't knock.

"Hey Mom," I greet with a laugh as she slops onto my bed girlishly. "You look really chipper this evening?"

She bites her lip. "I… I have a date."

My eyes widen. "Mama say what? Date. As in a date?"

"Yeah. A real date."

I kick myself out from where I'm buried under the covers over my bed. I'm not wearing any pants and am just in a tank and panties, but it's Mom so I don't care.

"Tonight?"

Her head nods enthusiastically. "Are you gonna help me get ready?"

"Hell yeah! Let's go through your wardrobe."

I slip on a rob and we both happily make our way into her bedroom. Mom sits on the bed while I start to dig through her closet. Most of her clothes are older and out of date.

"We need to go shopping," I tell her with a grimace.

She snorts.

"What does he look like?" I probe with a smirk at the dreamy look that falls on my mom's face. Her lips are pulled back in a wide toothed grin that show off her dimples and her eyes are sparkling with life.

"He's got light brown hair… gorgeous blue eyes," she sighs breathless.

"Name?"

"Peter. He's a medical rep."

"Mmmm," humming in approval, I give my mom a wink. "Sounds dreamy already. What time is he picking you up."

She glances at the clock. "Two hours."

"How about you go shower now and I'll set aside an outfit for you," I tell her.

Mom sprints into her shower quickly. I'm momentarily jealous. Mom and Scott's room had conjoined bathrooms while I had the smallest room with the community bathroom. Not that anyone used the bathroom besides Derek and me anyway, but he had to sneak in there when Mom and Scott were home.

I pick out a pair of black tight pants, a shimmery black dress top, and a black blazer with a dark golden pattern stitched into the fabric. Pair that with a cute set of pumps and Mom would be looking fine.

"MOM, HALDEY I'M HOME!" Scott's voice shouts down the hall.

I yell back sarcastically, "That's great!"

Scott's bedroom door slams shut. Seriously, a moody bitch.

Mom get's out of the shower and I force her into the clothes after she dries her hair, which is a process. Note: drying super curly hair is difficult and usually ends up in disaster. But the outfit hugs her lean figure in a flattering modest way.

The doorbell rings while I'm arranging my makeup to do on Mom.

"That can't be him…" Mom mutters in confusion. "I'll be right back."

She comes back into the room a few moments later with a satisfied grin.

"What's with the face?" I ask as she sits down in front of me. I start to apply foundation, which is a little paler than I thought it would be. It's hardly noticeable though, but I don't want her to look washed out. Hmmm. I'll just add some contouring. I can Kim Kardashian the shit out of her face if I look up a YouTube video.

"That was Allison," she says in a gossipy tone.

"Oh really? I thought Scott and her broke up."

She smiles. "So did I."

"Think they are going to get back together?"

"Maybe. I like her. She's a sweet girl."

"Yeah. Scott's over the moon for her. I hope they work things out. Maybe he will stop being such a douche," I mutter the last part under my breath, but Mom hears it and we both laugh darkly at my brother's moodiness. We probably shouldn't find it funny.

"We are terrible," Mom decides. "He's going through his first heartbreak. We should be more thoughtful."

I shrug. "Well, I'm going through shit and you don't see me being a complete asshat to you."

Mom's fingers curl on my bare kneecap. Her fingers are slender and cold, but comforting as she massages my skin with a motherly touch. "How are you doing? Really?"

"Better…" I nod.

Mom smiles gently. "If you ever want to talk about it more you know you can always talk to me. I know that things aren't always easy to talk about. Especially with your mother, but baby, I promise you I wont judge you. I love you. You're my first born, my baby girl. People make mistakes."

My hand stills from where I'm applying her eyeshadow. I'm grateful that her eyes are closed for this task because I don't want her to see the desperation in my eyes. The want to open up, to be clean. But I'm not ready.

Will I ever be ready?

I finish her makeup off and I'm right, Mom looks sexy. Her curly hair is pulled back in a flirty ponytail and she fills out her outfit. She's a MILF.

"I'm going to go check up on Scott," she says with a sly grin.

I follow behind her out of the room. She knocks on the door and slowly opens it, as if opening the door slowly will give them time to put clothes back on if they were naked. But Scott and Allison are sitting on the edge of the bed and seemed to have been in a serious conversation.

"Hey, Scott, I'm coming home late tonight-" Mom pauses when she catches Scott's wide eyes. He is taking in Mom's attire with confusion. "What? What - what's wrong? Is it - is it my hair, makeup?"

"No. No, nothing. You look beautiful," Scott admits.

Allison adds with a single dimpled smile, "You look amazing."

"Amazing," Scott agrees. His eyes meet mine and he glares at the wicked grin on my lips. Then he turns to Mom with narrowed eyes. "Why do you look amazing?"

"Because, amazingly, I'm having dinner for once with a member of the male gender who's over the age of sixteen."

"Who?"

"Uh, it's a medical rep that came into the hospital, today. Yeah, we just kinda started talking, and the next thing I know, I'm saying yes to dinner and - I'm really hating myself for skipping the gym last week," her hand touches her stomach.

I frown at her. "Mom, you're hotter than me. Shut up."

Scott impatiently pries, "What medical rep?"

The doorbell rings.

"That medical rep. And, uh, I'm not - I'm not ready. I'm not ready. I'm not done, I'm not ready, so if you could please just get the - get the door and talk with him, okay, just - Be nice. Scott: Just one minute, okay?" Mom grabs my hand and tugs me into her bedroom.

"Shoes?" Mom pleads. "What shoes do I wear?"

I giggle at the panic in her voice. I start searching through her shoes and the doorbell rings again causing both of us to frown.

"Scott! Get the door. For the love of God, please!" Mom calls.

Deciding on a pair of black wedges I pass them to her. She slips them on then goes out into the hall and shouts down at Scott when she sees him hovering in the doorway, "Hey. What are you doing? Aren't you gonna invite him in?"

Another laugh escapes as she rounds on me breathing heavily. I grab her shoulders gently and exaggerate taking deep breaths. "Calm down Mom," I ease her with a soft tone. "It's just a date with a…" a peer down the stairs at the extremely attractive older gentleman standing in the doorway. "Damn, a really hot medical rep."

Mom chuckles nervously. "W-what do I do?"

My hands rub her shoulders. "Be yourself?"

"Oh god," she cries. "This is so weird. I should be teaching you how to act on dates. Not the other way around."

"Mom. You're hot, you're intelligent, and you're single. Get on that shit."

"Okay. I'm going to use the bathroom. I'm so nervous I have to pee," Mom grimaces.

She heads back into her room and I make it my personal mission to introduce myself to my future step father, because Mom totally deserves it. I tighten the red plaid robe around my waist to hide any exposure and skip down the steps.

Scott is glaring threateningly at the man when I approach. I eye them both warily as I come up behind Scott. He's standing between us like a barrier.

"My name is Halden," I tell the man. I step around my bolder of a brother to extend my hand.

Peter grabs my hand and kisses the back of it with a charming smile. "Pleasure to meet you. My name is Peter. You look almost exactly like your mother."

I smile. "Thanks. I'm sure you'll take great care of my mom tonight."

Peter says, "I intend to treat her like a queen."

"You better," I wink at him.

Scott growls so I elbow him in the ribs.

Mom appears looking flustered. "I'm ready, I'm ready. Sorry again."

She squeezes between Scott and I to exit. Scott reaches out for her. "Mom-"

"Yes? Sweetheart?" She presses when Scott doesn't finish.

I shoot him a warning glare. There's no need to ruin Mom's fun.

"Have a good time," he says half-heartedly.

"Okay," she smiles.

Peter gives Scott his own personal wink that I don't understand. Then they leave.

Scott scrambles upstairs into his bedroom. I lock the door before I follow after him. Right as I am about to go into my room Scott is tugging me into his own without pause. Allison is watching my panicky brother with a concerned look while I roll my eyes. This isn't exactly out of the ordinary behavior as of late.

"What?" I snap.

"Please, please hang out with Allison for a few minutes. I'll be right back, but I have to do something really quick. And I just-I will be right back."

"Scott McCall you better not be going to ruin Mom's date," I warn him.

He shakes his head. "I'll be right back."

Then he leaves Allison and me alone in his bedroom. I turn to her with wide eyes and see she's already matching my stare with a similar expression.

"I am so sorry on behalf of him," I apologize with a frown. "I wish I can tell you what the hell is going on with him, but he's being a freak."

Allison shakes her head, curly brown locks bouncing playfully. But there's nothing playful about the dejected expression on her face.

"How about I make some tea?"

"That would be nice, thank you," Allison smiles shyly.

I urge her to follow me into the kitchen. I put water in a black kettle and set it on the burner while I take out a few tea bags and mugs for us. We are silent while the water boils. Both of us jump when the squeal of steam erupts in the room.

The steaming mug of chamomile tea is pushed towards her. "Honey or sugar?" I question.

"Both please," Allison responds softly.

We add our additional ingredients and sit at the table quietly for a few moments.

"He's going to be a lot longer than a few minutes," Allison sighs out sadly.

"A few minutes to Scott ranges anywhere from forty-five minutes to hours."

She laughs. "Oh, I know."

We are quiet for a few more moments. It's not as awkward as one might think, but it's still not pleasant either. I could be getting stoned or watching Netflix.

"Can I ask you something?" Allison nervously gets out.

I take a sip of tea. "Sure."

"Do you know what Scott's hiding? I mean, I know you're his sister and will have his back through everything. But he's been so weird lately… and I just… I don't know what to do. It's like everyone is hiding something from me and all the pieces are there, but I can't find out where to place them."

"Allison…" I purse my lips. So, she sees it too. The same thing I've noticed between Derek, Scott, and apparently Stiles (I'm gonna go ahead and assume the teen is in in it since he's the BFF4LIFE). "I wish I can tell you. I have no clue. It's not just you, though. Promise. He's… he's been weird with Mom and me too. I just can't figure out what he's hiding."

Allison's doe eyes are staring into mine. "So, you think he's hiding something?"

"Oh, I know my brother. I might not have been around for a few years, but he's the worst liar ever. He's hiding something."

"I-I think it has something to do with Derek Hale."

I nod slowly. I don't know entirely what's going on, but Allison is a teenage girl and I doubt she's really a threat towards anything. "I agree. It definitely has something to do with Derek Hale."

Her back straightens. "You believe me?"

"I ran into Derek Hale a few times and Scott always got weird about it."

"You know Derek?" she presses.

"Yeah. And he's not a bad guy…" My fingers tighten around the ceramic mug. "Can I ask you a question?"

Allison hesitantly nods.

My brown eyes meet hers. "Did you see Derek chasing you at the school?"

It takes her a few moments to form an answer. "No. I didn't."

"I don't think he chased you guys around the school," I tell her defensively. "I know Derek. He's not a bad guy. What reason would he have to kill a janitor and chase teenagers around a school in the middle of the night? He's not some freak, okay?"

"You don't believe Scott?"

I shake my head firmly. "No."

"Have you seen Derek since the school incident?"

"No," I lie.

She smiles. "Thank you for being honest with me. I think you're the first person that hasn't lied to me in a long time."

"I just like to tell it how it is."

She giggles. "Scott talks about you a lot. He says you're really funny."

"Did he?" My brow raises skeptically. I didn't think Scott would ever talk about me. Or at least say anything nice about me. Especially with his current moodiness towards me.

"Yeah. He also says you're really chill."

I shrug. "I try to be."

Allison looks down at her tea. We are silent again, but it's definitely more tranquil. Both of us finish our tea. The brunette looks at the clock on her phone and shakes her head.

"You should go," I tell her gently.

Allison blinks at me with furrowed brows.

I think of all my ex's and how they treated me. Making plans, but to either abandon me or drag me to get drunk. That, or dragging me to buy drugs. I doubt what Scott's doing is drugs, but… Allison seems really nice and deserves more than that. Even from my brother.

"Look, I love my brother," I start flatly. "But he's treating you like shit. He's a sweet, amazing kid, but he's going through something right now. And you don't have to put up with his shit. When he's ready to start acting mature he will be on his knees begging for you back. Until then… you don't need to sit around waiting for him."

She pulls her bottom lip in her mouth and nods. I walk her towards the door and watch her leave sadly.

The night gets worse when Mom comes home crying. Apparently Stiles managed to crash into her dates car. She locks herself in her bedroom.

I check Scott's room and he still isn't home. I wonder if he went to Allison's? Or maybe he had something to do with Stiles crashing the car? I wouldn't put it past him.

Retreating to my bedroom for the night I glare at my open window.

Derek still isn't here.

I hate myself for wanting him here. I tell myself I'll give him one more day before I go looking for him. Then I fall asleep.

LONG ass chapter guys. Just a warning the next few chapters aren't going to be super adorable/smutty/fluffy. They are going to be pretty angsty/intense for Haldey & Derek. I promise WE will get back to happy times, but we have to go through the rough times first.

hoechling: Oh I totally agree with those. I have a secret thing for the Dydia haha. I just love them though!

DDD4life: is Derek going to cheat on her with Jennifer?

Something I have thought about, but have no definite answer. I'm all for completely anti-cheating, but not sure what Derek and Halden will be going through at that time!

meangirl8: family does come first! at least what you consider family should come first! scott always made me mad in the first season.

Teen Wolf Trash: As for your comment on following the plot, that's actually something I was definitely thinking of. Not sure if I want to continue this story past season 3 or not yet! I'm not sure how much of the plot is going to change due to Halden being involved in the story! But I'll definitely keep your idea in mind :)

When are you thinking Halden is going to have the baby/find out she's pregnant?

She is going to find out in the first couple chapters I write leading into season 2! About 5 more? Something like that!

Will she tell Derek straight away or avoid it?

As soon as she is able to. Unfortunately for situations to come it isn't immediate.

In season 2 is she going to be like the mother to Derek's pack?

Ughhh! Not sure. She is going to stick up for them a lot! I have just started writing to the point when Halden starts to get involved with the pack. She defends them and helps them, but she isn't involved too much yet. I like to think she'd be really close with Erica & Isaac. But thing I intend to do different (SPOILER) is involved Erica & Boyd MORE in season 3.

MaxineHale: Is she going to get pregnant from this chapter because all it takes is one little swimmer?

There isn't a set chapter that is specific to the pregnancy. It could be this time, but it could be a time that I haven't mentioned or any of the times I've written thus far!

Gr Is Law: It is kinda cute! In a weird predatorial kinda way haha.

Nathalie94: I love Isaac too! He's one of my faves of Derek's pack. Although, I love them all… she definitely will be involved with Isaac, Erica, and Boyd (eventually).

Guest: I don't have a schedule where I update! It's just when I have time to actually sit down and focus on the story.

Dani: No problem! AND THANK YOU haha. He totally should just claim her, but Derek's an emotionally constipated butthead so… lol

thank you for all those reviews, favorites, and followers! guest(s), megladon1616, gwen, #HAREK, Cassie-D1, Liam1094, and Nicole1024! :) ya'll be demanding me for updates so here it wassss. Next chapter is in Derek's POV again! :D