A/N: Probable angst laden writing. I am very frustrated right now. I don't even know how to deal other than to write.

Chapter 4: The Flames Licking at the Safety of the Pack

Stiles arrives back at Derek's apartment about two hours after his initial departure. He isn't sure whether he is more or less disheveled after his physical exertion and encounter than he was due to the extreme buzzing beneath his skin that was unrelenting. When Stiles walks into the room his metacognition ends, because Derek rams him into the nearest wall.

"Where were you?"

"What the hell?" he yells pushing Derek away from him roughly.

"You smell off, what the hell is going on?"

"Dude it was nothing just leave me alone. I am going to go shower. I have school in forty-five minutes. I have to get next week's work done now if I want to not have trouble with my grades."

"Just let me help." Derek says angry about Stiles shutting him out.

"I don't know what was happening, but I am fine now. So, drop it." Stiles says entering the bathroom and shutting the door and starting to strip.

"Stiles!" Derek shouts pissed that Stiles is pulling away from him and hurt that he can't be near his mate.

"I don't have time for this right now Derek." Stiles says stepping underneath the spray to clean himself briskly. "We can talk later. Just leave me alone."

GRRR. Derek grunts out before opening the front door and slamming it on his way out. His mind racing with anger fueled thoughts that were entangled in each other. None of them made any real sense but it was enough to make Derek run for the woods and shift into a wolf to wait out the day by ripping woodland animals to shreds.

~~ School~~

Stiles arrives just before the warning bell sounds and dashes inside with his first period's books ready. He hates first period. Mr. Harris is probably the worst way to start out the day. He is a snarky bastard who isn't even that smart and tends to pick on Stiles just because he can't sit still for very long due to his ADD.

"Hey, Stiles, you okay?" Scott says interrupting his brooding.

"Yeah, I'm just having a bad day. It started out weird and then went bad. I don't want to talk about it."

….

"Then you're going to hate what I have to tell you."

"What." He says taking a page out of Derek's "How to be a Sour-Wolf" book.

"Well…. Kate is in town."

"Excuse me."

"I was over at Allison's house last night and she told me her aunt would be in town for the next few weeks."

"Because my life isn't complicated enough without Derek's psycho, arsonist, child-molester ex-girlfriend coming back to town."

"Yeah, sorry."

"Whatever." Stiles says then goes up to grab the assignments from Harris that he will be completing before the weekend. He stomps back and begins on the works.

"Fucking fantastic." He mutters as he begins his work.

- Lunch -

"Guys. Do Not. For any reason bother Stiles." Scott says to Isaac, Boyd, Erica, and Danny before Stiles trudges into the cafeteria.

"Why not?" Danny asks concerned.

"Kate is in town, and Harris and he fought with Derek this morning." Scott says hurriedly. "Just try not to bug him He was about to fly off a hinge in first hour. I swear one time Harris looked at him and I swear I smelled blood thirst rolling off of Stiles."

"Got it." The betas said and resumed their meals.

When Stiles eventually makes his way over to the group he slams his food down and begins to eat his food stabbing at it and tearing it apart roughly as if it were the world's most evil criminal and tearing it apart was the only viable justice in his opinion.

It is very tense and Stiles' overwhelming rage quells pretty much everyone at the table.

Lunch and pretty much the rest of the day pass in a similar fashion.

The last bell finally rings and Stiles rushes to his car and jumps in with his stuff as quickly as possible.

Normally Stiles would've been able to shrug everything off, but between the mysterious tripper, the Kate bomb, and his fight it was just way too much to handle for a day. He starts the jeep and slams on the gas and peels out of the parking lot before anyone else even gets to their cars.

And, of course when life goes bad for Stiles it only ever gets worse. He gets to half way between the apartment on the outskirts of town and the school when an arrow sinks into his tire and it explodes with a loud pop. His jeep careens slightly as he man handles it to the side of the road so that he can jump out and run for the forest to avoid further fire.

"Great just what I need right now" He yells exasperated. He jumps out and dashes for the tree line.

POP. POP. POP.

He hears three gunshots somewhere behind him and then feels them all narrowly miss his head.

"FUCK. . I am so screwed. Why am I being hunted right now? I thought Scott overheard Chris say something about a code of mutual non-aggression or something else." He thinks out loud.

Well, I am already a target I may as well get out of here. He reasons and shifts into a wolf and disappears into the woods. Great now Derek is going to think I am avoiding him. All in addition to being an asshole this morning. Could today get any worse?

Just then a flame spits out in front of him and catches this left forward paw.

He howls in pain and changes direction. Apparently yes. Shit.

Flames spit at him randomly as he changes directions; driving him further into the forest. Fear creeps up inside him as he feels more and more trapped. He howls out to Derek. To the pack. He calls out for his mate, and safety. He needs help or else the hunters are going to get him.

Next thing he knows he feels a stabbing pain connect with his side and the world fuzzes out. The searing pain and tiredness overwhelm him and all fades to black.