Beat-beat, beat-beat, beat-beat...
He listened to her heartbeat as she continued examining his body, asking multiple questions as she did so.
"So you don't eat people?" Florence asked as she pulled his lip up to see his fangs again, to which he retracted them so they were only human canines.
"Woah," she whispered under her breath.
"I'm a wolf, Florence, not a bear."
"No, you're a pup-" she cut herself off and gasped, her eyes wide. "You're a puppy!"
Derek groaned and tilted his head back. "Aw, come on..."
She really couldn't contain the giggles that escaped her lips or the pure amusement in her eyes. "Derek, you're a puppy!"
"Yes... You've established this many times."
"I know but know it's true!" she exclaimed, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"I am not a puppy," he grumbled, turning and going to the spiral staircase to sit down on the fourth step up.
"Yes you are." She followed him, standing on the first step and leaning on the railing.
"Ok, Florence. What is it about me, other than being a werewolf, makes you say I'm a puppy?"
"You're adorable. That and you act like one."
"I act like one?!" he asked incredulously. "How?"
"You're like a saint bernard. They look all huge and everything, but really, they're super sweet and warm and cuddly and and just really really nice."
He stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "Sure. I'd like to see you say that when you see me ripping some guy's throat out with my teeth."
Florence's heart rate picked up hearing him say that. "You wouldn't do that..."
"You sure?"
"Yeah... You said you don't eat people."
"I know. But I never said we don't kill people."
Silence. She only stared at him, not knowing if he was kidding or not. He looks so serious... But he's not a killer... Right?
Derek sighed, shaking his head lightly with a slight smirk. "You scare too easily, Florence. No, I don't kill people."
She giggled a bit nervously at him, her eyes drifting down to her feet. "Oh..." A short pause. "But something tells me you do have a very strong capability to do so..."
He watched her, not knowing if he should agree with her. She's too sweet for this... Too childlike for my brutality. But then she's still here... With a sigh, he looked down at his knuckles. "Yeah. I do."
Florence looked up at him then, daring to slowly ascend to the third step and crouch in front of him then pick up his hands, staring him in the eye. "But that doesn't mean you're a killer."
If only you knew...
"How do you know that?" he asked, his voice low.
"I know you, Derek. Probably better than anyone... I know how you think, how you act. I know when you're upset about something... Which seems like all the time... But I also know when you're happy, which seems like I'm seeing more of lately," she said with a small smile.
"How does that show you I'm not a killer?" he asked, not returning the smile.
She was silent for a moment, trying to make sense of her own words through the headache she had. When she finally spoke, she realized that he was actually watching rather closely, as if he was highly anticipating what she was going to say.
"Because... You're a predator, right?"
Derek frowned slightly but nodded. If she says what I think she's going to say...
"Right... You're a predator, but you don't have to be a killer. When I look into your eyes, I don't see blood. I only see... Anger... Sadness... Guilt..." she said slowly and quietly as she stared into his eyes, as if she were staring into his soul. "And secrets."
He pulled his hands away from hers, looking to the side with his head tilted down slightly. Florence looked up at him, feeling an ache in her chest for him.
I knew it... He is hiding more. Things that hurt him...
"Der..." She lightly rested a hand on his cheek, to which he grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away.
"I'm not hiding anything," he said, his voice low and cold. She could only stare at him for a while as she tried to find a way to get him to talk to her, even though he wasn't being very pleasant...
If he's been keeping all of this in for as long as I've known him, how am I going to get him to tell me anything? Florence sighed lightly, looking down. When she finally spoke, her voice was really quiet.
"I wish you would tell me why you're so upset... I want to help you so badly, but I can't if you won't let me."
"I don't need help, Florence. I'm fine. I'm alive. That's good enough for me." He didn't think he'd ever lied so much with so little words as he did then.
"I know that's anything but true," she looked up at him, "because I said the same things before I met you. I was hurting, Derek, but you saved me from that. You made me so happy, just like you do now. I wanna be able to do that for you...
"Do you remember those nights right after we got together, and somehow you'd just know that something was wrong with me, so you'd come to my house and you'd just sit and talk with me?" her eyes began to water and she struggled to keep her voice even as she spoke, "You'd make sure I was ok. You would hold me till the pain left, and you'd tell me that everything would be alright because you wouldn't let anything bad happen to me." She swallowed and licked her lips before continuing, trying not to cry too much.
"For those moments, I was happy. I was happy just because you were there with me... I told you everything, Derek, because I knew you were the only one who could help me. I trusted you just like I do now."
"You still trust me even though you know what I am?" he asked, irritation in his voice. "How could you do that, Florence? I'm a monster, the reason why children keep nightlights. I'm the thing that is supposed to howl and rip people apart with my teeth on full moons. How could you trust me even thought that's what I am?"
"Did you not hear what I just told you? You protected me from pain and the person who was causing it. You proved to me that you love me by being my hero. How could you call yourself a monster just because of what you are? Just because you have fangs and glowing red eyes? Just because you have the capability to kill someone? None of that defines who you are, Derek. The only thing that does is is what you make of yourself. You have the power to make what you want out of your life... Maybe build a family."
Derek visually saddened at the word. "Maybe I was that person to you... But really, Florence, could you see me with a family? Actually caring for and protecting one? Because I can't."
"Why? Because you've lived alone for this long? Because your family kicked you out?" His eyes darkened then, and they snapped to hers, staring her dead in the eye. She felt so small under his glare...
That's another thing...
"Why did they kick you out, Derek?" she asked, her voice quiet.
He stared at her for a long time, debating wether he should tell her the truth or not.
"Derek?"
"I already told you."
"You only said you were a douche..." Florence's voice got lower at the word. She really didn't like swearing like that.
"Yeah. That's all you need to know." He said, his voice ice cold.
She could only nod, looking down as if she were a child being scolded. He really doesn't want to talk about it... It hurt her more than he knew when he left no room for her to ask for explanations. All she wanted was to understand him, to know more about him so she could be closer to him. But of course, like always, he shot her down.
Florence opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.
"Your cell phone is ringing."
"What?" she looked around, not hearing anything. "No it isn't."
"I can hear it vibrating on the metal," he stated bluntly. "It's in the washroom."
She stared at him for a brief moment before getting up and quickly making her way to the washroom, being careful not to stumble in the darkness. He can hear that well?
Picking up her cell phone from the metal counter, she found he was correct. With just seconds left to answer, Florence swiped the screen and put the phone to her ear.
"Hey, Mom," she greeted reluctantly as she walked out of the washroom.
"Florence! Thank God you answered!" Linda Grimm screamed over the phone, making Florence pull the device away from the ear.
Please don't scream... Too loud for this headache...
"I'm sorry I didn't answer last night... I was just really tired."
"You'd better be sorry! You scared me to death! Where are you? Are you safe?"
"Mom, of course I'm safe," she stated as she walked into the main portion of the loft, eyeing Derek, who had not moved from the stair case. "I told you, I stayed at a friend's place."
"Yeah. Derek's." she spat. "I wish you would have come home."
"You act like I'm still a baby. I am tweny-one, you know! I'm pretty sure I can make my own decisions."
"Save it, Florence. You may be grown up, but you're still my baby. As a mother, I have to protect you. I don't see you staying with him over night as safe. You didn't do anything, did you?"
She froze, not wanting to lie to her mother but not wanting to tell her the truth. But, she knew she had to. "Ok, Mom, you're probably going to be angry, but here me ou-"
"Florence! You went to bed with him?! Ugh, I knew that boy was nothing but trouble!"
"Mom, I really don't want you to be upset with me over this. I'm an adult, not a child."
There was a long pause, long enough that she worried her mother had hung up, before she heard her sigh. "I know... I just want to protect you from the world. You're my baby girl... My baby girl that's grown up much too fast..." Florence then heard sniffling.
"Are you crying?"
"Maybe..."
She couldn't help but laugh a little and shake her head. "Don't cry, Mom. But you're right, I'm still your baby girl... Your baby girl that has grown up. You really don't have to worry about me so much. Derek is a good guy, he takes care of me," she looked over at him to see him smiling. It was a small smile, but it showed that he found something to smile about, and that made her day. "He wouldn't let anything bad happen to me."
"He better not, or else I'll kick that cute ass of his!"
The smile was gone, replaced by a frown.
"Mom!" Florence exclaimed in embarrassment, realizing he could hear her mother.
"What? You know I think he has a cute ass. We spoke about this and you agreed, remember?"
He watched her with a raised eyebrow, hearing her heartbeat pouding in her chest while her face turned a deep shade of red.
"Mother! Stop! Talking!" she screamed, her hands shaking.
"Alright, alright!" Linda chuckled.
It felt good to her to hear her mother laugh. She wasn't angry anymore... Just worried. Like always.
"But I do want to speak with Derek."
Not feeling so good anymore.
"Why? You're not going to curse him out, are you?" Florence asked warily.
"No. I just want to speak with him."
"Alright... Hang on a second," she said as she slowly made her way to Derek and handed him the phone. "She wants to talk to you..."
Shit. He put the phone to his ear, his voice clear and strong, just as it always was when he spoke to Linda. "Hello, Ms. Grimm."
"Hi, sweetie. I just wanted to say a few things."
"I'm listening."
"Good, because... HOW FUCKING DARE YOU HAVE SEX WITH MY DAUGHTER?!"
He quickly pulled the phone away from his ear, mumbling, "Holy..."
"DO YOU WANT ME TO CASTRATE YOU?! HUH?! DO YOU?!"
For once, Florence found him terrified. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open slightly while he stared at her.
"N- no! I'm... Sorry...?"
"Good. I really don't want to," she admitted, her voice much calmer than it was just seconds before.
Derek warily put the phone back to his ear. "Right..."
"But I will if you don't get my daughter home soon."
He sighed and nodded even though she couldn't see him, saying, "Yes, ma'am."
"Thank you, son. Bye!" with that, she hung up.
He gave the phone back to Florence, fear still in his eyes.
"I thought she said she wasn't going to curse me out..." he mumbled.
"What did she say?" she asked, setting her phone down on the table with a slight frown.
"She threatened to castrate me..."
Florence tried to refrain from laughing at his expression, but she couldn't... It was funny, damn it! The way he looked so terrified over that threat from her mother was just too perfect. The only thing she could hold herself back from was snapping a photo of him.
"It's not funny..." he grumbled.
"Derek, you look like you're scared for your life. I'm sorry, but it is in fact funny."
"Whatever," he muttered as he stood from the stairs and went to the table, picking up his car keys. "I should get you home before she decides to actually go through with her threat."
"Alright," she giggled as she went to the side of the bed and pulled on her black flats.
Since he put his shoes on while she was in the shower, all he had to do was put on his jacket. He went to do so, going to the wall next to the stairs where the black leather was hanging and picked it up, but he stopped when he realized something.
She's not wearing a bra... Derek glanced over at her torn clothes which were on the table, feeling guilty.
"I'm ready to go," she said, grabbing his attention.
"Hold on," he mumbled, walking over to and behind her, holding his jacket out for her to wear.
"I'm fine, Der. I don't need a jacket."
"Yeah..." he said, glancing down at her chest- which was almost completely visible since the tank top was too big for her- before looking back at her. "You do."
She got it. "Oh..." she blushed deeply and tilted her head down, slipping her arms through the sleeves and zipping it up half-way. "Thank you."
"No problem, Rabbit," he said with a slight smile, leaning down to kiss her gently. She responded in the best way she knew how: She pushed herself up slightly with her toes and kissed him back, lightly touching his biceps.
Derek was not the type to break easily. He didn't allow others to see what he feels, to know what he thinks. Why should he? Why should he show the world what his point of view is, what his feelings are, what he hates, what he loves, what he likes, what he dislikes? Why show this world who he is when they're not even listening?
He never knew the answer to that, so he didn't. He kept to himself, day in and day out. That is, till he got closer to Florence... It was she who taught him to open up, even if he only showed her the good in him. But he still let her in. That's what matters, right? He still allowed her to show him the love he had lived without for so long...
So when he kissed her, he knew there was nothing better to him. Everything about her kiss, from the sweetness, the softness, the tenderness, the love and the pureness of it, was almost overwhelming. He felt his heart break just a little every time he kissed her, the anger and loathing and guilt he buried so deep beginning to seep out of his heart, slowly but surely. It hurt, but it was a good pain... So when she pulled away, he felt a burning whole in his chest.
"We should get going," Florence stated with an innocent smile.
"Yeah..." he smiled back at her, "But one more thing."
She tilted her head slightly, showing she was listening.
"What was that about my ass?"
"Wh- what?" she nearly choked.
"Your mother said something about an agreement that I have a nice ass," he stated with a smirk, crossing his arms.
"You- I... My mom is.." she growled and grabbed him by his forearm then yanked him toward the door. "Take me home before my mother cuts your werewolf balls off."
"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled, allowing her to escort him out.
So there was chapter 7. I really hope you guys liked it because you're the reason I'm writing. Please leave a review, they help me out a whole bunch! I'll have chapter 8 up soon :)