His thighs were already throbbing; his muscles screaming for water. Jake ignored the need for his body's hydration and continued to sprint down the field. Derek had the ball but he was surrounded by opposing colors. He had no clear shot towards the goal or to any players down the field.

Derek had yet to pass the ball to him this season, or rather every season, but the once cranky senior seemed to be taking a turn towards friendly lately. It did seem really odd to Jake that he would try to be pleasant to him but he assumed it was because he was really good friends with Laura. But regarding his current activities, Jake was starting to think the poor guy might be really sick.

Symptom number one: fever. Well at least Jake assumed the older boy had to at least have some bug trying to fry his brain. He caught him in a heated argument with his girlfriend in the school parking lot. Jake had always been sort of envious over that relationship; he managed to snag an older woman. Jake being a rather inexperienced junior, had decided to live vicariously through Derek. Unfortunately their frenzied argument ended when Derek stated he wanted nothing to do with her anymore and sped out of their parking lot in his Camaro. Who broke off a relationship with an older woman with that much experience?

Symptom number two: headache. He had counted last Friday down as a fluke. Derek definitely didn't sit at any table that he had ever occupied and he certainly never missed a chance to discuss his lack of lacrosse skills with him. All those had changed, well not the lacrosse talk, but he no longer resided as head of the popular table.

Everyday after school if there was no lacrosse practice, Derek took his seat next to Alex and began studying. Jake had been surprised to find that he was rather intelligent; a black sheep to the ordinarily stupid white ones that still sat at his original table. He endured their many conversations and still put his two cents in whenever lacrosse came up (the girls did finally forbid lacrosse talk at their table). Derek had even been slightly amused when Jake got in an argument with Alex over who would win in a fight: Batman or Superman?

Again Jake chalked it down to the fact that his sister was friends with both him and Alex. Those peroxide blonde bimbos were enough to give anyone a headache but Jake was convinced the guy must be sick if he was wanting to give all that up.

"Derek I'm open!" Derek's blue eyes flew to Jake, realizing he somehow managed to get past his defender.

Jake gripped his stick even tighter, trying to ignore the salty sting of sweat in his eyes. His feet dug deeper in the earth; ready to spring forward as soon as he passed the ball.

Derek on the other hand, continued to stare at him in disbelieve. He was probably wondering how he had gotten past the other players on the field.

"Derek I'm open!" Jake repeated one more time, trying to get his voice to carry over the sounds of bodies colliding with each other. Derek seemed to snap out of his reverie and almost too fast to see, the ball was in his net.

Jake's feet ripped from the ground and he sprinted towards the goal. It took ten seconds for the team to notice that Derek no longer had the ball; his body was being used to take down any defender that rushed towards Jake.

Jake finally spun around the last man blocking his prize. He could hear his body hit the ground after he collided with the brick house that was Hale. Swiping his stick high above his head, Jake took one last look before he launched it towards the goal.

"Derek's team wins!"

Jake opened his eyes to see that his ball had indeed eluded the goalie and made contact with the net. Several males hollered out in victory; each of them slapping Jake on his back.

"Alright guys, that was a great practice. Now the season starts next month so if we can keep this up, I don't see why we can't kick everyone's asses!"

Jake had never felt so good in his life. It was like he had been standing outside the club doors for years without getting the acknowledgment to enter. And in the short amount of time it took him to make that goal, Jake had finally been anointed into manhood. He was no longer the boy that argued with Derek over their lacrosse plays. He was no longer the boy that played during games but only got recognized by his parents. Jake was finally a part of a team, a part of a family that he had been trying so hard to be brought into.

And suddenly as he walked through the parking lot to his crappy Civic, he began to realize what it felt like to walk with confidence; his back straight and his head held high. He kept his backpack on one shoulder and his hands in his pockets; just like James Dean would.

Approaching his car, he didn't see a Civic anymore, it was a Ferrari. Its body slick and red; beautiful Laura sitting in the passenger seat, waiting for her man to come out. Jake's smile got even bigger as he glanced at his future.

"Spacing out much." Jake's vision dissolved instantly. He stared back at his forest green car, complete, without a girlfriend. Turning his head to his right, he found Derek sitting in his Camaro. He had been trying to back up but with Jake in the way, it would have ended badly.

"Oh….yeah," Jake blushed and barely managed to stutter out his response. Striking up a faster pace, Jake nearly ran around his bumper to get to his door. The keys fumbled between his fingers before falling dramatically to the asphalt at his feet.

Cursing quietly to himself, he reached for the fallen objects to only encounter an even bigger problem…a flat tire. "Oh come on! Are you serious?!"

"Flat tire there Jake." Jake didn't realize that Derek hadn't left yet. Shooting up abruptly from his crouch, his head rammed harshly into his side mirror.

"Oh mother!"

Rolling his eyes, Derek got out of his vehicle, leaving it running right behind Jake's inhibited piece of junk. "How did you not feel that earlier when you drove to school?"

"I don't know. I guess it felt a little bumpy but I don't know cars."

"Obviously."

Embarrassed, Jake rubbed the top of his head as he watched Derek examine his busted tire. "What you do expect? I've been raised by a single mother."

"My mother knows cars," replied Derek. His raised eyebrows gave no room for misinterpretation. Derek seriously thought he was a dork again. "Where's your spare tire?"

Halting briefly from rubbing his head, Jake squeezed out a heavy sigh between his clenched teeth. "Yeah about that….I don't have one."

"How do you not have a spare?"

"Well, technically I do…." Derek continued to stare as he rambled, "but it's in my garage….at my house."

"Why….," suddenly stopping his speech, Derek stood from his crouch and turned back to his car, "I'm not going to ask anymore questions because we're just going to go in circles. Look just get in my car and I'll take you home."

"Really?" Surprised, Jake stared openmouthed at the senior.

"Unless you would rather walk."

"No, I'm good!" Grabbing his dropped backpack, Jake sprinted over to the passenger door of Derek's Camaro. Its smooth handle and dark paint job whispered dangerous ideas to him; his blood suddenly felt on fire with excitement.

Jake barely clicked the seatbelt into place before Derek was shooting out of the parking lot; his hands shifting gears with exact precision.

"Where do you live?"

"Oh it's the only blue house down on Harrison street."

Nodding his head slowly, Derek continued through town without further talk. Jake kept his attention out his window hoping to minimize the awkwardness in the air. Stopping at a light a few blocks down from his street, his attention was drawn to the sight of muscular legs clad in small shorts. She was walking ahead of them, probably heading home after a good workout. With the hood of her dark jacket pulled over her head, Jake wasn't sure if he actually knew her or not.

"Hey Derek, check her out…she's got a nice body." Derek stared at Jake as he practically fogged up his window with his breath. He might as well have had his tongue hanging out. Waiting for the light to change, he turned his attention to the wonder that Jake was fascinated by. With her back turned to them, he couldn't actually tell if they had seen her before, but he admitted that Jake was right. Those tight spandex shorts certainly showed her assets off well.

"Hey when we get up to her, would you be willing to slow down so I can talk to her?"

Derek broke off his stare to simply gawk at Jake, "Seriously?"

"What you don't think I can 'woo' her with the infamous Jake charm?"

"No"

Jake's cheeks heated from his embarrassment, "Wanna bet? 20 bucks?"

"Deal"

Derek smirked and placed his hands back on the steering wheel, waiting for the light to change. The bright green signaled his excitement and he shot forward, closing in on the space between them and their game.

Pulling over slightly so they drove over the bike lane, Derek got up behind her before he signaled Jake to start talking to her. Nodding his head eagerly, Jake rolled down his window and hollered, "Hey there baby girl, what's your name?"

The girl jumped slightly from the sound of his voice, dropping her Ipod in the process. Picking up the device from the ground quickly (the boys both enjoying that view), she spun around harshly.

"Alex?!" Jake nearly choked on her name as it left his lips.

"What the hell are you doing Jake?! You trying to scare me?" Alex was slowly trying to calm down her heart rate as she approached Derek's car. The first idiot was still choking on his own spit while the second idiot just stared at her. Reaching her hand through Jakes open window, she smacked his back several times, trying to calm his coughing spell.

"Thanks for that Alex." Jake finally took a shuddering breath without sputtering out one of his lungs.

"Do you feel better?" Jake smiled and nodded his head at her.

"Good." Reaching back through the window, Alex smacked Jake on the back of his head.

"Ouch! What was that for?!"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it was for the, "hey baby girl" douche bag you were twenty seconds ago!"

Derek was honestly having a really hard time not losing it in front of those two. He knew in his head that Jakes new found confidence was going to get him in trouble but he didn't realize fate was so cruel. He knew Jake didn't have feelings for Alex because his heartbeat rarely changed when he was around her. The only time it ever sped up was when his sister was around; something he truly wanted to kill the boy over.

Hearing a rather loud slap erupt in his car, he watched Jakes head bounce forward from the force that was Alex's hand. Her eyes were narrowed in anger as she bitched him out for being disrespectful towards women. He would have normally laughed at the lame excuses Jake was trying to give her but he couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful brunette in front of him.

He honestly didn't remember the day that he actually realized how beautiful Alex was but it always seemed to circle around the days when she was angry. Her eyes would suddenly become dark, contrasting with the red splotches on her cheeks. She preferred to talk with her hands, emphasizing every passionate word that rushed from her mouth.

He continued to watch her as she finally forgave Jake with a brilliant smile. Her white teeth shone brightly against her tan skin; something she had only just obtained within the past month. Her hair was restrained back in a messy bun but the wet tendrils that had managed to escape, framed an exhausted face.

"Hey do you want a ride?"

Both Alex and Jake halted their conversation to stare at Derek. His back was leaning casually against the door as he had watched the two of the them bicker for the past ten minutes.

Alex swiped her hand across her forehead, trying to get rid of any extra sweat that might have escaped since she started walking. "Oh Derek, ummm….actually I'm good. I'm pretty sore so the walking will help and I've got a headache too so then the fresh air is also a plus."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Derek stared into her eyes a little harder. She did seem to be in some pain, something he had missed earlier when he was assessing her. "Are you sure? Jake can get in the back."

"Hey! Why do I have to get in the back?" The looks from both Alex and Derek were enough to shut him up. Turning his attention away from their burning irises, he reached for his wallet. He now owed Derek twenty dollars.

Alex ignored the fact that Jake was handing Derek a twenty and placed her headphones back in her ears. "Yeah I'm sure Derek. I do really appreciate the offer but I do just want to walk home. It's about ten minutes anyway."

"Are you positive?"

Laughing, Alex stepped back onto the sidewalk and began walking again. "Yeah I'm positive Derek."

Derek sighed and began to shift his car back into gear. His hands stalled briefly as he saw her stopping. Turning around, she smiled at him, "And besides, I wouldn't be caught dead in a Camaro."

Alex really didn't lie to the boys to get out of riding in the car. Sure, she wasn't a fan of Camaros but her sudden rash of headaches was making it nearly impossible to handle the noise of the engines. The fresh air on her walks paired with her Florence & The Machine playlist, was enough to calm the nerves and handle the pain better.

Stalking up her driveway, she could see her father working on his car in the garage. Depositing her backpack by the front door, she went to see what he was tinkering on today.

"Hey dad!"

The older man cursed loudly as his head meet the hood of his car, "Seriously? Every time Alex. I'm starting to think you're doing that on purpose."

Smirking to herself, Alex jumped up on the stool by his work bench, "Sorry, dad"

She watched as her dad laughed, wiping his hands free of oil. The older man stood over six feet, which was enough to intimidate anyone, but matched with his bulky ex-football player body, her father was rather scary looking. But Alex knew the man that he truly was. He was the man that dressed in superhero capes with her when she was little. He was the man that allowed her to keep every abandoned animal she ever found. He was the man that taught her everything she knew about cars.

"How was dancing today?"

Alex stopped cleaning the car parts on the bench, bringing her attention back to her father. "It was good. I found a song I really like so I've been trying to choreograph a routine to it."

"I really wish you'd join a company again. You know your mother and I love watching you dance."

"I know….so how's the car coming along?"

Her father smirked at her. She had always been good at changing topics when she didn't want to talk. Grabbing the dirty rag that rested on the engine, he lowered the prop stick and dropped the hood into place. "I'm done. Do you want to hear it?"

"Hells yes!"

"Don't let your mom hear you say that, "laughing, her father twisted the key to turn the car over. The roar of over 400 horsepower vibrated violently along the walls of the garage. The monster stirred her blood and set it on fire. She kept her hands clenched in her lap, her nails digging into her palm, trying to keep her mind off the pain the noise was erupting in her head.

As sudden as the roar had started, her father shut it down. "Hey what's wrong? Is it your head again?"

"It's ok dad, it's just a headache."

Her father approached her and placed his hands on her face, "Yeah but it's different with you. I'm just concerned. Maybe we should go see the doctor again."

"Dad, they said this was expected. They can't do anything about it." Slipping off the stool, she walked around her fathers car. Running her hand along the side, she remembered long hours spent with him trying to make it into the beast it was today.

"Hey dad, could I ask you a favor?"

Sighing, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, "And what favor is this?"

"Well there's this boy…."

"Oh god…this isn't you trying to give me a heart attack over a boy is it?"

" Would you let me finish?!" Alex threw her arms in the air dramatically.

"Ok, sorry."

"Anyway…..there's this boy at school and I was wondering if I could drive the car to school tomorrow?"

"Why?"

"Because he drives a Camaro."

His laugh came out so abruptly, it resembled more of a bark than anything. Grabbing the keys from his pocket, he tossed them to her. "Show him what a real car is."

Catching the keys, she squealed excitedly. Running forward, she jumped onto his back as he turned, squeezing her arms around his neck. "Thanks dad!"

"Just take care of my baby. I love it more than you."

"Hey!"

"Ok…I love you equally."

"Alright I'll take that."

Hey Guys! I know there's not a lot of Derek and Alex interaction in this chapter but I wanted to get other character POVs in as well. I'm trying to make Jake a little like Stiles. My plan is to have Alex create a bond with Stiles since he reminds her so much of Jake.

Don't worry the next chapter is going to have a ton of Derek and Alex interaction without the company of friends around. I do plan on uploading a few more chapters of these flashbacks so you guys can see the back story to these two.

The end of season 2 of teen wolf will end this story but season 3 will bring part 2 which is really exciting for me because I'm going to be bringing in the darker elements. We'll be able to find out what Alex was doing in London and why exactly she has changed so much. More importantly, why are her hands so dirty with past bloodshed? It'll tie in quite nicely with the arrival of the Alpha pack.

Thanks again for all your support! Please read and review!