HARSHER THAN THE BARK

A/N: I had no idea how this chapter was going to turn out but I am desperate to know what you guys think of it so review please!

Enjoy!

"Wow, this place is actually pretty nice." Scarlett said in awe, walking further into the apartment so that she could look out of the huge windows that overlooked the Brooklyn Bridge and beyond that the blinding lights of Manhattan.

"Well what did you except?" Derek asked with a laugh, coming up behind her to hug her.

"I don't know…I mean; you've been living in some pretty questionable places in Beacon so…"

"My sister picked this place. It was more hers than mine." Scarlett could feel Derek tense behind her when he mentioned Laura so she decided to change the subject.

"So what do you do in Brooklyn when it's two am and you're starving?" Scarlett asked with a smile.

"Glad you asked." Derek said, kissing her cheek before walking towards the kitchen. Scarlett followed curiously. "I'm going to cook for you."

Scarlett laughed. "With what food? You said this place had been empty since you left."

Derek shook his head and opened the fridge door to reveal a completely stocked fridge. "I had it stocked up yesterday."

"By who?" Scarlett asked.

"A friend." Derek answered simply, taking ingredients from the fridge and from the full cupboards.

Scarlett's eyes widened. "You have friends?" Her voice was filled with surprise, making Derek shake his head and laugh again.

"Is it so hard to believe?"

"Uh, kinda."

"It's not like we stay in touch or anything, they're just people, werewolves mostly, that my sister and I knew from living here. Friends of the family I guess." He explained.

"Ah," Scarlett bit her lip. "So…will I get to meet any of these mysterious friends?"

"Maybe." He shrugged. "We're here for two weeks. We can do whatever you want." He told her, opening a bottle of wine and handing it to her. She narrowed her eyes at the bottle. "Would you prefer a glass?"

Scarlett rolled her eyes, took the bottle from him and took a swig. "You know I don't do glasses." Derek chuckled at her. "So, Chef Derek, what's on the menu?"

"I make a pretty mean spaghetti and meatballs." He said with a smirk.

Scarlett smiled. Spaghetti was her favourite dish, aside from pizza. "You talked to Scott, didn't you?" He just winked at her and she laughed, admiring him in such a natural, relaxed state. It actually felt like they were a normal couple and Scarlett loved it. She knew it wouldn't last forever. This was probably one of the only times he would cook for her but she could just feel herself falling even more deeply in love with him than she already was and she would just have to enjoy the normalcy while it lasted.

"How did you leave things with your mom?" Derek asked out of the blue.

Scarlett sighed. Melissa had been reluctant to let Scarlett go to New York, not just because it was her first time travelling out of Beacon Hills alone and not just because she would be alone with Derek but now that Melissa knew what Derek was, she was still a little freaked out for Scarlett's safety. "Actually, it was Scott that talked her into letting me come. He convinced her that you weren't actually a monster."

"I still haven't officially met her." Derek reminded her.

"We have the whole summer once we get back for you to meet her." Scarlett told him simply. "But enough about all that. That can wait until we are actually home. While we're here I just want to forget about all the worries we have back home and I want to have fun and spend time with you."

"Sounds like a good plan." Derek nodded.

"Okay so first things first, how much alcohol is it gonna take to get you drunk?" Scarlett asked with a laugh.

"A lot." He answered as she jumped out of the stool she had been sitting on and waltzed over to check all the cabinets for alcohol, kissing his cheek on the way.

"I wouldn't peg you as a drinker." Scarlett said as she opened and shut another cupboard.

"I'm not." Derek replied, starting to make the sauce for the spaghetti. "Since I couldn't get drunk I was never one for partying but when we moved here after the fire, all I did was drink to, you know, numb the pain I guess."

Scarlett gave him a sad look before turning back to the cabinet she was looking in and smiling. She pulled out a bottle of vodka and a bottle of whisky. "I'm totally getting you drunk after we eat."

"So I take it sleeping isn't on the list of things to do tonight?" Derek asked sarcastically.

"Sleep? In the city that never sleeps? Yeah, okay." Scarlett replied with just as much sarcasm.

"Do you have anything in particular you want to do while we're here?"

"Everything." Scarlett replied immediately. "I wanna be a complete and utter tourist. I wanna go to Central Park Zoo, the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Museum of Modern Art and the list goes on. I am not wasting any time while we're here."

The food Derek made was incredibly good, which surprised Scarlett because she had no idea he possessed any other skill set than being a werewolf. After scarfing the food down, not wasting any time pretending to be on a real date and being polite, they both flopped on the couch, opening the whiskey bottle.

"Are you sure you should be drinking anymore?" Derek laughed at her as she struggled to open the bottle. Scarlett giggled and gave him a tipsy smile.

"I am not even drink." She slurred.

"I think you mean 'drunk' and I think that maybe you are." Derek said with a grin, snatching the bottle off of her, making her pout.

"No fair." She huffed and crossed her arms over chest, looking like a toddler while she sat cross-legged on the floor.

Derek shook his head at her and offered the, now open, bottle to her. Scarlett smiled and took the bottle, placing it on the small coffee table behind her before all but attacking Derek. She pushed him over so he was lying flat on his back and she was straddling his waist.

"You're amazing." She said in awe as she admired every feature of his perfect face. His perfectly sculpted jaw, his full lips, his God-like cheekbones, his perfectly sized nose and lastly his eyes. His gorgeous, sea-green eyes that were framed by black lashes. Scarlett couldn't believe he was hers. He was her own personal miracle.

Derek shook his head and tucked her hair behind her ear so that he could see her face better. "No, Scarlett. You, are amazing. Perfect, actually…and beautiful-" He placed a kiss on her forehead. "And sexy," He kissed her nose. "And smart," He kissed her cheek and Scarlett giggled. "And strong," He went on, kissing her other cheek before looking in her eyes. "And mine." He kissed her lips full-on, tangling his hands in her hair and sitting up as they quickly lost themselves in each other.

Derek began kissing down Scarlett's neck as she closed her eyes and made a sound of pleasure. It had been too long. She began taking his shirt off and he was more than willing to help before he, in return, took hers off, leaving her clad in nothing more than her underwear since she had removed her jeans after dinner claiming they were too uncomfortable.

Derek turned them and lay Scarlett gently on the floor so he could pay attention to her bra-clad breasts before quickly removing the offensive material. Scarlett let Derek do as he pleased to her body as she relished in every touch, in every kiss, feeling more loved and adored than she had in her whole life. He touched her with such tenderness, making sure never to hurt her or do anything she didn't like. Scarlett gripped his hair as his head disappeared between her legs before she could even notice her panties leaving her body. Scarlett moaned and writhed at his skills and she became impatient, pulling him back up to her face, kissing him and helping him remove his jeans as quickly as possible.

It took Scarlett a little longer to readjust to Derek as they hadn't been intimate in some time but as soon as she felt comfortable he was making her see stars. He was gentle but intense, something that Scarlett admired greatly about him. He knew exactly what she liked. This kind of sex wasn't rough like usual, it was one of those times where they were actually 'making love.' One of those times were they both felt everything and relished in each other's touch. It was the kind of sex that Scarlett could never imagine herself having before she met Derek and even then, she expected to be much older before sex actually meant anything serious to her. She never imagined that she would fall in love with someone to this extreme extent at such a young age. And she definitely never imagined that someone could love her as much as Derek loved her. She felt it radiate off of him, every time she was near him she felt like she belonged, she felt like she was exactly where she needed to be. She felt like she was home.

The remainder of the night was spent in sheer pleasure. The couple didn't stop after just one go. They continued to find different places throughout the apartment to lose themselves in each other completely. But eventually just as the sun started to rise, they ended up back on the floor, wrapped up in nothing more than each other.

The next two weeks were spent doing so much in the city that every night the couple came home absolutely exhausted, sometimes not even managing to stay awake long enough to be intimate.

Scarlett adored New York City. She had loved going to the zoo and feeling like she and Derek were on a normal date. Not to mention she loved all the animals, too. There was just so much to do, and see, in Manhattan. And of course, she loved Brooklyn too but shopping on Times Square all day for three days straight was like her Heaven. She would definitely have to take Lydia at some point so they could have the time of their lives, losing themselves in a huge shopping spree.

Derek, on the other hand, wasn't as thrilled at being dragged to store after store to look at nine different pairs of shoes that he genuinely thought were the exact same pair. But, being the ever-loyal boyfriend he was, he did it anyway. He wanted Scarlett to have the time of her life because he wanted her to forget all about Beacon Hills and the supernatural world and all the crap they had to put up with on a daily basis. He wanted her to enjoy it while it lasted, because they both knew that they're time away from it all was limited.

Living together was a strange new experience for both of them. It wasn't necessarily bad, but needless to say, there was definitely a lot of bickering between the two, mostly over 'stereotypical couple' things.

"Derek! Have you seen my grey crop top?" Scarlett shouted from the bedroom that she was currently tearing apart to try and find the top.

"What one?" Derek asked, walking into the room.

Scarlett stopped and gave him an incredulous look. "My only grey one. The one I asked you to make sure you put in the wash because I got that stain on it from the pasta sauce?" Derek gave her a blank look. "Seriously, Derek! You didn't wash it?"

"Scarlett, you never asked me to wash it." He replied, trying not to let her accusing tone get to him.

"Yes, I did." She said through clenched teeth.

"What's the big deal? You bought tons of other clothes, wear something else today and we can wash it tonight."

"That's the only top I have that matches these shorts!" She pointed to the shorts she was currently wearing.

"Are you kidding me?" Derek asked incredulously. He scoffed. "Hurry up and find something else to wear."

Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him. "No." She said like a stubborn child, folding her arms across her chest.

"Fine. We won't go out then because you're being a child."

"Fine." Scarlett said with a huff, taking a seat on the bed where she refused to move from for the next two hours until Derek coaxed her out with food.

And of course there was handful of other small scenarios in which the couple's patience was put to the test by each other.

"Scarlett, will you hurry up? It's literally going to be the end of the day before we're out the door!" Derek yelled, running a hand over his face. He was getting sick and tired of how long Scarlett took to get ready to go out.

"Beauty takes time babe!" Came Scarlett's reply, to which Derek groaned loudly.

"Holy hell! I think I'm gonna pass out, what the is that God-awful smell?" Scarlett held her nose tightly between her thumb and forefinger as she walked into the bedroom.

"I'm a man!" Derek shouted from the on-suite bathroom, making Scarlett gag and run out of the room for fresh air.

"Oh no, we are not watching whatever mind-numbing crap this is." Derek said, attempting to grab the remote control from Scarlett as he walked into the living room, however she managed to snatch it before he did.

"What? You don't like the Kardashians?" She asked with a teasing smile.

"Who the hell are they?" Derek asked with disbelieving look, taking a seat next to her on the couch.

"Okay, just watch it for a little bit." Scarlett said. Derek sighed but remained quiet, watching as the obnoxious family talked about matters he didn't even know could really exist in some people's worlds, such as, throwing a tantrum over losing an earring in the ocean. Derek wasn't used to such absurdities and it horrified him to watch it.

"Wait a minute." He said, grabbing the remote and pausing the TV on a frame of Kim Kardashian's ass. "There's no way that's real."

Scarlett let out a howl of laughter. That was something she never, in a million years, thought she would see. Derek Hale commenting on Kim Kardashian's ass.

"Who knows." Came Scarlett's reply, still giggling.

"I can't watch this anymore." Derek said seriously, switching the channel to a basketball game.

"Derek! I was watching that!" Scarlett complained, snatching the remote of him and changing it back to Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

"I don't think so." Derek replied, grabbing the remote again and changing the channel. They kept on like this for another five minutes before Derek gave up and walked out of the room.

And then, there was one night when it got serious.

Scarlett and Derek had, by chance, bumped into a group of Derek's mysterious werewolf friends while walking around Brooklyn, looking for somewhere to eat.

The group included three guys and two girls. They all looked around the same age. The first guy, who had recognised Derek, was called Felix. He was tall and lanky with messy brown hair. He seemed to be the leader of the pack and he was dating Jenny, a petite brunette who had a very pinup style which Scarlett liked.

The other two guys introduced themselves as Chad and Greg. They were brothers. Not twins, but only a year or so apart. They both had dirty blonde hair and were of average build although Chad held more authority as he was older.

And lastly, there was Rose, who everyone called Rosie. Tall, blonde and British. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Derek but her seemingly ever-present frown deepened when she laid eyes on Scarlett.

"Derek," Rosie said, throwing her arms around him in an overdramatic fashion. "I've missed you."

"By the look on your face I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say you two haven't had the awkward ex's chat…" Greg whispered to a wide-eyed Scarlett.

"Oh shut up." Jenny pushed him away. "Don't worry about her, she's not nearly as intimidating as she looks." She assured Scarlett.

"Rose." Derek said plainly, having to, more or less, pry her off of him. "This is my girlfriend Scarlett."

Rosie glanced in Scarlett's direction with disapproval with a 'hm' sound to match.

"Lovely to meet you, Rosie." Scarlett said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. There was no way she was going to act as insecure as she felt inside.

"Well, now that we're all acquainted, let's go eat!" Felix said, breaking the awkward tension, slinging an arm over Jenny's shoulders as they led the group to a nearby, casual restaurant.

Scarlett wouldn't have pegged the group for werewolves, especially not Rosie. They all seemed so…normal, and open. Whereas, from what she got from Derek, werewolves were loners who liked to hide from the world.

"So, Scarlett, tell us about yourself." Chad said, leaning back in his seat, his eyes critical.

"Uh, what do you want to know?" Scarlett asked.

"School?" Jenny prompted with an encouraging smile.

"Well I'm about to be a junior in high school- "

"No way you're only seventeen!" Greg leaned forward disbelievingly. Scarlett nodded sheepishly. "Younger chick. Hot." Derek shot him a look and Greg smiled.

"Go on, honey." Jenny said.

"There's not really that much interesting stuff to know about me." Scarlett laughed. "I'm a cheerleader, I'm a twin, this is my first time being out of California."

"Yeah, where was it you ran off to again Derek?" Chad asked. "Bacon…?"

"Beacon Hills." Derek answered.

"Right. How's small town life?" Chad queried.

"It…has its ups and downs." Derek said, glancing at Scarlett, keeping his promise not to talk about any supernatural crazy stuff while they were away.

The rest of the night was filled with mindless chit chat between the group and although Scarlett was mostly kept occupied by Jenny and Greg, the two most light-hearted of the group, she couldn't help but notice Rosie always inching closer to Derek from where she sat on his right side while Scarlett sat on his left.

"So Rosie," Scarlett started, letting her know that she had been caught out. "What part of England are you from?"

Rosie gave her a blank look. "London."

Scarlett nodded. "So what made you want to move here?"

Rosie smiled coyly. "Not that it's any of your business, nor do I need to explain myself to a pathetic little human like you, but it was your boyfriend who convinced me to move here...after we got engaged."

The whole table went silent and Scarlett felt a lump rise in her throat. She was not expecting that, at all.

"Rose." Derek growled. "Can I speak with you outside?" It wasn't a question but before she could even reply Derek was up and making his way outside, followed by a smug-looking Rosie.

"I'm so sorry about that." Jenny sympathised with Scarlett.

"Yeah it wasn't right of her to drop that on you." Felix added in.

"Not cool of her." Greg said, while Chad just sat and said nothing.

"I just…um, that's a lot to compete with." Scarlett said, her voice quiet.

"Trust me, Scarlett, there's no competition. I've known Derek for a long time…Laura was my best friend." Jenny admitted. "And I have never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. It was never like that with Rosie. There was nothing ever there, it was so painfully obvious. But with you, he's different, he's himself again…thanks to you."

Scarlett gave a small smile but Jenny's inspiring words didn't do much to calm her nerves. She sipped on her water as Derek came back with an angry look on his face.

"I think it's time to go." He said gently to Scarlett. The group paid the bill and headed outside.

"It was so great to meet you, Scarlett. And so good to see you again Derek." Jenny said, embracing them both, before taking up her position next to Felix.

"Was nice seeing you, man." Felix pulled Derek in for a bro-hug before turning to Scarlett and giving her a hug too. "And you, Scarlett."

"It was a pleasure to meet you both too." Scarlett said politely before she felt her hand being raised and kissed by Greg, taking her a bit by surprise.

"Til' next time, Scarlett." He gave her a cheeky smile. "See you later bro." He said to Derek, patting him on the back.

Chad just nodded to them both and then there was Rosie who said nothing, only gave a frown and a raise of a perfectly shaped brow. After that, they parted ways.

"Well that was…something." Scarlett sighed, setting her bag down on the counter and turning on the lights of the apartment.

"I'm so sorry about that Scar." Derek said, turning her around to face him. "I didn't think we'd run into them or her."

"So were you ever gonna tell me that you were engaged?" Scarlett raised her brow.

"Yes." Derek answered before sighing. "Probably not." Scarlett scoffed. "Look, it's not something I like to bring up, it was a dark time in my life and Rosie kinda eased the pain to the point I thought I was in love with her but I wasn't. I never was."

"I mean; I know it was before you met me but I would hope that if we're going to be together for a substantial amount of time that you wouldn't keep any secrets from me. And that…that's a pretty big secret, Der. And she is…perfect and British and I'm just me. So, I'm just a little insecure after learning you were going to marry her."

"Scar- "

"I'm actually just gonna go to bed." Scarlett cut him off, walking away to the bedroom.

It was only an hour later and Derek had fallen asleep but Scarlett was still wide awake, replaying the night's events in her head. She suddenly started to feel too hot so she very quietly put on a jacket and shoes and slipped out the front door, into the cool night-time air.

As she walked away from the apartment building she felt her head reeling. She still couldn't believe that Derek was engaged and to someone like Rosie, no less. She just couldn't comprehend it and she wanted to rant about it to Lydia. Taking her phone out of her pocket she looked at the time, it was 3:30am in New York which meant it would be 12:30 in Beacon Hills, and she didn't know if Lydia would still be up. Before she had made the decision whether to call her or not, Scarlett heard whistling behind her.

Discretely, she turned her head and her blood ran cold when she saw a group of guys behind her. She picked up her pace and hit Lydia's name. Maybe if she was on the phone they would leave her alone.

"Hello?" She heard a melodic voice.

"Lydia?" There was no answer and Scarlett looked at her phone only to see that it was dead.

Fuck.

She could hear the guys getting closer and she couldn't see any way of getting back to the apartment without turning around and walking straight passed them. She decided to cross the street in hopes they wouldn't follow.

"Hey baby, what're you doing out here so late?" One of them called. The others laughed and Scarlett really regretted going out at all. Oh God, how she wished Derek would wake up and notice she was gone.

"Where you going, girl? Come back here!" Scarlett's mind raced. There were four guys, all a lot bigger than she was so there was no way she could take them all on. Maybe one but that wasn't the situation.

Stupidly, Scarlett walked up an alleyway, not knowing where else to go and accepting that she was probably going to die and she would never see Derek again, or her mom, or Scott or Lydia…

The guys laughed loudly as they closed in on her. She gathered air to scream but as soon as she made a sound, there was a hand clamped over her mouth. Her eyes went wide as she struggled, flailing her arms. Not knowing what else to do she bit the guy's hand and he yelped.

"Don't fucking touch me!" She growled.

"Bitch!" The guy yelled, slapping her face making her cry out before another guy tried to grab her. She clawed at his face and kneed him in the crotch but another one grabbed her from behind and they began to take her jacket off as the tears streamed down her face but before they could take anything else off of her, she heard a voice.

"Hello, lads." In that moment, the British voice was that of an angel, sent down from above to save her ass.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the men asked. They had all stopped trying to harass Scarlett at this point as they were puzzled by the voice.

"I'm your worst nightmare." The voice was deadly and then in a blur there was animalistic growling and the men were ripped away from Scarlett who fell, smacking her head off the pavement and losing consciousness.

When Scarlett woke up she was vaguely aware that she was moving but she wasn't on her feet. No, she was in someone's arms.

"How are you feeling?" Scarlett looked up and was shocked to see Rosie being the one carrying her. And then it all came back, the men, the slap, the struggle and the voice. They came to a stop and Rosie put Scarlett back on her feet, leaning her against a wall. "You might have a concussion, you hit your head."

"Why did you save me? What happened to those guys?" Scarlett asked groggily.

"They're dead." Rosie answered bluntly. "And I didn't save you for you. I saved you because I care about Derek and he loves you."

Scarlett still didn't understand but she was more than grateful. "Thank you, Rosie. I can't- if they had…I-" Scarlett felt a lump rising in her throat.

"It's fine. You're fine." Rosie's voice was cold but at the same time very endearing and Scarlett trusted her every word.

"Scarlett!" She heard a very familiar voice shout her name. Derek came running towards them at full speed. "What the hell did you do to her?" He growled furiously at Rosie, grabbing her by the throat.

"Derek! Stop!" Scarlett protested, putting a hand on his arm. "She didn't do anything. She saved me."

"Saved you? From what?" He asked, his voice still loud and full of anger even as he put Rosie down and took in the blood coming from Scarlett's head.

"I-I-" Scarlett stuttered.

"Let's not beat around the bush here, Scarlett was attacked by some unsavoury characters and I killed them before they could touch her." Rosie said bluntly.

"Who?" Derek's voice was dangerously low and his eyes burned wildly with a fury Scarlett had never, ever seen.

"They're dead, Derek. It doesn't matter." Rosie told him.

"Like hell it doesn't." His chest was heaving with rage. How dare anyone, ever, touch Scarlett. How could he have let that happen? How could he have been so stupid? "If they didn't touch her, why is she bleeding?" He asked, cradling Scarlett in his arms so that her head was resting on his chest and she could hear his erratic heartbeat.

"She fell and hit her head. You should probably take her to the hospital. You're welcome." Were Rosie's last words before she disappeared into the dim light of the early morning.

They hadn't really talked about that night since they had left New York. Scarlett explained exactly what happened and although Derek was furious at himself for not being there, he calmed down once he was completely sure those scum bags hadn't touched her. Scarlett assured him that she owed her life to Rosie. That was the last they saw of Rosie for the remainder of the trip, which was only two days. In those two days, Derek and Scarlett hadn't been themselves, although Scarlett protested over and over again she wanted to forget about the 'almost accident' and go back to normal. But Derek couldn't. He couldn't forgive himself and he just kept thinking what could have happened if Rosie didn't get there in time and it tore him apart inside.

"Derek, I love you." Scarlett said firmly, before they left for the airport, wanting to reassure him that everything was fine and nothing had changed.

"I love you too, Scarlett."

She knew he meant it, but she felt the distance in his voice. He blamed himself for not being there to be her saviour and slowly, but surely, Scarlett could feel an awful, gut-wrenching wedge beginning to form between them over it and she doubted that they would ever be normal with each other again.