A/N: This chapter is going to be more informative, maybe even bordering on boring but there is important stuff goin' on here! Also, sorry for not posting yesterday! I was absolutely exhausted and didn't have time to write it before I fell asleep. So here ya go, the next chapter!

WARNING: TRIGGERING DESCRIPTIONS OF CUTTING AND DEPRESSION!

Also smut in later chapter. The smutty kinda smut that's between two guys. The best kind of smut. ENJOY!

Chapter 3

Everything was dark. The chaos was silent but deafening. It was everywhere and surrounded him in its icy grip. There was no way he could fight it and simply slipped into its embrace. No air could reach him and he felt the deep pain of aching lungs pierce through his cold chest. A flare of heat enwrapped his wrist, tugging on him insistently even though he made no effort to chase after such precious heat. The warmth turned into a searing brand that tugged and pulled at him with a panicked urgency until finally he was pulled through the dark surface of his nightmare.

Stile woke gasping for breath, his heart beating wildly in his chest as his ears rang with white noise until he could focus on what was in front of him. Derek's face surfaced, his mouth moving to the words starting to echo in his ears.

"…e on. Stiles come on! Stay with me! Breathe slowly. In, out. In, out." Derek's voice started a mantra, retraining him on how to breathe as he gripped his wrist hard to anchor him.

"D-Derek. Wh…what?" was all he managed to get out before he felt like he couldn't breathe again.

"Slowly. Just take it easy. Come on, up we go."

Derek hauled him off the floor and half carried him to the bed where Stiles collapsed once more. Derek didn't touch him more than necessary, giving him room to breathe and fully wake up. After a few minutes Stiles was able to focus on more than the dark floor in front of him. The loft was dark and mostly silent. The only noise coming from the crazed wind and rain on the window. Finally Stiles turned to face Derek's carefully collected figure sitting a safe distance away from him.

"What happened? Did I fall asleep?"

"You were definitely unconscious. You stopped breathing."

Stiles frowned. No wonder the pain in his dream seemed so real. "For how long?"

"Not sure. Took me a bit to realize the added silence and that's when I noticed you weren't making any sound. Does this happen often?"

"I don't know." Stiles said with only half the truth since he usually didn't sleep in the first place.

Derek stared at him for a long time, his eyes flicking back and forth between Stiles' and Stiles stared right back, too drained to care about Derek being weird…again. Whatever Derek had been looking for seemed to satisfy him enough to give a nod and huff a bit before standing up again.

"You're cold, you can take my bed." He said curtly and gestured to the half unmade bed with a small sweep of his hand.

"No thanks. I'm fine in the chair. I probably won't be able to sleep after that nightmare. Besides, I have a blankie." Stiles said in almost a whisper. He just didn't care enough to talk properly at the moment.

Derek's bushy eyebrows drew together in a frown. "Well, just in case you happen to fall asleep I don't want you to fall off the chair again." He put emphasis on the last word.

"Won't happen again." Stiles mumbled back stubbornly and made a move to get up.

An arm gripped around his waist and hauled him right up off his ass and practically threw him at the pillows at the head of the bed. Stiles gasped as he hit the soft mattress and bounced for a few seconds. The bed dipped beside him as Derek climbed under the covers and pulled them up around the both of them.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Stiles yelled before Derek shushed him and pointed to the other two sleeping curled up under blankets on the sofa.

"You're being stubborn. Just shut up and go to sleep. You won't be cold and you won't fall off this way." Derek grumbled and turned his back to Stiles.

For a couple seconds he contemplated climbing back out of the bed but thought better of it realizing he'd only be able to sit up before Derek had him smooshed against the pillows again. Stiles' face lit in a blush as lurid thoughts flooded his brain briefly at the thought before shuddering and pulling the blankets tighter to him and curling up.

"You're an ass." He mumbled quietly, knowing Derek could easily hear him.

"You're stubborn." Came the gruff reply.

Stiles felt warmer already with the heat of the werewolf against his back. Goosebumps rose on his skin as he shivered again. The storm let out a particularly loud growl of thunder and he felt the bed jerk. For a moment he thought that maybe Derek was just adjusting but then lightning cracked again and again the bed jolted and he couldn't keep the slight smile from his face. Slowly he pushed back and felt his spine touch Derek's warm back and sighed a little.

"Thanks." He whispered, barely giving any voice at all.

There was no reply and he was glad about that. He didn't need a touching moment with a broody werewolf in said werewolf's bed. He simply shut his eyes and waited for morning.

The only indication that morning had come was the shifting of waking werewolves. Isaac stirred first which jostled Scott who whined until he finally sat up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Stiles watched from his cocoon of blankets at the two of them as the said their good mornings and Isaac shuffled to the bathroom, shivering once his feet hit the cold floor. Derek stirred behind him and he scooted away so he wouldn't have the unpleasant surprise of Stiles smooshed against his back. Scott saw the movement from the couch and at first the sleepy expression didn't change much but then slowly transformed to confusion then horror as he saw Stiles' face amongst the blankets in Derek's bed.

"Uh, what are you doing in Derek's bed Stiles?" Scott asked, breaking the storm riddled silence.

"He fell out of his chair last night and was absolutely frozen." Derek's grumpy voice broke in before Stiles' could.

Scott's face turned back to confusion. "Wait, he was sleeping in the chair? Why didn't you come over here?"

Stiles simply shook his head and sat up, bringing the blanket with him. The bed jostled beneath him and he didn't have to turn around to know that Derek had sat up as well.

"Good thing it's Saturday. I don't think I'd make it to school today, let alone step outside." Isaac yawned as he exited the bathroom, blanket wrapped tightly around him once more. "What's for breakfast?"

That got things going and soon all three werewolves were in the kitchen up the stairs while Stiles simply sat in bed and listened to Derek telling them not to make a mess of his kitchen. The other two grumbled but soon he could hear cereal being poured and the sound of pans being banged around. He sighed and got up, leaving the warmth of the blankets and shivered at the cold concrete beneath his previously warm toes. The clothes at the door were probably dry by now and upon closer inspection the material was stiff and a little dusty from the floor but definitely dry. Their shoes needed more time to dry but that was to be expected.

Stiles quickly changed into his own clothes and bundled Derek's clothes and stuffed them into his backpack to wash later. As he contemplated leaving Derek's voice rang down the stairs.

"Stiles! You going to eat?"

"Nah, I'm good. No appetite in the mornings." He called back up.

"Whatever dude! You're hungry all the time!" Scott called down next.

Stiles shook his head and zipped up his backpack. He wouldn't leave just yet. There was something he needed to talk to Derek about first. With his feet now covered by socks he made his way over the expanse of concrete to the metal stairs and into the dining room area beside the kitchen. The three of them had already broken out a variety of food. There was bacon being pulled out of the fridge and eggs already on the counter, the Styrofoam top already opened to reveal the pearly white eggs.

"You guys do know the powers out right? And probably the gas too. How are you going to cook those? Isaacs the smart one with the cereal."

They all looked at him for a bit, stilling all their movements before it seemed to dawn on them that he was right. Slowly they began putting the food back in the fridge.

"Fridge isn't working either." He said quietly and they all groaned.

Isaac slowly brought the milk he'd just opened to his nose and sniffed. Then sniffed again.

"Milk smells fine."

"Yeah, for now while it's still cold from the residual cooling after the power went out. And now that you opened the fridge that isn't gonna work anymore."

Scott and Isaac groaned loudly while Derek sighed and rubbed a hand over his forehead like this grieved him greatly.

"Just stick everything perishable in the freezer, it's still cold enough, and everything else that won't spoil in what little warmth there is in the house can stay in the fridge." He offered the solution quickly so they wouldn't think he was just there to deliver bad news and destroy their morning.

Things were slower and less enthusiastic than minutes before and Stiles felt a pang within him as they gave him sad puppy eyes, except for Derek who had his usual broody scowl in place once more, and he immediately shrank back, pulling his arms around him as he starting stepping towards the stairs again.

"Ah, sorry to ruin your breakfast. Um, if you had matches then you could light a fire in a small grill on the stove if you have one…" he offered and swiftly exited back downstairs.

There was no movement upstairs for a bit as he sat back in his chair from last night and felt the cold seep back into his skin, all warmth from last night gone once more. He should have just left earlier. Voices echoed down to him as the three wolves contemplated breakfast before there was a lot of shuffling and banging of kitchen ware. Drawers rolled open and there was clacking of cutlery until Scott let out a triumphant shout and the drawers were rolled shut once more. Soon the sounds of bacon sizzling in a pan over a fire filled Stiles' ears and Scott and Isaac's banter over crispy for Scott or floppy for Isaac's bacon began. Derek eventually growled at them to shut up and that there would be an even amount of both for both of them.

Stiles sat there and watched the storm out the top of the large, half covered window and waited for a break in the storm to run down to his Jeep. He just couldn't be cooped up with them when he wanted to be alone. He hated seeing everyone so happy when he couldn't feel that way. It wasn't until almost the end of breakfast when the wind stopped whistling and the clouds were letting out sporadic bursts of rain. Finally he clambered off his chair and grabbed his wallet from his bag beside the door.

"I'll be right back guys!" he yelled then quickly slipped out the door and shut it behind him before he got an answer.

His shoes were still a little soggy and froze his already cold toes as he trudged down the stairs. The asphalt was dark with water all the way to the stairs inside the parking garage having flooded from the still ongoing rain. Stiles slogged over to the driver's side of his Jeep and unlocked it, climbing into the dry cab and slamming the door shut once again. He sat there, cold and aching as he listened to the muted sounds of the rain before starting up the Jeep and backing out of his spot and driving into the pouring rain.

The wind wasn't too bad, having died down for a bit, but the rain was still making it hard to see and the roads slippery. Luckily his destination wasn't too far away and pulled into a parking spot in front of the grocery store. He had about thirty dollars on him for emergencies and he was pretty sure being stuck inside Derek's house with a limited supply of food and hungry werewolves counted as an emergency. Walking into the store he noticed the lights were on and the fridges holding the food and frozen things were still working.

"Back-up generators." He mumbled and sighed, wishing Derek's place had that too so he didn't need to be here.

Bright red banners yelled at him from every corner shouting Emergecy Sale! 50% off EVERYTHING in the store!

"Spelled 'emergency' wrong." Stiles muttered as he grabbed a cart and went straight for the camping isle.

Charcoal and matches first, pack of water next, and finally a bunch of meat to keep the ravenous wolves. After picking up three rib-eye and three t-bone steaks he walked to the check-out counter. The wind had begun to pick up outside and the clerk didn't seem to see the urgency in Stiles' bouncing. By the time his check-out was done and he'd paid all but two pennies of his thirty dollars the wind was whistling once more and the rain was pounding on the windows. When Stiles stepped outside he was immediately frozen in the icy combination.

The groceries were mostly safe in the plastic bags but still a little water got in and soaked a bit of the charcoal bag by the time he'd climbed into his Jeep. The drive back was absolutely terrifying. It'd gotten so cold out that the rain had started turning to sleet, pinging off his car in loud ricochets. When he finally made it back to the parking garage he'd almost been in two accidents and had hydroplaned numerous times. The safety of the parking garage had him breathing a sigh of relief and he sat there with his Jeep turned off and just thought about things. He trailed his fingers over his wrist and sighed at the ache. The bandages were still soaked and wished he'd picked up some bandages while still at the store. Though he hadn't had enough money so he guessed it wouldn't have mattered.

He needed to talk to Derek about the body they'd found before the storm had hit and he needed to get a hold of his dad to see if he was doing ok. They had a heck of a lot more food in the house than Derek did so he should be able to make it through the storm comfortably even though the food in the fridge would most likely spoil. Scott's mom would probably be holed up in the hospital attending to anybody that'd been caught in the storm. It was probably a refuge for others unable to make it home as well.

Stiles contemplated just staying in the Jeep for the remainder of the storm but the meat would go bad so he slowly gathered the bags and pushed open the door. Once he locked it he pulled one leg in front of the other just enough to make it up the stairs and knocked quietly on the door. The heavy metal was immediately jerked aside and all three werewolves faces were in his in a second.

"What the hell Stiles!" Scott.

"Where'd you go?!" Isaac.

"That was a stupid move Stilinski." Derek.

Stiles just held up the wet bags without saying anything back. Their faces all went from staring at Stiles to looking at the bags. Isaac reached out for the first one and Scott and Derek took the other two. Slowly they fell back and started inspecting the contents of each bag.

"Did…did you go out in the storm because of this?" Derek asked, holding up the bag of meat.

Stiles nodded and the other two both looked to Derek, wondering where he was going with this.

"That was incredibly reckless! The storm could have killed you! And over what? A little bit of meat?!" Derek yelled and held up the bag like it was offending him.

Stiles cringed at the severity of his voice and sat down next to the door, putting his cold hands under his armpits as he shivered in his sodden clothes. Scott and Isaac stayed silent, choosing to rifle through the bags instead. Getting no response to his questions, Derek thrust the bag back at Stiles.

"Well, might as well put it in the freezer."

Stiles grabbed the bag and stood up once more without a word. He quickly made his way upstairs and pushed the bag of meat into the freezer, quickly taking note of the two chicken breasts, milk, eggs, butter, package of bacon, two sirloins, and two ice trays. When he checked the cupboard he found a bag of potatoes, two boxes of half empty cereal, a loaf of bread, and a couple cans of beans. Now he felt like crap since he really did do all of that for nothing. Absolutely nothing. The pain hit him harder than he thought it would. For a bit he'd actually been hoping that he'd been helpful, even a little bit, but he'd just caused them undue worry. Finally he went back down the stairs and saw the others going through the stuff they'd pulled out of the bags. This time he simply opened the door and walked out without telling them he'd be back. They didn't even ask.

Stiles was beginning to hate those stairs, walking up and down them but it gave him time to think, or well, not to think. All he could think about was the weight in his back pocket and the comfort it could bring. The comfort from this empty ache he feels. As he scoots into the passenger side of his Jeep next to the pack of bottled water he pulls out his cutter and a rag he keeps in his Jeep. Jerking back the sleeve of his damp flannel then the bandage he pressed the sharp point straight into his skin and sucking in a breath at the jolt of pain. After a second of holding it there he pulled it down his wrist before removing it from his skin. The deep red seeped into the white towel and stained it permanently.

"Why am I so useless?" he whispers as he holds the knife up to the light so it shines back at him.

Again he presses the cutter into his skin and breaks through, dragging it down. Again, three times. The pain drowns out the disappointment and pain that's built up inside of him from one day with the others. How had he put up with them the entire time? His face scrunched in pain as his mind spun round and round. The others just didn't notice him. Didn't notice that he wasn't talking and wasn't eating as he usually did. What was he to them?!

Nothing. Just like what he felt after he realized once again how little he meant to them.

He lets himself bleed some more until the fiery pain dies down and the ache is left as a small comfort and reminder that he's alive even when he doesn't want to be. He took his time bandaging his wrist again and putting the drying rag back into his glove compartment wrapped up in itself so it didn't stain anything else and masked most of the scent of his blood. He had to take precautions around werewolves.

When he finally felt he could face everyone once more he grabbed the pack of water and plodded back up the stairs. He felt winded when he reached the top. Even though he was freezing he could feel sweat gathering at the small of his back and at his hairline. Hopefully that would mask the smell of any leftover blood. The door swung open when he reached it and the water was taken from his hands immediately. His long fingers ached from the weight and he flexed them to get rid of the numbness. Before Derek could say anything that would ruin his pain buzz he lifted a finger at him.

"Look, sorry I took off without saying anything and sorry I went out into the storm. Also sorry I got extra supplies when we obviously didn't need them. Now that my blunder is acknowledged and I am humiliated and have apologized, can we please get on with the murder that happened yesterday? I heard from Scott that there'd been a murder that raised suspicions." He said quickly and efficiently.

Derek shut his mouth before opening it again after Stiles was done, looking taken aback.

"Ok." Derek quickly agreed and went right into the murder investigation. "Well, the victim was male in his late twenties. There was nothing really special about the body except for this strange odor I got when I passed by the crime scene. It wasn't human and I'd never smelt it before. That's why I suspect there's another creature in Beacon Hills."

Stiles nodded and crossed the room to sit on the chair next to the desk since his feet were so cold they burned. He took off his shoes and crossed them under him and his hands were once more under his arms he looked back at the three of them.

"What exactly did this smell, smell like?" he asked slowly. "Like, could you relate it to anything you have smelt before? Say a type of plant or maybe plastic or anything at all similar?" Stiles says as examples.

Derek was already slowly shaking his head. "I'm telling you. It was a pretty unique odor. I'm sure if I come across it again I'd know, but with this weather I can't do a thing." He said, gesturing at the window.

"Yeah, this storm is pretty weird." Isaac mumbled and rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort.

"You think it might have something to do with the deaths?" Scott asked both Stiles and Derek quickly, his head whipping back and forth between the two several times.

Stiles shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea. I have no internet to check any of this stuff out and the only written bestiary is still with Allison…or does Lydia have it?" Stiles' brow furrowed in thought as he leaned back in the chair.

"I don't think it has anything to do with the body. There might be something supernatural about the storm itself though. Like it's a whole different thing itself."

"Very eloquently put, but yeah I think you might be right. There is absolutely nothing 'natural' about this storm. Sure it's autumn but we live in California. We never get weather like this. Except for that one time when I was small." Stiles amends quickly.

"I remember a storm like this as well. I was about twelve I think." Derek says quietly.

They were silent for a bit, listening to the sounds of the storm and remembering the last time they'd heard it so long ago and tried to recall the similarities between the two.

"You think they're connected?" Scott broke the silence.

"Maybe. It could be a possibility with the place we live in. We just need to figure out what's causing it and how." Derek mumbled.

"We also need to figure out how long it's going to last because if we don't get a break soon then there's no way for us to find out." Stiles said just as quietly.

Isaac sighed and ran his fingers through his curly hair, looking distressed. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled outside, causing Scott and Isaac to jump and Derek's jaw to clench. Stiles just sat there and watched them as he thought these things through.

"Do your cell phones work?" he asked them.

All three pulled their cells out of their pockets and checked the signals. All three shook their heads.

"Damn. We need to call Allison and Lydia and tell them about the storm and the body. But we have no power so we can't charge the phones if they die. Two of you should turn off your phones while the other keeps theirs on in case there's a break in the storm and we get some signal. Whose has the most battery?"

They all looked at each other's phones before Derek held his up a little. Stiles wasn't surprised since Derek didn't look like he used his much.

"Ok, the other two should shut off theirs."

Once only Derek's phone remained on Stiles nodded and sniffed a little as his red nose started to run with cold.

"Well, that's all we can do for now. I guess we just wait the storm out."

Two sighed in disappointment while Derek simply nodded and put the phone on the table. It was about midmorning leaning towards afternoon by now and Stiles felt a bit faint. It was probably from the blood loss from earlier and the lack of food for two and a half days he reasoned and stood up once more. Derek gave him a calculating look when he headed up towards the kitchen but he paid him no mind.

There was no leftover food from breakfast but he wasn't expecting any. He pulled the bread out of the cupboard and pulled out two slices before replacing the loaf. The freezer was absolutely frigid and when he pulled out the butter he saw ice crystals forming on the top. At least he knew it'd last a while like this. He quickly spread a bit on each piece and put the butter back before biting into the bread. It was cold but it took the edge off his hunger for a bit. Once his stomach had been satisfied he went back down and pulled a water out of the pack and took a long sip. He felt a little less shaky now. When he looked up from his water Derek was still looking at him with that weird expression.

"What?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"You should change back into the sweats I loaned you. They're warmer and dryer." Derek said before clambering onto his bed and pulling out a book.

Stiles realized that the others were still in the sweats Derek had loaned them and Derek himself looked comfortable in a long sleeve shirt and stretchy jeans. Stiles looked kind of like a bum in his wrinkled, slightly dirty, damp clothes. He nodded and grabbed the clothes from his backpack without an argument. This time the bathroom was open and he pulled off his clothes, mindful of his wrist, and tugged on the warm, dry sweats. His body felt so small in the big clothes meant for the larger man. He'd lost weight since he no longer wished to eat anything. When he looked in the mirror he saw dark circles under his tired, brown eyes. His hair had gotten longer since he'd cut it a couple months ago and now hung limp on his forehead and over his ears.

He looked pathetic.

Stiles jerked away from the mirror and gathered up his strewn clothes and walked back out into the front room. He tossed his clothes towards his backpack and resumed his place on the chair at the desk. Scott and Isaac were playing some game and Derek was reading. It was dark but he guessed having werewolf sight had its perks. He laid his head down on the desk and simply got lost in his numbness like he was so used to doing. Eventually he fell into a stupor and saw nothing even though his eyes were open.

A/N: This might not have been the most exciting chapter but it has its purposed. We've distinguished that there are two new supernatural forces in Beacon Hills once more and the wolves are stuck inside. They're also douches. Stiles was only trying to help! Derek's an ass!

Next chapter will have more fun in it. Boredom and the coming full moon will have the werewolves stir crazy for some action! ~hearts~