This one's another original chapter so it's a bit shorter, but I think you guys will like it.

Song: I Won't Say (I'm In Love) from Disney's Hercules

"DEREK TYLER HALE!"

The loft door slammed open. Jennifer pulled away with a sharp gasp, yanking the sheets up to cover her bare chest.

Cora stormed in, her eyes blazing. Her fury was so thick a human could probably taste it. Derek tensed as her upper lip curled in disgust. Her glare shifted from him to Jennifer, who cringed at the look in her eye. Derek wrapped an arm around her in case Cora decided to go for her throat.

Cora's eyes flashed gold. "Out," she snarled. She was hanging onto her humanity by a single thread.

Derek glared at his sister. The loft was his, not hers. He was Alpha, not her.

Jennifer glanced between them nervously. "Derek? Who's…"

"My sister."

Cora didn't bother asking a second time. She lunged forward and seized Jennifer by the arm to yank her off the bed, dodging Derek's swinging fist.

Jennifer gasped in pain. "Ow! Let go of me!"

"If you'll excuse us, we need to talk to Derek alone." At some point, Peter had slipped in and sprawled on the couch. His polite smile made every hair on Derek's body stand on end. "Family business."

Derek slid off his bed, hyper-aware of how vulnerable he was naked, and blocked Cora's path to the door. "Let her go," he growled.

Cora bared her fangs but shoved Jennifer in his direction. He caught her before she fell.

"You okay?" he whispered. He winced at the dark purple bruise already spreading across her delicate skin.

"Three seconds!" Cora hollered unnecessarily as she stormed to the other side of the room.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's probably safer if you go."

Jennifer chuckled mirthlessly. "Yeah, probably. I'll see you later?"

He smiled. "I'll find you."

Cora stomped past them, fabric balled in one hand and shoes in the other, and tossed everything that belonged to Jennifer down the hallway. "Leave."

Jennifer shot Cora an offended glare but fled.

"Pleasure meeting you," Peter called.

Cora slammed the door shut and locked it. Then she slid the metal bar across the door.

No escape.

Derek's eyes flared, his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he braced himself for a fight. "Can I at least get dressed－"

Cora lunged before he finished speaking. "What. The. Hell?" She punctuated every word with a punch or a kick. Derek blocked them easily. "You bastard! We thought you were dead!" Her punch turned into a swipe of her claws. He had to bend back to keep her from tearing his eyes out. "Crystal－"

He dropped and swept her legs out from underneath her. "What about Crystal?" he demanded, pushing himself to his full height. "Is she okay?"

"Oh, now you care?!"

He sensed movement behind him and spun to find his throat caught in Peter's iron grip. Spots swam in front of his eyes as the wood splintered beneath Derek's now fractured skull. Claws dug themselves into the fragile skin at his throat. He froze at the far too familiar feeling of blood running down his bare skin. One wrong move, and Peter would rip his throat out.

"The only reason your intestines aren't all over this room is because, for some godforsaken reason, Crystal actually likes you. She'd be devastated if anything happened to you." Peter's blue eyes glowed even brighter as they met Derek's solid red, their faces mere inches apart. "She spent hours crying over you. She swore you weren't dead."

"We tore through the whole damn town looking for you," Cora yelled. "And you couldn't be bothered to pick up your phone?!"

"It's a little hard to call someone when your phone's in a million pieces," Derek retorted, trying to ignore the way his heart clenched.

He'd hurt her. Again. It seemed like no matter what he did, he was always hurting her.

Peter's claws receded, but Derek didn't get a chance to breathe－with his claws safely tucked away, his uncle's fingers tightened even more. Derek dug his claws into Peter's arm, struggling in a vain effort to break free of his crushing grip.

Peter didn't seem to notice. "And then she almost died trying to save Scott and his friends. Scott felt so guilty over your death that he almost burned himself alive in front of her." Peter finally released him, allowing him to drag air into his burning lungs.

"Are they okay?" Derek wheezed.

"No thanks to you," Cora spat. "Next time you almost die, make sure you let someone know you're alive before you spend all night banging your new girlfriend."

Peter shifted again and straightened, wrinkling his human nose. "Go take a shower. You reek."

Ten minutes later, Derek was still scrubbing blood, sweat, and sex off himself. But he couldn't get rid of the scent downstairs. Cora glared balefully at the bed and the messy sheets.

Peter turned another page in his book. "Any harder, you'll set that thing on fire."

"There's an idea." But she still needed to find an outlet for her anger. She couldn't take it all out on Derek without killing him, and if she did that, Crystal would probably never talk to her again.

How the hell Crystal decided that her brother, of all people, was the best person to fall in love with was beyond her. Then again, Crystal also decided that Peter was one of her favorite people in the universe, so her taste was a little skewed to begin with.

Cora turned to Peter. "How do we get these windows open?"

The bedframe plummeted from the top floor of the building. A loud crack split the air as it struck the pavement, sending chunks of wood and cement flying in every direction.

Pieces of fabric drifted through the air to be carried away on the breeze.

Two halves of a shredded mattress landed among the debris. If one didn't know any better, they'd say a pack of wolves had ripped it apart.

"How is she?"

Cora didn't wait for a response. She forced her way inside, taking the stairs two at a time as she tracked Crystal's familiar heartbeat.

"Wait, what are you－you can't－she's still asleep!" Stiles hissed.

She cast a scornful look over her shoulder at the hyperactive human. She knew how to use her ears, thank you very much. She didn't need him to tell her that Isaac and Boyd were asleep in the living room, or that the young Argent and the girl dating one of the Alphas were whispering in the kitchen, or that Scott and Crystal were upstairs.

Cora followed the heartbeats to Scott's room. Scott looked up in relief when she pushed the door open.

"Get her off me," he breathed.

Crystal, buried in the comforter, had somehow managed to wrap herself around Scott like a boa constrictor. The bitten werewolf was trying to untangle himself without waking her.

Cora held up one finger and pulled out her phone. Scott's frown turned into a puppy dog look of betrayal as she found the right angle. "Smile."

He snarled. She rolled her eyes and kept taking pictures.

When she was satisfied, she put her phone away and reached down to shake her best friend awake. "Crystal. Crystal, wake up."

Crystal twitched and rolled away from the voice trying to wake her, burrowing deeper into the comforter. Scott didn't waste a second: he slid ungracefully onto the floor the moment he was free.

"You're as bad as she is," he hissed before disappearing into the bathroom.

She rolled her eyes again but kept shaking Crystal's shoulder. "Crystal. You have to get up."

"No."

Her amusement faded quickly. Brushing her hand against Crystal's freezing cheek, she risked pulling some of the pain away. The pain was milder than Cora thought it would be. But werewolves could only take physical pain...and her pack friend's pain was the worst pain of all.

Cora sighed as Crystal sniffled. Not for the first time, she wondered what her mom would do. "At least take a shower," she tried. "You're freezing."

And you still smell like gas, she didn't add.

No response.

"Come on. A quick shower. Then you can go back to sleep."

Crystal didn't resist when Cora hauled her to her feet. Scott stepped out of the bathroom, leaving the door open behind him.

"I'll get a towel," he offered before he disappeared down the hallway.

Crystal didn't say anything until Cora closed the bathroom door behind them. "They're okay?"

Following her gaze, Cora's frown turned into an understanding "oh". "They're okay," she assured her. "Boyd's still asleep downstairs."

She didn't think Crystal had any tears left, but two more tears slithered down her cheeks.

A soft knock on the door. Cora opened it and took the towel with a nod, frowning at the black tank top and gym shorts in Scott's other hand.

"Most of her stuff's at Peter's. These were the first things I could find. They're clean," he assured them when Cora's nose wrinkled.

She sighed but took the offered clothes and shut the door in Scott's face. She dropped everything on the edge of the sink. Turning back, she silently unfastened the necklace from around Crystal's neck. Crystal's breath hitched.

"I'll hold onto it," she promised. The unfamiliar weight of the pendant settled heavily on her collarbone as she fastened the clasp. "Okay?"

Crystal nodded hesitantly. Her dark green eyes stayed locked on the necklace.

"Okay. I'll be right outside if you need anything."

Tearing her eyes away from her necklace, she folded her arms over her chest and scowled at Cora. "I'm not a child."

Cora smirked but decided not to tell her that, at the moment, she looked like one. "Fine, but I'm not calling 9-1-1 when you slip and hit your head in the shower."

Crystal groaned. "If that ever happens, just let me die. Ow!" she cried when Cora slapped her arm.

"Don't say things like that," Cora growled.

"You started it," she muttered petulantly. She took her earrings off and set them beside her towel. "You swear everyone's okay?"

"I swear, everyone's okay. Your friends are downstairs. Peter said he'll stop by later."

"Derek?" Crystal's voice cracked as she breathed his name.

Cora rolled her eyes irritably. "He's fine. He's probably out shopping for a new bed by now."

Jealousy, pain, and disgust flooded the bathroom. "He broke his bed?"

"No, Peter and I broke his bed," she corrected. Crystal's head snapped around, her eyes wide. "We threw it out the window."

"You what?"

She shrugged defensively. "What? It smelled."

A soft laugh flew from Crystal's lips. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes. Cora fled the bathroom before she started crying again.

Her stomach grumbled before she even opened her eyes. She dragged herself up, squinting against the pain in her throbbing head. Cora was already awake and staring skeptically at the two plates of food in Scott's hands.

"Scott McCall, I love you," she rasped. Grabbing one of the plates from his hand, she took a massive bite of the stuffed burrito. Cora hesitantly took the second one.

Scott chuckled. "You love Stiles and Allison," he corrected. "They made dinner."

"They're still here?" Crystal took another bite when it looked like Cora was about to throw her plate out the window. "I thought they would've gone home by now."

He shot her a look that clearly said she was an idiot. "They wanted to make sure you're okay. I mean, Boyd had to leave, but he stayed as long as he could. And everyone else is still here."

Crystal blinked and turned to Cora, who nodded. "Oh," she breathed, a pleasant warmth filling her chest. "They didn't have to do that."

Cora's you're an idiot face was a lot stronger than Scott's. "They wanted to."

Crystal's smile widened. They could've called or texted, or told Scott and Stiles to let them know when she woke up, but they didn't. They stayed.

Pack protects its own.

The burrito turned to ash in her mouth. Struggling to breathe, she shoved it away. "Where's Derek?"

She kept her eyes locked on the plate in front of her. Scott said everyone was there, but they weren't, were they? Because Derek wasn't there.

Peter, she understood. He hated showing how much he cared－probably even more than he hated crowds, which was saying something－so he'd wait until the others were asleep before he crept in to check on her. Or he'd just wait for her to call him as soon as she woke up.

But he'd come for her. He and Cora had sped through the desert to reach them, and he'd carried her off the bus, and he'd made sure everyone got home safe－not because he cared about them, but for her.

Derek…

Derek almost died. His pack almost died. She almost died, and he was too busy with his new girlfriend to－

"He's outside."

Crystal blinked and looked back up at Scott. "What?"

"Derek's outside," he repeated hesitantly. "If you don't wanna see him, we can make him leave." He jabbed a thumb toward the door. "But he's been out on the porch for, like, ten minutes."

Her chest tightened as several emotions slammed into her all at once.

He's alive. He's here.

Why didn't he come earlier?

Why didn't he call me?

Crystal took the stairs one slow step at a time. Scott frowned worriedly.

"You don't have to talk to him if you don't want to," Lydia reminded her.

Crystal barely shook her head. Lydia sighed but stepped back, giving her a clear path to the door.

But instead of rushing outside and throwing her arms around Derek－or yelling at him, which Scott knew from experience was a lot more likely－his sister hovered on the threshold. Scott saw her hand tighten around the doorknob before she eased it open.

From his angle at the top of the stairs, Scott couldn't see Derek, but Crystal's breath hitched as she stared at him. And if he listened very carefully, he could hear Derek's pounding heart skip half a beat before it started to slow down.

"Hi."

"Hi," Derek said just as awkwardly.

The awkward silence stretched past uncomfortable and became outright painful. Crystal shifted from foot to foot but still didn't speak.

Behind the door, Stiles threw his hands in the air. "Oh my God," he mouthed. Lydia shot him a look.

Derek must have signed something, because Crystal finally nodded and stepped outside, closing the door behind her.

"Cora told me what happened last night."

Scott expected Crystal to immediately rip him a new asshole. But she stayed silent.

"What are they saying?" Allison wondered.

"Well, she's not yelling." Stiles glanced up at Scott worriedly. Wincing, Scott shook his head. "Oh, that's not good."

"What?" Lydia asked.

"You ever see Crystal when she's pissed off? I mean, like, ice cold burning pissed, like she's gonna tear out your spine and whip you with it? Not just yelling at us 'cause we did something stupid."

Lydia gave Stiles another look that Scott couldn't see but made his best friend wince.

"Right, I guess you have."

"What's the point?" Lydia sighed.

"When she's that angry, if she's not yelling at you, you're probably better off dead."

Cora scoffed. Slipping past Scott, she sat on the bottom step. "She won't kill Derek."

Stiles raised his eyebrows. "Then why do you look worried?"

Cora growled.

"They almost died." Crystal's trembling voice grabbed Scott's attention. He waved his hand to get the others to stop talking. "Scott almost set himself on fire."

He winced, guilt eating at him. He didn't mean to hurt them. He blamed the wolfsbane for pushing him down that dark road, but…

People are dead because of me. No matter how hard I try, people keep getting hurt. My friends keep getting hurt. Because of me.

He couldn't blame that on the wolfsbane.

"Boyd almost drowned. There was a safe on his chest. If Stiles hadn't—" Something creaked. "I almost lost them. I can't—"

Derek sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. I should've—"

A long pause. Stiles pressed his ear against the door. A curtain shifted in the living room.

"Oh," Crystal breathed. "Right, I guess that would make things a little difficult. Are you getting a new one?"

"Tomorrow."

"Good."

Stiles crept over to the living room as quietly as he could. Scott didn't hesitate to join him. Behind them, Cora took a deep breath.

"Crystal, your friends are idiots."

Scott thought he heard Derek huff in annoyance. Or maybe it was agreement.

Stiles threw himself under the windowsill to join the huddle and Scott crouched next to him. Allison let the curtain drop before they could see anything.

"What are they doing?" Stiles mouthed.

Allison held her hand up and finger spelled something. Scott wished he'd taken Stiles up on his offer to teach him sign language over the summer－he only recognized the L.

Stiles made a face. He glanced at Scott, and together they slid their heads under the curtain, poking their heads up just high enough to see over the edge of the window.

Red eyes glared down at them.

"Oh, shit!" Stiles gasped, scrambling back as Scott ducked. It didn't matter. Derek had already seen them.

Thankfully, the footsteps heading for the front door weren't Derek's.

"Good night, Derek."

Scott helped Stiles up before Crystal walked in and saw them sprawled on the carpet.

She closed the door. With a heavy sigh, she let her head fall back until it hit the wood.

"All right, I got popcorn!"

Maybe if she was fast enough, she could catch Derek before he left. She could invite him for dinner, convince him to stay－

No. She was not some desperate, needy little bitch. She was Crystal Braddock, pack friend to Peter Hale. She had a werewolf for a brother. She'd survived the Argents at least three times－hell, she'd even become friends with two of them! She was strong enough to keep everyone alive and face down the darach at the Glen Capri. She was strong enough to handle this.

This wasn't the first time Derek had left her. And he hadn't really even left this time. He'd be back.

"Crystal! Cora!"

She jumped. Damn, she forgot the others were there. "Give me a minute," she muttered, bolting up the stairs before anyone could stop her.

Her feet led her down the hall. She stumbled through the bedroom until she reached the bathroom. Her trembling fingers gripped the edges of her sink－Isaac's sink, now－as she struggled to breathe.

She'd see Derek again. He'd get a new phone and he'd call her, and they'd meet up and figure out how to take down Deucalion and Kali and the darach. He wasn't leaving Beacon Hills.

So why did it feel like he'd just ripped her heart out of her chest?

Someone knocked quickly and walked in before she could tell them to go away.

"Your friends wanted to watch a movie."

Crystal forced herself to look up so she could meet Cora's eyes in the mirror. "Okay."

Cora frowned. "They said it's your turn to pick."

Crystal shook her head. "I'm not in the mood. They can pick."

Cora leaned against the edge of the sink. Crystal let her hair fall in a curtain around her face to block Cora's knowing eyes.

"Come on."

"Cora, I don't－"

Cora grabbed her by the shoulders, ignoring her protests. "I'm not gonna let you lock yourself in the bathroom all night. Besides, if you don't come out now, the redhead will probably drag you out."

"Lydia's strawberry blonde," she said automatically. But, knowing Cora was right—and knowing her best friend would just break down the door if she tried to lock it—she let Cora steer her out of the bathroom and back downstairs.

Lydia grinned when she saw them. "Great! Now that we're all here, what movie are we watching?"

"Batman Begins," Isaac immediately suggested. "Or Spider-Man."

Lydia wrinkled her nose. "I'm not watching a superhero movie."

"I thought we agreed it was Crystal's turn to pick," Scott said.

"I don't care. You can put in whatever." Crystal waited for Cora to sit down before she sprawled across the rest of the couch, using Cora's lap as a pillow. Cora sighed but didn't argue.

"Sweeney Todd?" Lydia offered.

"Aw, no, I hate musicals," Stiles groaned.

"Not true. You like Disney movies," Crystal reminded him.

"Got it." Allison opened a case and slid the disc into the DVD player before anyone else could see what she picked.

Stiles grabbed the case and groaned again. "Hercules?"

"I've never seen that movie," Isaac said.

"I mean, it's not bad."

Crystal didn't have to look to know his face was twisted in disgust. "I like Hercules."

"You like Hades," Scott and Stiles corrected immediately.

A small smile tugged at her lips. "Yeah."

Isaac frowned. "I thought Hades was the bad guy."

She raised her eyebrows in silent challenge. "And?"

"You'll figure it out," Scott told him.

Lydia nudged her legs. Instead of sitting up like Lydia clearly wanted, Crystal let her legs slide off the edge to let Lydia and Allison sit down.

Lydia huffed. "Crystal, sit up."

Crystal's small smile turned smug. "Make me."

Lydia wouldn't be able to do anything with Cora right there. Cora hadn't pushed her off, which meant she was okay with being used as Crystal's personal pillow, and any attempt to make Crystal move wouldn't end well.

Scott obviously realized it, too, because he cleared his throat. "Stiles and I can take the couch." He pulled the folded blanket off the back of the couch and laid it down where the coffee table usually sat.

"No, it's fine," Lydia huffed, glaring down at Crystal. "Just let Crystal hog it. You've got extra blankets, right?"

Crystal reclaimed the couch while the room was rearranged. Pillows and blankets were thrown around the floor. Cora stole a thick blanket and draped it over Crystal, who gratefully wrapped it around herself. More popcorn was made as the commercials started. Lydia brought extra bowls from the kitchen to divide it easier. By silent agreement, Allison got to hold the remote.

Aside from singing the Muses' songs under their breath and Crystal's soft snickers when Hades appeared, nobody really spoke until Hades met with the Fates.

Isaac cocked his head as he studied the screen. "Does Hades remind anyone else of a certain narcissistic werewolf?"

"And that would be why he's Crystal's favorite Disney villain." Stiles threw a piece of popcorn high in the air. It missed his gaping mouth, landing somewhere behind the couch.

"Really? I thought Scar would be her favorite."

"Second favorite. Great villain song, excellent sass, surrounded by idiots." She ignored the boys' indignant protests and the girls' quieter sounds of agreement. "Not very charming, though."

And then there's the whole killing Mufasa thing…

"Neither is Hades," Allison pointed out before Isaac or Stiles accidentally started a fight.

Crystal jutted her chin in the direction of the screen. "The Fates would beg to differ."

She got quieter the longer the movie played. Even Hades' quips and Isaac and Stiles's running commentary couldn't cheer her up.

She couldn't stop drawing parallels between Hercules and Derek.

Personality-wise, they were absolutely nothing alike. Hercules was optimistic. Derek…wasn't. And Hercules was a lot more friendly and outgoing than she ever remembered Derek being. But they both tried their best, no matter what happened, and both of them were taken from their parents (in Derek's case, his parents were taken from him). Both were outsiders. Both of them fought to protect the people they cared about.

And both of them fell in love right after "saving" a damsel in distress.

She rolled her eyes when Hercules handed Meg a single white flower. My flowers were prettier.

But Derek hadn't given her the flowers because he loved her. He gave them to her because they were a gift from Peter.

Her hands fisted in the blanket as she bitterly wondered if Derek had given his new girlfriend anything yet.

"If there's a prize for rotten judgement

I guess I've already won that…"

Crystal kept her eyes on the TV as she sang under her breath. She could feel the rest of the room watching her. Cora threaded their hands together under the blanket as she joined in with Lydia and Allison.

"Who d'ya think you're kidding?

He's the Earth and heaven to ya

Try to keep it hidden

Honey, we can see right through ya…"

No. No, she couldn't be in love with Derek. He was her best friend's brother. He was her friend. He…

He was amazing. He was closed off, sure, but he was also sweet, and kind, and handsome and funny and his smile was beautiful and his laugh made her smile brighter and－

"My head is screaming

Get a grip, girl

Unless you're dying to cry your heart out."

And he's in love with someone else.

That reminder stole the breath from her lungs and almost tore her heart in two. The hole inside her, the one she'd sworn was mended after her family's death, threatened to break open again.

Shit. Was this what heartbreak felt like?

"Face it like a grown-up

When ya gonna own up

That you got, got, got it bad?"

She wanted to leave. She had to think. Or call Melissa. Or drive around town—she just needed to do something. But if she left now, the boys would know something was wrong. Scott would probably follow her and try to get her to tell him what was wrong, and she didn't want to talk to anyone.

She let go of Cora's hand and rolled over, pulling the blanket tighter around herself as silent tears fell.

"You're way off base, I won't say it

Get off my case, I won't say it."

"Girl, don't be proud

It's okay you're in love."

She didn't see Cora's fierce glare that promised a slow, agonizing death to anyone who dared breathe a word. She didn't see Scott nudge Stiles and shake his head until Stiles closed his mouth.

She wouldn't tell the others. Scott and Stiles and Isaac and Peter already teased her enough for stealing Derek's jacket. There was no way she could tell them.

It's not a bad thing, sweetheart.

No. No, it wasn't a bad thing.

But how could she tell anyone that she was in love with Derek when she hadn't even told Derek?

Did I watch the entire animated Hercules just to compare and contrast the characters for one little introspective moment? Yes. Did I make them watch Hercules just so they could sing the song? Also yes.

One realization down, one to go! But nothing is easy when it comes to Derek and Crystal...