Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or any of it's characters. If I did, Sterek would be canon.
A/N: Here you go, after too long of a wait, the pack returns.
The Hale Pack: This is my Pack.
"Well, well, well, isn't this interesting." Kate Argent stood in the opening to the room, heavily armed, flanked by Chris Argent and ten other hunters. "Turns out that there're more mutt's than we thought, Chris. And our little Ally is amongst them."
Allison took a cautious step closer to Scott. "Dad? Kate? What are you doing here?!" Allison demanded, confused and suspicious.
"I could ask you the same thing." Chris stated, aiming his gun at the Alpha. "You shouldn't be here Allison. You don't know what they are. What that is." He glared at Derek then the Alpha. "They're dangerous."
"You're the ones who seem dangerous from where I'm standing." Allison stated, gesturing to the weapons each hunter held. Some of which were being pointed at her and her friends. "I know full well what they are. No thanks to you." Kate made a move to speak, but Allison didn't let her. "I had no idea that the Alpha would be here. Lydia, Jackson and I were lured here. If it wasn't for Lydia, I would have just walked in here unarmed and probably died. Stiles and Lydia saved me," To emphasise her point, Allison pulled out her gun, and waved it slightly. "She even gave me one of their spare guns."
"It has wolfsbane bullets." Stiles piped in helpfully.
Ignoring Stiles completely, Kate looked at her niece "You rushed in here, without any experience or training, and Lydia got bitten in the process." Kate snarled. "She's a monster now," Kate loaded her assault rifle and nodded to Derek and Stiles. "They already are. Now, they all need to be put down."
"No." Allison and Chris hollered in unison, Allison raising her gun and aiming it at the woman, but she left the safety on. She had no intention of shooting her aunt, she just wanted to scare the woman into lowering her own weapon.
"We live by the code. They haven't hurt anybody. Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent." Chris stated, and recognition flared in Allison's eyes.
"We hunt those who hunt us." Allison stated, wide eyed, discreetly turning the safety off on her gun as dread filled her, unsettled by the vicious smile on her aunt's face. "So, why are there guns aimed at my friends? None of them have hurt anyone!"
"That one has," Kate smirked at Derek. "He's the reason his family is dead."
"He's not the one who set the house on fire." Allison yelled without thinking, Kate's face contorted to a look of anger and betrayal.
"He told me everything I needed to know, actually believed I had feelings for him. It's his fault that they're dead not mine." She hollered back at her niece, Allison flinched back at that revelation, clearly shaken, as were her father and the other hunters.
Chris turned to Kate in dismay, an expression of horror taking over his face "What did you do?"
"What you were too weak to!" Kate screamed, finally moving her gun from Lydia.
"The Hales hadn't done anything wrong, they were a stable Pack that protected the town!" Chris exclaimed, disgust over his sister's actions was clear on his face. "Even if they had done something wrong, there were humans and children in that house, Kate! You left two teenagers orphaned-"
"I should have made sure they were inside, too!" Kate yelled in anger, she aimed her weapon at Derek and laughed maniacally. "Poor little mutt, got tricked by a pretty face. Your family is dead and it's all your faul-" Stiles let out an angry roar and attempted to attack Kate, only to be held back.
"Don't you dare talk about my mate like that you psychotic bitch! You are nothing more than a murderer who took advantage of a minor. You could go to prison for that alone, seeing as you were definitely, what, 30 when it happened?" Stiles was held back by Scott and Derek as he yelled at the huntress who smirked in amusement at the young wolf. "You call us monsters? We're not the ones who burnt a family alive in the one place they're supposed to feel safest. And you used a minor to do it, knowing full well that he'd have to carry that guilt for the rest of his life. Even though we both know it wasn't his fault." Stiles shook his head in disgust, glaring at the woman. "You are the monster here, just like the alpha." He finally stopped struggling and sank into Derek's arms, shooting an appreciative smile to Scott, who patted him on the arm before moving to comfort Allison.
Kate scoffed, "This little twerp is who you're stuck with for all eternity? Wow Derek I almost feel sorry for you." It was Stiles' turn to hold Derek back. "Maybe if I hadn't done what I did, you wouldn't feel desperate enough to crawl to the arms of a child." Suddenly Kate laughed outright, as Chris and the other hunters watched appalled, unsure of how to respond. The situation was something they had never expected or prepared for. "Oh, wow, you act like I am so disgusting, yet you're doing to him, exactly what I did to you."
"I am nothing like you!" Derek growled defensively. "For one I'm not manipulating him, he is in this relationship because he wants to be. If he wasn't, the Sheriff, Scott, Allison and Lydia would make sure no one would ever find my body."
"I'd help," Jackson stated from where he was holding Lydia protectively. "he may be a hyperactive spaz, but I don't hate him and no one deserves to be raped, or manipulated like that. That's just fucked up."
Stiles smiled at Jackson as Derek continued. "Second of all, I actually love him. I'm not using him for anything, or have an ulterior motive. I am in love with Stiles Stilinski." Derek pulled Stiles closer to his body and kept a glare on Kate. "The only thing you and I have in common is wanting to catch the alpha, which is done. So fuck off."
Kate laughed and turned to Chris. "Can you believe this?"
"No, I really can't." Kate stopped laughing at her brother's tone. "Stiles is right Kate, we're supposed to live by the code. We are supposed to be the ones protecting people." Chris spat at her. "Not killing them. You are not my sister. Not anymore." Chris nodded to the other hunters who approached Kate with restraints.
"How dare you?" Growled Kate, fighting off the hunters as they tried to subdue her. "How dare you Chris! You'll regret this!" She screamed as she struggled in the hold of two hunters. Unnoticed by everyone in the room, the alpha was startled awake by the commotion. One of the hunters lost his grip on Kate's arm, allowing her to attack. Chris tried to help the other hunters, but Kate was already loose and armed with another hunter's pistol. However, surrounded by hunters and werewolves, Kate couldn't use either door to escape.
Kate raised her gun, directly at Scott's head. "Come any closer and I shoot. And we both know how you are about spilling innocent blood, Chris." Kate taunted, a psychotic look etched on her face. The others faltered, unsure of what to do. Kate slowly backed towards the window, and consequently, towards the alpha. Hands ready to pull the trigger and eyes darting around the room, Kate was prepared to escape, even if it meant shooting her way out. She wasn't about to get locked up for doing her job, and definitely not for using some stupid mutt to do it.
Unfortunately for her, while she was busy concentrating on the group in front of her, she didn't notice her foot disturbing the mountain ash, knocking some of it out of place and breaking the circle. Not until several gasps rang out and Kate felt claws digging into her neck. She dropped her gun in shock and immediately tried to pry the hand away. Allison aimed her gun at the Alpha and the hunters followed her example with their own weapons.
Suddenly, Lydia shot up, screaming her lungs out. Scott, Stiles and Derek immediately covered their ears, groaning in pain at the shrill sound. The alpha let out a pained howl and pressed his claws deeper into her neck.
"Lydia? Lydia?!" Jackson asked urgently as the girl thrashed about on the floor, still screaming. "Lydia!" Jackson yelled, concern etched onto his face. He held out the 'a' until the girl finally stopped screaming, being brought back to reality by Jackson's voice.
"Jackson?" Lydia asked softly, looking up at him with tear filled eyes.
"Yeah, I'm here, Lyd, I'm here." He whispered reassuringly, pulling the redhead to his body in a tight hug and pressing his lips to the top of her head.
Lydia looked around her, at her pack, all of whom were looking at her in shock and concern. Her eyes locked on the image of Kate being held by the alpha. Lydia pulled away from Jackson, hands gripping her gun, though she did not raise it, and her eyes turned glassy, her voice turning deep and sinister. "You're going to die." Kate's eyes widened and she continued to struggle in the beast's hold.
Her efforts were in vain, as the beast slashed her throat open. Everyone in the room froze in shock for a split second as the alpha dropped her corpse to the ground and leapt out of the window. At the first movement, the hunters, Lydia and Allison shot after him, but he was gone too quickly.
"I think I clipped him, but I can't be sure." Allison sighed, leaning back into Scott.
"What are the murderers doing here?" Lydia demanded, venom oozing from her voice.
"We're not murderers." Chris countered immediately. "Murder is taking the life of an innocent person. We only hunt those who have killed."
The pack, minus Allison who looked disappointed, scoffed at that. "What about Derek's family?" Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We had nothing to do with that. That was Kate, had I known, she would have been brought to justice for it a long time ago."
"Is there really any justice to such a heinous act?" Lydia countered, fixing the hunter with a glare.
"No, I guess there isn't."
After a few moments of awkward silence, nobody sure what to say or do, Chris finally spoke up, taking charge of the extremely messy situation. "Right, listen up, here's what happened. Kate lost it. She saw the five of you," he gestured to the teenagers. "Looking into the Hale fire as part of a school project. She started yelling, accusing you of knowing too much, demanded to know how you found out. She pulled a gun on you, forced you to come here with her. How many cars did you bring?"
"Three, Scott and I came in mine, Jackson brought the girls and Derek drove on his own" Stiles informed him and Chris nodded.
"Right, she had an accomplice, he wore a mask, didn't speak. He was in the backseat of your Jeep, he threatened you with something, something sharp and metallic, you think it was a knife, but you can't be sure, remember, don't be specific. Kate was in the back of Jackson's car with the gun. You said Derek is your mate?" Stiles nodded. "Derek came to the house to drop off a book of yours that you needed for the project. When he got there, he saw you all being forced into the car. He called me, I came with reinforcements. When we got here, Kate and her accomplice were arguing about something. They saw us, the accomplice freaked out, killed Kate and escaped. Understood?"
"I do." Lydia stated, "But there are a few loop holes in your story there, like, what's with all the bullet holes? Why didn't you call the police before? What happened to my side?" Lydia glared at the hunter.
"I'm a registered firearms dealer and security consultant, we are all legally registered to carry weapons. I was scared that my daughter could get hurt, so rushed into action. You got cut by Kate's accomplice while fighting to escape. It'll be a little harder to explain your weapons, however."
"We'll slip 'em in my car, or to my dad if need be." Stiles dismissed with a wave of his hand. Chris raised his eyebrow and Stile elaborated, a little. "Where do you think we got the guns? Besides, I can't hide them on myself, wolfsbane bullets, Lydia's has a mountain ash grip and there's no way in hell I'm handing them over to you." Stiles rolled his eyes.
"So, the sheriff knows about the supernatural." It was a statement rather than a question, but Stiles felt the need to reply anyway.
"Yup, has done since just after I was bitten." Stiles shrugged. "Plus telling him that Derek and I are mates was the only way to keep him from shooting Derek when he found out we're together."
Chris snorted in amusement as he positioned Kate's gun in her hand. "If I was your dad I would have shot him anyway out of principle. Especially knowing that he would heal fast enough that there'd be no proof I'd done anything." The teenagers, minus Scott, bit back chuckles, even Derek had a slight smirk tugging on his lips. Scott looked incredibly nervous, Chris noticed this and raised an eyebrow, then, his eyes narrowed. "You're one of them, aren't you?"
"Uhh..." Scott's eyes were wide with fear as his eyes rapidly flickered from Chris, to his gun, to Allison, and back.
Chris sighed. "Allison, you're no longer dating this boy."
"Yes, I am." Allison stated simply, rolling her eyes and grabbing Scott's hand.
"Excuse me?" Chris asked in surprise, giving his daughter a double take.
"Derek, how do you know when someone is your mate?" Allison asked, her eyes locked with Scott's, the boy smiling dopily at her.
Derek smiled softly, and rested a loving gaze upon Stiles. "You just know. For a werewolf, it feels right, to both you and your wolf. You feel safe, relaxed, when you're with them. They feel-"
"Like home." Scott finished, smiling down at Allison as he realised that she was right.
"Exactly." Stiles confirmed, gazing up at Derek with the same loving expression.
"Oh, God. Kill me now." Chris groaned "Call the police," he commanded one of the hunters, who nodded and did as he was told. "Stiles, take Lydia and put away those weapons."
"I need to go too." Allison stated, finally looking away from Scott.
"And, why is that, exactly?"
"Because, I need someone to hold the mountain ash box whilst I wrap it in the cloth that prevents it from affecting Stiles, Derek and Scott." Lydia stated simply.
Chris sighed and shook his head. "Fine, go."
"Oh and dad, if any of our boyfriends are missing, injured or dead by the time we get back, there will be no where on this planet for you to hide." Allison stated with a cheery smile, before leaving with her friends.
"So, Scott," Chris started once his daughter was out of earshot, casually cocking his gun. "What are your intentions with my daughter?"
-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-
"You are so grounded! There's gonna be mountain ash on your window for so long, your grand pups will be stuck in that room! Oh wait, you're not gonna have grand pups because Derek will be sleeping in the guest room! The only time you will see is him is when you stare longingly at each other through a window as you leave for school!" The sheriff yelled at Stiles, who was sheepishly curled up in a ball on an armchair, the rest of his pack, except for Lydia, were spread around the room, taking up most of the space, accompanied by Mr Argent. It was around 2 in the morning, Lydia had been patched up, but had to stay at the hospital. The pack was worried, she wasn't showing signs of accepting nor rejecting the bite. It was as though she was immune. But that's impossible. Right?
"But the alpha broke my Jeep. Scott and I need a way to school while it's getting repaired." Stiles informed him.
"Scott can take his bike."
"Yeah but what about me? I don't have a bike. Besides, what about when the weather is too bad for Scott to take his bike?" Stiles countered, hoping his dad would allow Derek to drive him to and from school. Unfortunately, Mr. Argent spoke up.
"Allison can drive you. She has room in her car and it's not that much of a detour." Chris smiled. "And on the bad weather days, Jackson and Lydia can pick him up. If they absolutely can't, Allison can get Scott too. She'll drive, you'll sit in the front and Scott will sit in the back." Chris stated firmly, leaving no room for argument and the two fathers shared a triumphant grin.
Allison smiled apologetically at Stiles, who shrugged. It was a long shot, anyway. Allison was sitting in the middle of the sofa, Scott to her right, Jackson to her left. Chris Argent sat in the other armchair, keeping his eyes fixed on Scott. Derek was leaning against the wall behind his mate, keeping a passive look on his face in front of the hunter.
"Right, so. Now that that's over," The sheriff turned towards the older Argent, "what are we going to do about the Alpha? We have a little more leniency thanks to your cover story. The theory around the station is that this accomplice got squeamish when Laura came back to town, worried that she'd figure out that the fire wasn't an accident, so he killed her. We've also found that all of the victims so far have been involved in the Hale fire, in some way or another, which helps support the theory. Then Kate came into town, trying to make sure that the accomplice didn't give her away, but things went awry, resulting in tonight's events."
"Wait, isn't it over?" Scott asked in confusion before the hunter could respond. "Lydia shot him in the arm and chest with wolfsbane bullets before you guys arrived, so he'll die soon, right?"
"Unfortunately, the alpha stopped by Kate's car when he escaped and stole some of her back up bullets." Chris explained and Scott groaned, remembering that the alpha could use that to cure himself. Chris then addressed the Sheriff with a stoic look on his face. "We should use that theory as our own angle in searching for him. I doubt that it was a coincidence that all of the victims have that connection. Derek, did anyone else make it out of the fire?"
Derek shook his head, not making eye contact with the hunter. "No, just Laura, Peter and I, Laura's now dead and Peter is comatose." He stated bitterly.
"Are you sure about that?" Allison asked suddenly, drawing everybody's attention to her. "I mean, think about it, it makes sense, the Alpha being Peter or another member of the original Hale pack that survived. The fact of the matter is, you only get that worked up over family. Biological or otherwise. Being driven by revenge is a powerful thing."
"She has a point." Jackson agreed. "If I was comatose for six years after losing my entire family, I doubt that I'd be thinking clearly. First night awake, I find someone with power, a power that can help me get revenge on those who took everything from me." Jackson had a distant look in his eyes, as did the Sheriff. "He might not have realised just who he was attacking."
"Losing family is the worst thing in the world." John stated.
"It's different. Losing pack... It's like losing a piece of yourself." Derek sighed, his voice void of emotion, but Scott and Stiles could feel the pain and grief rolling off of him in waves. "I-it's worse than losing family or friends. With pack, you develop a sort of psychic connection, not to the point of hearing each other's thoughts or anything, It's more like, knowing when they're hurt or upset. Even when they're miles away." Derek took a deep breath, barely noticing as Stiles and Scott walked over to him, gripped him gently and guided him towards the sofa. "When they die, it's like that part of you dies with them, there's this emptiness where they were. Going from a huge pack, just there, happy and healthy, to just one other person, who's grieving as much as you are.. I-it's worse than dying." By the time he had finished speaking, Scott and Stiles had gotten Derek to the couch.
Allison shifted to where Scott was previously sat, so that they could put Derek in the middle. Derek didn't put up much of a fight as he was made to sit down, Stiles curled up so that he was half on top of both Derek and Jackson. Allison was lifted slightly as Scott slipped onto the couch, Allison curled so that she was mirroring Stiles' position, only on Scott instead of Jackson. "Lydia is gonna be pissed that she missed out on this puppy pile." Stiles chuckled, curling into his mate's embrace, tangling his legs with Jackson's.
"Werewolves don't have puppy piles, Stiles." Derek muttered, drifting to sleep.
"They totally do." Stiles replied with a grin, following his mate into slumber, the rest of his pack quickly doing the same, all feeling safe and content as they cuddled together.
The two adults looked on in shock "Did that really just happen?" John asked in slight shock.
"Yes it did..." Chis responded in the same tone, "Do you have any beer?" John nodded in confirmation and led Chris to the kitchen.
'Victoria is not going to be happy about this.' Chris thought as he followed John.
-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-
"What were you thinking Allison?! You are never seeing any of them again. Do you hear me? How could you let this happen Chris?!" Victoria Argent screeched at her daughter and husband the next day. "I can't believe we've had, not one, but two monsters in our house."
"Mum, they are my friends, my pack, Scott is my mate. There is nothing that you can say or do that will keep me from them." Allison announced, crossing her arms defiantly. She may have only just found out what they were, but she knew how she felt about them all and she wasn't going to allow her family to keep her from them. "And they're not monsters. The real monsters in this town are the Alpha and Kate. Kate's gone, soon the alpha will be too. You might not like it but that's the way it is."
Allison kept eye contact with her mother, silently daring her to argue. Nothing was going to keep Allison from her pack.
"Allison, you will not see those monsters again. If you do, you are no daughter of mine and you will not stay in this house." Victoria announced with a steely glare. Allison and Chris looked at the woman in astonishment. Allison studied her mother, hoping to find some sign that she could get through to the woman, but Victoria was unyielding. Devastation filling her, Allison nodded in resignation, a sad sight slipping from her lips as she blinked back the tears threatening to pool in her eyes.
"Fine." Allison stated and Victoria grinned triumphantly.
"Good gir-"
"I'll go pack my things." Victoria's grin disappeared as she was taken aback by her daughter's declaration, and Chris looked utterly despaired.
"What?" Chris asked in alarm. "Y-you can't leave, you- we- we're your family!"
"And they're my pack, Scott is my mate. I am not giving them up, besides, if this is the way this family really is. I don't want any part of it." Allison stated, looking crestfallen as she shook her head at them, ashamed to know the truth about the people she loved. Without another word, Allison turned and walked up stairs to her bedroom so she could pack her things, leaving her despondent parents behind her.
Once in the privacy in her bedroom, Allison closed her bedroom door and leant against it, trying to force back tears. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Come on, Allison, pull it together." She muttered as tears pooled in her eyes. "You're stronger than this." Tears rolled down her face as she continued to mutter. "You are stronger than this." A quiet sob escaped her lips. "You are strong." She let the tears fall as she slid down the door until she was sitting. Allison pulled her knees up to her chest, trying to muffle her sobs. After around ten minutes, she stopped crying, looked up and nodded to herself. "I am strong." She stated with determination and pushed herself to her feet.
She marched to her closet, and started pulling out her clothes, throwing them to her bed, she then grabbed a suitcase from the bottom left corner. Within fifteen minutes Allison had all of her essential and most prized possessions packed into her suitcase and school bag. She now held her phone to her ear as she waited for her friend to pick up. Unaware that her parents were standing in her now open doorway.
"Stiles? Hey, um I need your help." Allison felt the tears return and her voice wavered. "I-I can't stay here anymore. I was given a choice, give up the pack or leave this house. It wasn't even a choice, I couldn't just walk away from you guy's and I can't stay in a house with liars and killers. Besides, I've always been a firm believer that you should never choose the one who is making you choose, because they clearly don't truly love you if they give you an ultimatum like that." Tears of anger and sorrow streaked her face, as she spoke to her best friend. "Th-they call you mutts and monsters but they don't seem to realise that not all monsters do monstrous things, and not all humans do humane things. You aren't monsters, and you have more humanity than they could ever hope to have from what I've seen tonight. Any way, what-what I'm trying to ask is can I stay with-" Allison chuckled as Stiles told her yes before she could even finish the question, then he informed her that he was leaving to pick her up. She contemplated taking her own car before deciding that she'd rather not, as it was registered to her mother. "Thanks, I'll see you soon." Allison hung up and turned around, finally noticing her parents. Her dad made a move to speak, but Allison raised her hand in a signal to stop and shook her head.
Silently, Allison picked up her bags and walked passed her parents, and left the house without looking back.
-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-
"So, I was thinking, me and some friends are off to a diner later, then we're going to nerd around at a comic book store." Allison informed Erica as they sat on the blonde girls bed on Thursday afternoon, working on the last part of their chemistry project. School had been out since the incident with the alpha and wouldn't be back until Monday. Now that Lydia was allowed out of the hospital, the pack were going to be taking advantage of it.
"O-oh, I'm sorry, you can go whenever y-you need to, I'll finish up." Erica stuttered nervously, causing Allison's eyes to widen.
"No, no, no. I was trying to ask if you want to come with us?" Allison corrected quickly. "I've really enjoyed hanging out with you, and you have awesome taste in, like, everything." Allison grinned, gesturing around the room to her posters and book shelves. "I didn't know that anyone other than Stiles had so many comic books. Although, I think he has a couple more, sorry."
"Well, I'll have to fix that," Erica giggled without thinking and Allison beamed happily.
"So you'll come? Yay, that's great." The brunette babbled happily. "So it'll be you, me, Scott, Stiles, his boyfriend Derek, Lydia and Jackson. Oh, Lydia will be in a wheelchair, though. It's the only way they'll let her out of the hospital." Erica had a slightly dazed expression on her face, which caused Allison to chuckle. "Sorry, I've been spending too much time with Stiles."
Erica giggled. "So Stiles has a boyfriend? I thought he was straight?" Erica tried to keep her face neutral, but Allison could tell that the girl was disappointed.
"No, not straight, he's Bi, but he and Derek are hopelessly in love. They don't even have to say the words, when you're near them you can see it just by the way they look at each other." Erica couldn't help smiling at the thought. Being so in love with someone that you can't think straight, knowing that they're the one for you. To have them feel the same way must be incredible.
"What should I wear?" Erica asked softly, sending Allison a shy smile.
-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-
"Erica!" Stiles greeted happily, bounding over to hug the girl. "Everybody, Erica's here!" He called happily, pulling the blonde into a hug.
"What am I, chopped liver?" Allison teased as Scott walked over, "Hey Scott." Allison greeted, giving her boyfriend a peck on the lips.
"Hi." Scott smiled, then turned to the epileptic. "Stiles, stop hogging Erica, I know you used to have a crush on her but you're with Derek now." Scott teased, prying Stiles away, only to take his place.
"Uh, crush?" A tall, well built, dark haired guy, who Erica assumed was Derek, asked with a raised eyebrow. "I thought it was Lydia I had to glare at constantly."
"I- uh, Scott, that was a secret!" Stiles whined, Scott chuckled and released Erica, leading her to their booth. "It was the comic books and the doctor who obsession and the high intelligence and the sweet smile and the-"
"Okay, we get it." Derek snapped half heartedly, walking up behind Stiles and wrapping his arms around his waist. "Enough flirting. C'mon" Derek pulled Stiles back to the booth. Stiles giggled before assuring Derek that he had nothing to worry about.
"Hey, Erica." Lydia greeted with a grin, waving from her wheelchair, stationed at the end of the table. "Get over here and give me a hug." She demanded.
Erica shuffled over to the booth, Scott and Allison behind her. Erica was nervous as she leant down to hug the popular girl, being cautious of the girl's injuries. Lydia didn't seem bothered as she gave the girl a tight hug. "Sit, sit." She demanded waving towards the space next to Derek. Erica hesitated, looking nervous.
Derek noticed this and smiled at the girl. "Don't worry, I was kidding about the glaring, unless you try to steal my Stiles." He joked. Erica chuckled and slipped into the booth. There was a bit of shuffling so that everyone was sitting where they wanted to be.
By the time everybody was settled, Erica sat by the window, Stiles next to her then Derek at the end. On the other side of the table, Allison was opposite Erica, Scott, next to her and Jackson at the end. Lydia sat at the head of the table in her wheelchair.
"So- u-um, h-how long do you have to use that?" Erica asked Lydia nervously, trying to start a conversation.
"Just a week, two at the most. I can walk perfectly fine, but the doctors don't want me to accidentally pull my stitches." Lydia explained, finishing by rolling her eyes. "I'm just glad to be out of that damn hospital."
Erica and Scott nodded in understanding and agreement. "Tell me about it." Scott muttered. "The amount of times I had to go in for an asthma attack." Scott sighed. "I swear, that place just gets more depressing every time I go in. There are some good nurses, but a lot of them are so condescending and mean!"
"Definitely," Erica agreed immediately, nodding along. "My regular nurse is one of the mean ones, she isn't comforting like nurses are supposed to be. Although, there is this one nurse that I get to see every now and again. She is so nice, I don't know her surname, but her first name is Melissa, and she is definitely the best. Whenever she takes my blood, she distracts me and makes me smile, so I barely even feel it. She treats me like a person rather than just a patient. Which is more than I can say for the other one. Jennifer."
"I don't know Jennifer, but I know Melissa and she is the sweetest woman ever. Unless you break something of hers, then she's like the hulk." Scott joked as he looked at the menu.
"Oh, is she your nurse?"
"My nurse, my cook, my chauffeur, my maid." Scott joked. "She's my mum."
"Seriously?"
"Yup, Melissa McCall" Scott nodded as Stiles showed Erica a picture on his phone, which caused her to giggle as she confirmed that was the Melissa she was talking about. "What did you show her?" Scott demanded as Stiles showed the picture to Derek. "Stiles?" Scott's eyes went wide as Derek also chuckled. Allison saw the picture next and she burst into hysterical laughter, Scott craned his neck to see, but Stiles moved the phone away, showing the picture to Jackson and Lydia, both of whom found it hilarious.
"Stiles, seriously?" Scott cried when Stiles finally showed him the photo. It was a lovely shot of a naked, mud covered 4 year old Scott McCall. Scott was standing in his back garden being hosed down by his pissed-off looking mum. Scott had his hands covering his private area, face contorted into a look of embarrassment. At the edge of the photo, a young Stiles could be seen, also covered in mud, but actually clothed, doubled over with laughter.
"Aw, Scott, you were so cute." Allison cooed with a teasing grin.
"Shush, it's emb- wait, what do you mean 'were'?" Scott asked the girl, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Hello Stiles, it's nice to see you again." A kind voice greeted, ending that conversation before Allison could respond. "And you've brought friends." The group turned to see a woman around 50 years of age. Her hair was a rich brown colour and tied back in a high bun. Her face was creased with laughter lines, her deep brown eyes were a sharp contrast to her pale skin. Freckles peppered her skin. She wore a simple uniform and a cream coloured apron. "Who are these lovely folks?"
"Hey Janie, this is Erica, Allison, Scott, Jackson, Lydia, and my boyfriend Derek. Everybody, this is Janie, my personal chef" Stiles introduced with a grin, at which Janie rolled her eye's.
"Such a lovely group, are you ready to order?" Janie asked, pulling out a notebook and pen from her pockets. "I'm assuming you'll be having your usual, Stiles?" Janie had a knowing look on her face.
"Yup, but uh double size it and could you throw in some wings?" Stiles asked hopefully, batting his eyelashes.
"Sure thing sugar, BBQ or regular?"
"BBQ please."
Janie smiled, jotting down the order. "Next?"
Scott was the next to choose. "Uh, yeah, could I have the curly fries, double-"
"Double bacon cheeseburger, extra onion rings, Large double chocolate shake, side of sausage?" Janie asked knowingly,
"Yeah- How'd you-?" Scott asked in confusion.
"It's Stiles' usual. Do you want it double sized and a side of wings too?"
"Yes please, but regular wings, if that's okay?" Scott asked.
"No problem honey." She wrote down the order. "next?"
"I'll get the same as Stiles, but banana shake, please." Derek requested politely.
"I'll have what Stiles is having too, thanks." Jackson stated.
"I'll have the same as Scott, but standard sized and with salad instead of sausage, please." Allison requested with a friendly smile on her face.
"I'll have fries, bacon cheese burger, extra onion rings, medium strawberry shake and a side salad, please." Lydia stated, closing her menu, smiling up at Janie.
"Absolutely," Janie nodded, noting down the orders, then looked at Erica. "And you, sugar?"
"C-can I have the same as A-Allison, but w-with BBQ wings, p-please?" Erica requested softly.
"Of course, sweetie, coming right up." Janie smiled, before walking to the counter.
"So you come here a lot?" Allison asked Stiles curiously, leaning against the table.
"Yeah, after my mum died, dad and I came here a lot because he can't cook without burning half the kitchen down and he didn't want me cooking all of the time. Given that I was, ya know, 10 at the time." Stiles explained with a shrug.
"So, Erica," Jackson stated, "How's the writing going? Allison mentioned that you're a writer." It was slightly forced, but Jackson could see how uncomfortable the girl was and knew that Lydia really wanted to befriend this girl. So, he'd do what he could to make his girlfriend happy.
"Um, I-I wouldn't call myself a writer, b-but I do dabble a little bit." Erica smiled softly "It's mainly fanfiction though.. i-it's stupid."
"Hey, fanfiction is not stupid!" Stiles protested immediately. "I read a lot of fanfiction and sure, there are some pretty bad ones written by people who think using text speak is a great way to write a story, but most are pretty good. And there are some truly amazing stories out there. In fact one that I found yesterday called 'Time Warped' by The tru-"
"The-true-companion95?"
"Yeah, you've read it?"
"I wrote it." Stiles' eyes widened in amazement.
"Seriously?!" Erica nodded, a blush appearing on her cheeks. "Oh my go- that's amazing. You are an incredible writer! Seriously. I was gripped, I read the first sixteen chapters until Derek told me off and forced me to go to sleep." Stiles sent a small glare to Derek for that. "I read another four this morning then I've got the next eight to catch up on. You're still writing right?"
"Yeah," Erica smiled. "I've almost finished the new chapter, it should be done by tomorrow."
"That's great! I should be caught up by then." Stiles grinned but there was no skip in his heartbeat. He was serious.
"We're not going to have that movie night, are we?" Derek asked knowingly. Stiles and Erica smiled sheepishly.
"We can, I just won't be paying much attention to the movie." Under other circumstances, Derek wouldn't mind that, but he knew that it wasn't him that Stiles would be paying attention to.
"Sorry," Erica smiled, but there was a small jump in her heart beat. She wasn't sorry at all. A conversation was picked up easily after that and everyone was chatting comfortably when the drinks arrived. Well, almost everyone.
"No, no that is so not true. You are completely wrong Jacks," Stiles protested, as Lydia and Erica nodded in agreement with him. "Janie, who's cooler, Batman or Superman?"
Janie scoffed "Batman, of course." She stated , placing the drinks down. Stiles allowed a smug expression to take over his face and held out both of his hands, which Erica and Lydia high fived, shortly followed by Janie and Allison.
"No," Jackson disagreed leaning forward. "Superman has powers, he can fly for crying out loud! Batman relies on his gadgets."
"Superman relies on his powers. Batman can fight hand-to-hand. If his weapons were taken or disabled in the middle of a fight, he'd be able to handle himself. If Superman lost his powers in the middle of a fight, he'd be screwed. Plus, he has such a lame disguise. All he does is slouch, wear glasses and clothes two sizes too big and raises his voice an octave."
The argument continued throughout the meal, turning into a group debate, even when they got to the comic book store, other heroes being added to the mix. The argument was so heated that nobody noticed that Derek had paid the entire food bill, and had slipped out of the store ten minutes before. At least until he reappeared with multiple Hot Topic bags.
"No, that's not ev- Derek? What's that?" Stiles asked in confusion, effectively ending the argument.
"Well I got sick of you, Scott and Lydia stealing my jackets, I thought that I should get you all your own." Derek stated, holding up the bags.
"That's a lot of bags for three jackets." Lydia commented knowingly, raising an eyebrow at them.
"That's because I didn't buy three Jackets. I brought six." Derek informed her simply. "Along with some other stuff. You guys get everything you need?"
"Yeah, we just gotta pay." Scott informed him, holding up a pile of comic books.
"I got it, don't worry about it," Derek assured, walking towards the counter.
"What? No." The group, minus Jackson, protested immediately.
"Wait, you sly dick, you paid the entire food bill!" Allison realised and glared at Derek.
"Yeah, bu-"
"Nope, you're not getting out of this. Now go outside and think about what you've done." Stiles demanded, pointing towards the door. "Go."
-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-
Erica walked home happily wearing her new leather jacket, she had a great day. All of her life, Erica had been cautious, she had to be. People either pretended to be her friend so that they could make fun of her. Or were just pitying her.
But today, with the group was just easy. She felt like she fit in with them. They all seemed so cool. Sure, Scott and Stiles had only just joined the 'popular crowd' but they were still down to earth and a bit goofy. Lydia was completely different to what she expected. The queen B was a lot smarter than Erica originally assumed, she was also kinder, funnier and a lot geekier. Allison was the sweetest person ever and Erica was so happy that she had let the girl talk her into going out. Jackson was pretty much the same old Jackson, it just turns out he was also kind of a geek. Derek was pretty cool too. Apart from the fact that he's dating Stiles and had a thing about paying for everything, Erica couldn't really find a fault with him.
Of course, all good things must come to an end. Erica froze in fear when a growl sounded from behind her. The girl's heartbeat sped up, as she slowly turned to see who was following her. She felt like she couldn't breathe when she saw a pair of glowing red eye's staring at her. The man before her stepped closer until she could see burns on his face along with features that weren't human. Razor sharp teeth were gleaming at her through a Cheshire grin.
"Well, you smell just like my dear nephew." The man stated, ambling closer as Erica backed away. Fear took control of her as the stranger's red eye's assessed her every movement.
"W-who a-are you?"
"It doesn't matter, what does is what I can offer you." The burned man stated. "You're ill, I can smell it. What's your killer?"
"I'm epileptic." The man nodded in understanding.
"What if I told you, that it can all go away? The seizures. The medication. You can throw away the thing that is single handedly destroying your life. Not only that, but everything else will be improved. Speed, strength, vision. Everything." The man promised, placing his hand on her arm. "You can be powerful. Like me."
"I can?" Erica asked hopefully, looking up at the man, who smiled at her.
"All you have to do" The man grabbed her wrist and pulled it to his mouth "is say yes."
A/N: Here you go guys, I hope you like it xx
middlechild274: I'm sorry it took so long, I hope that you've enjoyed the latest chapter x
lateVMlover: Thank you, I hope you continue to enjoy it x
XxZessxX: Yes, and I feel the same way. And Yeah, I was thinking of making the Kate-Derek thing go on for longer. But I saw an opportunity and I went for it. The Kate situation will continue as mostly canon so there's that to look forward to, enjoy x
CorruptedWriter: Thank you so much, I hope you continue to enjoy the story x
sidneytrahan101: Here you go, I hope that you enjoy this chapter x
jadedquartz: Thanks, I hope you like it x