Fic: Discovery Channel (7/12)

[sadatelcontar]

Title: Discovery Channel
Author: kayevelyn
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Pairing: Stiles/Derek
Rating: Overall R
Warnings: eventual knotting
Summary: Stiles is the best werewolf ever. fork in the road au. (were!stiles)
Notes: So random fact but Beth (evanelric) is now living with me which means writing this is infinitely more fun because now we are in the same room instead of in the same chat box coming up with ideas. Which means that when I got stuck midway through this chapter Sunday night I could turn to her and go AHJKFSHGJKADHFGJKA BUT THINGS and she could respond BUT WHAT IF THIS HAPPENED? And thus we changed everything. Whoops >.> but it's better! MUCH BETTER! Enjoy the chapter~

[Read on AO3]

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6



This was definitely the worst idea they had ever had, but then again it wasn’t like they had any other options. They had tried the passive routine for too long, chasing after the alpha every night they caught a scent of him. They needed to grab the alpha’s attention in a way it wouldn’t be able to ignore. When Scott had suggested howling to get the alpha’s attention, Derek was pretty sure that he hadn’t been serious. It had been a throw away comment, made in between Scott pining over Allison and whining about how he couldn’t believe Stiles was letting Derek hide out in his room, but it had gotten Stiles excited, immediately going into planning mode.

Derek hadn’t paid attention to most of the plan, so maybe that’s why he had gotten a little fuzzy on the details. Details like why he was watching Stiles pick the lock to a side door of the high school on a Friday night.

“Just give me one more second, these are a bit harder than the locks at the station.”

Derek looked around the dark parking lot, scanning the empty area, worried that someone would show up soon. “Just hurry up.”

“Hold your horses.” Stiles glanced up at him before finally popping the lock free. “Everyone in the town is at the game. It’s the first game of the season, and even though it’s away people still need to go watch our team lose. And once it’s over everyone will be celebrating.”

“I still have a bad feeling about this,” Derek muttered as Stiles pulled the door open.

Stiles tilted his head to the side. “You hear an alarm?”

“No.” Derek grabbed Stiles’ hand and pulled him into the school.

Stiles stumbled after him, grumbling. “Dude, I’m just making sure that the cops don’t show up. Caught breaking and entering together isn’t exactly going to make the hunters not wonder what we’re doing.”

“They think you’re dead,” Derek said, heading to the main office.

“Yeah, and so they will wonder how another beta is living.” Stiles lengthened his stride so he was beside Derek, twisting his hand so it rested more comfortably in Derek’s. “And then they will wonder how I got turned, and they will point fingers at you.” Derek felt Stiles’ hand squeeze his as they reached the office.

Derek scoffed. “They know I can’t turn you.”

“Not sure if it would matter to them,” Stiles muttered. He pulled away from Derek to open the door to the office, heading to the intercom.

Derek’s hand felt cold without Stiles but he pushed that feeling aside. He needed to focus on the alpha, and what came after that. There would be plans, things he would need to do once they killed the alpha. He’d need to find some way to deal with the hunters. He couldn’t focus on anything else.

Stiles was looking at him, frowning as he fiddled with the intercom. “Should I do this? Or do you think you doing it would work?”

Derek frowned, coming up to the other side of the counter that the intercom was on. “It turned you. So you are pack.”

Stiles nodded absently, swallowing as he pressed the speak button, and then let it go. “Okay. So I just, what? Howl?”

Derek gave a sharp nod, reaching over to stop Stiles from nervously tapping. “I’m right here.”

“I just. Sometimes I get worried what will happen when I get face to face with the alpha.” He sighed. “Just with everything I’ve read, about how it feels to be in the presence of one. What if I lose myself?”

“You won’t. I’ll be right here. Just remember your anchors, and remember who’s really in your pack.”

Stiles clasped their hands together as he broke eye contact. “Okay. I have this.”

Derek didn’t say anything, just kept holding Stiles’ hand as he took a few deep breaths. Derek could feel him tensing up, body getting ready, before he let out the start of a deep howl.

It only lasted a few moments before it tapered off into laughter, Stiles letting go of the speak button as he pressed his forehead against the counter. Derek stared at him slack-jaw, not sure what had just happened. It had sounded good for a moment, but now Stiles was laughing so hard that he was beginning to hiccup.

“What the hell?” Derek asked and Stiles just continued to laugh, holding up his other hand to tell Derek to give him a moment. He sighed. “No, it’s fine. Take your time. Not like we are on a timeline here or anything.”

Stiles calmed down to the point where he was only gasping for air now, and when he looked up his eyes were bright. “Sorry about that. Just. I can’t believe we are doing this.” He took a deep breath, and then let it out in a laugh. “I’m sorry. You really should have trained me to howl or something.”

“It’s something that should come naturally. You shouldn’t need to train.”

Stiles gave him a look. “We are training our new betas in howling, because this is weird okay?”

Derek was sure that Stiles continued to talk, but he didn’t hear what he was saying. He was too focused on the words that Stiles had thrown out so casually. The idea that Stiles was thinking about growing a pack together, sticking around so they could grow and establish themselves like that-- it did things to Derek’s stomach, twisting it up in knots, and making him weak in the knees. He never thought he would have a pack again, that it would be just Laura and him until the end, and then he’d lost her.

But now he had Stiles, and Stiles was making plans, thinking about the future and what they would become. Stiles was bitten, but he was a werewolf, and Derek had already known this but Stiles still managed to surprise him with his dedication to their lifestyle.

“Okay,” Stiles cleared his throat. “Let’s do this. This is serious business.”

Derek nodded, watching Stiles take a deep breath, press the speak button, and let out a deep howl. It lasted only about twenty seconds, but it shot right now Derek’s spine: a beta calling for his pack. Derek was here though, and he was pack. His wolf didn’t think Stiles needed anyone else.

They waited a beat, still holding hands and Stiles looked at Derek. “Do you think it worked?”

Derek looked around, as if the alpha would magically appear. “I don’t know.” He drew in a shaky breath. “But I think even if he doesn’t come, you’ve just alerted every wolf in the state that you’re here.”

Stiles snorted. “I’m sure it wasn’t that loud.” Derek shot him a glare and Stiles ducked his head. “Okay, maybe a little loud, but it was awesome right?”

“Sure,” Derek said. “Let’s get out of here. Before humans come and check on where that howl came from.”

“Like they could figure that out,” Stiles retorted, pulling Derek out of the office and down the hallway.

There was a part of Derek that wanted to open a conversation about their future. To talk about pack building, and how it would all go once this was over, but he couldn’t. Not with the alpha still out there. There were still so many problems that could come up. He couldn’t risk becoming complacent.

Stiles was just about to kick the side door open so they could wait outside for the alpha to show up when Derek heard it; a deep growl. He pulled Stiles back, putting himself between Stiles and the door.

“The alpha,” Stiles said unnecessarily, but Derek nodded anyway. He heard Stiles swallow, but he kept his attention on the door. He could hear the alpha stalking right outside the door, and he was just waiting for the moment where the alpha leapt forward, and they would need to either run or fight it. “We should have really thought this through,” Stiles whispered behind Derek.

He was scared, and Derek didn’t blame him. He could smell the rage from the alpha and it made him sick to his stomach. He couldn’t only imagine what it was like for Stiles, whose wolf might be fighting the human side. Derek found Stiles’ hand, grabbing it.

“Stand your ground,” Derek whispered. “It’s just like playing in the woods.”

Stiles stepped closer to him. “Pretty sure you never wanted to truly rip out my throat before.”

“Neither does the alpha.” Derek’s mouth was dry with fear, and he tried to swallow to get moisture back in it. “I think.”

“I hope,” Stiles whispered back. The alpha let out a howl and Stiles squeezed Derek’s hand. “Run?”

Derek shook his head.

The alpha crashed against the door, rattling it loudly but it stayed closed. Derek felt Stiles jump against him and Derek wanted to wrap an arm around him to assure him that everything was okay, but he couldn’t turn his back on the alpha.

The alpha crashed against the door again, trying to force the doors off of its hinges.

Stiles took a step back. “It does know it would be easier to just open the door right?” He was trying for casual, but Derek could hear how terrified Stiles was.

“I’m pretty sure it’s too crazed to think like that, Stiles,” Derek whispered back, following Stiles as he retreated. Derek didn’t think of it as a retreat though, because he was just moving away in anticipation of the doors coming off. He didn’t want to get hit. He didn’t want Stiles to get hit.

“We should definitely have thought this through,” Stiles muttered as the alpha crashed into the door a third time, sending the door flying off the hinges.

Derek stared at it, big and black and growling in their general direction. It took a step forward, claws digging into the floor. Derek stepped back, pushing Stiles with his back. His instincts were screaming that they needed to run, and he wanted to listen to them, but he knew if he ran the alpha would chase them.

“Now?” Stiles whispered.

The alpha let out a howl and Derek turned, pushing Stiles to turn as well, and they ran deeper into the school.

***

“Wasn’t that the greatest?” Lydia gushed, arms latched around Jackson’s bicep as they walked towards his car. She kissed his cheek. “My baby scored three times. So proud of you, honey.”

Jackson grinned, shifting his lacrosse equipment. “All in a night’s work. But let’s be real, I’m captain for a reason.”

“It’s obviously not your modesty,” Danny quipped, grinning when Jackson shot him a dirty look.

Allison looked at Scott, who was trailing behind, carrying his own equipment. He’d sat on the bench the entire game, eagerly waiting for a chance to go on the field. She’d seen him looking back at her, where she was holding her sign with his name on it, and cheering for the team the entire time next to Lydia. He’d never gotten to go on the field though, and even though they had won by a cushy margin, Scott still looked like they had lost. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder, kissing his cheek.

“I’m proud of you,” she whispered and Scott only smiled self-deprecatingly.

“What? That I’m the only benchwarmer with a cheering section?”

Allison stuck her tongue out. “Well I was going to say that I was proud of you for being such a good sport, but I’ll take it back.”

Scott sighed, leaning against her as they got to Jackson’s car.

“Are we going out?” Lydia asked as they climbed into the car, the lacrosse equipment going in the very small space in the trunk, and Danny, Allison and Scott squeezing into the back.

“Victory celebration?” Danny asked. “Sounds like a good idea. Jackson, you wanna go to that burger joint on the outskirts of town?”

Jackson shrugged. “Whatever. You are paying me for gas though, McCall.”

Scott looked offended. “What? Why? You don’t need gas money.”

Jackson glared at him. “Now that isn’t very nice to say to the person hauling your sorry bench-warming ass around.”

Allison saw Scott’s leg twitch, and she put a hand on his knee before he tried to kick the back of Jackson’s seat. “Jackson,” she said sweetly, leaning between the front seats and smiling at him. “Shut up and drive.”

He shot her a dirty look, but didn't say anything as he started the car.

Lydia and Danny started talking about their chemistry projects, and Allison leaned back in her seat, laying her head on Scott’s shoulder. He was tense next to her, and she rubbed his forearm.

“What’s wrong?” She whispered and Scott shrugged, pulling out his phone.

“Nothing.” He scrolled through his texts, and Allison looked away as she caught him looking at texts from Stiles.

She turned her attention to Danny instead, where he had gone silent as Lydia and Jackson started arguing about what they were going to get.

“Sorry you’re the fifth wheel,” she said, poking his shoulder.

Danny looked at her askance, and shrugged. “It’s alright.”

“You were really good tonight. Didn’t let a single player score on you.”

He smiled brightly at that. “Thanks.”

“Why didn’t Stiles come again?” She asked.

Danny blew out a breath. “Cause coach banned him.”

“Coach banned who?” Jackson asked, looking at them through the rearview window.

Danny shook his head. “Stiles. That’s why he didn’t come to the game.”

“Oh. I didn’t even notice he was missing,” Jackson muttered. Danny shared a look with Allison, while Lydia let out a snort. “What? I didn’t!”

Lydia looked back at them. “Oh please. He was talking the entire way to pick you guys up about how happy he was that Finstock threatened to drag Stiles onto the bench if he so much as showed his face around the lacrosse field.”

Danny laughed. “Coach is a little passionate.”

“Hey Danny?” Scott asked. “Have you gotten any texts from Stiles?” Scott asked, looking worried.

“I haven’t checked,” Danny said, pulling out his phone. He frowned, and Allison looked over his shoulder, watching as he pulled up a text from Stiles.

met me at the school! congrats on game honey!

Danny laughed. “He’s so weird sometimes.” Allison thought his face said the exact opposite, because he looked happy for the first time since Stiles had refused to sneak into the game, consequences be damned. “Jackson, can you swing by the school? Stiles wants to meet up.”

“We’re almost at Mickey’s,” Jackson said through clenched teeth.

“It’s not that far,” Danny protested, leaning over Allison to stick his head between the two seats. “Please? For me?”

Jackson didn’t sound too happy when he responded with a tight, “sure.”

He took a sharp left, heading in the direction of the school. Danny was smiling the entire way there, tapping his finger against his knee. Allison was happy to see him happy for the first time in awhile. She’d noticed him drooping every once in a while, and she always wanted to go over to ask him how he was, but Lydia would be there just as she was ready to, talking to Danny in hushed whispers.

Allison squinted her eyes and saw that Lydia had stuck her hand through the space between her seat and the door and was squeezing Danny’s hand. She was smiling faintly, eyes closed as her other hand stroked Jackson’s forearm.

Jackson took another sharp turn into the school parking lot, and he frowned. “Where did Stiles say to meet him?”

Danny leaned forward as Jackson parked next to a sleek black car. Scott tensed up and Allison looked at him questioningly, but he just shook his head.

“Is that Stiles’ new car?” Lydia asked, leaning forward.

Danny shrugged. “Lydia can you pull your seat up so I can get out?”

Jackson opened his own door too. “I’m not leaving you here without seeing where Stilinski is.”

Danny climbed over the seat, and the conversation faded, but Allison could still vaguely hear them arguing. She looked at Scott, who was looking at the car with growing horror, his eyes swinging up to the school door.

“Oh god,” he whispered, climbing over the driver’s seat to get out of the car.

Allison traded a look with Lydia before she followed suit, getting out of the car. Jackson and Danny’s arguing halted, and Jackson looked at them.

“What’s wrong?”

Scott was running up to the doors and Allison gasped a little when she saw it was pushed off the hinges. “Oh no,” he was mumbling to himself, and he pulled out his phone, dialing someone.

“Scott?” Allison asked, as she joined him, the other three not far behind her.

“He’s not picking up, fuck.” Scott hung up his phone, not paying them any attention as he headed into the school, eyes wide with worry.

“Should we be doing this?” Lydia asked, trailing behind all of them, and Allison dropped back so she didn’t fall behind.

“Well, the door was open,” Danny breathed, looking around in the dark.

The halls were eerie in the dark and silence. Allison kept checking behind her, waiting for something to pop out from one of the doors. Scott kept looking at his phone, and by the time they got to the main office, Danny was on his phone as well, both trying to reach Stiles.

“What the fuck,” Jackson breathed, looking around. “It doesn’t look like anyone is here. Have you got Stilinski on the phone yet?”

Danny shook his head. “He’s not picking up.”

Allison frowned. “We should probably get out of here.”

A door banged open and the five of them jumped, looking towards the sound of the door. Footsteps were coming closer, feet pounding on the ground and Allison grabbed hold of Scott’s hand, as she tried to see if it was worth it to run back into the office to hide.

Lydia was already moving towards the office, dragging Jackson and Danny with her when Stiles came running around the corner, a tall, older man right behind him.

“Stiles?” Scott called, and Allison could see even in the dark that Stiles’ face was full of surprise as he rushed up to them.

“Oh my god, what are you guys doing here?” Stiles asked, coming to a halt in front of them.

Danny waved his phone. “Uh, you texted me?”

Stiles quirked an eyebrow. “Texted you-“

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by another bang and then the other guy’s body was twisting around, face going pale. “Stiles, we need to run,” he ordered.

Stiles nodded. “Yup. On it!”

Before anyone could protest Stiles was ushering them towards a side stairwell, and demanding that they go up. Allison heard Jackson try, complaining as he wasn’t listened to. Stiles didn’t stop until he had them in the upstairs hallway. The other man brought up the back, and when he came through the door, Allison watched as Stiles and he took a thick chain, locking it around the double doors.

“Where did you even grab this from?” Stiles asked, holding the chain as the guy physically twisted the chain, locking it in place.

“It was attached to the janitor’s cleaning cart,” the guy stepped back, looking at the door. “That’s not gonna hold for long.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Stiles said, rubbing his face. “Fuck, we should have had a better plan.”

The other guy glanced over to them, arching his eyebrow. “Why are they here again?”

“I have no idea,” Stiles muttered, waving briefly, pasting a cheerful smile on his face. “Hey guys.”

There was a moment of silence.

“What the hell is going on, Stilinski?” Jackson demanded.

***

The plan could definitely have gone better. They should have invested in some type of tool to weaken the alpha because when it came down to it, Derek and he were not ready to brawl with an angry, crazy alpha. It was too personal, rolling around and ripping through flesh. Neither of them were mentally ready to kill like that, and Stiles honestly wasn’t sure if they ever would be.

Guns would be easier, he had decided when they had managed to trap the alpha in the locker room after they had seen the janitor get killed. That had also been fun, trapped in a corner by the alpha, only to be saved when the night janitor distracted it by coming in. And by distracted, Stiles meant the alpha went and killed some guy, and Derek and he were too chicken to do anything but take that as an opportunity to run.

And now, for some reason, Danny, Scott, Allison, Lydia and Jackson fucking Whittemore were here at the school when they should have been busy with the lacrosse game.

Stiles rubbed his temples, trying to think of what he was going to say, but Jackson was impatient.

“And who the hell is this?” He demanded, pointing at Derek.

Stiles sighed, waving in Derek’s general direction as he kept one ear out for the alpha. “Derek, people. People, Derek.” The alpha hadn’t followed them up the stairs. It was probably just toying with them, like always.

Lydia was the one who repeated Jackson’s previous question. “What’s going on? And why did you need to chain the door?”

Stiles looked at Derek, who had started prowling up and down the hall, searching outside. “Well you see,” Stiles stared, and then he cut himself off, because there was no way they would believe him about some Halloween joke.

There was a bang from down the hall, and Stiles heard claws hitting the tile floor.

“Fuck,” he whispered, locking eyes with Derek, who looked just as panicked as he did. They couldn’t explain the alpha.

“Derek owes people money. Really, really scary people,” Scott cut in, like that somehow explained everything.

Stiles was pretty sure his face matched Derek’s, who looked completely offended. Everyone else traded looks, and Stiles saw them looking Derek up and down, probably all coming to the same conclusion: Derek looked like the kind of shady guy who would owe people money: leather jacket, stubble, scowl? Totally the bitch of a loan shark.

Scott shrugged. “Sorry for outing you.” He tried to look apologetic, but Derek just let out a heavy sigh.

“Whatever. We just need to get out of here. You kids should go home.”

Lydia pushed herself forward. “Gladly,” she said, heading towards to the other stairwell.

Stiles watched everyone else follow after her and he rubbed his face as Danny shot him a confused, hurt look while he passed him. Stiles fell in step with Derek, walking with everyone down the hall.

“I don’t like this,” Derek whispered, too low for humans to pick up.

Stiles nodded his head, knowing Derek was watching him. “It’s like a tingling in the back of my head.”

“We get rid of the humans, and then we regroup.”

“Agreed,” Stiles whispered back, keeping an eye on his friends to make sure they actually did what they were supposed to. They had a tendency to act out, and it was one of the traits that Stiles wished he could manipulate out of them.

Lydia reached the door first and raised her hands to push it open when Derek’s head shot up, eyes drawn to the window. Stiles stopped and followed his gaze, gasping when he saw the alpha on the other roof, watching them.

“How did it get over there?” Stiles breathed out a bit too loudly, because he heard heads turn.

Scott and Danny were squinting, trying to see through the dark to what they were looking at. Scott turned questioning eyes towards him, and everyone else had froze.

“Go!” Derek barked, and Stiles glanced over for a quick moment to see that the alpha was moving fast, coming right towards them, and he went on autopilot, forcing everyone down the stairwell.

Jackson complained the whole way down, but Stiles heard the crash through a window, and he knew at least Danny heard it too because his head shot up, looking back.

“Keep running!” Stiles commanded, pushing lightly on Danny’s back to keep him going.

“What kind of people do you owe money to?” Danny demanded as they made it to the first floor, Stiles steering them in that direction because dead body and all.

Derek didn’t answer him, moving in front of everyone, and heading for the front doors. Stiles jogged after him, leaving the others to follow as Derek tried to open the door.

He jumped back, and the scent of burnt flesh hit Stiles’ nose. Derek looked at him with wide eyes, and Stiles’ eyes snapped down to Derek’s hands, which were smoking.

“What?” Stiles asked.

“Wolfsbane,” Derek mouthed back, as he moved aside so one of the humans could push the door open.

Stiles watched in horror as the door shook open, but caught on the chains wrapped around the handles. Even with Jackson, Danny, and Scott trying to move it, the chain wouldn’t snap.

“Help us a little here?” Danny demanded, looking at Derek.

“Let’s try a different door,” Lydia suggested, already halfway down the hallway. “There’s a way out through the locker room.”

Stiles traded a horrified look with Derek. “No.”

Allison glared at him. “Why not?”

Stiles opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking at Derek for help, but that was hopeless, because Derek was even worse with words than he was. He dropped his head in defeat. “Because the janitor died down there. Like, a super messy death. Blood everywhere.”

Someone drew in a sharp breath, but all Stiles heard was Jackson going, “Is this some kind of sick prank, Stilinski?”

Stiles’ eyes snapped towards him. “Why the fuck would I joke about something like that, Jackson?”

“Why didn’t you tell us from the beginning?”

“It wasn’t like I had time to tell you anything!” Stiles shot back.

“Yeah, because you’ve been running us all around this school, for some stupid reason.”

Stiles sucked in a breath. “We told you. People. Scary people. Chasing us.”

“Then leave!” Jackson shouted.

“We apparently can’t!” Stiles screamed back, getting right up in Jackson’s face.

“Guys!” Danny cut in between them, pushing them away from each other. “This isn’t helping anything.” He looked tired, scared, and defeated and Stiles didn’t know which was worse. When he spoke next his voice was a whisper. “And we’re giving away our position by yelling.”

“It already knows where we are,” Derek said, eyes darting around the main foyer.

Stiles rolled his eyes and motioned for Derek to continue, but when it was obvious that Derek was just not getting it he elaborated. “Probably, is what Derek means. It’s not like they have super powers.”

Derek glared at him, heading down the hall, passed Lydia who was on her cell phone. Stiles hadn’t even realized she had called someone. That was the smart thing to do obviously. Lydia was smart. This made sense.

“Who did you call?” He asked just as Lydia hung up, smelling more and more terrified.

“I called the sheriff’s department, but they said they’d already gotten a call to be on the lookout for prank calls about break-ins at the school,” she said in a shaky whisper.

Allison sucked in a breath. “Call them back?”

“No, that won’t do anything,” Stiles cut in. “They’ll just trace Lydia’s number and go visit her house before even bothering to come here.”

“I’ll call my dad,” Allison offered, biting her thumb.

“No!” Derek and he said at the same time, causing Allison to jump in surprise.

“Why not?” Jackson demanded.

“Because, if she tries to I will crush her phone with my fist.”

“Woah-woah!” Stiles walked in front of Derek. “No need for threats of phone-breakage.” He looked at Allison. “Allison, just trust me we really don’t need your dad here. What I’ll do is call my father, the sheriff, because he’ll actually listen to me.” He pulled out his phone, “Okay?”

No one argued with him as he called his dad. Or tried to, at least. He kept getting sent to his dad’s voicemail, and Stiles groaned in frustration.

“Don’t betray me like this phone,” he muttered.

“Stiles. We should really move them,” Derek said, looking up and down the hallways.

“No, I’m not going anywhere.” Jackson crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood his ground.

Stiles sighed, but it was Danny who spoke up. “Jackson, we don’t have time for your hissy fits. We are listening to them.” He turned towards Derek. “Where should we go?”

Derek arched an eyebrow, and then sighed. “Let’s find a classroom.”

Lydia raised her hand. “May I make a suggestion?” Everyone looked at her, and Stiles made a go on motion with his hand. “We should maybe get some weapons?”

Derek glowered. “And where would we get those?”

“Don’t give me that look,” Lydia quipped. “Just take us to a chemistry room.”

Stiles figured it would be inappropriate to laugh at Derek’s pained expression, but it was so hard not to because he just got told by a fifteen year old girl.

center>***

Derek managed to get them to a chemistry room without them being chased by whatever the hell was after them. Jackson refused to believe it was actually whatever Scott had said it was. People that Derek owed money wouldn’t stalk and trap innocent teens in a school, but it was obvious that Stiles and Derek, or Scott for that matter, wouldn’t tell the truth. So Jackson watched silently as Lydia grabbed different bottles for whatever she was doing.

He sat next to her, handing her bottles as she asked for them, but he kept one eye on Stiles and Derek whispering to each other in a corner. He couldn’t hear them, but he could see Danny’s face while he watched them, and that was enough for his mind to go racing with what they could possibly be saying.

Lydia swirled whatever she made in the beaker and presented it to Derek. “Now, when they show up, we just toss this at them, and poof.”

Derek broke away from his conversation with Stiles to take the beaker. He scrunched up his nose. “Strong.”

“It’s an explosive, dumb-ass,” Lydia said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“How do you know how to make an explosive?” Scott asked, and Jackson heard Danny snort quietly next to him.

Lydia bit her lip, twirling a finger through her hair. “Oh? Doesn’t everyone know how to do that? I thought we covered it in class?”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Not unless I missed that day of class, which, oh look. I didn’t.”

“Shut it, Stiles,” Lydia shot at him angrily and he just raised his hands in defeat, taking the beaker from Derek.

“We’ll be back,” Stiles called, turning towards the door. “Barricade the door behind us okay?”

“Where do you think you’re going?” Danny asked, at the same time Derek grabbed Stiles by the shoulder, turning him around.

“What, dude?” Stiles looked at Derek.

“You’re staying here.”

“Yes, exactly. Thank you, Derek,” Danny said, walking up to Stiles and taking the beaker from him to hand to Derek.

“I am not letting you go by yourself.” Stiles turned to Danny. “I am not letting him go by himself.” His head snapped back to Derek, and he looked honestly terrified. “No. Derek.”

“Just let him go,” Jackson called out. “The sooner he leaves, the sooner we can get out of here.”

Stiles gave him an angry look. “Derek, you are not going without me.” He turned around to say something, but Jackson watched as Derek grabbed Stiles, pulling him close and whispering something to him. Jackson couldn’t hear what he said, and from the look on Danny’s face, he wasn’t sure Danny could hear either. Whatever Derek said though, when he stepped away Stiles’ shoulders had drooped in defeat. “Fine, you fuck. I am not crying over your dead body.”

Derek didn’t respond. “I’ll be back. You guys need to stay here.” He gave Stiles a significant look at that. “Got it.”

“Roger,” Stiles said, giving a mock salute.

When the door shut behind Derek, Jackson immediately got to his feet. “So which way are we going while he distracts whatever it is?”

“We aren’t going anywhere,” Scott said quietly. “We’re staying here until Derek gets back.”

“Exactly.” Stiles took a seat against the door. “If you want to leave, you have to go through me.”

Jackson snorted. “Oh, like that’s such a hardship.”

“Try me,” Stiles said, narrowing his eyes.

“No.” Danny took a seat next to Stiles, lacing their fingers together. “You are not doing this.”

Stiles didn’t relax. He stayed tense, head tilted towards the door, even when Danny started stroking the back of his hand, trying to calm him down. Jackson looked away, not wanting to watch them. He hated seeing Danny do this to himself. Stiles had ditched their first lacrosse game to go help some guy deal with the mob or something. He was bad news.

After a few minutes Stiles was up, pacing in front of the door.

“Sit down. It’s okay.” Danny grabbed Stiles’ hand and pulled him back down. “Derek will be alright.”

“Why do we even care that he’ll be okay?” Jackson asked. Danny had no reason to be reassuring Stiles that his friend would be fine. Stiles shouldn’t be concerned about someone else. He should be concerned about them. They were still trapped in this school. “He could have abandoned us, for all we know.”

Stiles turned cold, hard eyes towards him. “Derek wouldn’t leave me.”

“Well he seems to be doing a good job at it right now.” Jackson waved his arm around to show the lack of Derek in the room.

“That’s because Derek is an idiot with a hero-complex,” Stiles said, banging the back of his head against the door.

“Or maybe he’s just a coward.”

Jackson didn’t care that Stiles’ eyes narrowed. He didn’t care that Stiles was clenching his fist. He wasn’t afraid of him.

Stiles took a deep breath, and it looked like he was calming down. Jackson didn’t want that. Jackson knew that wasn’t what Stiles really was. Stiles was manipulative. Stiles was a liar.

“He’s not a coward,” Stiles said calmly.

“He left us here for dead, Stilinski. When’s he gonna come back?” Jackson stood up, and Stiles copied him, both of them ignoring Danny and Scott telling them to calm down. “He’s not, is he? And you’re just too chicken shit to admit it.”

“You know what your problem is, Jackson? You have really shitty friends, so you don’t know what it’s like to depend on people, and have people pull through. But Derek? Derek is not going to abandon us. Derek is out there risking his life and all you can do is whine, and bitch, and I’m getting really fucking sick of your shit.”

Blood was pounding in Jackson’s ears, and it sounded like a roar. “Risking his life? Way to be overdramatic Stilinski!” They were shouting now, up in each other’s faces, ignoring everyone else in the room.

“You cannot even begin to understand the shit that we have gone through, Jackson! The shit that Derek has gone through! The shit I’ve put up with! Derek is not going to abandon me now, even though when he gets back I damn may well tell him to leave you here.”

Jackson took a swing, but Stiles ducked, surprising him. He hadn’t thought Stiles had that good of reactions, and then he couldn’t really think, because all there was was pain in his face.

Someone was screaming, and Jackson fell back on the ground, sliding across the floor. He reached up and touched his face, and when he took his hand away there was blood. A lot of blood. His whole hand was bloody. And his face hurt. It hurt a lot.

People were screaming, and someone was beside him, trying to move him. Hands. Lots of hands. He recognized the smaller hands - he thought. They felt like Lydia.

He could barely see. His vision was blurry, and right before he passed out, he could have sworn the door to the room crashed open and some big, black, monster with blood red eyes walked in.

***

This could have definitely been better planned. Like, they could have tested whatever thing the redhead girl had given him because whatever it was supposed to do, it did not do. She had promised explosions. There had been no explosions.

He’d had the alpha cornered, lured into the gymnasium. Sure he had been shaking, terrified because all his instincts were telling him to submit. This was an alpha. This was the leader of his pack. But he pushed that aside and listened to his human side. He thought about Stiles, and how they were going to build a pack once this was over. Stiles was going to be his head beta. He was going to be alpha. He wasn’t prepared for this at all, but it was going to happen.

The beaker had just hit the alpha square in the chest, bursting, but not catching on fire, and Derek had been left staring slack jawed. It hadn’t done anything, just made the alpha angry. It roared, and pushed passed him, knocking Derek to the side.

He cursed, turning and trying to chase the alpha down. The alpha was running on all fours and Derek could not catch up. He couldn’t do anything, just watch as the alpha barreled up the stairs, knocking open doors, heading right for the room with Stiles.

Derek pushed himself harder. He needed to get to Stiles. He needed to be beside his pack mate. They were stronger together. He shouldn’t have left Stiles behind. He needed to-

The alpha ran into the chemistry door room and Derek was hit with the smell of blood and high pitched screaming.

It wasn’t Stiles’ blood though, and that kept Derek going. He skidded into the room, taking in the scene quickly.

Stiles was facing out with the alpha, standing in front of the other kids shifted. The blond guy, Jackson, Derek thought distantly, was laid out on the ground unconscious, blood dripping from his face. The two girls and Scott were beside him, Scott trying to apply pressure to his head wounds. Stiles’ boyfriend was beside Stiles, face pale as he gripped a stool as a weapon.

Derek growled and he felt himself shift. The alpha ignored him, keeping its focus on Stiles and Danny.

“Oh god, oh god,” Scott’s girlfriend was whispering, looking between the alpha and Jackson. She was gripping the hand of the redhead.

Derek leapt towards the alpha, trying to get on its back. He couldn’t let it advance, but it dodged his attack, and Derek couldn’t turn fast enough.

The alpha was heading straight for Danny.

Screams assaulted Derek’s senses, but he tried to filter them out. He lunged for the alpha again, forcing all his body weight as he hit its side. He felt Stiles hit next to him, and together they managed to roll the alpha off of Danny.

The boy was smart enough to scramble away, running to the others and throwing his arms out, trying to shield the other four.

Derek rolled, trying to pull the alpha out into the hallway. Stiles worked with him, and the three of them tumbled out the door. The alpha roared as Derek sunk his fangs into its chest. He knew it wouldn’t be enough to kill the alpha, but it still hurt.

Stiles was attacking the alpha as well, teeth and claws, and he was moving fast enough to dodge the wayward swipes from the alpha’s claws. They weren’t winning, barely dominating, but they weren’t getting hurt, and that’s all that mattered to Derek. He knew if he smelled Stiles’ blood it would send him into a rage, and he wasn’t sure if he could keep his humanity.

He felt a slice on his chest, and Derek didn’t need to look down to see the blood staining his shirt. He fought through the cut, knowing it would heal even if it was slowly.

Stiles let out an enraged howl, eyes glowing. Derek fell backwards as Stiles sunk teeth into the alpha’s arm. It took him a moment to realize Stiles wasn’t stopping, and his wolf had taken over him completely.

Derek grabbed Stiles, pulling him off of the alpha. If Stiles killed the alpha their plans would be ruined before they even began.

The alpha let out a whimper, crawling in the opposite direction. Stiles tried to fight him, trying to reach the alpha, but Derek pulled him away, back towards the room. The alpha was retreating. The alpha was wounded, and while it would probably take more to kill it, the fact that they had gotten this far proved they could and they should be proud.

Derek got Stiles into the chemistry room, shutting the door behind them and he dropped them both to the ground. He was vaguely aware of the others in the room, but Derek was too focused on Stiles. Stiles, who was pressing his hands to Derek’s chest, making sure that the cut was healing.

He cupped Stiles’ cheek, drawing Stiles’ attention up to his face. “I’m okay.”

Stiles let out a whine, but he shifted back to human, and immediately nuzzled his face into Derek’s neck. “All I could smell was your blood.”

Derek stroked his hair, letting Stiles rest against him. “I know. It’s okay. I’m okay.”

Stiles nodded against his neck, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

Derek closed his eyes letting the feeling of Stiles resting against him wash over him. The alpha was gone, and they had failed, but at the same time they hadn’t died and that was good.

“What. The. Fuck. Was. That.” One of the girl’s voices cut through the room.

Derek opened his eyes as Stiles sprung away from him, looking wide-eyed at the other kids in the room. Scott was still tending to Jackson’s wounds, focusing on that instead of anything going around him.

“Uh, I can explain?” Stiles said quietly.

Danny glared at him. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

“We need to call an ambulance for Jackson,” Scott spoke up, looking over at Stiles. “I think you broke his jaw, and you definitely broke his nose.”

Stiles winced, and Derek looked at him questioningly. “I punched Jackson,” Stiles muttered, standing up and grabbing his phone from his pocket.

“You broke his face.” Scott let out a chuckle. “I thought you’d worked on that whole control thing.”

Stiles groaned, looking apologetically at Derek. “He pissed me off.”

Derek looked down at his chest, and sighed, zipping up his jacket. “Whatever. I need to get out of here.”

“No.” Danny stood up, eyes blazing. “Answers. Now. What happened?”

Stiles hissed. “So I want to start this off by saying that none of you can repeat anything I am about to tell you. I am serious. You can’t tell anyone. The cops are coming here, and they can’t know this. Whatever me and Derek come up with, you have to agree with it.”

Danny looked at Jackson laid out on the floor. “We’ll see about this.”

“No,” Derek said standing up. “You don’t tell anyone. This does not leave this room. It’s for Stiles’ safety. You can’t tell a single person.” His eyes darted to Allison. “Especially you, Allison.”

“What?” She gasped out. “Why me?”

Stiles sighed. “Because Derek and I are werewolves and your family is a bunch of werewolf hunters.”

Danny burst out into laughter. “Really? That’s your excuse?” He covered his face. “Oh my god, what is my life?”

“It’s the truth,” Stiles tried, but Danny just cut him off.

“Out of anything you could have said?”

“What? What else could explain this? That is the truth!” Stiles argued, waving his hands around. “I got bitten by a werewolf before winter break, and that monster we just fought? That’s the wolf that bit me! And Derek and I are trying to kill it, before it gets killed by either Allison’s dad, or Allison’s aunt, or it kills one of us!”

“He’s telling the truth,” Scott whispered, looking at Danny pleadingly. “You saw it for yourself. All of you. We’re in this together now, and for Stiles’ sake you guys can’t tell anyone.” He waited until Danny was looking at him before he continued. “You know that day Stiles was sick and I told you guys we couldn’t go see him? A hunter had shot him while he was tracking the alpha - that’s what we call the leader.”

“We know what an alpha is, Scott,” Lydia muttered.

Scott ignored her. “He was dying because of the bullet wound, because of what was in the bullet, and we only just managed to save him. This is dangerous, and no one can know.”

Danny covered his mouth with his hand. “I’m calling 911.” He left the room, going into the hallway.

Derek could hear him on the phone, asking for an ambulance. He looked at Stiles, who seemed torn between going out to Danny, and staying away from him. Derek wished he could be impartial and do what he thought was best for Stiles, but instead he just raised his arm up, beckoning Stiles over to him. Stiles attached himself to Derek’s side, and Derek tried not to think about how he was possibly ruining things for him. Stiles had chosen to be by his side. Stiles was the one who was choosing to press his nose in Derek’s neck. Derek wasn’t forcing him. This was not his fault.

Still he felt a little guilty when Danny came back in, glanced at them with a hurt expression and then went to Jackson’s side, checking in with Scott to see how he was.

***

Allison had so many questions. She wanted to ask all of them, even if they were stupid sounding. What did being a werewolf mean? What did werewolves do? What were hunters?

They seemed so obvious, but Allison still wanted an explanation. She wanted Stiles to stop cuddling with Derek so he could answer them, but the two of them looked so shaken up, younger than they had when they were fighting against that thing- the alpha. Looking at them now she couldn’t believe the two of them were capable of turning into monsters, of making guttural noises that she was sure would haunt her dreams.

They were just humans.

They were just werewolves. Things that her family thought were worth hunting. They must have been dangerous. Or at least some of them were. Maybe not Stiles. Maybe Derek. But maybe not. He hadn’t done anything to them. And Stiles had only attacked Jackson because Jackson was pushing his buttons. Jackson couldn’t have known that Stiles’ punch would break his jaw. Jackson couldn’t have known that Stiles and Derek were werewolves. None of them had known.

Scott had known, her mind whispered.

Scott had hidden it from her.

She couldn’t even be mad about it though, because if Scott had told her that when he was breaking into her aunt’s room she would have laughed him right out of her life. A part of her still felt like doing that, but then she looked at him, and saw how calm he was compared to everyone else. He hadn’t even batted an eye when the alpha came into the room, focusing all his attention on Jackson. He had been the one to order her and Lydia to stay by him. He had been the one to grab Danny and force him to not interfere.

He’d said that Stiles and Derek would handle it. They would protect them, and they had. Stiles and Derek had risked their lives and had tried to keep them safe.

She took a deep breath.

Her mind was racing and she needed it to calm down.

“The police will probably be following the ambulance,” Danny muttered, not taking his eyes off of Jackson.

Allison couldn’t blame him. It was probably a easier view to swallow than Stiles pressing his face in Derek’s neck. “They are going to call my dad,” she breathed out.

Scott’s eyes snapped to her. “Allison.”

She cut him off. “No. I won’t tell them. I-“ she looked at Stiles and Derek. “They were just trying to protect us. I couldn’t betray them like that.”

Scott relaxed, gazing at her with soft eyes. “Thank you so much.”

“Whatever,” Lydia jumped in. “The bigger question is what the hell are we going to tell the cops, since we aren’t telling the truth?” She stood up, tapping her foot impatiently. “Werewolves,” she snapped, tapping her foot impatiently until she had Stiles and Derek’s attention. “Do you have an explanation that we can pass off to the cops? Because that stupid story about you owing people money is not going to pass, especially with a dead body downstairs.” The two of them looked at her with wide eyes. “Oh, don’t think I’ve forgotten. You want us to keep your secret you have to give us something to work with.”

Stiles licked his lips, stepping away from Derek. “I- guess we could try with the truth?”

“Great. The truth, minus werewolves. Wonderful.” Lydia glared at him. “And what is the truth?”

Stiles looked at Derek, who just shook his head. Stiles went ahead anyway. “Derek and I were here trying to catch his sister’s killer.” He took a deep breath. “Remember that dead body from before Christmas? The one they couldn’t identify. That was his sister.”

“Good. So you two have been conducting your own investigation for some reason. Maybe it’s because Derek doesn’t trust the cops after what happened with his family, great. Breaking copious laws by playing vigilantes is better than werewolves.” She narrowed her eyes, and looked back at Jackson. “We showed up after the game to celebrate here and met up with you two by accident. We didn’t see anything, because Derek locked us in this room for our own safety.”

“How do we explain Jackson?” Danny asked.

Lydia bit her lip, and when she spoke again her voice was trembling. “I guess… we can say he ran, and we found him like this. So that way no one gets in trouble.”

“The Argents can’t know how close I am with Stiles,” Derek spoke up. “They think they killed the second beta, and I want to keep it that way.”

“I don’t know how to get around that. Everyone already knows Stiles wasn’t at the game with us,” Danny said quietly. He finally looked over at the two of them. “The best you can do is say what you’ve told me. You two were friends before you left town, and Stiles pestered his way into your life.” Allison was impressed with how composed he sounded when she could see how much it hurt him. “You let him stick around because he had access to the police department. The hunters would believe that, I think.”

Allison nodded. “We will back that up.” She watched as Derek’s shoulders dropped and he reached out to hold Stiles’ hand. She wondered if they even realized what they were doing, or if it was some werewolf thing. She’d never been interested in mythology like that before, so she had no idea how the lore went when the werewolves weren’t crazy, blood thirsty monsters. She sent Derek a shaky smile. “Anything to protect you and Stiles, I promise.”

He gave her a curt nod just as the windows started to reflect the lights of an ambulance.

“We need to move Jackson,” Danny whispered, and he moved aside as Derek stepped forward, picking him up carefully. It was strange seeing Derek act like Jackson weighed nothing, and she wondered if Stiles had that same kind of strength. He must have, because of how easily he managed to hurt Jackson.

Allison followed behind Derek, holding Lydia’s hand in one hand and Scott’s in the other. On the other side of Lydia was Danny, and she felt for a moment like they were all connected. They all understood each other. It was strange, but she felt like their friendship was deeper now. They all had this secret to share, and they were going to keep it.

She was at least, and she knew Scott would, and it looked like Lydia and Danny would as well. Jackson was the odd one out, but when he came to he would probably be on so many drugs that no matter what he said no one would believe him. They had to look out for each other.

The cops were waiting for them when they came out, EMTs rushing to Derek to take Jackson onto a stretcher. Questions were already being flung at them and Allison gripped Lydia and Scott’s hands tighter, trying to compose herself and get the story straight in her mind.

“Allison? Allison!” She looked up and saw her dad rushing towards her.

It hit her, the exhaustion, the rush, everything. She dropped Scott’s and Lydia’s hands and ran into his arms, letting out a dry sob. “Oh god I was so scared,” she cried, holding onto him tightly.

He hugged her back, cupping the back of her head so she could cry into his shoulder. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he whispered to her, and even though his voice sounded soothing she could feel how tense he was. She was sure if she looked up she’d see his eyes locked on Derek. “What happened?” He asked, pulling her back so she could talk.

Allison wiped her cheek, and she could see Scott out of the corner of her eye watching her, waiting to hear what she was going to say. She sobbed again and shook her head. “I don’t know we just- after the game we thought we’d hang out here, and then suddenly there was yelling and Derek was rushing us into the school to get us away from it and I don’t know.” She hated herself because she was starting to cry, but she needed her dad to believe her. She could feel him getting tense at the mention of Derek but she just kept talking to distract him. “We just, we were in the room the entire time, and by the time Derek came back to let us out everything was over.”

Her dad’s eyes were glancing over at Derek, who was being pulled aside by the sheriff with Stiles. “Why was Derek here?”

Allison shook her head. “I don’t know, we didn’t really talk.”

Her dad didn’t look pleased with her non-answer but before he could ask for more details she threw herself back into his arms. She felt him hug her back, muttering to her that everything was okay.

He kissed her forehead. “Let’s get you home.”

Allison nodded, wiping her eyes as her dad stepped away to talk to the sheriff who was talking to Stiles and Derek still. She looked at Lydia, Scott and Danny and shot them a small thumbs up. Scott returned it, smiling brightly in relief. She hid her smile behind her hand as her dad returned, taking her hand and dragging her back to his car. She waved to the three of them, making a “call me” sign with her fingers. Scott nodded, taking out his phone.

When she got in the car she checked her phone and smiled at the text.

ur teh best!! ilu

***

“What the hell were you thinking?” Stiles’ dad demanded the moment Allison’s dad had left and they were finished explaining the situation, tales of vigilantism and all.

He had grabbed Stiles by the back of his neck the moment he had laid eyes on him, wanting an explanation. It had only taken a quick look towards Derek before his dad pointed to Derek as well and brought them aside so he could question them. He had not looked amused as Stiles stumbled through Lydia’s lie, but he’d waited until he was finished before he started in on them.

“Are either of you aware how completely illegal everything you have done is?” He pointed his finger in Stiles’ face, and then, probably for equality’s sake, pointed his finger in Derek’s face as well. “You better not have gone through my files, Stiles, I swear.”

“Dad!”

“No,” Derek cut in, hands stuffed in his pocket. “He didn’t. I just needed- Stiles had been in town when Laura was, and he knew the area.”

His dad gave Derek a look. “The town has not changed that much since you’ve left.”

“Dad! Way to be offensive! Derek has a very poor memory!” Stiles didn’t care that Derek was glaring at him for that comment, he was not letting this get out of control. They had a lie, they were sticking with it, and they were going to make everyone believe it. “Besides! I wasn’t going to leave him alone. I mean, come on. It was for his sister.” Stiles’ voice dropped, changing tactics at the last moment to go with pleading and sympathy.

His dad’s face softened, but he still was frowning. “It’s still illegal. You two could have gotten hurt, and Stiles, as much as you don’t want to believe it, you’re still a kid.”

Stiles’ face morphed. “No!”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Derek said, head dropping. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“Well, that much is obvious.” Stiles’ dad rubbed his face. “I’m going to need a statement from the two of you, and I’m going to need to open a missing person file for Laura, just long enough to get some DNA match to the legs we found in the woods.”

Derek nodded. “I understand, sir.”

Stiles watched his father look Derek up and down, frown deepening. “Go get checked by the EMTs. You look like shit.” He swung his gaze to Stiles. “You too, Stiles. And when we get home we are having a long talk about how long you are grounded for.”

“Grounded? For what? Being awesome?”

“For being a brat,” his dad retorted. “And because this kind of behavior is illegal, Stiles. Have I stressed that enough?”

Stiles wilted. “Yes sir.”

His dad pointed towards the ambulance. “Now go get checked out, both of you. And Derek, then I want a statement from you so don’t run off.”

“Yes sir.” Derek nodded his head and started to walk towards the ambulance.

Stiles was about to follow him when he saw Danny out of the corner of his eye. He was holding Jackson’s keys in his hand, scuffing his shoe on the pavement as he waited for the cops to clear the car from being evidence. Lydia must have left at some point, because Danny was standing alone, and Stiles veered off from his path towards the ambulance to approach Danny.

“Hey,” he said when he finally got close enough.

Danny jumped in surprise, fist clenching around Jackson’s keys. “Jesus, Stiles.”

“Yeah, it’s me.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Surprise,” he said flatly.

“Yeah.” Danny licked his lips, looking around. “What are- Allison got her dad out of here. I don’t know how much he believed, but.”

“Yeah, we uh. We heard,” Stiles said, pointing to his ears. “Kind of comes with the territory.”

He saw Danny fight a smile, and it made Stiles’ heart jump, because Danny wasn’t that mad if he was smiling, but then his heart dropped. He had been trying to avoid the image of the alpha lunging for Danny, and only Danny, but now that things were calmer it was all he could think of. The alpha had been after Danny. Somehow Danny had showed up at the school uninvited, and Stiles didn’t know how, but he was pretty sure there had been mention of a text, and that meant Danny had been lured.

That was enough to show Stiles that Danny was a target, and Stiles had just witnessed how much he couldn’t protect him.

“The territory,” Danny repeated, laughing nervously. “The werewolf territory. How could I have forgotten?” He dropped down to the curb, burying his face in his hands. When he looked back up at Stiles his face was twisted in wonder. “How is this my life? I mean seriously. How can I just be this fucking unlucky. First a serial killer, and then when I actually try to go for someone normal, someone I thought I knew, someone I thought would be safe he fucking-“ Danny buried his face in his hands.

Stiles didn’t know what to say, and he sat down next to Danny. He didn’t wrap an arm around him, though.

“Stiles, I can’t handle this,” Danny whispered, like he already had figured out that Stiles could hear him. “I don’t know the kind of shit you get up to, but Stiles, I can not be a part of this.”

Stiles’ words caught in his throat. He just couldn’t say anything to that because it was so true, and he wanted to tell Danny. He wanted to tell Danny to run because being with him wasn’t safe. The night had been proof of this. But when it came to it, Stiles couldn’t say it.

“What are you...?”

Danny turned his head to the side. “Don’t play stupid Stiles, you know what I’m saying.”

Stiles swallowed and looked down at his hands. There was blood under his nails. “I’m bad for you.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Danny whispered. He sounded choked up, but he wasn’t crying and it made Stiles feel better because he didn’t think he could handle that.

“But you can’t- Danny you can’t cut me out of your life like this.”

“Watch me, Stiles.”

Stiles put his hand on Danny’s bicep, forcing him to stay sitting. He ignored how tense Danny got because he needed to say this. “Danny the alpha was after you. I didn’t send whatever text you got to bring you here. I was too busy running for my life. If you cut me out. If you don’t let me and Derek keep an eye on you- Danny even if you don’t want to be with me anymore you still need me. And we’re still friends.”

Danny looked at him with haunted eyes, and then he shrugged Stiles’ hand off of him, standing up. “They are done with Jackson’s car. I’m driving it home. Don’t- don’t talk to me anymore, Stiles. We are finished. I don’t want anything to do with you, or this, or anything. If I see you, or I see Derek, I am-“ he cut him off and Stiles sucked in a breath.

“Whatever you do, never tell the Argents,” Stiles begged.

Danny drooped. “I couldn’t do that to you, Stiles. But seriously. Stay away from me.” He walked off and climbed into Jackson’s car before Stiles could respond. He watched Danny drive off, and then dropped his head to his knees, trying to tell himself it didn’t hurt.

“Are you okay?”

Stiles looked up at Derek, and he let out a shaky laugh before he buried his face in Derek’s thigh. “No.” He tried so hard not to cry.