Work Text:
Dear Diary
I’m not looking forward to September. It’s not being a senior that I’m not ready for. It is everything that comes after that. Choosing colleges, OMG how do I do that? The only thing within commute range is a couple of JC’s. Nothing wrong with a JC, but people will ask why, and I’m not ready to answer that question.
Last September my only ambition was to get off the bench. Maybe to get Lydia to realize what she was missing, kid stuff. Then Peter Hale happened. A normal life of teen-angst; shredded by fang and claw. None of rules worked anymore. From breakfast to lights out nothing was secure. My best friend tried to kill me and that was just for starters.
Forget where I go to college. What do I want to be when I grow up? Last time I checked career growth for wizards and hero-side-kicks was at a dead stop. My grades are okay. I made some impressive goals for the team last year, enough that college scouts were sniffing around. Short of slagging my SAT’s there is no reason to attend the local JC. No reason I can admit.
Last year I was comfortable with my little fairy tale. For a few minutes I even dared think it might become real. Then Peter came for Lydia. He came for me. If Lydia had turned, it’s a pretty sure thing I would have been begging for the ‘bite’. The best moment of my life was setting Peter on fire and watching him burn.
Yeah, I know that sounds extreme. Dude was a rabid dog. I might have been more sympathetic if he went after the Argents directly. He should have taken them out before he tried to rebuild his pack. That would have been the right thing to do. If you aren’t willing to take on the scary stuff yourself, you do not make soldiers to throw at it. Playing general from the rear, that is not leadership.
He is a complicated guy. I’ve had a chance to get to know him better since Lydia resurrected him. Derek says Uncle Peter was the family clown, sarcastic, clever, and interesting. I believe it; Peter’s brain has more twists and turns than a rat-maze.
So yeah, burning him down, that was satisfying. Give him credit. He doesn’t seem to be holding a grudge. I won’t swear to that though. Every time Peter gets near me Derek’s hackles go up.
Sour-wolf, almost sure he doesn’t hate me anymore. He says I’m part of Scott’s pack and that seems good enough, though that doesn’t justify or explain growling at his uncle. That’s almost as confusing as the way he singles me out whenever a nasty comes after us. Lydia and Allyson are human too but he doesn’t hang around to make sure they get home safe.
Derek Hale, serious bad-ass, Danny is halfway crushed out on him. Seriously, his tail practically wags when Derek is around. Hindsight, I regret using a shirtless Derek to bribe Danny that one time. That’s the real problem, shirtless Derek, naked Derek. I can’t get him out of my head, and I’m pretty sure why that is.
University of Florida, warm all year round and about as far from Beacon Hills as you can get. If they make good on the lacrosse scholarship, that’s a good enough reason. I will be on my own. It’s not something I am good at, being solo, time for that to change.
Allyson wants to go to Stanford. Scott’s grades are not that good but there are three decent State Universities close by. Lydia has her heart set on MIT, Jackson and Danny are applying to Harvard. Isaac, Erika, and Boyd they’re Derek’s pack; none of them are terribly bright or ambitious. JC is good enough for now.
When I come back, well we will see. I’ll have a better idea of which way I swing. Maybe Derek can stop treating me like a kid. Maybe, maybe it will be different then.
***
Derek was pacing, my nephew has all the makings of legend. Male Alphas are passingly rare. Most of us don’t have the right instincts to hold a pack together. I had proven that in spades. Derek was different. It went beyond compassion, honour, or strength. Derek loved his pack. Whiney misfits the lot, but they were his, he made them, and he loved them.
“He refused the bite. I will not take him against his will.”
“Very noble Derek, but it was me Stiles rejected, not you.” He actually glared at me; Derek has tied himself into knots over this boy. It was almost to the point where our pack was in jeopardy. I wasn’t ready to become an Omega.
“You know how this works. You have to be mated to complete the pack bond. If you don’t want Stiles, Danny would be willing.”
“Geez! Perv much.”
“Hey now… Danny is a very attractive guy and no virgin either. Hell Derek, you can have them both. It’s been done before and would go a long way toward backing up the opposition.”
I knew better of course. Derek had Stiles scent lodged in his brain. He could take a different mate and it would do the job of settling the pack. But I would rather my nephew was happy.
“You do know, you don’t have to turn him?” Derek’s glare should have lit my hair on fire. This was a lot of fun.
“Yes I know.” That sounded dejected. Irritating as it was, I had to let my nephew wallow a bit. He would shake it off after a while and take action.
“Pete, he’s just a kid.”
Ah… there was my opening. “You do remember Alexandra?” Stiles had bedevilled her, out fought her, and out foxed her. Then he cut off her head.
“That was not the hand of a child. Stiles is many things, most certainly, he is not a kid.”
It was odd how proud I was of that boy. He had set me on fire. Normally I take a dim view of that sort of thing, but Stiles had heart. I had mistook his loyalty for submissiveness, and paid for that mistake painfully. The boy knew when to be afraid, but fear never ruled him, except when it came to love. Love scares the bejeezus out of most people.
“Derek, that boy has bled for you, and fought for you. He has earned the right to be loved by you.”
It had a beautiful ring to it. It doesn’t get much better. I stalked out of our old wreck and went looking for something to kill. Preferably, something that would fight back.