Don't Take Yourself So Seriously

The lights strung up in Lydia's room could have blinded the sun. The full length mirror was placed conveniently so it reflected the light back into Kinsey's eyes as she stood in front of it. The music playing from downstairs wasn't nearly loud enough to drown out the depressing thoughts of being stuck in this place.

“This is so cliché I may gouge my own eyes out,” Kinsey warned, one hand up to block the light. She fixed the plush red hood and placed it smoothly on her head. “Why am I here?”

“Because Lydia's my friend, you're my friend, and we're all going to be friendly together.” Allison placed her hands on her hips and gave a stern look.

Kinsey blinked, pulled her dress down, and pouted. “I like it when you take charge like that,” she said through pursed lips.

“Shut up,” Allison said with a smile.

Allison had ended up with the pirate outfit, a rogue parrot thrown onto Lydia's bed. Lydia, in a not-so-typical hot girl costume fashion, had gone the more stylish way. The scarf and lab coat helped a bit, but Kinsey had forgotten what Lydia was and figured she wouldn't remember if Lydia said it again.

It was odd being stuck in this bedroom, knowing Kinsey would have to face a crowd of people that she barely knew existed. At least Lydia was being hospitable to an extent. Although she was sharing costume makeup (for the rosy cheeks of a fairy tale character), Lydia was noticeably uncomfortable at having Kinsey around so much.

They couldn't stay locked upstairs all night, despite Kinsey's notion that it was plausible. Forcibly dragged, Kinsey tripped her way into the kitchen to where Stiles was stuffing his face and bugging Danny. The place was packed, the music loud, and bodies all over the place. Half the crowd took to the costumed theme, but it was mostly people confused on why they should dress up. “Why the hell not?” Lydia would say, storming off angrily but gracefully. She didn't seem to be in a party mood.

“Happy birthday,” Kinsey said quickly over the noise, swiping some icing from Stiles' plate. She looked up at him, a mask pushed up over his head and his clothes bloodied. His mouth was too full, but he said the same.

“You too,” Danny replied with his dimply smile. He was Peter Pan, decked in green from head to toe.

“Oh, thanks. Almost forgot my own birthday.”

He nudged her shoulder and took off when somebody called his name, an interesting smirk on his face as he grabbed Danny's waist. Turning towards Stiles, Kinsey saw him pull down his mask.

“You've got to be joking me,” she barked immediately. “People are going to think we planned this!” Stiles moved his wolf face around, and Kinsey pointed to her Little Red Riding Hood costume.

“I'm sorry, was I supposed to coordinate this beforehand? Maybe we should have just gone shopping for dresses together,” he sniped at her.

“You know what, I'll beat you up later. I've got to find some fireworks for Lydia. She's got some bug up her butt, and I don't want to be on the other end of her bite if I don't do as she asks.”

A couple punches to Stiles side and then Kinsey was out the screen door. The chatter diminished as she got further out into the yard, walking along the edge of the pool. The pool was lighted from the sides, and the water rippled in the breeze gently. Kinsey dipped her hand in with a quick glide, being careful as she sprung back up to her feet.

The bins next to the pool were filled with deflated rafts and folded up lawn chairs. Kinsey popped the top off a couple, looking for a box of fireworks. She bent down to her knees, the grass soft and wet against her. At the very bottom of the box were a few poppers. Kinsey laughed at the brand: Wolf Pack.

She stopped rummaging to gawk at the fence.

-----

Derek had been doing a lot of thinking over the month. He was positive by the end of it that the mating thing had to be right. Now that he was alpha, he didn't have the urge to be near Kinsey. He didn't want her. He wasn't pining.

Then, as he stomped through the woods looking for Jackson, the girly scent of Kinsey wafted through the air. It was like sex with cherries on top. His mind went blank for a second, losing all thought processes.

The hot, knotted feeling in the pit of his stomach hit him in a rush. All he had to do was turn a corner and he saw her, spread out on the ground, hands clutching on the cold plastic so hard they were turning white. Her hair was covered in a red hood, her face puzzled, her shoulders tensed.

He stared at her for a second, almost looking like he was in pain; he was.

There was no lying anymore. Derek's brain violently threw out all thoughts against her. Kinsey had fought for him, fought him personally in that kind of way that makes you think, and she had caused him to fight against himself. She treated him like a human and was never asking for anything in return.

Her two goons pictured Derek as a monster who could potentially help them out when they got in trouble, but Kinsey just saw him for what he was, whether it was good or bad. It wasn't a transaction between the two; she just wanted to give. It wasn't something Derek was use to. All anyone ever did was take, and that probably hadn't ever crossed Kinsey's mind.

All of this is what led him to walk towards the gate, coming face to face with Little Red Riding Hood. Kinsey stood up straight, trying to make herself look taller as Derek loomed over her.

The hair on Kinsey's neck stood up. Derek listened closely to her heartbeat raise. He wasn't one to start a conversation, so he stood there. In his usual confrontations, someone would have punched the other at this point. That's how normal conversing started.

This was the first time Kinsey had seen Derek since her panic attack in the woods. That embarrassment flashed through her mind for a second before her brain kicked in. “If you're here to say happy birthday, I must remind you that I'm still not legal. In the state of California, the age of consent is 18.”

There was that “charm”.

Kinsey saw the smirk on his face. “Yes, I know. Bold, blunt, belligerent. I still remember you saying that.”

An appropriate amount of attitude had been given for Derek to consider this a conversation worth joining. “I won't call you a kid this time.”

Kinsey warily took a step back. She was unsure of why he even popped up. He was a creature of creeping, but she figured he only did that when it worked in his benefit (or he just liked the boys locker room). This did not meet that criteria. They hadn't attempted to talk to each other in a long time. “You're not a beta anymore,” she informed at random. “That means there's no force driving me to want you.”

I'm trouble, Derek mocked in his head. He found it odd and amusing they both thought that of the other.

Trouble, Kinsey reminded herself to reinforce what she had just said. Rejecting Derek at that point was becoming a bit harder. If she'd been pursuing him after her parents kicked her out, they'd have had a needy, clinging based relationship. But she was better, mostly, and thoughts of Derek were easing into her good side, especially as he kept looking at her in such a strange way.

“You still feel it,” Derek said with confidence. “You've never just been drawn to the pretty face.” Derek motioned around his face. “It's not animal instincts. You want more from me. You like me.”

Damn him, Kinsey thought. It was true. Derek was actually kind of awesome, but there was no way in hell she was going to say that out loud. Derek Psychopants Hale was, as his name suggests, a psychopants, and her life was just getting normal.

“Dear God, you think you're so smooth. You're talking too much. It's weird, even by your standards.” She cringed at her own statement. It was one of many reasons she liked him. At first glance, Derek was one of those people you expected to be pushing the ladies off with a stick (or claw), but it just wasn't him. He was a grade A freak, with a bite bigger than his bark, and he was moving closer to Kinsey's skin. She was the girl stupid enough to hope someone like Derek would close that inch between them.

“I'm feeling pretty confident lately,” Derek said, a shit-eating grin adorning his lips.

“You sound like a self-absorbed asshat. Reality check,” Kinsey sang. She snapped her fingers.

Derek bit his lip, looking down. “You talk a big game, but your heart gives you away every time.” Derek took a step forward, a hand out to touch her arm. Kinsey jerked away.

“Just like you.” It was time to get out of there and back into the party. She'd had enough “fun” out there with psychopants. “Are you obsessed with anything, like Harry Potter? Have you ever gotten drunk and debated plot points with strangers in bars?”

Derek wasn't shocked at all she changed the subject. He even guessed she was trying to confuse him. “I guess I can get obsessive.”

Like hunting down an alpha for a month, ninja turtles, and watching over teenagers in Beacon Hills, Kinsey thought.

“Not over Harry Potter.”

“Too bad. Then, you'd know my magic tricks.”

Kinsey threw poppers down at Derek's ankles. On a normal person, it could leave a welt. On Derek, it just created an annoyance. He looked down at his foot, swiping it out of the way in time. He looked back up. Kinsey had already run back into the house.