Poison and Wine

Thoughts of Derek Hale and his mystique clouded Hailey’s mind over the next couple of days. She still wondered why he had been outside of her house on Saturday. Monday at school once she saw Stiles she asked if he asked Derek for her and he said he hadn’t seen him yet. And it’s what he said Tuesday and Wednesday as well.

Wednesday afternoon she sat in her room, studying for her first math quiz of the year. Her pre-calculus book was propped open on her desk as she did practice equations in her notebook. A knock at her door interrupted her process.

“Come in,” she said, gladly setting down the pencil for at least a few minutes.

“Hi honey,” Alyssa said, walking into her daughter’s room. “Am I interrupting?”

“Just some pre-calc. What’s up?”

“Your father just called. He has to stay at the office late and he doesn’t know how long he’ll be and I have to leave for work in a few minutes. So you need to make dinner for you and your brother and if it’s not asking too much he was wondering if you could help him practice his soccer.”

“Okay no problem, I need a break anyway,” Hailey said, gladly closing her book and standing up.

“We owe you,” Alyssa said, kissing her daughter’s cheek and heading towards the stairs. Hailey followed her down and closed the door behind her. Aaron looked up from where he was sitting on the couch.

“Hey squirt,” she said, mussing up his hair and sitting next to him. “Since it’s early do you want to work on those soccer skills of yours before dinner?”

“That would be awesome!” he said, shutting the television off and running to the backdoor. Hailey laughed and followed him. He grabbed his soccer ball and jumped from the top of the porch steps to the ground.

“So what are you practicing today?” she asked, fixing her shoelaces.

“Goalie,” he said, grabbing his gloves from the shed as well as the collapsible goal.

“I hope you can handle this,” Hailey said, dribbling the ball back and forth with her feet.

“Please,” Aaron said, rolling his eyes. “Let’s go.”

Hailey set the ball down and took a few steps back. She fixed her gaze on a spot to Aaron’s right and ran forward to kick the ball. Without hesitating Aaron jumped to the right and hit the ball away.

“Awwww!” Hailey cried, running over to the ball and bringing it back to her starting position.

“You ain’t getting it past me Hails!” he said with a laugh, bouncing left and right.

“Don’t say ain’t,” she scolded with a serious look on her face.

“Sorry,” he groaned, rolling his eyes once again.

“Alright, get ready,” she said, rubbing her hands together before dashing forward and punting the ball high over Aaron’s head. It was so high that it went over the fence into their neighbor’s yard. “Oops…”

“I’ll get it!” Aaron cried after he had already started to run up front to get to their neighbor’s front door.

Hailey walked across the yard to stand in the strip of land separating their house from the neighbor’s. While she waited she checked her phone in her pocket. She looked up when she heard footsteps.

“Got it!” Aaron said, holding the ball up with a triumphant smile on his face.

Hailey smiled and held her arms up to catch it. As it was in the air something behind Aaron caught her eye. Two bright blue lights were glowing through the leaves of a bush across the street. They looked like eyes. Hailey was so distracted that the ball whizzed right by her head, almost hitting her.

“Earth to Hailey,” Aaron said, snapping his fingers. Hailey’s attention stayed on the electric blue and saw the bush move. All of a sudden whatever belonged to the eyes jumped out of the bush in a high arc directly towards Aaron.

“Aaron!” she screamed, panic setting in. Her arms lunged forward but her legs felt like they were glued to the ground.

Everything seemed like slow motion. Hailey watched helplessly as Aaron’s eyes widened with fear and he twisted around to see what had his sister so scared. His mouth widened in a scream that sounded muffled in Hailey’s ears. Just as the creature, it looked like some sort of deformed animal, was about to land on top of Aaron, something jumped out from in front of the Miner’s house and crashed into the creature.

The two figures rolled around in the grass and Hailey could tell the second one looked human. She waited until they were fighting in the middle of the street before running over to Aaron and wrapping her arms around him tightly. His fingers clutched onto her shirt as tears fell from both of their faces.

“Come on,” Hailey said quietly, pulling Aaron along with her towards the house. “Let’s get inside. Come on.”

They stumbled into the house and Hailey slammed the back door shut, locking it as fast as possible. Aaron rushed to the living room and climbed onto one of the couches to look out the window.

“Hailey, they’re still fighting,” he said, his voice shaking. Hailey kneeled next to him on the couch and looked over his shoulder.

“Oh my God,” she whispered.

“What is it?” he asked, turning to look at her, fear in his eyes.

“I don’t know buddy,” she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulder and holding him close.

He didn’t protest and seemed to melt into her side. They were silent as they watched. The human figure was thrown into the air and landed flat on his back in the middle of the road. They were too far away for Hailey to see who it was.

“Look!” Aaron said, leaning forward and pointing down the opposite end of the street.

Hailey looked to see a car speeding down the street right towards the two figures. Whoever was driving honked the horn causing the creature to look up. It looked back towards the person then quickly followed after the car. They watched as the car and creature disappeared out of sight.

“Hailey, that guy’s not moving,” Aaron said quietly. “Should we help him?”

“I don’t know…” she said, biting her lip.

“He saved my life,” he said, looking up at her with those big brown eyes of his.

“Alright, but you stay close, alright?” she said, putting her hands on his cheeks. He nodded his head and she kissed his forehead. “Let’s go.”

Slowly, Hailey opened the door and Aaron walked out behind her. He slipped his hand into hers and gave it a light squeeze. Together they walked out into the street over to the person. At first Hailey thought him to be dead but saw that he was writhing in pain. Once they got close Hailey let out a gasp.

“Oh my God, Derek,” she said, kneeling down next to him. He opened his eyes and looked up at her, grasping his side.

“You know him?” Aaron asked, looking down at the man who had saved his life.

“Sort of,” she said. “Derek? Derek, it’s Hailey, I was the one who showed up at Stiles’ house the other day.”

“Mm,” he moaned, his face contorting in pain, his right leg sliding up to bend at an angle.

“Oh, you’re bleeding,” she said, her hands hovering over his side where there was a big gash.

“It will heal,” he said slowly, his teeth gritting together. He looked up at her and Hailey swore his eyes flashed red for a second.

“You need to go to the hospital, dude,” Aaron said causing Derek to turn to him.

“No,” he said sternly.

“Derek, you’re losing a lot of blood,” Hailey said with desperation in her voice.

“It will heal,” he repeated.

“Not without the help of a doctor,” she said. She reached to her pocket to pull out her cellphone but Derek reached up and grabbed her wrist.

“No,” he said again, anger in his voice. “Do not call anyone.”

“But Derek,” she said and he closed his eyes, exasperated.

“Just, give me a minute,” he said with a sigh.

“Fine but we have to get you out of the road before someone hits you,” she said, standing up. He let out a huff and rolled his eyes.

“Fine,” he said. He pushed up from the ground with his hands and Hailey and Aaron grabbed his elbows, helping him up the rest of the way.

“Do you need help walking?” she asked, ready to act as a crutch if need be.

“I can handle it,” he said, holding tightly to his side. Aaron led the way back to the house while Hailey hovered next to Derek in case he stumbled.

Once in the house Hailey led him to the couch where he collapsed. He lifted up his shirt and Hailey’s eyes widened when she realized the gash was smaller than it had been just moments ago. Aaron came into the room holding a bowl of water and a washcloth.

“Whoa,” he said when he saw how the size of Derek’s wound had changed. Derek looked up first at Aaron, then at Hailey.

“I told you it would heal.”

“But… how? That’s not possible,” she said, slowly sinking down into the chair across from Derek.

“I won’t be needing that,” Derek said, nodding towards the bowl of water Aaron had set on the coffee table.

Hailey watched in amazement as the wound continued to shrink. She noticed that the blood that had been oozing out was slowly being sucked back into Derek’s body. She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes tightly. This is all just a dream. I fell asleep while studying, she thought. She opened her eyes to see Derek still sitting across from her, this time his wound completely closed up, no traces of blood except what was on his hands and shirt.

“I don’t understand,” she said, leaning forward, her elbows on her knees. “What was that thing? How did you know it was here? Why was it going after Aaron?”

“A mountain lion, I was driving by and saw it happening, and I don’t know,” he finished, confusion clear in his eyes as he looked over at Aaron.

“That was no mountain lion,” Hailey said, rolling her eyes.

“Well it was,” Derek said, closing out the issue and standing up. “I have to go.”

“Tell me one more thing,” Hailey said, standing up as well and following Derek to the door. He paused in the doorway, his hand on the knob and his back to Hailey. “How did your body heal like that? It’s unnatural.”

“Now that,” he said, “I can’t tell you.”

Hailey watched as he walked down the front steps to the sidewalk. Moments before he could barely move and now he was walking perfectly fine over to his car. Aaron came up behind Hailey and stood next to her. She looked down at him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders and they both looked over as Derek opened his car door.

He turned to get inside, his left hand on the top of the door. Before he climbed in he looked back up at Hailey. She stared directly into his eyes before he ducked down and closed the door. The engine revved and sped down the street.

“That dude is awesome,” Aaron said. Hailey let out a slight laugh before her face turned serious again.

“Come on, you deserve a nice big dinner,” she said, turning their bodies and pushing Aaron through the front door, closing and locking it behind her.

****

After dinner, Hailey put the leftovers away for her parents and rinsed the dishes before loading them in the dishwasher. Aaron had run up to his room to finish his homework. When she was done downstairs she made her way up to Aaron’s room. His door was propped open. She knocked and slowly pushed it open.

“Hey,” he said, looking up from his science book.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked, hovering in the doorway.

“Sure,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. He stuck his pencil and worksheet in his book and set them on his bedside table. Hailey walked in and sat on the bed next to him.

“Listen, what happened tonight… the so-called mountain lion attacking you and Derek saving you… that has to stay between you, me, and Derek. Mom and Dad can’t know. No one else can know,” Hailey said, looking over at Aaron who had his brow furrowed.

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because then Mom and Dad will worry about you and be super protective and you don’t want that, do you?” she asked, going with the angle she knew would work best.

“Definitely not,” he said, shaking his head.

“Alright. So we’re agreed then? No telling anyone?” she asked and Aaron nodded his head. “Promise?” she asked, holding out her pinky, something Aaron used to do with her when he was younger when she caught him doing something that would get him in trouble.

“Promise,” he said, linking his pinky with hers.

“Okay,” she said, moving to stand up.

“Hailey?” he asked, his voice softer.

“Yeah?” she asked, sitting back down and pulling her legs up onto the bed.

“What if that thing shows up again? Will Derek save me again?”

“I don’t know buddy,” she said with a sigh.

“I’m glad he was there today though.”

“Me too.”

“Do you really think he was just driving by?” he asked, asking what Hailey had been thinking.

“I don’t think so.”

“Then what was he doing out here? Does he live near here?”

“I don’t know,” Hailey answered truthfully. “But I bet I know who does.”

“Who?” Aaron asked.

“I’ll let you know after I talk to him,” she said, standing up. As she was headed to the hallway they heard the front door open and close.

“I’m home!” their father called up the stairs.

“Hi Dad!” they shouted in unison. Hailey looked back at Aaron, raising an eyebrow and he nodded his head. He went back to his homework and Hailey headed downstairs.

“Hi Hailey,” he said, kissing the top of her head as he set his briefcase down.

“How was work?” she asked, following him into the kitchen.

“Exhausting,” he said, opening the fridge looking for something to eat.

“I made balsamic chicken, roasted potatoes, and asparagus. They’re on the bottom shelf,” she said, hopping onto the counter, kicking her legs against the cabinets under her.

“You’re an angel,” he sighed, grabbing the containers and bringing them over to the other counter. He pulled a plate off the rack over his head and started loading it up. After he put it in the microwave he grabbed a beer from the fridge, leaned against the counter, and popped it open.

“So did anything exciting happen tonight?” he asked, taking a sip of his beer.

“No,” Hailey said quickly.

“Where’s your brother?”

“Upstairs finishing his homework,” she said, jerking her head towards the stairway. Just then they heard Aaron’s footsteps running down the stairs.

“Hey Dad, can you help me with this question?” he asked, setting his book on the counter next to Hailey.

“What’s the subject?” Jason asked.

“Science,” he said. Jason looked up at Hailey and grimaced.

“You want to take this one?”

“Science isn’t my strong suit,” Hailey said, jumping down from the counter. “I have to finish studying for my pre-calculus quiz anyway.”

“Alright,” Jason sighed, putting his hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “What’s the question?”

Hailey smiled as she turned to walk up the stairs. She grabbed her phone from her pocket as she made her way to her room. It was time to call Stiles again. She hit send on her phone and sat on her bed, waiting for him to pick up.

“Hello?”

“Scott?” she asked, confusion in her voice. “Sorry, I thought I called Stiles.”

“You did. He’s in the bathroom.”

“Oh well, I can wait for him, if you don’t mind,” she said, biting her lip.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Hey are you alright? You sound weird,” he said, concern in his voice.

“Um yeah, I’m good. I just have a question for him.”

“Anything I can help you with?” he asked.

“Only if you know anything about Derek Hale,” she said with a sigh, leaning back against her pillows.

“I know a lot about Derek,” Scott said slowly. “Did he do something to you?”

“No! Not at all. He helped me actually. Well… my brother really.”

“Stiles is back, hold on,” he said.

“Okay,” Hailey said, she listened closely and could just make out what they were saying even though it was muffled.

“Who is it?” Stiles asked.

“Hailey,” Scott answered.

“Oh, what does she want?”

“She has a question. About Derek.”

“Another one?” Stiles asked.

“Another?”

“She came over here the other day to ask about him. Do you think he did something?”

“I don’t think it was anything bad,” Scott said.

“What do we do?” Stiles asked and Hailey sat up, furrowing her eyebrow. She was so confused as to what was going on.

“I think she’d find out sooner or later,” Scott said with a sigh.

“Alright, tell her to come over,” Stiles said. Hailey sat up.

“Hailey? You still there?” Scott asked, his voice more clear now.

“Yeah, I’m here,” she said, her heart beating with anticipation.

“Can you come over to Stiles’ house? We want to talk to you face to face.”

“Um, yeah, I can come,” she said, sliding off her bed. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay. Bye,” Scott said.

“Bye,” Hailey said, hanging up. She dashed downstairs and slid into the kitchen. Her father was still helping Aaron with his homework while also attempting to eat between speaking.

“Hailey this is amazing,” he said before shoving another bite in his mouth and Hailey laughed.

“Thanks Dad,” she said. “Is it alright if I go over to Stiles’ house for a bit? He needs help with his homework and it’s too difficult to explain over the phone,” she lied.

“Sure. Be careful driving in the dark and be home by ten thirty,” he said, looking over at the clock.

“Will do. Thanks!” she said, turning back to the front of the house. She grabbed her Dad’s keys from the hook and headed out to the car.

****

When she pulled up to Stiles’ house she saw that his Dad was home. She climbed out of the car and made her way up onto the porch. This time she was actually able to ring the bell.

“Hailey,” Sheriff Stilinski said with a smile. “Come on in.”

“Thanks,” Hailey said, walking into the house. “How are you doing?”

“Fine, thank you. You can go right on up. Scott and Stiles are in his room.”

“Thank you,” she said, smiling before making her way up the stairs. She walked over to Stiles’ room and knocked on the door.

“Hey,” Stiles said, rubbing the back of his head as he held the door open for Hailey. She nodded her head at him and slid her coat down her arms.

“Hi Scott,” she said, setting her coat on the extra chair next to Stiles’ bed.

“Hi,” he said, his right leg jumping up and down. Hailey didn’t know if it was out of nerves or anticipation. She sat in Stiles’ desk chair while he and Scott sat on the bed across from her.

“So...” Stiles said, looking from Scott to Hailey. “Scott said you have a question about Derek.”

“Yeah, I do,” she said, crossing her legs. “Well… before I ask it I guess I should tell you what happened.”

Scott and Stiles both nodded their heads as Hailey recounted what happened to her and Aaron earlier that evening. When she got to the part about Derek’s wound healing while he was on her couch they both looked at each other with worried looks on their faces. When she finished it was silent for a moment.

“Okay,” Scott said, taking a deep breath. “So, you want to know?”

“How his wound was able to heal. And how he could have known this thing was about to attack Aaron. And what exactly this thing was,” she said, biting her lip.

“Hailey,” Stiles said slowly, looking back at Scott who nodded his head. “What we’re about to tell you is going to shock you. And you might not believe it. But you have to trust us and you cannot, ever, tell anyone else. Not even your brother even if he asks."

“Okay,” Hailey said, a hint of fear in her voice.

“Derek is… a werewolf,” Stiles said, holding his breath as he waited for Hailey’s reaction. Hailey’s eyes widened and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Good one,” she said when she calmed down. “What’s really up?”

“Hailey,” Scott said. “Stiles is telling the truth.”

“Oh come on,” she said, uncrossing her legs and leaning forward. “Werewolves don’t exist.”

“Oh but they do,” Stiles said, turning to Scott. “And we can show you.”

“You can?” she asked.

“Well… Scott can,” Stiles said, nodding towards their friend. Hailey looked to Scott.

“Just… don’t freak out. Okay?” Scott asked and Hailey slowly nodded her head.

Hailey kept her eyes on Scott as he stretched his neck out, rolling his head. He opened his mouth and Hailey saw fangs that weren’t there before. His eyes opened and they were glowing golden. When he lifted his hand Hailey saw his fingers take a different shape and his nails grew to look almost like claws. Her breathing started to quicken and she drew her legs up on the chair. Stiles noticed how uncomfortable she looked and went over to her. He squeezed her hand and knelt next to her.

“It’s okay,” he whispered. Hailey gulped and looked back at Scott. He was breathing heavily and his ears had elongated to a point and his face was fully transformed. He looked so menacing that if she hadn’t seen him change before her eyes she never would have guessed it was him.

“Scott?” she asked, her voice shaking.

“It’s me,” he said, his voice deeper and rougher than before.

“Holy shit,” Hailey whispered before her head rolled back against the chair and she lost all consciousness.

“Well,” Stiles said, looking up at Scott. “That went well.”