Poison and Wine

*Derek’s POV*

After he left Stiles with Hailey in the school, Derek made his way out the double doors. He paused before going down the steps and listened. Hailey was crying. His hands clenched to fists and he huffed before walking down the steps and heading over to the border of trees that lined the parking lot.

He stood away from the entrance so he wasn’t directly in line. Normally he would have just gone home but he felt compelled to stay. Like something was holding him there. After awhile he heard the doors open again. He looked up to see Hailey exit the school and get into a car. Following the tree line he kept parallel to the car as it left the school, stopping when it did at the stop sign.

He knew Hailey saw him when she looked out the window. His face stayed neutral, pretending that she couldn’t see him. When the car started again he started running. He ran until he reached the house, still burnt and decrepit. Since the Argent’s weren’t after them anymore, for now, he and Peter were able to stay there. It was much better than an old broken down railway car.

“And where have you been?” Peter asked from the sitting room. “Out chasing cats again?”

“Shut up,” Derek said through his teeth as he made to go upstairs.

“You can’t keep disappearing like this Derek,” Peter said, standing up and walking over to the entryway. Derek paused on the stairs and turned to look at him. “We can’t figure out why Jackson’s killing this time or what happened to Gerard with you out of the picture.”

“I know that,” Derek said, his nostrils flaring.

“Then tell me where you keep going.”

“That’s none of your business,” Derek replied, going up a few more steps.

“If you want to protect her then she needs to be able to trust you. You need to let her in,” Peter said, his voice abnormally soft. Once again Derek stopped and turned to his uncle, his eyes wide.

“I can’t do that,” he said, pursing his lips.

“And why not?”

“If I get close to her… I don’t think I’ll be able to stay away,” he admitted, hanging his head.

“What’s so wrong with that?” Peter asked, bringing a leg up onto the bottom step and resting his elbow on it as he leaned forward.

“I don’t want something to happen where I’d end up hurting her. Or for something to happen that I’d lose her. I can’t go through that again,” he said with a sigh. With resignation he turned and sat on the steps to face his uncle, his head in his hands. “I can’t explain it.”

Peter climbed up to where Derek was and sat next to him, not looking at him. He sighed and clapped his hands together.

“If you have feelings for her, not like ones you had for Kate,” he said and Derek growled at the mention. “But feelings that are like a pull, like you’re magnetically connected to her, it can mean that the wolf instinct in you has found your mate.”

“But she’s human,” Derek said, turning to look at his uncle and Peter shook his head.

“That doesn’t matter. Once you find your mate, you’re either with them for life or alone for life depending on what you choose.”

“Well it’s a risk I’ll have to take,” Derek said, standing back up.

“I made the mistake of letting my mate go,” Peter said and Derek looked down at his uncle who was looking down at his hands. Derek had never heard Peter talk about anything like this before. “Sometimes I still regret it. I don’t want you to do the same because you’re scared. She could help you, more than you think.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Derek compromised. “And her family. But I can’t let her in. Not yet.”

“I understand,” Peter said, turning to Derek and nodding his head. Derek nodded in return and finally went upstairs to his makeshift bedroom.

Later that evening, once the darkness had settled in, Derek got in his car and drove to Hailey’s house. A block away he set the car to neutral and just coasted until parking in front of her house. Stiles had mentioned that she knew he was there the other day because of his engine. Letting out a deep breath he looked up at the house.

“What am I doing?” he asked himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. He sighed and looked back up at the house, surprised to see Hailey sitting in one of the upstairs windows. She was reading a book. Derek watched as she read, her head turning to look in her room.

Someone else joined her in the window. It was her brother. Derek focused in to see what they were talking about.

“Mom said you wanted to talk to me when I finished my homework,” Aaron said, sitting down facing his sister.

“Yeah,” Hailey said, closing her book. “Remember when you asked me what would happen if that thing came back again?”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding his head and shuddering.

“I talked to my friend Scott. He said hopefully that won’t happen to you again and he’s glad you’re okay,” she said and Aaron smiled. “But if it does happen again I can always call him and he has friends that can help.”

“Even that Derek guy?” Aaron asked. Hailey sighed and Derek looked up at her.

“I don’t know about him,” Hailey said and Derek squeezed his eyes shut, knowing he had hurt her.

“Why not?” Aaron asked and Hailey shook her head.

“I just… I don’t know if we can count on him. Not yet at least,” she said. Derek clenched his fists and gritted his teeth together. He couldn’t believe what he was going to do. He started the car, causing the engine to rev and sped down the street.

****

When she heard the car rev Hailey looked out the window just in time to see Derek’s car speeding down the street. She sat up straighter and placed her hand against the glass.

“Wasn’t that him?” Aaron asked and Hailey turned back to him.

“Yeah… it was,” she said slowly, sitting back down. “Maybe we can count on him. I’ll let you know.”

“Okay. And don’t worry, I won’t tell Mom and Dad like I promised.”

“Thanks buddy,” she whispered, smiling at Aaron as he left the room. Hailey picked up her phone and called Stiles.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Explain to me how if Derek says he basically doesn’t want anything to do with me why he was just outside of my house once again,” she said quickly.

“That’s a very good question,” Stiles said with a sigh. “Are you sure it was him?”

“I don’t know any other car with an engine like that,” she said, leaning back against the wall.

“Fair enough,” Stiles said. “Maybe… he’s had a change of heart.”

“Or he’s just a creep,” Hailey said causing Stiles to laugh.

“Well whatever it is I don’t think it’s anything serious.”

“I hope not,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Stiles.”

“Goodnight. Don’t let the werewolves bite.”

“Goodnight, Stiles,” she said with a laugh, shaking her head.

She hung up and tossed the phone across the room onto her bed. Taking a deep breath she looked out the window again. The street was peaceful with nothing and no one in sight. Closing the blinds she got up and joined her family for a little bit of normalcy.

****

At school the next day, everything was almost back to normal with Allison. Hailey noticed that Allison avoided conversation about anything supernatural, probably because she was sick of arguing with Hailey about Derek. Allison may have been the first friend Hailey made in Beacon Hills but right now, she wasn’t the closest.

After school Stiles offered to drive Hailey home. She graciously climbed into his Jeep as Stiles started it up.

“Where to milady?” he asked causing Hailey to laugh. She was going to say home when an idea came to her and she stopped laughing.

“Could you… take me to Derek’s house?” she asked and Stiles’ mouth opened and closed a few times as he searched for the right words to say. “I don’t want to go in or see him or anything. I just want to see it. We don’t have to get close.”

“Um… I guess that won’t be a problem but if he’s there and uses his super-wolf hearing and gets mad I’m blaming you,” he said, holding his hands up defensively.

“How super is this super-wolf hearing?” she asked, slowly buckling her seatbelt.

“Very.”

“So basically when he was sitting outside last night he was listening to my conversation with Aaron?” she asked as Stiles started driving.

“I’d say that’s highly likely.”

“Great,” Hailey said with a sigh. “So I basically have zero privacy now that I know about this wolf thing?”

“Basically, yeah. But you have most of your privacy until one of them just appears in your room one day scaring the shit out of you,” Stiles says, slamming a hand down on the steering wheel.

“Yeah, no,” Hailey said, shaking her head.

Stiles just laughed slightly and was quiet as he made his way to the Hale house. Hailey looked out the window noticing that they were going through a highly wooded area and no other houses were in sight. The trees grew denser in proximity and she sat up straighter when she saw a form taking shape. Stiles parked the Jeep a good hundred feet or so away from the house.

“Well, there it is. The Hale house,” he said, turning to look at Hailey.

“How does he live in that?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I think it suits him. It matches his personality,” Stiles said and Hailey rolled her eyes. “Well it’s not like he’s alone in there. Peter and Isaac live there too.”

“That just makes it worse,” she said, her eyes turning soft. She tried to picture what was probably a once beautiful house ablaze, the smell of smoke filling the air. She closed her eyes and could almost hear the screams of all the people that had been trapped inside and a tear slid down her face.

“Come on, I’ll take you home,” Stiles said softly when he noticed how the house was affecting her. She wiped the tear away and nodded her head.

When Stiles reached her street he slowed down causing Hailey to look up. Her eyes widened when she saw the Camaro sitting outside her house. Derek was leaning against the hood, his arms crossed. She looked over to Stiles who shrugged his shoulders before pulling up behind the Camaro. Hailey and Stiles got out of the Jeep and made their way over to Derek.

“What are you doing here?” Derek asked Stiles, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

“Hailey and I are friends Derek,” Stiles said, crossing his arms as Hailey stood beside him looking up at Derek. “Which is more than you can say so you’re the one who should be answering that question.”

Derek let out a low growl and flinched towards Stiles. Stiles let out a screech and backed away quickly.

“Or not. That’s fine too,” he said with a shaky voice. “Goddamn it do you have to do that all the time?”

“Yes,” Derek said through his clenched teeth. “Though… I’m glad you’re here, Stiles.”

“What?” Stiles asked, confusion in his voice.

“What do you want, Derek?” Hailey asked coldly. Sure she wanted to be in Derek’s life but he did bruise her shoulders badly.

“I wanted to apologize. For yesterday,” he said, lowering his head. Hailey kicked at a rock on the ground and looked up at him. “And I have something for you.”

“You do?” she asked. He nodded his head and opened the trunk of his car. He pulled out a big black garbage bag full of something.

“What the hell is that?” Stiles asked, pointing at the bag. Derek glared at him and looked back at Hailey.

“I do want to protect your brother in case Jackson were to attack again… and the rest of your family… but I can’t be here all the time to do that,” he started.

“That’s what Scott and Isaac are for,” Stiles said and Derek glared at him again and his eyes flashed red. “Shutting up.”

“And neither can they,” Derek said to help emphasize his point. “We have other important stuff to deal with so to help us out a little bit I went to Deaton. Stiles, you need to spread this around the perimeter of the house.”

“What is it?” Hailey asked impatiently.

“Mountain Ash powder,” Stiles said looking to Derek for confirmation. Derek nodded his head and handed the bag to Stiles.

“What is that going to do? And why does Stiles have to spread it?” Hailey asked, following Stiles as he walked to the edge of her front lawn.

“Mountain Ash has an effect on us,” Derek said. “When a barrier of Mountain Ash is laid down, we can’t cross it. It will keep any of us out of close proximity of your house.”

“Deaton helped me learn how to lay it,” Stiles said as he started to spread the powder across the front of Hailey’s lawn. “It doesn’t matter if it gets kicked at, windswept, or rained on. Werewolves won’t be able to cross it unless Deaton or I break the barrier.”

“So it’s kind of magical in a way,” Hailey said, clutching her hands to her chest and looking up at Derek. He looked away quickly and instead watched Stiles.

“You could say that,” Stiles said as he started to make his way down along the fence, perpendicular to the line he had just laid.

“What about when he’s at school? Or when my parents are at work? At school I have Scott and Isaac, though I haven’t met him yet, but they don’t have anyone,” Hailey said.

“Hopefully when he’s at school Jackson will be at school also. Remember, we still don’t know if he’s actually after Aaron or if it was just a one time thing,” Derek said, looking back down at Hailey who nodded her head.

“And your Mom works with Scott’s Mom at the hospital and she’s basically on red alert now since she had the shit scared of her so that shouldn’t be a problem,” Stiles said.

“And when Dad’s at work Jackson should be at school,” Hailey said, taking a deep breath to calm down a little.

“Is there any other time aside from school when Aaron won’t be home?” Derek asked and Hailey nodded her head.

“He plays soccer. He has practice after school every day and his games are on Saturday mornings,” she said. “The first one’s tomorrow.”

“I’ll see if one of us can be there tomorrow,” Derek said, clenching his jaw. “Is it at the elementary school?”

“Yeah. 9:30,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest and winced when she moved her shoulder wrong. She brought a hand up to touch it lightly and bit her lip. Derek looked at her shoulder.

“Are they bad?” he asked softly, his arm flinching as if he was about to reach out and touch her shoulder but he kept it across his chest.

“A little,” she said, not looking up at him.

“Can I try something?” he asked, looking into her eyes for confirmation. She hesitated before nodding her head.

He stepped forward and reached out, pulling her shirt slightly over her shoulder to expose the bruises. He closed his eyes and looked down for a moment before looking back up. He brought his hand up and placed it on Hailey’s shoulder and she flinched at the slight pain the receded down her arm.

“Sorry,” he whispered and she shook her head. “Just give me a second.”

Hailey turned her head to see what he was doing. Derek closed his eyes with his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she saw the veins in his hand turn black. The color slid up his arm and he pulled his hand away. Hailey instantly felt her shoulder ache considerably less than the right one.

“What was that?” she asked, looking up at Derek.

“I absorbed some of the pain,” he said. “Let me see your other shoulder.”

Hailey pulled her shirt back up on the left and then down on the right, exposing the rest of the bruises. Derek stepped forward and repeated the action. When he was done he stepped back and Hailey was able to comfortably move her shoulders without much pain.

“That’s amazing,” she said, reaching over and touching her shoulder, barely able to feel a thing. “Thank you.”

Derek nodded his head and turned back to the house to see how Stiles was doing. Hailey looked too and saw he was coming back towards them on the other side of the house, the bag considerably lighter. Derek moved beside her and Hailey watched as he walked over to Stiles.

****

*Derek’s POV*

“Stiles,” Derek said once he was out of Hailey’s earshot. Stiles looked up at him as he continued to lay the Mountain Ash.

“Did you two make all nicey-nice?” Stiles asked, nodding towards Hailey.

“Shut up, Stiles,” Derek said through his teeth.

“You know what? No, I won’t shut up, Derek,” Stiles said, setting the bag down momentarily and walking closer to Derek. “Hailey’s the closest thing I have to a sister and when she showed me what you did to her… it’s not right Derek. You can hit me, shove me against walls, punch me, and whatever else there is in your I-hate-Stiles book as much as you want but don’t hurt her again. In fact, don’t touch her unless you have to save her life or something.”

“Are you done?” Derek asked with a huff and Stiles nodded his head. “I know.”

“What?” Stiles asked.

“Everything you said. I know it’s not right. Which is why I need you to help me and not let her get into a situation where she’d be in trouble. Understand?”

“I mean… I’ll do my best but no promises,” Stiles said, shrugging his shoulders. Derek turned to walk away. “Derek.”

“What?” Derek asked, turning back to him.

“If you care about her… why don’t you just tell her instead of stringing her along? That can hurt her as much as if you attacked her.”

“Because I can’t choose yet,” Derek said defiantly.

“Choose what?” Stiles asked.

“We’re done here Stiles,” he said, turning and walking away. He made his way over to Hailey as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Are you leaving?” she asked and he nodded his head.

“Stiles is almost done,” he said, pointing back towards Stiles. “I don’t need to be here anymore.”

“Okay,” Hailey said, stepping onto the sidewalk out of Derek’s way. He opened the car door and made to get inside. “Thank you... again” she whispered and he looked up at her.

“For what?”

“For taking the pain away,” she said and Derek knew she was referring to the physical pain in her shoulders and the emotional pain of worry.

“It won’t go away until we’ve stopped Jackson,” he said, climbing into the car and closing the door. He looked out the window as he started the car and saw the small smile on Hailey’s face. He turned away and sped down the street, heading towards home.

As soon as he pulled away from her house, all he wanted to do was go right back. It was like Peter said, like there was a magnetic pull between them. Derek’s nostrils flared and he pushed down harder on the gas pedal, hoping to go faster before he changed his mind and turned around.