Lone Wolf

It has been about an hour since Keegan had been locked out of her house and brought next door to the Stilinski household. In that hour, Keegan had showered: Stiles offered to put her wet clothes in the dryer. They had eaten what Stiles considered a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich, rifled through his movie and CD collection, played some video games and then she noticed a box marked Comics. She opened the box and admired most of the older comics in his collection. Her mouth dropped as she picked up the oldest looking comic in the box and was about to pick it up when Stiles yelled and took the comic out of her hands. Keegan stared at him wide-eyed and his face turned red, "I'm sorry. This means an awful lot me."

Keegan shook her head and pursed her lips, "I understand Stiles. I have something like that too." Keegan's hand instantly flew to the necklace that sat just below her suprasternal notch. Stiles looked up at the sullen face that held back tears, "I forgot you know how it feels." She nodded, "It's easy to forget others have lost people too." They sat there for a few moments in silence, until Stiles decided to turn on the television. During the time they sat there watching TV, Stiles migrated to his computer desk and was playing online RPG games. Taking a momentary break, Stiles turned from his computer and found Keegan passed out on the bed, curled up in his blanket. He watched her for a few moments, smiled and turned back to his computer.

The crackling of the fire pricked up Keegan's ears and the smell of smoke wafted through the thick forest trees. At first she smiled, wishing she could be out camping in the Preserve like other locals, until the breeze changed and an unfamiliar scent reached her nose. Panicking, Keegan followed the senses to a familiar location nestled into the woods. She broke through the trees and the sight before her cause her to let out a blood curling scream. The house she stood in front of was engulfed in flame. Standing a few feet in front of her, his body was rigid, arms at his sides. She could see his claws protruding from his fingers. He was angry, a loud wailing-like cry came from his mouth and she watched as he fell to his knees. Before she knew it she was at his side, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, trying to comfort him. It wasn't until she heard the scream call out from the crackling of burning wood, did Keegan understand what had happened. The screams continued and they seemed to be coming from the basement of the burning house.

Keegan understood why Derek had fallen; his family was trapped in the fire. She panicked. Climbing to her fee, she rushed past Derek and tried to make her way into the house. She was nearly a few feet from the house when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her away. She kicked, punched, screamed and cried to no avail. The grip around her only tightened and in the distance a wail of a nearing fire truck distracted her captor and she broke free. She sprinted up the steps and crossed into the threshold when two men in loud yellow fire suits grabbed her, dragging her outside. Derek cradled her and they watched as the fireman tried to quell the blaze. The sun began to rise over the tree tops and what stood before them all was the smoldering remains of the Hale house that continued to steam in the cool morning air. Deputy Stilinski arrived nearly an hour earlier and kept the two away from the house. He kindly left the two alone to grieve, and draped his jacket across Keegan's shoulders, providing her with little warmth and she couldn't help but touch the shiny golden badge.

Stilinski watched her closely, and she knew he had questions pertaining to their whereabouts. It wasn't until the medical examiner began removing the charred remains, did he understand. Derek and Keegan were exhausted and she gently wept into Derek's shoulder as members of the Hale family were carried out of the house on stretchers, covered in delicate white cloth sheets. As they wheeled out the last stretcher, the body on the stretcher moved and a woman's hand dropped down under the cloth, and a glint of metal caught Keegan's eye. She could feel her breath catch in her throat, her mouth dropped open and she let out an ear piercing scream.

Keegan ran to the stretcher and collapsed next to it, gently holding the delicate hand between her shaking, dirty ones. The word barely escaped her mouth, "Mom!" She balled uncontrollably, not caring how much of a scene she was creating. Deputy Stilinski moved from his position and placed a hand on her shoulder, letting her grieve. After a few minutes, Stilinski picked her up off the ground and carried her to his cruiser, muttering about getting her home to her father."

She felt her body shaking as if she was still in the dream, unable to tell if it was her nerves, or if someone was actually shaking her forcefully. When she opened her eyes, Stiles stood next to her, wide-eyed and alert, "Are you okay?! You were screaming in your sleep. What's wrong?" Tears streamed down her cheeks and all she could do was shake her head, while trying to brush Stiles off, but he wouldn't budge. Keegan couldn't stop crying and Stiles wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest, "Shh, it's okay." He cradled her head until she began sobbing gently. She pulled away from him, wiped at her eyes and apologized, "I'm sorry." She sniffled a few times and continued to wipe at her already raw eyes.

"Keegan, stop!" She looked up into his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes, "You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. You had a bad dream, that's all." Keegan nodded and stared at her hands. "Are you going to be okay?" She nodded in response, and Stiles cleared his throat, "Do you want to go home? I understand." Keegan looked up at him, and smiled, "Thank you." He stood from the bed and helped gather her things. They walked through the house and out the front door. They stopped on the porch and Keegan thanked him once more, "I'll get these back to you!" Stiles shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged, "It's no problem." They stood there awkwardly for a few minutes until Keegan found herself rushing towards Stiles and flung her arms around his midsection, giving him a hug. He stiffened up, sucked in his breath and smiled, quickly hugging back. Keegan felt her cheeks turning red and smiled as she pulled away from him. She smiled up at him and slowly turned around, hopping off the porch. Keegan started across the driveway, when she turned around smiled and said goodbye to Stiles.

Climbing the steps to her porch and sat on the porch swing, waiting. As she waited, she gently pushed herself back and forth, lost in her thoughts. A shiny black Chevy Camero pull into the driveway. The car parked and the driver side door swung open, and Derek stepped out of car, his sunglasses glinting in the light; the leather jacket fit him perfectly but was worn out from being worn constantly. "Hey!" He smiled as he removed his glasses as he trotted up the porch. She gave him a quick smile in return, and he put his arms around her shoulders, and as he pulled away, he snorted. "You smell like a teenage boy's hormones." Keegan raised her eyebrow, "Excuse me?" Derek motioned to her clothes, "Those aren't yours."

Keegan rolled her eyes, "It's a very long story. Anyways, I'm locked out. Can you help me?" He eyed her closely and nodded, "Yeah, we need to change your clothes." She laughed, "I will. Once you get me inside the house." Derek disappeared around the side of the house and seconds later, the front door swung wide open, and Derek leaned against the doorframe, "Come on in." Keegan smiled and thanked Derek as she slid past him and into the house. They made their way up the stairs to her room and Keegan plopped herself onto the bed. Derek stood by the doorway watching her, "Are you okay? You don't seem to be yourself." Keegan shrugged, "I am fine, Derek." She could hear him huff from where he stood, "You're lying. You had the dream again, didn't you?"

Keegan avoided his gaze and began picking at the comforter set. Derek sighed and moved across the room, taking a seat next to her, "Keegan... I, I don't kn-" She turned towards him and buried his face into his chest. Derek groaned and wrapped his arms around her, "Hon, come on. Please don't cry." He gently rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. Derek helped her into bed and laid next to her, re-wrapping his arms around her waist. The laid there together and Derek held her close, listening to her heart beat steady and soon found she was fast asleep, and moments later let himself be carried away with the soothing sound and quickly fell asleep.

It wasn't till a few hours later when Mr. Kennedy came home and opened Keegan's door, did Derek ears prick up at the sound. "Mr. Kennedy?" The man smiled at Derek, "How are you?" Derek grimaced slightly and Mr. Kennedy nodded, "Is she okay?" Derek sighed and shook his head, "She had the dream again." Mr. Kennedy's face slackened, "You know she won't talk to anyone about it. Especially me." Derek nodded in understanding, "I know, sir." Mr. Kennedy forced himself to smile, "I hope that she will come to you about it. I know you'll take care of her. I'll see you later Derek, goodnight."

x x x x

Keegan woke in the middle of the night, surprised to find Derek still laying next to her, splayed out across the bed, a small smile on his lips. She crawled out of bed, trying not to disturb Derek and made her way into the bathroom, Standing in front of the mirror, she groaned at her reflection. Her eyes were starting to turn red and her makeup looked horrible. There was a light knock on the door, "Keeg? Are you okay?" Derek asked, leaning against the door. Keegan responded, "Yeah, I'm fine." She could hear him groan, "That's not what I meant. Do you want to talk about it?" It was her turn to sigh, "Not really Derek." She could hear him shuffle to the other side of the door, "If you don't talk about it, you won't feel better about it." Keegan laughed bitterly, "Get better? How does one get better over their mother dying? Tell me, how has that worked for YOU, Derek?!"

She could hear him growl through the door, "You don't want the problems I have Keegan. We can take care of you, cause if we don't you'll end up like me!" She threw open the door and stared at him. Her eyes burned with fire; her ears and face red with anger, "How DARE you tell me to fix my problems! I'm not sorry I can't hide my emotions the way you do, Derek!" Derek growled louder, "You need to calm down!" She glared at Derek, reluctantly took a deep breath and nearly collapsed. Derek caught her as she grabbed for the wall, "I told you that you would easily wear yourself down. You need to stop overreacting. I'm not saying that you aren't allowed to be heartbroken Keegan. I still am. You don't understand that your father and you are the closest thing I have left to a family. I don't want to see you get hurt." Keegan hung her head and felt Derek wrap his arms around her, "I love you Derek." He smiled and kissed the top of her head, "I know dear, and I love you too. Let's get you back to bed."

x x x x

The sunlight shone in through the crack in the curtains and hit Keegan square in the face. She opened her eyes, groaned and immediately shut her eyes again. Covering her eyes, she sat up and glanced around the room, slightly surprised that Derek was gone. Sighing heavily, she rubbed at her eyes as a knock sounded on the door, her Dad poking his head inside the room. "Good morning sweetheart! Time to get up, gotta get ready for school!" Keegan groaned, "School already?" Her father laughed, "Yes child, you are officially a sophomore!" He said, dancing around her room, "So get up, get dressed and I will start making breakfast. Then you can be on your way!" Keegan smiled as her Dad closed the door behind him. She slowly pushed back the covers and practically zombie crawled into the bathroom. Looking herself over she frowned. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying and bags had formed under her eyes, her hair was lacking its usual shine and looked messy from sleeping all night. She undressed and took a quick shower before getting ready. She stepped out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around her body. Flipping through her closet, she settled on a red sundress, decorated with light blue flowers and a pair of tan pumps. Keegan towel dried her hair and decorated her eyes with shadows and eyeliner, topping them off with mascara and a little flip of the mascara curler. When she was satisfied, she went down the stairs and walked into the kitchen.

"There she is!" Her father yelled, opening his arms wide. Keegan laughed and rolled her eyes, "Dad, you are so weird." He held out the spatula at her, "Hey now!" Keegan pulled out a chair and he brought a plate stacked high of French Toast to the table, "Your favorite." She smiled up at her father, "Thanks Dad." He kissed the top of her forehead and continued to make more breakfast. After her father decided he was done cooking, he took a seat at the table with her. They spent the majority of their breakfast laughing and catching up. Mr. Kennedy looked down at his watch, "Oh! You'll be late for school! Best get going!" She moved to pick up her plate, but he stopped her. "I'll get this honey. Go to school!" He quickly kissed her head and nearly pushed her out the door.

She closed the door behind her after grabbing her backpack from the coat rack, and as her foot hit the bottom step, the familiar black Camero pulled up next to her. Keegan bit her lip as Derek rolled down the window, "Need a ride?" She opened the passenger door and looked up in time to see Stiles' Jeep drive past. Derek noticed her staring and turned to look at the car as it passed. The boys inside stared back, mouths slightly dropping and Derek raised his eyebrows and smiled in response. Keegan smiled at the boys and climbed into the car. Derek laughed at the boys, threw the car into drive and took off towards the school. As they drove, Derek's hand found his way to her bare thigh, where her dress had slightly risen up. Keegan bit her lip and glanced over to Derek who had his eyes focused on the road and a small smirk played at his lips.

They arrived at the school parking lot and pulled up to the front door. Keegan unbuckled and began to exit the car, when Derek grabbed her wrist. She glanced over her shoulder and he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, "Have a good day." She smiled and exited the car. She smiled as she walked past Scott and Stiles, and climbed the stairs into the school. She stopped just inside the door, and pulled out her paperwork from her backpack; searching for the paper with her locker number and schedule. "Keegan!" She looked up wide-eyed searching for who had called her. A pretty redhead yelled again, as she neared the girl. "Oh my. Girl, you look amazing! How was your summer break?" Keegan smiled at the girl, "Lydia, do you really have to ask? I spent most of the summer at home, minus the time I spent in the woods. How was your summer?" Lydia shrugged, "Nothing unusual. Jackson and I spent most of it together."

The bell rang and the girls took off down the hall as quickly as their heels would let them. They entered their first class of the day; History. Keegan and Lydia took two seats in the middle of the classroom, where seats were available on either side of them. A brunette with long, loose curls walked into the room and Lydia waved her over, "Keegan this is Allison. Allison, this is Keegan." They said their hello's and soon the rest of the class began to file in. Keegan spotted Scott and Stiles, who made eye contact and sat in the desk next to her."How are you feeling?" Stiles asked, leaning across his desk. "I'm fine. Tired and upset, but fine." Stiles nodded, "Good, at least it's something." They turned back to the front of the class and Lydia shot her a look. "Long story," she mouthed. Lydia nodded and started talking to Allison as she pulled her notebook from her bag.

The day seemed to drag on. By the time they hit 6th period, Keegan was exhausted. She nearly collapsed at the table, and let out a deep sigh. Lydia glanced over at the girl and smiled, "What's wrong? That special someone kept you up all night?" Keegan rolled her eyes, "No, Lydia. That was the day before!" She said with a small wink, "Today just seems to be dragging on." Lydia smiled and winked in return, turning her attention back to Jackson as he sat down next to her. Before she knew it, Keegan found herself in her last and least favorite class, Chemistry. Mr. Harris was a no-nonsense teacher who despised every student that walked through his door; and could care less about how they felt when he belittled them in front of their classmates. He had a mean glint in his eyes, and Keegan could already see him planning something.

"Class, before we can get started with our welcome backs and before we begin today's lesson, I have an assignment planned." The class collectively groaned, causing Mr. Harris to smile, "Well because of that response, which I already expected, I will be picking your lab partners for the rest of the year. Your first lab project is to write a report on a something that occurs in basic Chemistry. You will present your findings before the winter break. Mr. Whittemore you're with Mr. McCall. Miss Argent, you are with Mr. Mahealani, and Miss Kennedy," He paused; smirking, "you are with Mr. Stilinski." She could see Stiles out of the corner of her eye practically fist-pump the air, and she internally sighed. Mr. Harris who was smug with his choices told the students to take out their notebooks for the lesson. Finally, a painstakingly boring hour later the final bell rang for the day.

Gathering their books Keegan and Lydia practically dashed from the classroom and to their lockers, with Allison closely in tow. The three of them made their way to the front doors of the school and when they exited the building, Keegan was surprised to see that Derek wasn't waiting for her. She frowned and hmph'd loudly. Unsure of what to do, she sat on the bench and waited. As she sat there, Scott and Stiles walked past and Scott nudged Stiles in the ribs, "Hey." Keegan looked up at the two, "Hi!" Scott nudged him again and Stiles glared at the kid, "Do you need a ride?" Keegan glanced down at her phone, expecting it to ring, "I guess so. If you don't mind, that is." Scott smiled and shook his head, looking at Stiles then walked over to the Jeep. Stiles shook his head, "Not at all!" Keegan rose from the bench and followed him to the car, "I'll ride in the back." Scott pulled the passenger seat forward and helped Keegan climb into the backseat.

The ride to Scott's was quiet, but as they drove down the highway, she swore she could hear the two lowly discussing something along the lines of Werewolves. Keegan's ears pricked up and she leaned forward, "Werewolves, eh? Did you see one? Ooh, were you bitten?!" Scott turned pale, and looked at Stiles, who nodded. "I was out in the woods with Stiles the other night and something bit me, well I think something bit me. I couldn't see what it was." Keegan raised her eyebrow, "How does one THINK they were bitten by something, but doesn't know?" Stiles cautiously looked over to Scott, who shrugged, "Look!"

Scott raised up the ends of his shirt, and showered her where the bloody bandage laid on his skin. Gently, he peeled away the tape to expose his bare skin. "See?!" Scott said, looking at her. "See what? There's nothing there!" Scott flailed his arms, "EXACTLY!" Keegan frowned, "Well what do you think it was?" He shrugged, "It looked like a big wolf." Keegan's face paled drastically. "And I told him there were no wolves in California." Keegan sat back in her seat, "You think it was a wolf.." Scott turned back to Stiles, a worried look on his face, "Are you okay?" Stiles shrugged at Scott when she didn't respond. When they arrived at Scott's, Stiles put the car into park and when Scott jumped out, Keegan exited the Jeep and followed Scott grabbing at his jacket. "Please, please, please be careful. Make sure you watch for the signs." Scott stared at the girl who gave him a sympathetic look and got back into the car.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked, glancing over at her when they pulled away from Scott's house. She sighed, "Yeah, Scott too!" She could see Stiles' mouth moving but hear no words escape. "Don't worry." Stiles could only nod. They had arrived at their houses and Keegan thanked him for the ride. She hopped out of the cab and up the stairs to her house. She dropped her bag in the foyer and climbed the stairs to her room. She pushed open the door and saw Derek sitting on her bed, flipping through a magazine. "Hello, it's good to see you too!" She growled, entering the room. Derek glanced up from the article he was reading and over his shoulder, smirking, "Sorry. I wasn't sure if you wanted me to come pick you up at the school." Keegan placed her hands on her hips, "Really?!" She could tell he was a little nervous, but she couldn't place why. He sat up and slowly made his way towards her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in close. Keegan, in return, wrapped her arms around his neck. She could feel his beard tickle her cheek, then her neck and then her clavicle. She giggled into his shoulder and she felt him smile on her neck, just before he began to kiss her.

Moaning into his soft kisses, Keegan found her self control dwindling, and quickly. Before she realized what was happening, Derek had walked her back to the bed and slowly lowered her onto the bed. Derek climbed on top of her and continued to kiss and gently nip at her throat. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and found herself face to face with Derek. She couldn't help but smile, and then she immediately bit her lip in frustration. He smiled, leaned down and kissed her. The shock that ran through her body was something she had experienced many times before, but always had that effect on her body. He hungrily deepened the kiss and soon they found themselves undressing. Derek's hand had found their way up her thighs and had the hem of her dress at her lower hips.

Derek immediately sat up, fixed her dress and apologized. Keegan sat back on her elbows and turned red, "Don't worry about it." He looked at her, "You don't smell like yourself. You've been with those boys haven't you?" Keegan scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Is that why you stopped?" He shook his head, "No, Keeg. I just don't want to see you get hurt." She sat there utterly confused. He stood by the door, and pulled his shirt over his head, "I need to get going." Before Keegan could speak, he was out the door. She stared at the spot where he had been standing for nearly five minutes before shaking her head and going to the dresser and changing for the night.