[For Derek]

[theduff]

It's not like I'm an idiot, you know.

I may have grown up in the suburbs, but I'm aware of my surroundings all the time, especially during the night. And I have a can of mace on my key chain -- which, yes, I know how to use.

So I'm not completely helpless.

I just thought I could get through the park before the sun went down, but apparently it doesn't even take full nightfall for assholes to come out of the woodwork. There was a small group of other teens on the path in front of me, and I hadn't even lost sight of them around a bend ahead before this guy asks for spare change.

And then when I tell him I don't have any (we're in a digital age, why would I even have any cash?), he pulls up in front of me, trying to make me stop. I try to play nice, say excuse me and try to walk around him, but no. Nooooo, the asshole has to grab my arm and suddenly nice isn't an option anymore and my heart starts racing, my throat closes up, and my hands start to shake.

"Give me your money," he says, and I'm scared as hell, but also? Kind of pissed off. Who the fuck does this guy think he is? Just because I'm small and alone, he thinks he can do this? No. Fuck him.

"Get off me!" I'm on the verge of screaming, and I only fumble with my keys briefly before the mace can is in my hand. In one go I somehow break his grip and stumble back, putting space between us, my hand outstretched with the mace pointing at him.

"Get the fuck away from me," I yell, hoping someone can hear me, still moving backward and putting more space between us until I can turn around and run.

Only he's pissed now, and he growls something about me being a bitch and when he starts toward me, his long legs covering more ground than mine can, I push the nozzle down, close my eyes, and spray.

Comments

[triskehale]

"Not your fault. He disappeared a few months ago, but I just couldn't stay in that apartment." It smelled like Stiles, so much so that Derek could barely breathe. It's been a long time since he's been inside of it, and he wonders how much the scent has faded. He clears his throat and shrugs his shoulders, taking a breath as they break through the trees and into the clearing where his cabin sits. "And here we are."

He steps up onto the porch and opens the door, turning on the light and leaving it open for Bianca to follow. Jinx, his big fluffy black cat, comes trotting over with a meow, rubbing against Derek's leg and then freezing when she sees Bianca walk in. "Jinx, Bianca. Bianca, Jinx."

Derek lets Jinx go over and inspect Bianca while he pulls on a pair of basketball shorts and then turns to watch them with a smirk.

[theduff]

I don't really get the whole idea of not being able to go somewhere because someone you loved used to be there, but then I also don't have any real experience in the someone you loved department. I still pine over Wes from day to day, but I'm not sure what that was. Affection? Attachment? Something deeper? I guess I won't find out.

"You have a cat?" I ask with a laugh as I crouch down and hold my hand out. "I figured you'd be a dog person."

[triskehale]

"You're stereotyping me," Derek says with a laugh, walking over to the pygmy puff's cage. It hops up with a squeak and rolls over to the bars, nosing at Derek's fingers and letting out a happy chittering sound. "But yes, I have a cat. And this is Puff."

He figures the pygmy puff will amuse Bianca, so he opens the cage and lets it hop into his hand, shivering with pure elation and rolling up to Derek's shoulder and nuzzling at his neck. Jinx hops delicately up onto the back of the sofa behind Bianca's head and lets out a judgmental meow, eyeballing the puff speculatively."

[theduff]

"Oh shit," I breathe out when I see Puff. (Real original name there, Derek.) It looks way creepier than I remember it being, but it also looks incredibly fluffy. Like, I want to hold it just so I can say I did.

"Isn't that a Harry Potter thing?" Does that mean Harry Potter is real? How do you even deal with the possibility of the characters you loved while growing up being real? "Are Harry Potter things real here? Is Harry Potter here?"

So maybe I'm excited. I think it's understandable, it's Harry fucking Potter. I wanted to be Hermione and go to Hogwarts when I was little. Actually, I'm pretty sure she's the reason I'm even an honor roll student in the first place.

[triskehale]

Derek laughs when she recognizes it, and then he holds the puff out to her. It chirps excitedly and jumps onto her chest, nuzzling up under her chin. He sits down next to her and nods. She's going to find out eventually.

"Yes, yes, and no," he tells her, watching her and waiting for her reaction. "Hermione and Ron are here. She's where Stiles got the puff. They were friends."

He looks at the puff with a fond smile and then shrugs. "But I'm friends with Kili and Fili from The Hobbit, so I'm doing alright."

[theduff]

The puff tickles, which I didn't expect. It's kinda cute, as long as I don't look too long at the eyes and I'm reminded that it's basically a big ball of a troll doll.

I wasn't seriously expecting my questions to get actual answers, and not those answers. "Shut up," I tell Derek, and in my excitement I reach out and hit his arm. "Are you for real? Harry Potter and dwarves?"

[triskehale]

"It's a very strange place," Derek tells her with a solemn nod, but he cracks a smile when she punches them. "It's weird, knowing that there are all these different universes that apparently exist. All these places we read about, or saw on TV. They exist somewhere."

Derek shrugs and looks over as Jinx steps onto his shoulder, curling her tail around his neck and watching the puff with big gold eyes. "And now we're all thrown here together in this fucking snow globe."

[theduff]

I feel like there should be some light bulb over my head and a ding when it lights up, because it hits me all of a sudden: Derek is from a TV show as well. One I totally wrote off as another Twilight wannabe, but Jess and Casey loved it enough that I've seen bits and pieces of it. And Thomas looked like one of those guys, didn't he?

"Does that mean I'm from a TV show or something?" It would make sense, but I have no idea why anyone would want to watch my hot mess of a life.

[triskehale]

"I guess it's possible," Derek replies, wrinkling his nose. "I hope I'm not. I don't know what kind of masochist would want to tune in for that shit."

He huffs out a laugh and reaches up to pet Jinx before she hops off of Derek and goes over to her food bowl. He watches her and then looks over at Bianca, raising an eyebrow. "So, you said you had werewolf questions."

[theduff]

Teenage girls, Derek. Teenage girls will want to tune in to your TV show, and it's pretty obvious why.

I hold my hand up to my neck so Puff can hop on, its pink fur tickling my fingers. I wish Casey were here to experience this with me, she'd freak out so much.

"That's an understatement," I say, but I just jump right into it, figuring Derek will tell me if and when I get too annoying. "So you obviously can change at will, it doesn't hurt? No bone cracking, screaming in pain?"

[triskehale]

Derek watches her and smirks at her question, shaking his head a little and holding out his hand. His claws extend and retract smoothly, and he looks from them to her face. "It doesn't hurt, exactly. It's sort of like stretching a sore muscle. Sometimes it's like scratching an itch."

He waits for a moment, watching as the puff chitters contentedly and rubs against her neck, always happy to have a new friend. "Most wolves can't completely shift like I do, at least not where I'm from. They usually take a beta form. I'll show you."

After a moment spent waiting for her to brace herself, he lets the beta shift takeover. He can feel his face rippling with the change, brow bone protruding as hair sprouts along his jaw. His eyes go red, fangs extending, and the puff squeaks happily and hops over to his shoulder. Which really, probably ruins the scariness of it all.

[theduff]

It's one thing to hear about beta form or whatever and another to see it. All of a sudden Derek's face is completely different, having shifted into something that looks a lot more werewolfy.

It's weird and it makes me a little uncomfortable, but I'm also freaking fascinated. Who wouldn't be?

"Holy shit dude," I exclaim, eyes wide. "Holy shit."

[triskehale]

Derek huffs out a laugh and turns his jaw to the side, stretching his neck and closing his eyes as he lets the shift fade away, face returning to normal. His eyes are still red when he opens them, but they fade back to pale hazel as he looks at her.

"Not an uncommon reaction," Derek says with a smirk, tilting his head as he watches her. Her heart is beating a little faster, but she isn't exactly afraid of him. She's curious more than anything, and that pleases Derek. It's still something that he's getting used to, having people want to learn more about him. Even Scott didn't seem too interested in that, even after becoming a wolf himself.

"I don't just shift on the full moon, and I don't lose control during it either," Derek tells her, reaching over to the side table and grabbing a bag of trail mix. The puff squeaks and happily takes a peanut when Derek holds it out to it, rolling away to eat it.

[theduff]

A part of my brain is protesting what I've just seen, because that just doesn't happen in the real world.

Except I'm no longer in the real world, and as much as I want to pretend Darrow is normal, all the random strange events I've read about in the past -- that weird recent snowstorm, and now Derek -- prove it very much isn't.

"So you got all the awesome parts of being a werewolf and none of the shitty parts. Lucky you."

[triskehale]

"Oh, there are plenty of shitty parts," Derek assures her with a wan smile, looking down at his hand and letting his claws extend. "Maybe not here, so much. But back home."

He doesn't elaborate, but he thinks of the hunters and the rival packs. The vindictive, powerful alphas thirsty for vengeance and more power. "But I like being what I am. It's how I was born. It's what my family was."

Derek realizes how much he's saying and furrows his brow a bit, shrugging before looking over at her again.