Derek

"Where is Stiles?" Kara demanded as soon as I stepped out of the car. I hadn't expected anyone at the motel, but apparently Kara had some kind of psychic witch thing I didn't know about. "Derek, where is he? You look like shit, by the way."

I rolled my eyes and tried to push past her to get inside, but she yanked me back. "I screwed up. We're done, okay?" I snapped, prying her fingers from my arm. I didn't want to talk about anything with anybody, but I especially did not want to talk about Stiles with Kara. I already felt bad enough and wanted nothing more than to go back. There were so many times I almost turned around while I was driving here, but I didn't. Stiles told me not to come back, and even though it was killing me, I respected what he asked.

"Yeah, you screwed up," Kara replied, planting her feet firmly on the ground in front of me. "Not only did you leave the love of your life for probably a stupid reason, you also put him in danger. And considering the reason you broke up with him was probably to keep him safe, well, that makes you a pretty big idiot. Aaron knows everything. There are no secrets he doesn't know. Right now, he's far more interested in Stiles, because getting Stiles means getting to you." She crossed her arms and stared disapprovingly at me, waiting for my lame excuse or something equivalently stupid.

"So you're saying if I don't go back, Stiles is practically dead, or turned. There's not another option?" I asked, my words slow as the realization set in. I knew I had made a stupid choice when I left, but I hadn't realized it was this foolish. Stiles had even tried to tell me, but I was so caught up in keeping him safe that I didn't listen. Now he was in even more danger. "Where is everyone else?"

Kara's expression softened for a second. "With Lydia," she mumbled. "She's still out." 

"Okay," I replied quietly. "I'm going to go back to Beacon Hills and hope to God Stiles will take me back, even though I've been the shittiest boyfriend ever. Unless we run into trouble, we should be back by tomorrow. I've already been driving long enough today and I'm not doing it anymore."

Kara smirked. "Not even if Stiles chases you away with his precious baseball bat?" she joked, acting all cheeky, even though it wasn't funny. Joking about Stiles not being willing to take me back wasn't funny, because it was terrifying. She realized I wasn't laughing and immediately cleared her throat, looking down at her shoes. "Sorry, sorry. I'm sure he'll be really happy to see you. I'll tell the others you'll be back tomorrow, okay?"

"And if we're not," I said as I started to back away. "Then you know something is wrong and you should probably call." Kara nodded in response, watching me climb back into the car. I just wanted this day to be over. 

+++

I'd been driving a lot, but I hadn't eaten much. I always felt awkward eating alone, but at the moment, I had no choice. The place I stopped at wasn't much anyways, and hardly anyone was there to see how much of a mess I was. I was crying, I'll admit. In the car, thinking about Stiles and all of the senarios in which he refuses to take me back, it made my eyes a little wet. That was evident now, since my face was red and blotchy and my nose refused to stop running. 

I took a seat at the bar, even though the stool was a little too short to be comfortable. There were two other guys sitting alone, a few sits down on either side of me. I didn't make eye contact because there was no reason to. I sighed and picked at the edges of my menu. My stomach was grumbling with hunger, but I wasn't really in the mood to eat. 

"You look like you could use a shot of whiskey," said a woman from behind the counter. She was a small waisted, young, blonde haired girl. She wore lipstick that was far too bright and blush that was much too dark. She was pretty, but in the kind of way that blew up in your face and it was too much to handle all at once. "Too bad we don't serve that here. I sure would like to, but the boss doesn't approve of liquor," she went on as she approached me. She wore a bright smile, teeth and all, even though there was a smudge of red right on her front tooth. "The name is Lila." She twirled the ends of her hair with a finger and smiled. 

"Derek," I replied, just to be polite. 

Lila's smile seemed to grow as she rested her elbows on the counter. "What's a cutie like you doing sittin' here all alone on a Saturday afternoon?" she wondered, batting her eyes at me. This whole flirty act wasn't working, and it sure wasn't entertaining. 

"I broke up with my boyfriend, and now I'm on the way back to where he is because I desperately want him back," I admitted, which shut her down really quick. She straightened back up, smoothed out her dress, but kept wearing that pretty smile. "Could I order?"

"I'll pay," a voice said from behind me. I turned, confused, and was met by a familiar set of deep blue eyes. "Hey, Derek," he greeted warmly as he pulled off the leather jacket and draped it over his chair. He was taller than I remembered, and now that he wasn't naked, he didn't look so unhealthily skinny. 

"Colin, what are you doing here?" I asked out of curiosity. It wasn't that I minded, it was just that I wasn't sure if this was good sign, or a bad one. If Colin was here, then the others might've been getting closer to Stiles. "Is everything okay?" 

He took his time getting comfortable in the seat and then ordered two coffee's before actually facing me. "Everything is okay, I think," he replied uncertainly. "I mean, there's a manhunt going on for me right now, but that's about it. Other than the second manhunt going on for your boyfriend, but last I checked, they were behind on getting that information." He pulled his leg up underneath of his thigh and lightly spun the stool in a semi-circle. 

"Why are they after you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Colin pressed his lips together in an attempt to hold back a smile. A sort of snort came out of his mouth as he recalled something that had happened, probably starting the so called manhunt for him. "Uhhhh," he said, amusment in his tone. "Well, I thought it would be funny to switch around some of the blood mixtures Aaron used to make his hybrids and. . . well, the results were comical, but Aaron did not appreciate it."

I bit back a smile and shook my head as coffee was placed in front of me. "That wasn't very smart," I commented, shaking my head. "But I'll admit, that it pretty funny." 

After that, we talked a little longer, just long enough for me to eat and finish my coffee. He understood completely that I was in a rush to get to Stiles, but I hated leaving him like that, especially while he was on the run. But I barely knew Colin and Stiles was far more important, so I climbed back into my car and continued driving. 

+++

I wasn't sure where to find Stiles exactly. He could be at his apartment, at his dad's, at the hospital, or he could've just been out somewhere else for some reason. I made myself promise not to get angry, or jealous if he was with Malia, especially considering I was the one who left. I hoped he wasn't with her though. Either way, it was getting late and I hadn't slept much. The town seemed quiet, so instead of looking for Stiles, I drove over to my apartment. 

What I expected to come home to, which was an empty and quiet apartment, wasn't what I got. Instead, Stiles was sitting on my bed with his face buried in my pillow as he loudly sobbbed into it. "Stiles?" I said, quickly dropping my jacket and kicking off my shoes. I scrambled towards the bed until I was sitting next to him, his head pressed against my chest. 

"D-Derek? What are you doing back?" he sniffed, wrapping his arms around my neck. "Y-You said you weren't coming back. You broke up with me," he said as he rested his forehead against mine. 

"I'm sorry, Stiles," I whispered, squeezing his sides affectionately. "I did something stupid and I thought I was protecting you and Ben, but I wasn't. I love you both so much, and I'm never leaving again, as long as you'll take me back. I said I wouldn't come running back, but now I am," I rambled, the tears from before starting to wet my eyes again as I thought about him saying no.

"You have no idea how pissed I am," he replied, but right after those words, his lips were attacking mine, so suddenly that I fell back on the bed, Stiles awkwardly trying not to fall off the bed as he held onto my neck. I scooted over, holding onto his waist as he continued kissing me, his lips wet with the taste of salty tears. I hadn't kissed him like this, with this much emotion, for awhile, and it felt like something inside of me that was broken just reconstructed itself all together. Stiles ran his long fingers through my hair, pulling sometimes, other times just sitting still. His other hand cupped my cheek, and both of my arms were holding him firmly against me. 

"Stiles," I mumbled, forcing him to pull away. "Is this how you show your anger?" I teased, earning only the slightest of smiles from him. 

"I'm so mad at you, that even your adorablness isn't going to save you this time. You have some serious work to do. You're going to make this up to me," Stiles admitted, running his thumb across my stubbled cheek. "But, I also didn't think you were ever coming back, and I missed you like crazy. Do you know how much I cried over the past twenty four hours? Ben too? I promised him the day I brought him here that we could be his parents, and then you left and half of his world was just crushed into pieces."

"I'm really sorry, Stiles. I never should have left you guys. It was the stupidest thing I could've done and I will never forgive myself." I lightly kissed his forehead, and he seemed to relax a little. "I love you."

"I know," Stiles grinned, tapping my nose. "For now, let's just sleep. Ben's at the hosptial with my dad and I managed to get Malia to agree on taking him to school tomorrow, because he cannot miss another day. We can sleep in tomorrow before we go see my dad."

"Sounds like a plan," I replied, nudging Stiles off so he was beside me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and lightly kissed his neck. "Goodnight."

+++

It couldn't have been later than seven in the morning when Stiles' phone started ringing, waking us both up. He groggily raised his head from my chest and reached towards the table until he found the phone. "Yeah?" he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. 

Malia was on the other end, and she sounded a little worried. "You sound like you just woke up," she stated, the worry growing. "That's not a good sign," she added. It was harder to hear her heartbeat over the phone, but I could faintly notice it speeding up. 

"Malia, what's wrong?" Stiles asked, suddenly alert as he sat straight up and began looking around for something, probably his shoes.

"I went to the hospital to pick up Ben for school, but he wasn't there. I thought maybe you changed your mind and took him, but obviously you didn't and now I'm freaking out." 

Stiles froze for a second and then recomposed himself. "Just, stay calm. Derek can find him, okay?" He didn't wait for her reply before hanging up the phone and shoving it into his pocket. "You heard all of that, didn't you?" he asked, just to make sure. I gave him a small nod and quickly put on my shoes. "I need you to catch his scent, and as soon as you find him, call me, okay?"

"I will," I promised, placing a small kiss to his forehead. "Don't worry, Stiles. We'll get him back. We're not going to lose him."

Stiles nodded softly and tried to smile. "You can find him."

A/N: Short chapter just because I felt bad for the last chapter and because I'm not going to be able to update on Monday.