Heartbeat // A Derek Hale Love Story (Teen Wolf)

Guys Like You

Lillian's POV

The morning finally came. The dewy, cloudy morning with crisp air that burned when I took a breath. My ribs still felt raw as I let Derek take me out to his car.

Stiles had left an hour or so after the borderline argument about who would drive me, after dad came back and we discussed my discharge from the hospital. Derek offered to drive me after dad confirmed he was working, Stiles doing the same.

Dad said I could leave in the morning, and Stiles would've been in school, so dad vetoed the idea and gave Derek his blessing to drive me, to no small amount of annoyance from Stiles. Thankfully, Derek had no reaction, but left a little while after Stiles to go get his car, still back at his house. He claimed he needed some exercise.

The only reason dad had allowed me to leave with Derek was Derek agreed to hang out with me until dad came home, to be there in case anything happened.

Derek didn't say much as we walked back to his car, as he opened the door for me, a bag of my meds in his hand. Most of them were painkillers to be taken as needed, but I was also prescribed a round of antibiotics by Dr. Mazurek.

He still didn't say much as we drove back to my house.

"Are you okay over there?" I finally asked, glancing over at him.

"Tired," he admitted.

"You know, you don't have to take care of me and drive me around. You could've left as soon as I woke up two nights ago."

His eyes narrowed. "What would I have done that?"

"You don't owe me anything," I said softly, chewing the inside of my cheek.

"I'm not just going to leave you," he replied calmly, signalling to turn onto the tree-lined road our property bordered. "I stayed because I wanted to, not because I felt like I had to."

"Oh," I huffed, tucking away that piece of information. "I didn't think you cared that much."

Derek laughed, "Wow, that morphine must have far-reaching effects."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't think I cared that much. You think I want to spend time with you because I feel guilty?"

"I-I don't know," I said as he turned up my driveway, past the paddocks on either side. "The first thing we talked about when I woke up was how you felt like this whole thing was your fault."

"Well, it was," Derek muttered under his breath.

"I shouldn't have taken Ophelia over there, but I had no idea she would react like that. She normally spooks at nothing."

"Right, well, if I hadn't been there, none of this would have happened," he insisted. "Not to mention it was my barbed wire fence that really screwed everything up."

"Derek, it's fine," I replied. "I'll heal. Ophelia will heal."

"I know," he murmured, parking the car in front of the barn.

I got out and made my way up to the loft as fast as I could given the state of my injuries, Derek following close behind, my beds in their bottles click-clacking away. I pushed open the door, taking in the breeze from the sliding doors on either end, the natural light, my own bed... Something rose in my throat. Joy, relief, I didn't know.

"Home again, home again," I breathed, immediately flopping on my bed, hands spreading out over the blue and white sheets. "Shit, I'm so glad I'm out of there."

"At least Jon was nice," Derek remarked, and the image of the nurse popped into my mind.

"True," I replied. "Hey, that actually reminds me of something..."

Derek sat down on the other side of the bed, kicking off his shoes before drawing his feet up. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"You told Jon I was your girlfriend," I arched an eyebrow.

Derek's brows furrowed. "I thought you were asleep for that."

"I thought that's what I heard," I smirked. "Is that what you want?"

"I said that in the moment because I was too tired to explain that we were kind-of sort-of maybe dating," Derek responded.

My heart plummeted from the fluffy clouds it was floating around on. "Oh."

"But I thought it sounded pretty nice," he added with a small grin.

"Yeah?" I asked, my heart trampolining back up to where it had been, floating around with joy.

"I don't think I want to stop saying it," Derek said, and I breathed a chuckle.

"So what are you saying? You want to be official?"

Derek leaned closer to me. "I like the sound of that."

I stared at his gorgeous eyes a few inches above me face, grinning, before grabbing the sides of his face and pulling him down for a kiss.

It was short, only because the angle was awkward, but as we parted I shimmied closer to him, gazing across the space between us. Derek raised his eyebrows before he leaned in tentatively, and my hands quickly found their way into his hair.

Derek's kisses were so gentle and slow, so at odds with the fire with which we last kissed. I wasn't quite sure which I liked better.

"Hey," I managed as he leaned back. "You don't have to be so gentle."

"I don't want to hurt you," Derek murmured. "Your incision is still fresh. And I know your ribs are sore."

I scoffed. "I'm fine," I urged. "Plus, I think the pleasure of making out with you outweighs the pain." I ran my hand through his hair again for emphasis.

"But you said blood rushing can put pressure on your stitches, I don't want you to bleed through the dressing."

I frowned, assessing the truth in his statement. I huffed. "I guess you're right."

"There's lots to do other than make out," Derek added.

I snorted. "I never thought I'd hear a guy say such a thing."

"You have to get better, then you can make out with me all you like," he winked.

"Just make out?" I asked, and at the suggestion in my tone, he raised his eyebrows.

"We'll figure it out," and he pressed a quick kiss to my lips. "Have you ever— are you a virgin?"

"No," I murmured, the memory of losing my virginity flashing across my mind. Who it was with. "I figured you're not either."

"I'm not," Derek admitted, a slight blush creeping into his cheeks. The sight of it made me smirk a little.

"Unsurprising," I smiled.

"Oh?"

"I don't think guys like you last very long as virgins," I joked, moving so we were nose-to-nose.

"Guys like me?"

"Ridiculously sexy guys like you, yes."

"Interesting," Derek hummed, brushing a thumb across my cheek, glancing at my lips. "No, I suppose we don't."

A/N: Hey so I was wondering if anyone would be interested in listening to the playlist I made for this book. If you are, let me know in the comments. I can post a link or message it to people.

- TAAF_