Unspoken ▹ Teen Wolf [01]

09.

Rachel was supposed to be in Economics class.

Supposed.

That wasn't where she was. Instead, she was seated in the passenger seat of her brother's Camaro, debating on how hard she wanted to punch herself in the face for being the world's largest idiot.

Why, might you ask? The list is seemingly never ending. The main reason would be that she skipped econ - which would certainly come back to kick her ass later on, when she was sitting in detention. But that thought hadn't even crossed her mind when she'd received the text from Derek.

From: Wolverine
Get Stiles to drive you home. I'll be late.

It seemed like a normal text to anyone, but to Rachel; it was more. Derek was never late, unless he'd been caught by hunters, caught by someone else he'd managed to piss off, or doing something stupid. Option three was the winner.

The second key was "get Stiles to drive you home." Not only would Derek never suggest that, but Rachel was absolutely certain that his name had been autocorrected. Within their household, he was referred to as the hyperactive spaz. She was pretty sure Derek had never even said his name, let alone typed it.

So, with those expert observations, Rachel had managed to pry herself away from her strawberry blonde friend on the way to History & hide out in the girls' locker room until the coast was clear. After a ten minute argument with Derek over the phone, she was climbing into the Camaro without another thought.

Now, the two had been sitting in the car for the past twenty minutes. Combine that with the time it took them to drive across town, along with the time spent yelling at each other - History was over, and she was supposed to be in Econ, throwing crumpled up pieces of paper at the back of Stiles' head.

But she wasn't.

Instead, she was worriedly toying with her fingers, trying to distract herself from the building in front of them. Beacon Hills' Long Term Care. A building Rachel didn't plan on visiting for another twenty-eight days, if she were to stay true to their visitation schedule. However, Derek had other intentions.

Peter still had yet to wake up, which was as usual, unsurprising news. But for Derek & Rachel, time was running low. They'd found no new leads, and the alpha was in power, they had nobody left to turn to. Scott was slowly becoming a lost cause, and Rachel couldn't get close enough - without Derek picking her up & dragging her away - to reflect it.

If only she could reflect the alpha, she'd have the power to find it.

But for any human, getting close to that thing, you had to have a death wish. In some twisted way, maybe Rachel did. She knew one thing for sure - she'd die in a heartbeat if it meant dragging the alpha to hell with her.

In Derek's mind, that wasn't an option. Rachel Hale was to be protected & safe at all times, even if it meant getting his ass kicked by hunters on a daily basis. She was his baby sister, the only one he had left - and if anyone was going to die, it'd be him, not her.

That was their fatal flaw. Each was too focused on ensuring the other remained alive & well, all while the alpha managed to slip away. That's why they needed Peter.

Anything - even the faintest of signs that he may possibly be somewhat human, it would be better than nothing. All they needed was a glimmer of hope, and that was enough.

Of all the people in their family, Peter was the one who knew things. He was the one lurking in the shadows, overhearing conversations & witnessing the darkest of deals. If something was going on, Peter knew about it - and that's why Rachel & Derek needed him back.