Sterek One Shots: Book Two

Teardrops on My Guitar

'And why are you pining for him? Oh god, you're not doing the creepy stalker thing, are you?'

'Of course not. We just decided we'd have fun for a couple of days. I would go back to the tour and he'd go back to running his gas station.'

'That's just stupid,' she says. Why are guys such idiots?' She and Lydia had figured out their shit in three hours. 'Right. As always, I'm off to fix your mess.'

She gets up and straightens her clothes, mentally making a list of all the clues Derek had given her.

'What? What do you mean?' Derek says, sounding a little panicked. 'I don't want you to do anything.'

'It's not my job to do what you want, sweetheart. I do what you need me to do.'

~

When Erica sees the gas station, she breathes a sigh of relief. She's been driving for almost four hours and she's finally found it. Now she's going to find that Stiles person and take him to Derek. She'll knock him unconscious if she has to. Out here, no one will see anyway.

After marching out of Derek's dressing room, she'd enlisted Danny to find out where Derek had spent his weekend off. He always got one in the middle of a tour so he could recharge, be free for a couple of days. He usually just drove around in his car or on his bike until he was in the middle of nowhere and slept under the stars for three nights. Once, he came back with actual twigs still stuck in his beard.

She pushes open the door to the shop, her arrival announced by the tinkling of a bell. It's not very big. Half the shelves are filled with survival gear and car maintenance supplies. The other half is filled with junk food. The counter is small and manned by a guy in his early twenties. The twenty-something looks like a puppy, with his crooked jaw and happy smile. His eyes radiate delight at seeing another human being.

It throws Erica off a little. She doesn't usually get such a truly warm welcome. Men - and boys - either cower in fear or think they can get in her pants with a wink and a beer. That second one usually turns to fear pretty quickly, though. She dresses for it. Blond curls bouncing, leather trousers, tight shirt, high heels, and lips painted blood-red.

'How can I help you?' the guy asks. God, if he had a tail it would be wagging.

She walks up to the counter. 'I'm looking for someone.'

'Well, it's been pretty quiet lately, but I'll do my best.'

'His name is Stiles.'

That causes puppy-guy to sigh. 'What has he done now? Did he leave his number all over town again?' Suddenly, his eyes go big in shock. 'Wait, he wasn't serious about hiring someone else, was he? I told him I would never forget opening the store again.'

Erica can't help but smile. A real one. This guy is absolutely adorable. In an "I want to pet you on the head" kind of way.

'No. To all of that. I'm a friend of Derek's.'

And just like that the puppy face turns into that of a wolf. It's not so much the change itself, but the speed at which it had happened. And all it had taken was Derek's name.

'No,' the guy says. 'I don't care what he has to say. Or what you're going to say for him. He's done enough.'

'Trust me, if Derek actually knew I was here he'd kill me. Or at least frown at me very hard. He has the eyebrows for it.'

The guy relents just a little. 'You better make sure that Stiles feels better after whatever it is your planning. If not, I'm coming after you and Derek both.'