It was a cool night, which made the warmth from the bonfire a welcoming sensation.
Stiles had arrived early hoping to get alcohol in his system before he had to witness Derek with other people.
"Stiles," Danny called across the field before jogging towards him.
Stiles would never get used to Danny being friendly with him. He had vivid memories of Danny ignoring him in class or making mocking remarks on the lacrosse field. Though that was years ago and they'd all grown up.
"Heya, Danny."
"Just you?" Danny asked, glancing around as if to spot the other members of the pack.
"For now. The others are on their way."
"Great. Come on, I'll introduce you to some friends of mine." Danny gestured for Stiles to follow him.
Stiles noted he was being led by the table of alcohol and swiped a beer bottle from one of the ice buckets as he followed Danny to a group of four.
"Stiles, this is Angela, Morgan, Adrian, and Kyle." Danny introduced.
Stiles wasn't surprised to see Danny still hung around the jock types. Angela looked like she could bench press Stiles with one hand.
"They're on my basketball team."
"You play basketball?" Stiles rose a brow at Danny.
"At the rec center. You should join us sometime." Adrian offered, sticking out a hand to shake Stiles'.
"Oh, I'm not the sporty type." Stiles shook his head as he took Adrian's hand.
"Oh come on, you look like you have an athletic build." Adrian reached up and squeezed Stiles' bicep gently.
Stiles snorted a laugh. "Athletic is not a word that has been used to describe me."
"You're like a cable under here." Adrian's hand was still on Stiles' arm.
"Okay, enough flirting, Adrian. He just got here." Danny nudged his friend's arm.
Adrian flashed Stiles a wide grin as he removed his hand.
Heat rose in Stiles' cheeks. He wouldn't normally be opposed to attention from someone who looked like Adrian. He had dark spiky hair and light brown eyes that stood out against his olive skin. However, he wasn't Derek.
"Didn't Derek play basketball?" Danny asked.
Stiles nodded. "Yeah. Been a while though."
"Who's Derek?" Morgan asked.
"He should be here soon." Stiles glanced over his shoulder, wondering how far behind him the rest of the pack was.
"I see Scott." Danny pointed to where Scott was indeed walking up.
"How do you know Danny?" Kyle asked when Danny went off to get Scott.
"Highschool. We actually played lacrosse together."
"So you are athletic." Adrian grinned.
"I didn't say I was good," Stiles chuckled.
"Didn't say you were good at what?" Scott asked as he approached with the rest of the pack behind him.
"Lacrosse."
"Oh you got pretty good." Scott clapped a hand on Stiles' back.
"So, athletic and modest," Adrian smirked.
Stiles swallowed, sure that the blush on his cheeks was obvious.
"Modesty and Stiles?" Derek snorted.
Stiles glanced over at the alpha. He gave an offended huff. "Excuse me?"
Derek raised a brow.
"Just because I'm more competent than most of you doesn't mean I'm not also draped in modesty."
"So, confident then." Adrian grinned.
"Maybe you could teach a thing or two to the police then," Kyle quipped.
This caught Stiles' attention. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"The missing people? They're not doing anything about it."
"How do you know?" Lydia snapped.
"My sister is one of the ones missing." Kyle toed the dirt with his shoe. "It's been almost a week."
"Your sister?" Stiles glanced to Scott and Lydia.
"Yeah, she went out with a couple of friends and never came home. The cops say they're looking but... I haven't seen any proof of that."
"They are. They're working around the clock to find them," Stiles snapped.
Kyle narrowed his eyes. "How do you know?"
"My dad is the sheriff."
Kyle's brows shot up.
"And my boyfriend is a deputy," Lydia added.
"Wait, really?" Morgan stepped forward, their eyes glancing around for eavesdroppers. "Are they saying anything?"
"They've got patrols out all night, search parties. There's nothing." Lydia's eyes dropped to the ground.
"See that doesn't make sense. How is there nothing?" Kyle huffed.
"My dad has been trying to figure that out. He keeps looking over the reports, hoping to find something he's missing. I know it seems like they aren't doing much, but they are doing everything they can."
Kyle nodded. "I just wanna know what happened." All fight had left him.
"Maybe you could tell us what you know and we can try and help." Allison offered.
"Her name is Victoria."
"Mathers." Stiles had seen the name on his dad's reports.
Kyle nodded.
"She went out with her friends from school. Melanie Anders and Rebecka Branson. They left at eight. She was supposed to be home by midnight. But at ten thirty, Melanie called me saying that Tori and Becka went to the bathroom. When Becka came out, Tori was gone. I called her phone. I went out looking for her myself. Nothing. The cops said she left with some guy according to the security footage. She wouldn't leave with someone she didn't know or trust. She had just been dumped by her boyfriend, but he wasn't there and has an alibi."
"Do they know who she left with?" Scott asked.
"Never seen him before. Mel and Becka didn't know him either. The club owner said they saw him but didn't have a name." Kyle shrugged.
"Tori was a good girl. She wouldn't do something like this. She never broke curfew." Morgan added, rubbing a hand along Kyle's back.
"What club was she at?" Allison asked.
"The Wave."
"Minors club." Scott nodded. "So no alcohol involved."
"Maybe we could...try and help." Stiles looked at Scott and Derek with a pointed look.
Derek narrowed his eyes.
"Did she drive?" Stiles asked.
"Yeah, her car was still there." Kyle nodded.
"Maybe we could take a look at it."
"I've been driving it." Kyle jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "I can show you."
Stiles turned to Scott and Derek.
"Sure, maybe we can see something they missed." Scott agreed.
"What would you find that the cops didn't?" Angela pressed as they followed Kyle to the car.
"I dunno. Sometimes it helps to have a different perspective."
"Stiles went to the FBI academy, he's basically a detective," Malia pointed out.
"Multi-talented. What are you doing wasting your time in this small town?" Adrian asked, falling in step next to Stiles.
"I wanted to be here with my dad. We only have each other so..." Stiles shrugged. Truth was, he wanted to help the pack.
"A family man too? God, you are the whole package."
Derek's jaw clenched. He tried not to notice the flush of Stiles' cheeks and the way his heart skipped.
"Here it is." Kyle unlocked the doors to the black honda civic.
"Detective." Adrian gestured for Stiles to go ahead of him.
Stiles tugged on the front of Derek's shirt as he stepped forward.
Derek followed suit knowing what Stiles wanted him to do.
Allison and Lydia pulled the group into conversation as Stiles, Scott, and Derek climbed into the car.
"You think you guys can get a scent?" Stiles asked.
"Yeah." Scott scrunched his nose. The smell of vanilla and Jasmine was strong.
"You're giving this guy hope, you realize that right?" Derek asked as he grabbed a scarf that was laid across the back seat.
"It might help us get a lead." Stiles gnawed at his bottom lip.
"Or at the very least you a date," Scott laughed.
Derek's eyes darted to Stiles who swallowed.
"That guy is super into you."
"Who Adrian?" Stiles feigned ignorance. "He's just...friendly."
Scott rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, 'Detective', you aren't that oblivious."
"Can we focus, please?" Stiles huffed, doing his best to not look at Derek for his reaction, or lack thereof.
Derek focused on memorizing the scent on the scarf.
"I think I've got her scent on lock," he said, stepping out.
Stiles sat in the front seat with a thoughtful look.
"Stiles, what is it?" Derek knew that look.
Without answering he climbed out and went to Kyle.
"If she was the driver that night, how did you get the keys?" Stiles asked.
Kyle opened his mouth to answer and paused. "Melanie had them."
"Why would she have them?" Stiles pressed.
Kyle looked to his friends with a frown before settling back on Stiles. "I have no idea."
"I think someone isn't saying everything. Let me give my dad a call real quick."
Kyle nodded eagerly.
Derek watched with admiring eyes as Stiles stepped away, pulling out his phone. He was too good for this small town.
*AN*
Hope you like it!