A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the delay but I may have had a few mental breakdowns this last month :( But I wanted to get this out to you and I hope you like this chapter! Love you guys!
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Chapter Five: Housing Old Memories
Derek smiled over at Stiles as they walked back to the hotel after dinner.
Stiles had downed a few beers and was extra giddy but Derek didn't mind because of the smile on his face.
"Well they all seem to like you," he grinned. "Lorena was practically dribbling into her food."
Derek rolled his eyes.
"Would you stop that?" he said, grabbing his arm to stop him from tripping.
"Alright, alright," he said, leaning himself into Derek's side. "You like them right? I mean you know, it wasn't too bad right?"
"They're nice," he said and this time Stiles rolled his eyes.
"Okay calm down Derek, no need to talk my ear off about it," he said and Derek managed a laugh.
"How you manage to find ways to be more obnoxious astounds me," he said.
Stiles stopped and launched himself at Derek, wrapping his arms around him.
"Just admit it, you love my obnoxiousness," he grinned.
"I'm sure I've mentioned that before," he said, head dipping down to kiss him.
Stiles sighed as he took Derek's hand and continued the walk back.
"I wish it was Friday again," Stiles said, scuffing his feet as he walked. "The weekend always goes too quick."
"I know," Derek said with a sigh.
They walked back in mostly silence and when they reached the room Stiles fell back onto the bed, lying with his arms spread out as he kicked off his shoes.
Derek smiled down at him as he stripped out of his jacket.
"Big day tomorrow?" he asked and Stiles just grumbled to himself.
"I have a paper due mid-week and group study tomorrow. I hate group study, I always end up running the damn thing and trying not to choke on the stench of weed coming off this one guy... I don't understand how some people even get into college."
Derek shook his head, unbuttoning his shirt and hanging it over the back of the chair before lying down beside him.
"I'm sure you'll do fine," he said.
Stiles grumbled again, "not the point."
"Well what is your point?"
"My point is that you're leaving tomorrow and the weekend doesn't last long enough," he said, turning to look at him.
Derek reached out to drape his arm over Stiles' stomach.
"The weeks always go fast too," he said, fingers gently strumming his skin.
"Not really," Stiles said. "I see you like two and a half days out of fourteen and I see everyone else even less. The last time I saw my dad was probably two months ago."
"You Skype," Derek said with a smile and Stiles just rolled his eyes.
"He has no idea how that works, he sucks at it," he said. "And Skype is not seeing a person, it's the closest you can get but it's not the same. This is literally only half way through year one, I have three and a half more to go."
"You'll―"
"Get used to it, I know," he said. "I'm just... I don't know, it's a big change is all."
"You know we spend more time when I'm here talking about this than anything else," Derek said.
"Or arguing, we're pretty good at that," Stiles said.
Derek scoot closer, lifting his mouth to press it against Stiles' and kissed him gently, letting his lips trail over his chin.
"I guess I should just be happy there's no supernatural bullshit going on," he said and Derek looked up at him with a glare. "What?"
"You are impossible to please, you know that?"
Stiles smirked a little.
"You of all people should know how untrue that is," he said. "It's not like it takes a genius."
"Oh really?" Derek said.
"Yeah well you manage," he grinned.
"I don't know if you're giving me a compliment or insulting me," he said.
"I'm actually not sure either."
"Well then just shut up," he said.
"Okay but I think that'll only last a half-second at most," he said.
"Stiles? Shut up or I'll find a way to make you."
"Not sure if that's a threat or a challenge," he grinned, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it aside as Derek pulled him in closer.
"Take your pick," he said as he ran his hand up Stiles' side.
"I like a challenge..." he said, pushing Derek onto his back and slipping down to the end of the bed to kneel on the floor behind it.
Derek just shook his head as he felt Stiles quickly open up the buckle of his jeans. As he felt the heat of his lips surround him he dropped his head back onto the sheets and sighed. Even this wasn't quite enough to keep Stiles quiet, but if he was honest he liked it that way.
Boyd had been walking along the road for quite some time, safe to say silence was always welcome.
By the time he came across the college campus and then the small bar just beyond he was ready to take a break. He headed in, dropping his backpack by the bar and taking a seat on one of the stools.
He may have looked like he was in his mid-twenties but still he only asked for a lemonade, much to the bartenders disapproval.
"That all then?" he asked as he handed over the glass.
Boyd ordered a meal which seemed to make the man a little less grumpy and then pulled his phone out of his pocket.
He had a missed call and three messages from Erica which wasn't surprising, she was always calling to check in on him.
From Erica: How's the tracking going?
Just want to know you're okay.
You could answer my calls once in a while.
He smiled to himself and hit the call icon, putting the phone to his ear. It was only a few rings before she picked up.
"Now you reply!" she said, without so much as a hello. "I've been trying to get you all day."
"Hi Erica, I miss you too," he said.
He heard her sigh and tut loudly.
"Yeah, yeah, you know I miss you or I wouldn't be calling you so often," she said. "Don't be a smart ass."
"I was on the road, just got caught up thinking," he said.
"Yeah well, any of that thinking getting you anywhere?" she asked.
"Well I'm in Portland," he said and she scoffed.
"I knew that, are you any closer to―"
"Obviously not," he said. "Ethan told me that she liked it in Portland when they were here, he said she wanted to stay."
"So you're hoping you can what? Search the city and find her?"
"I just want to know what happened to her, that's she's alright," he said. "Some form of closure would be nice.
"I'm just saying don't―"
"Don't get my hopes up, I know," he said. "You remind me every time you call."
"I'm glad you're okay," she said quietly. "When are you coming back?"
"Erica," he said.
"I know, I know, I just... I miss your stupid face is all."
"And I miss yours," he said. "I don't know yet, I promise you'll be the first to know when I do."
"I better be," she said.
"I have to go, my food's here," he said.
He heard her sigh on the other line.
"Yeah, okay, text me later?"
"I promise," he said.
As he put his phone back onto his pocket a woman walked over with his meal and set it down in front of him.
"On the road?" she asked and he nodded. "Vacation?"
"Kind of," he said. "I'm looking for someone."
"They know you're looking for them?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Maybe, I'm not sure," he said and the woman gave a slow nod. "She's missing."
Her face softened a little.
"Oh I'm sorry, you got a picture? Maybe I can help you out."
He pulled out the old photo and showed her, explaining that she would look a little different now. She stared at it a moment before giving him an apologetic look.
"Sorry sweety, never seen her before," she said. "Last seen around here?"
"No, but I was told she liked it in Portland," he said.
"Runaway?"
"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to find out."
She put a hand on his arm before pouring him another drink.
"Well good luck to you," she said. "You on your way to the city?"
He nodded again.
"I'm sure you'll find something," she said before heading back to the kitchen.
I sure as hell hope so, he thought.
The strobe lights flashed quickly, making everything go by in a slide show of sweaty dancing bodies and rapidly downed shots. It didn't matter how many Jackson drank, he felt very little change.
He tried not to think about how much he missed the special brew that Derek found a way to acquire or the buzz that he was so longing for.
There had to be a place abroad that catered for his werewolf-ish needs but he found the thought of looking into it painful and frustrating so he just closed his eyes and danced to the beat.
He put his hands on the waist of the Grecian girl dancing with him, her dark brown hair falling in her face as she ran her fingers down the side of his neck and over his chest. She looked up at him with dilated pupils and he envied her the ability to get lost in anything but herself.
He looked over to where Danny was standing, lips locked with a shirtless Greek man with hair shaved around the sides and a set of washboard abs that were pressed right up against Danny that there was hardy room for either of them to breathe.
The parties, the dancing, the intoxicating atmosphere, it was all enough for him before but he was starting to crave more to sate the need inside him to escape. What used to be enough no longer worked the way he wanted.
He reached up to take the girl's wrists and gently pulled them away from him, slipping through the crowd and out into the cool open air. They were at a makeshift rave by the ocean, the site just as beautiful to his oversensitive eyes in the dark night as it was in the sunny afternoons.
He shook his head in frustration as he began walking down towards the water.
"Never knew you to walk away from a party!" Danny called from behind him.
"No need to yell Danny boy, I can hear you just fine," he said without turning back to look at him.
He heard him jog to catch up, nudging him with his shoulder as he did.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"What makes you think something's wrong?"
"Because you're far more transparent than you think," Danny said. "And the Jackson I know wouldn't just walk out of a party for no reason. So I'll ask again, what's wrong?"
"I don't know," he said, staring out at the view as they made their way down to the sand.
"You sure?" Danny asked.
"Don't drop out of the party on my account," he said. "I'm pretty sure I can protect myself if I need to."
Danny chuckled.
"That's not what I'm worried about," he said. "Protect yourself, sure, take care of yourself? Pretty sure you need someone for that."
"Screw you," Jackson said without even an ounce of bitterness in his voice.
Danny smiled, throwing his arm over Jackson's shoulder.
"Come on, clearly the beach is going to be better at consoling you than I am," he said with a grin.
Jackson griped and shoved him off to the side and continued walking.
Stiles lay on his side next to Derek as he slept, eyes trailing over every perfect inch of him. He couldn't sleep and he almost didn't want to. If he did then the weekend would be over and Derek would be leaving to go back home.
He ran his fingers gently through Derek's hair, watching the slight twitch in Derek's features as he slept. He sighed and let his fingers run down the length of his stubbled cheek, thumb brushing softly over his lip.
Derek stirred a little and Stiles just smiled down at him.
"Stiles..." he grumbled sleepily. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," he said quietly. "Just can't sleep is all."
"Well doing that isn't going to help."
"Alright, okay fine," Stiles said. "I just... you could stay for a few more days, I mean I could work it around all my study―"
"You know how this argument goes Stiles," Derek said.
He pulled Stiles in closer as he rolled onto his other side and scoot backwards into Derek, just sighing again.
"You'll be fine tomorrow," Derek murmured in his ear. "You always are."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Just go to sleep."
"Okay, but I have a day off on the Friday two weeks from now so you have to promise you'll come a day earlier," he said.
Derek chuckled and the feel of it against the back of Stiles' neck sent a shiver down his spine.
"Okay, I promise," he said.
"Good, so we've already cut it down to thirteen days until you're back."
Derek didn't reply, he just nuzzled into him a little more and Stiles closed his eyes.
Only the longest thirteen days ever.
Isaac sat at the table the next morning just taking slow bites of his toast, his appetite mostly evading him.
He heard Scott turn the shower off in the bathroom and dropped the piece in his hand down onto the plate with a sharp sigh. He hadn't been to Eichen house before and Isaac was wondering what would be going through his mind.
It was a strange place, had a very odd feel about it and not just because it held a whole host of troubled young people but for another reason he couldn't quite figure out.
Scott walked out of the bedroom as he pulled a shirt over his head and Isaac looked up at him.
"Good shower?" he asked and Scott smiled.
"You could have joined me," he said.
Isaac looked down at his plate again and shook his head.
"You okay?" Scott asked. "You always seem quiet when you go to this place."
"Well it's not like I should be excited about going," he said and Scott shrugged. "Sorry, I just... I don't know."
"If you don't want to go―"
"No I want to, I just don't think I should be exactly happy about it," he said. "You know you don't have to come if you don't want to."
"I know, but maybe I should," he said. "It'll be an experience anyway."
It wasn't much longer before they were on their way, there wasn't really much else to say between them on the way there.
As Isaac directed him to the old building Scott felt the nerves building inside him, he wasn't even sure why. Maybe it was because he wasn't sure what he was going to find.
When they finally made it the place was different than he had expected. Where he had imagined a facility that looked like a hospital stood an old house behind wrought iron gates in archaic condition.
"This is the place?" he said as Isaac walked beside him.
"It looks a lot different on the inside," he assured him.
"I hope so because from here it looks like something out of a horror film," he said.
Isaac looked over at him, "For some of them I guess it is."
Scott felt a pang of guilt at that and Isaac could hear his anxious heartbeat.
"Sorry I... I don't know this is kind of new to me," he said.
Isaac held out his hand for Scott to take and slowly he did before they walked through the gates and up the long drive way.
"Eichen House," Scott said. "What does that mean?"
"It's a lot creepier if you think about it," Isaac said. "Come on."
They headed up to the door and Isaac pushed it open, letting Scott walk in before him.
The main room was old but well maintained and no matter what Isaac said about the place Scott couldn't help but feel chills run over him as they walked towards the front desk.
The whole place smelled clinical, medical; it felt like a hospital but somehow it was different. Somewhere from within the halls towards the back of the building he heard a scream and every hair on his body stood on end.
"Does that happen―" he whispered.
"Every single time I'm here," Isaac said, swallowing hard and staring straight ahead.
They headed to the desk and Isaac stood there with his hands in his pockets, just waiting.
"Hey sweetheart, can I help you?" the woman asked as she put the phone down.
"Uh yeah, I'm here for a visit," he said. "With uh, with Cassidy Calhoun."
She nodded as if she already knew.
"Isaac, right?" she asked and he nodded. "She asked about you yesterday, funny how things work out."
"Yeah," Isaac said, turning to look back at Scott who was trying to tune out some of the things he was hearing. "This is my friend Scott."
Friend? Scott thought as he looked up at him. Somehow it felt like they'd been there before.
"Alright, just let me go and check with the nurse," she said as she got up from her desk.
Isaac sighed and turned to face Scott.
"Friend?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, that felt a little weird," he said.
"I mean I get it, you never know if people are going to judge," he said. "Seems a little old school around here."
"It can be," Isaac said and Scott reached out to squeeze his hand for a moment
Scott flinched as he heard someone crying from somewhere within the building.
"Please tell me that gets easier to drown out," he said.
"Wish I could," he said as the receptionist came back into the room.
"You can come through if you like, she's in the tea room," she said.
"Thanks," Isaac said, looking to Scott and nodding in the direction of the door. "Come on, I know where to go."
They walked through a sterile hallway, past a number of doors that read 'do not enter' or 'restricted' until they found a warmer part of the building.
It was like a large living room with a few tables and couches and the only thing that made Scott feel uncomfortable was all the people dressed in white stationed around the room and the small receptacle for dispensing medications. It could have been a college common room if it weren't for that.
He followed Isaac over to a table in the corner where a woman sat with her long hair falling in her face and down over he back. Scott froze, he recognised her scent and he hadn't quite been prepared to see her again.
"Hey Cassie," Isaac said softly as he sat down in one of the chairs.
"Isaac," she said, fingers idly playing with the pen in her hand.
"Told you I'd come back soon right?" he said.
"You brought him," she said without looking up and Scott felt his heart pounding as Isaac turned to look at him.
"Yeah, yeah I brought him," Isaac said.
Scott walked slowly around the table to stand behind the chair opposite her.
"Cassie," he said as he slowly took a seat.
She lifted her head to look up at him and the breath hitched in his throat and he froze as he stared at her.
He had two welted scars down one side of her face, still pink from their recent healing. It took him a moment to realise that they were from Erica's claws back in the warehouse.
"Scott McCall," she said as she stared at him blankly.
Scott looked over at Isaac a moment before turning back to her.
"How have you been feeling?" Isaac asked.
She looked up at him and he tried not to focus on her scars, something he still hadn't quite gotten used to.
"I'm on four different medications a day," she said. "I don't feel much at all."
Scott swallowed, it wasn't what he had expected when he agreed to come and see her. Part of him had expected her to be the manipulative sickly sweet but revenge-fuelled girl he had known only months ago even though he had seen the beginnings of her breakdown.
"It was only two last time, what happened?" Isaac asked.
She looked down at the pen in her hands.
"They thought I needed more," she said.
"You remember last time I told you that you could call me if you needed to, you can tell me if you're in trouble," Isaac said.
"Maybe I don't want to do that," she said.
Scott pushed the chair back from the table and stood up, Isaac looking over t him curiously.
"I uh... I can't... I'll just wait outside for you," he said.
"Scott―"
"Really it's okay, take your time," he said as he got up and walked away from the table feeling oddly sick to his stomach.
He walked over to stand outside the room, leaning his back against one of the white hallway walls and taking deep breaths. He didn't know how Isaac managed to do it.
As he regained some calm he felt another shiver run over his skin and words almost humming in his ears.
"Scott McCall..."
His eyes turned to the end of the hall, tuning in his ears to where the voice had come from. It had to be his imagination.
"Scott..."
That time he knew he had heard something. He walked down to the door, standing by the wall and listening in again. He could hear lots of things, lots of people making lots of different sounds and then he heard his name whispered again and he couldn't ignore it.
No matter how much it made his insides squirm there was no way he could walk away after hearing it. He looked around and couldn't see anyone within sight and quickly slipped behind the door.
He was shocked at how different it looked, the sterile white hallway gave way to darker tiles, making the place look more like Scott had thought upon seeing the outside.
He listened for the voice and heard it ring out again.
"Scott McCall..."
He turned to the left and made his way to the end of the new hallway and came across the stairwell. He heard footsteps coming from the way he had come and made the quick decision to open the door to the stairwell and quickly make his way down one flight.
As he looked out the small window he began to feel ill. He saw another hallway, this on much more dank than the others with rooms that seemed to have bars on the doors.
His senses were overwhelmed with a varied array of things, some he wasn't even sure were human.
The sign on the door read 'restricted, authorised access only' in big red capital letters but that kind of thing didn't seem to stop anyone anymore.
The door was unlocked so he pushed it open and slowly walked through. All the things he had heard before became clearer.
He could hear someone crying, someone muttering to themselves and then he heard his name on someone's lips again, followed by a laugh that he recognised.
He urged himself slowly forward, looking through the bars on one of the doors – more like a cell than a hospital room.
The girl inside seemed to look up at him with a snarl and he turned away quickly, trying to keep his ears trained on sounds of any orderlies but all he could hear were the sounds of the residents.
He flinched as he heard someone yelling from one of the rooms and walked along faster until he came across a door almost at the end of the hall and on the right. This time the voice was completely clear.
"Scott McCall..."
He turned slowly and felt his eyes grow wide as he looked through the bars to see the face behind them.
He was chained inside from what Scott could see. He reached up to pull the bolt from the door and tried to open it but there was another key lock on it. Using one of his claws he picked the lock and with a loud squeak he pulled the door open to look in at him.
"You..." he said.
"Come on now," he said with a sadistic upturn of his lip. "I'm sure you remember my name."
"Cal," he said as he stared in at him.
Cal sneered, his eyes a little mad as he chuckled to himself. He was strapped in what Scott could only think of as a straight-jacket with chains running from him to the walls.
"You're supposed to be―" Scot began.
"Dead? In prison?" Cal said. "Don't tell me that they didn't tell you about what they did to me."
"I know what they did," Scott said.
Cal grinned. "Well why don't you come on in, I don't bite..."
He laughed to himself and Scott looked around the room again. As he lifted his hand up to pass through the doorway he felt a barrier between them. It almost didn't surprise him, part of him was expecting it to be there.
"Right," Cal said. "That."
"What do you want?" Scott asked.
"What makes you think I want anything?" Cal said with a tilt of his head.
"You were calling me."
"Only because I wanted to see if you were really here," he said. "It's not like you can give me what I want anyway. You can't even get in."
"You think I could free you even if I could?" Scott snapped. "After what you did?"
Cal laughed to himself again, a laugh that made the sickness in Scott's stomach flare up.
"What makes you think I would ask for that?" he said. "I'd ask you for the same thing that most of the other people in this hell-hole would ask you for."
"And what's that?" Scott asked.
"To die."
Scott said nothing, he felt his body jump at the sound of a scream from a few doors down and turned his head to look. As he did Cal got to his feet and took quick steps towards him, stopping when his chains became taut.
"You ever wonder why they put me in here? Like this?" he asked and again Scott just looked at him. "Turns out it's a lot harder to kill a wolf than you'd think."
"You should already know that," Scott said quietly without breaking eye contact and Cal started laughing again.
He dropped his head down and his hair fell over his forehead as he did. He stopped suddenly and looked up with a cold gaze and a snarl on his lips.
"You're smarter than you look Scott," he said. "But don't think there won't be someone else around to get rid of you, and Isaac."
"Is that all you wanted from me?" Scott said through gritted teeth.
"Even Stiles isn't safe, not with the company he keeps."
"You deserve to be locked up here for the rest of your life," Scott said, his eyes flashing. "And I hope that's a long time."
Cal grinned again.
"Tell Cassie that her scars are very becoming," he said and Scott just narrowed his eyes. "You will never be safe here, in this town."
"You're more trouble than you're worth," Scott said. "I hope this drives you to the edge and that you never come back."
Cal snarled, thrashing against his chains with a loud yell and Scott stepped back in horror as he watched his face contort to that of a wolf but he was different. He looked like something out of a horror film, like he wasn't even a wolf but the undead version of one with dark black eyes and fangs so pronounced his face looked more like a skull.
A thought crossed Scott's mind, what you are on the outside reflects what you are on the inside.
Cal was more than just a wolf, he truly was a monster.
He heard someone coming from down the hall and quickly shut the door, only to hear Cal screaming from inside it and straining against his chains. As Scott hid himself behind the door to the stairwell two orderlies ran to his door and one took out a shotgun which must have been a tranquiliser and fired in on him.
He didn't go quiet for a few moments and even then there was no silence, the girl in the room closest to the door began to wail and Scott knew it was time to leave, and fast.
He ran up the stairs and back to the door to the main hall.
As he stepped out he came face to face with a nurse.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked.
"I uh, I was looking for the bathroom?" he said though he was sure the shock was still written on his face.
"Down the other corridor," she said sharply. "Can't you read the sign?"
She pointed to the 'no entry' sign on the door and he nodded as he passed her.
"Sorry, just got turned around," he said as he headed to the main foyer and then out the front doors.
Even the fresh air wasn't enough to slow down his heart rate.
Erica rolled over in her bed for about the fifteenth time. She hated it being so quiet.
The loft wasn't supposed to be a quiet place, it was supposed to be full of people and voices. That wasn't true if Derek had any say but they all knew that even as the alpha he had no say over that.
Her hair was everywhere and the blanket was tangled in all sorts of ways and only just covering her body.
She grumbled as her phone started ringing.
She didn't recognise the number but she answered anyway, yawning in the process.
"Hello?"
"Uh, hi, is this... is this Erica?" the voice said.
She narrowed her eyes and sat up a little.
"This is she," she said. "Who is this?"
"Oh, it's Rajanish from the Central Café, sorry, probably should have led with that," he said and she smiled to herself.
"No, that's no worries, what's up?" she said.
"Well I was just calling because I – I mean my boss wants to know if you want to come in for an interview, for a job," he said and she sat up a little more, patting down her unruly hair.
"Really? That's great, thank you, uh when―"
"This afternoon? If you're free, one of our baristas is leaving so we're looking for someone pretty soon if you're up for it."
"Yeah, I mean an interview would be amazing, thank you," she said before it went quiet. "Hello?"
"Yeah, uh, great. See you this afternoon then," he said.
"Bye," she said as she hung up.
She smiled to herself and lay back down in her sheets.
"Well I guess days don't start much better than that," she said to herself. "Well, when you wake up alone anyway."
"Don't look so mopey," Derek said as he pulled his shirt over his head.
"You don't know it but this is my constant state of being for about oh... two weeks at a time," he said.
Derek smiled to himself.
"Come here," he said, standing up and giving Stiles a look.
"Nope, you're leaving," he said.
"Would you stop," Derek said. "Come here."
Stiles pouted but walked over to him and let Derek embrace him with his arms wide.
"I love you," Derek mumbled against the side of his head.
"I love you too," Stiles said, holding him tighter. "I just wish you didn't have to go."
"I'll call you when I'm home," Derek said.
"You mean when you get to my house for dinner with my dad?" Stiles said, pulling back with a grin.
"You wanted me to keep an eye on him didn't you?" Derek said.
"Okay, okay, drive me back to campus at least?"
"Don't I always?"
"Two weeks, I can do another two weeks," Stiles said as he grabbed his jacket.
Derek walked over to kiss him in that way he did that made him forget what he was worrying about. As much as Stiles hated it when he did that he would have given anything for it never to stop.
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A/N: Hope you liked it and as always please leave your comments! Also this chapter is dedicated to Aleksa because he didn't know this new story was even out yet! Love you sweety!
P.S. It's my birthday on Wednesday so be nice :)