I pulled away, looking down as I breathed heavily. He did the same, clenching my hair in his fists. I had shallow breaths, and he pressed his forehead against mine. The room felt as if it had grown to be hot as hell. My hands clamped around his wrists, and I pulled his hands away. He wouldn't let me move, just looked at me as he tried to read my mind.
I did my best to block all of my thoughts from the sheet of tears that covered my eyes. His eyes flashed a threatening red, and I took a step back. His gaze snapped away, and as I stuck my hands in my back pockets, he ran his fingers through his hair. He had obviously been shaken by the kiss. I swallowed deeply, confirming my greatest fear.
I had just become his anchor.
My gaze shot over out the door, to see Scott with his lopsided jaw wide open, and Stiles shifting uncomfortably. They had obviously seen us, and I turned bright red as I hid my face in Derek's chest. He turned, holding me close as I felt his heartbeat race. I leaned out, cupping his face in my hands.
"Relax." I pleaded.
"McCall, Stilinski, scram." he spat.
Once they left, I stood there in his arms for a few minutes. I couldn't decide if what I had just done was a good thing or a bad thing.
"What is it?" Derek whispered, staring at me intently as he ran his fingers through my dirty blonde hair.
"Nothing, it's just..." I murmured, placing my hand over his heart. I looked up at him, at how conflicted and confused he was right now. "That was my um...my first kiss." I looked away at the last part, embarrassed. I heard him chuckle, and looked up to a smile.
"Bryn, that's nothing to be ashamed of." He said, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I'm actually kind of glad."
His selfish side peeked out again, wanting me all to himself. He had never let me play with his sister when we were little, and he wouldn't approve of any previous or future lovers either. Some things never change about people, I suppose. These days, I couldn't blame him if he didn't want to let me near anyone else. He had lost everyone but his past but me, and I couldn't complete that domino effect.
"I um...I'm going to go take a walk." I murmured.
As I walked out into the sunlight, I let it soak into my skin. I felt a hand rest on my shoulder, and turned to a nervous Derek. His pulse was quickened; it hadn't slowed down following the kiss. Tucking my hair behind my ears, I looked up at him in concern.
"Just...be safe." He murmured, turning to leave.
I didn't try to stop him, because we were both still trying to comprehend the kiss. I was surprised when I emerged into the street and Scott was there. There was a girl on his arm, beautiful with glimmering brown curls and a smile.
"Hey, Scott." I plastered a smile on my face and tried to turn away. The girl grabbed my arm, and I turned in surprise.
"I'm Allison." she smiled.
"Bryn." I replied coolly.
"Scott told me about your...situation. I'd be happy to lend you some fresh clothes and a shower." she smiled weakly.
I shot a look to Scott, wondering why he was trying to help me.
"Allison, can I talk to her alone for a minute?" he sensed my uneasiness.
"Yeah, of course. I'll go wait in the car." She gestured to the blue jeep, and I saw Stiles in the driver's seat. I caught his gaze and he quickly looked away, pretending to rummage for something in his backpack.
"Why are you doing this?" I hissed, turning back to Scott.
"Bryn, can't you just thank me?" he frowned.
"Answer my question, Scott. You're obviously not flirting with me, and I know for a fact that you don't like me as a friend." I retorted.
"Look, I just...the pack has never seen Derek this happy. The entire town has never seen Derek this happy. We want you to stick around." he shrugged. I could tell he was trying to play it off, look cool, but he was serious. Derek was different around me. Then again, I had only seen him being a bit temperamental in the woods that one night.
"Okay." I sighed, getting into the car.
Alison had given me a simple enough outfit; light-washed denim shorts accompanied by my high-tops, a white long-sleeved shirt, and a loose, long olive green vest. I had my blonde hair down my back in a braid, and my mother's necklace secure around my neck.
"Thank you so much, Allison." I said.
"Believe me, there's plenty more where that came from, Bryn." she laughed a bit, turning back to her closet as she hung up her clean clothes. "So, what's up with you and Derek? Are you two like...a thing?" she said.
"I don't know..." I sighed, wringing my hands. "I mean, he kissed me..."
"Then he likes you." a girl walked in, clothed with attitude as she sat down on the bed. She had auburn curls, and a gorgeous dress on.
"This is Lydia..." Allison added, biting her lip from adding more to that sentence.
"If a guy kisses you, especially a guy as clouded as Derek Hale, then believe me, he likes you. In Derek's case, he might just be desperate." She shrugged, admiring her nails.
Allison mouthed to me, 'She doesn't know', and I nodded before biting back another flash of my purple eyes. Lydia walked out of the room as quickly as she came in, and Allison told me that she had to leave. I reluctantly walked from the house, and gathered a glare from her mother, who was bent over in the garden. Sliding past her, I headed down the street back near the graveyard. I craned my neck between each and every stone, jumping at the sound of his voice.
"Looking for me?" he grinned.
I gasped, my heart skipping a beat.
"Um, yeah, actually." I said sheepishly.
"Well, what can I do you for?" he said, leaning against a gravestone.
"I was wondering if you could tell me what, um...what Derek was like. Before I came, I mean." I added quickly. Why was I nervous around Isaac? I never stuttered, not even around Derek.
He gestured to a bench, and I sat uncomfortably beside him. He seemed perfectly cool with the situation, as if it was an ideal event with him.
"He was stiff, and very hidden. We only knew what we did about his past life because of town rumors. We never knew about you, or that there was another family of hunters that lived here before the Argents. He took out all his anger on us, that's for sure." He hesitated, contemplating if he should be telling me this.
"I'm just asking because he's...um..."
"He kissed you?" he whispered, looking down.
"Yeah..." I bit my lip.
"We all knew it was going to happen, although Erica was the first to bring it up. You make him happy, you should stick around. It might cause a lot less pain for the rest of us." he said jokingly. I knew he was trying to take a mushy situation and spin it around.
I rose without another syllable, walking off. He called my name a few times, but let me drift off into the woods on my own.
My mother used to be an amazing singer, and my father used to claim that she had the voice of an angel. Most kids would ask their parents to read them a bedtime story, but I preferred to have her sing. The thought of her, the thought of every memory of them I had since returning to Beacon Hills. I usually didn't sing, although my mother and father told me that I had a beautiful voice. I would never dare compare it to my mother's voice, but I figured for my father's sake, I could let a few lyrics slip. As I weaved in between the tree trunks, I sang the words that had laid out my entire life.
"Music starts playin' like the end of a sad movie,
It's the kind of ending you don't really wanna see,
'Cause it's tragedy and it'll only bring you down,
Now I don't know what to be without you around,
And we know it's never simple, never easy,
Never a clean break, no one here to save me,
You're the only thing I know like the back of my hand
And I can't breathe,
without you,
but I have to,
Breathe,
without you,
but I have to,"
I was shaken back into reality when I heard footsteps, cracking twigs and leaves littering the air. Derek was there, hands in the pockets, mysterious look on his face.
"Oh, it's you." I sighed, sitting down on a fallen log. Moss had begun to creep around it, and I traced my hand over it was he sat beside me. His leg was pressed fully against mine, making me shudder with the warmth it carried.
"Are you alright?" the puzzled look on his face stayed consistent.
"Of course." My voice squeaked at the end, and I rolled my eyes, knowing I had been defeated.
"You used to do that when you were little too, you know." he smirked.
"I'll bet I did." I sighed.
"Now tell me what's really going on." he said, taking my hands as he gazed into my eyes. The intensity in them made me want to look away, but the kindness made me want to do the exact opposite. Conflicted, I fiddled with my braid and looked to the ground.
"I'm just a little confused about the...thing earlier." I shrugged. He lifted my chin.
"You know I would never hurt you, right?" he whispered as I nestled my head in his shoulder. His muscles enveloped me, and I felt safer than I ever had before. He swung my legs over his lap, and I just sat there in silence.
"You know, you have a beautiful voice, Bryn." He whispered.
"Thanks." I murmured into his shoulder. He pulled me out to face him, forcing me to look at him with no other way to turn my head.
"When you came back, I couldn't help but feel something else for you. You're my anchor, Bryn." He said.
"I know, and I...I think you're mine too." I replied. As he ran his hand through my hair, he kept his other arm around my waist.
"I promise that as long as I'm around, you'll never have to run again."
I believed him, I believed him so much. I even believed him so much that for the tiniest sliver of a second, I forgot about my Mom. I forgot about my family, how things used to be, what I had lost.
And so I fell in love.