The only thing that ran through Grace's mind was the crippling conversation she had participated in last night as Isaac tumbled and fell once again on his supposed training. Erica and Isaac kept doing the same exact movements try after try, failing each and every time, yet Grace was far too sucked in on her pool of thoughts, she didn't pay a single second of attention to their "training" as she stood by the side, replaying last night's events in her head once again. Se looked up at Derek, her coffee brown eyes tugging at his features before she was led to think about the conversation again.
It had all started as soon as the clock read 8:14 pm. Grace sat inside the abandoned train in that same station, not bothering to look up at Derek's face as soon as he had entered. "Do you know what I am?"
Derek sighed before nodding slowly. "Then, you might enlightening me, 'cause everyone else seems to know except me," she said, her voice drowned in exasperation. She just wanted answers. She was tired of all the secrets and half-spoken truths she was receiving. Derek sighed before walking a bit closer to her, stopping as he saw her body tense up.
"It's called an aswang," he said, making her send him a confused glare, "Well, 'Aswang' is referred to the various types of creatures that belong to the group," he said, trying to remember the words Deaton had told him, "There are a lot of groups, which is why Deaton asked me to keep an eye on you; to see which one you are. The thing is, it looks like you have characteristics of all of them."
"And that means?"
"Well, your attraction to blood, your ability to show people memories or retrieve them, and, well, your wings," Derek said, his muscled body sitting down in front of her.
"So that all came from when you gave me the bite?" She asked, both of them looking at anywhere but themselves as the topic of that night was mentioned.
"I am sorry, you know that, right?" He whispered, his velvety voice laced with guilt. Grace's features twisted with anger as she looked at him.
"Sorry? You're sorry?" She laughed.
"You were gonna die!" He sighed, his eyes with tears threatening to fall as he remembered the fear of losing her.
"I would rather die than live like this!" She spat without thinking, making him gasp softly, his green eyes piercing into hers, making tears stream down her face, "Why didn't you tell me?" She whispered softly as her eyes fell to her lap, knowing that he'd knew exactly what she was talking about.
Derek took a sharp intake of breath, his thoughts wreaking havoc in his head. He didn't know what he was thinking, the moment he saw the condom had broken, he panicked and the only thing he could do was lie. The next thing he knew, she was muttering out his name as her heart was stopping, so there wasn't much he could do after that. And so, with the same panic in his head the only thing he managed to do was lie, yet again. "I--I though you would leave me," he muttered.
Grace scoffed in annoyance, making Derek look up at her, "Would you have aborted it?" he asked softly, making Grace look up.
"Y--you can't ask me that," she stuttered, the question being the hardest one she's ever had to answer, and she wasn't even pregnant anymore, "I can't think about that right now."
Derek put his hands on his face. He didn't have any family left and he didn't mean to lose Grace. She was the only person who brought a smile to his face, and he was the reason hers had now faded, which broke his heart. Grace couldn't seem to stop the tears from flowing as she thought about what had happened. She couldn't believe he kept it from her, it was his fault she was now a supernatural creature, it was his fault she was now a fugitive, it was his fault she was sixteen and had already been pregnant, it was his fault her life was ruined.
"I hate you," She said, the venom in her voice hitting him like a kick in his gut, making him immediately look at her swollen eyes, clenching his jaw as his vision blurred from the tears in his eyes, "I hate you so much," she said, her voice trembling yet speaking with twice the venom, making Derek's tears fall down his perfectly structured cheeks. She cried as she saw him in pain, her stomach twisting as part of her wanted to kiss him.
"I hate you, but I can't stay away from you," she whimpered, his beautiful green eyes starting to get bloodshot from the amount of tears that rushed down his face, "Because I can't help it."
And with that, her legs managed to stand up, walking a few steps towards the entrance, her hands shaking from the tears she was trying to hold back. She looked back in sorrow as he muttered the next words before she left the train, her heart shattering once again as she heard his quiet sobs from inside the train.
"I love you."
You don't mean that. It was the first thing that had popped in her head. He couldn't love her, not after what he did to her. Maybe she didn't want to accept he loved her, the word having such a powerful feeling behind it. All she wanted to do was survive, to heal. But for now, she had to fake it, to pull the facade of the strong and sexy girl, and she had to put some effort into it.
The black haired girl was cut off her thoughts as Derek threw Isaac on the floor for the millionth time, Erica jumping then being thrown next to Isaac once again. Grace had reviewed their routine a long time ago, yet she didn't feel like helping them, being caught up on her own thoughts. Derek sighed as he rolled his eyes, walking next to the two teens on the floor. Grace knew he was pissed at them for not changing up their routine even though they failed each time, but partly, he was pulling his own facade after last night's incidents, his bloodshot eyes revealing he had cried himself to sleep. "Does anyone wanna try not being completely predictable?"
Erica stood up as Derek muttered those words, jumping on top of him as she engulfed him on a make out session, catching Derek off guard. Grace gasped softly as her caramel brown eyes locked onto their syncing lips, her heart plummeting on her chest as a tide of sadness and anger engulfed her features, her eyes diverting from the view as she turned away from them, biting her lip nervously as she met with Isaac's stare, being caught with jealousy flowing through her whole body. Derek was met with a surprise that was her lips, instantly kissing back as he hoped it was Grace who kissed him, feeling the punch of disappointment and sadness as their lips didn't move together as one, the taste of Erica's lips completely different from that of Grace's. He immediately pushed her away, throwing the blonde on the floor, as he wiped his lips, his eyes meeting with Grace's for a brief second, his stomach dropping as he saw her pained features. "That's the last time you do that."
"Why? 'Cause I'm a beta?" she asked annoyingly, mad that he pushed her away and wiped his lips after they kissed. Derek looked at her with a hint of annoyance at her attitude.
"No," he said as he glanced at Grace rapidly, "Because I have someone else in mind."
Erica laughed as she looked at Grace with envy in her eyes. Grace looked at her with a fake smirk, "You know, Erica, jealousy's a strong smell."
Erica shot her a glare before Isaac chuckled softly, looking back at Derek, "Are we done?" He grunted out softly, "'Cause I got about 100 bones that need a few hours to heal." Derek looked at him sympathetically, taking his hand and twisting it back, breaking another bone on his hand and dislocating his shoulder at the same time, Grace winced at the loud cracking noises, knowing he did that not only for training, but for the many glances he had shared with Grace. As she said, jealousy was a strong smell.
"101," he said venomously, holding his shoulder back strongly, Isaac's grunts being heard throughout the whole abandoned station, "You think I'm teaching you how to fight, huh? Look at me! I'm teaching you how to survive!" Derek yelled, letting go of his arm and walking away from them, his back facing all of them. Grace walked towards him, crouching down to examine his wounds that needed assistance to heal properly. Isaac's stomach filled with butterflies at her touch, grunting softly as she moved his arm slightly.
Isaac looked back at Derek, "If they wanted us dead, why aren't they coming for us now?" Isaac said, making Derek look back, his jaw clenching as he saw Grace next to Isaac, "What are they waiting for?"
"I don't know. But they're planning something, and you two, especially, know that's not our only problem. Whatever that thing is that killed Isaac's father, I think it killed someone else last night. And until I find out what it is, you all need to know everything I know, as fast as I can teach you," Derek said, getting inside one of the abandoned trains. Grace sighed as she looked back at Isaac, his baby blue eyes looking back at her face as she diverted her view to his shoulder, his eyes fixated on her face as she pursed her lips.
"Your shoulder is dislocated. I have to put it back in place for it to heal properly," she said softly, briefly looking into his eyes before quickly standing up, "I think there's an emergency kit on that train. I'll help you," she said softly before helping him stand up, leading him towards the train. Isaac sat down on one of the chairs, grunting softly as he held on to his shoulder. Grace stood on her tip toes as she tried to get the emergency kit, making Isaac smile to himself, knowing he could easily get that emergency kit with his height. As soon as she got it, she opened it, sighing in distress as she saw nothing that could help the situation.
She looked back at Isaac, sighing as she reviewed in her mind the steps to relocate a dislocated shoulder. "Unfortunately, there are no painkillers here to help you with the pain, Isaac," she said as she got closer to the boy, flushing a bit as she realized what she had to do, "Um, I need you to, uh, take off your shirt."
Isaac smirked a bit, his cheeks turning a dark crimson as he looked at his shoulder. "I kind of can't."
Grace mentally face palmed as she walked closer to the boy, her hands grabbing the collar of his shirt as she bent down, her delicate fingers unbuttoning his velvet shirt, their faces at the same distance. Isaac's eyes were glued to her features as her hands slowly went down on his shirt, carefully unbuttoning and revealing his abs. Grace didn't notice how close both their faces were until she finished unbuttoning his shirt, her caramel eyes meeting with his blue ones, both of them locked in a trance as their lips parted. She glanced at his lips quickly before looking down at his exposed stomach, sliding his shirt carefully off his shoulders.
"Lay down," she instructed softly, her stomach involuntarily erupting butterflies as he muttered a small 'okay', his lips almost touching hers as he softly laid down next to her. She took is arm and raised it in a 90 degree angle, resting her knee on the side of his body as she put one hand on his shoulder, the other holding his arm next to her body, dangerously close to her breasts. Isaac bit his bottom lip as he saw she was almost on top of him.
"Are you sure you know how to do this?" he asked nervously, making Grace smile a bit as she nodded in affirmation.
"My mom works in a hospital so I've seen her do this plenty of times," she said, reassuring the boy for a brief second, "This is gonna hurt," she said as she pushed the bone in place, hearing a loud crunch as she relocated it. Isaac let out a loud moan-like grunt, setting his arm down which led to Grace falling on top of him, their lips in a dangerous distance, making Grace gasp lightly as she fell, Isaac putting his large hands on her waist to keep their heads from crashing. With their heads so close together, Isaac could see every inch of her face, his crystal blue eyes observing her features. He never really noticed how her eyes wore a pained glow yet glistened with hope, its color resembling that of her raven black hair, which decorated her features perfectly. She was completely stunning in his eyes, but even then the words failed to describe her perfectly. His eyes fell on her lips, the skin on them pigmented and full as they parted softly. He could only imagine how amazing kissing her would feel, especially while holding her petite waist close to his body. His arms felt unworthy of holding her in that moment, his body engulfed in butterflies as his gaze was fixated on her, taking in all of her features in just a short moment.
"I see your shoulder's doing fine now," she remarked, a gentle smile tugging at her lips. Isaac couldn't help but smile back at her, feeling a shot of butterflies go into his body as he saw her lips twitch upwards for a quick second. Her smile accentuated the rest of her features with perfect harmony, and Isaac couldn't help but lightly tug at his bottom lip to keep from colliding his lips with hers. In that moment, he came to a realization: he liked her.
...
Grace sat on the back of Derek's car as she remembered the many trips he'd given her in that same car before everything happened. She had been sitting there in the same spot for more than half an hour since Erica and Derek went out to try and get information out of Stiles. There was honestly no reason for her to be there but she wanted to go to the game even if she was a fugitive. Also, she needed to clear her head, which she wouldn't do alone with Isaac in the station. After looking once again at the time on her phone she sighed as she got off the car, careful not to be spotted and walked straight towards the pools in her white nikes. She furrowed her eyes as she heard splashing on the pool, hoping it wasn't Derek and Erica having underwater sex or something. As she entered, she gasped lightly as she saw Erica lying unconscious on the floor. She rushed next to her, checking to see if she was okay, her eyes widening as she heard hissing.
"Grace?" Stiles asked from the pool, his eyes rapidly scanning her body since he hadn't seen her since she was in a coma, at the same time as he tried for Derek to stay afloat. Derek's eyes widened as he heard Stiles mutter her name, instantly starting to ask where she was in fear.
She started to walk towards the pools, stopping dead in her tracks as she saw the scaled monster start to crawl closer to her, its clear, long nails clicking as they came in contact with the tiles of the floor. She took a deep breath before growling as she shifted, her wings protruding over her shoulders as she took out her claws, much longer than that of a werewolf's. Stiles gasped as he observed his best friend turn into a creature and fight the reptilian shapeshifter in front of her. She groaned as the creature slashed her arm, falling to the floor. She felt the venom start to circulate in her blood, yet instead of being paralyzed, her aswang healing system put her body into shock. Derek started screaming out her name, his mind panicking as he was paralyzed under the water. Stiles gasped as he looked at Derek, ready to let him go to get Grace, both their eyes widening as the creature pushed her into the water, her body dropping to the bottom of the eight feet pool.
Derek looked at Stiles while panicking. "Take the phone and call Scott for help," Derek instructed, "Now." Stiles nodded as he let go of Derek, swimming towards the direction of his phone, rapidly dialing Scott's number. He picked up after the third ring, making Stiles yell out his name.
"I can't talk right now," Scott whispered into the phone before hanging up.
Stiles groaned as he rapidly swam towards Derek, bringing him up so he could breath. "Tell me you got him," Derek said between gasps of air, groaning in frustration as Stiles didn't give him the answer he wanted. Grace went unconscious underwater, her body stopping the shock as her reflexes tried to look for oxygen, swallowing water instead. All the times she was close to dying, it was because of no oxygen, yet drowning was the way she least wanted to die, her head thumping in pain as she started to slip into an unconscious state, about to die. In that moment, Scott barged into the pool area, rapidly saving Derek and Stiles, throwing them next to the pools. Derek could feel his fingertips start to move, taking out his claws and clawing at himself to help his body heal through the paralytic toxins.
As soon as he could move, he immediately jumped inside the pool, swimming towards the blurry figure he knew was Grace, panicking a bit as he saw her eyes closed and no bubbles coming out of her mouth. She was unconscious. He carried her body, throwing it next to the pools as he jumped next to her, his head panicking. He put his hands over her heart, giving her CPR as his eyes watered, his mind going back to when he found her, the night of the dance when she still had hope in him, when she still smiled a genuine smile. His tears started to blur his vision, yet he didn't give up, his breathing labored as his throat started choking up, the panic reaching his whole body. Scott rapidly went to her side, letting out a sob as he saw his sister, unconscious with her lips blue and an unresponding heart. "Give her mouth to mouth," Scott muttered at Derek. Derek looked at her body, pinching her nose as his lips met with her cold ones, blowing air, hoping she would wake up.
As he blew time after time, pushing into her heart, Grace spit out water as Derek met with her lips once again, taking a deep breath of oxygen. Grace's vision was blurry as she coughed out the water in her lungs, her eyes focusing first on the person who brought her back to life. "Derek?" She muttered hoarsely, her eyes squinting to try to focus on everything around her. Derek sighed in content, wanting to embrace her in a tight hug yet knowing it wasn't gonna happen. Stiles came up from behind her, smiling broadly, as he and Scott helped her stand. She shivered as she felt a chill go up her spine, now feeling her nervous system and everything else start to work. Grace walked slowly towards the exit, hearing faintly how Derek instructed Stiles to wake Erica up.
As she walked outside, she saw Derek opening his trunk, getting various towels out. He wrapped one around Grace, his eyes full of concern as he tried warming her up with it. Scott came up to his sister, meeting Derek with a glare as his fist collided with Derek's jaw. Derek was taken aback at the gesture, gripping at his jaw when his body came in contact with the floor. Grace barely reacted, her mind still trying to grasp at her surroundings, but she knew what had just happened. "You know what that was for," Scott said as he looked at Derek groaning in the floor, referring to what happened after she woke up from her coma.
Scott looked back at his sister, wrapping her in his warm embrace as he planted a kiss on her cold forehead. He sighed in relief as he looked at her, a warm smile plastered on his face at the fact that she was alive. Erica walked past them, oblivious to what had happened, going straight towards Derek, trying to help him stand up. Stiles came up from behind once again, placing a hand on her back to get her attention. Grace gave him a smile as he engulfed her in a cold hug since he was also wet. "You know, it's not fun watching you die, G."
"It's not fun drowning, M," she teased, knowing he didn't like when anyone so much as made a reference to his real name. He chuckled, letting her get a free pass since she had just died.
They walked towards Scott, who had put a Penn drive on a computer on top of Derek's car, looking at some type of book they could barely read. "Is that even a language?" Stiles asked, observing the strange words printed on the white digital papers.
"What is that?" Grace muttered. Scott looked at her, filling her in on the information about the bestiary and how it was a book the Argents had with a log of the different creatures they'd found, which Scott and Stiles hoped on using to find out what the reptilian-like creature in the pool area was.
"How are we supposed to figure out what this thing is if you can't read a single sentence in there?" Grace asked.
"It's called a kanima," Derek said as he and Erica walked towards them, making the trio's heads all pop up towards his direction.
"You knew the whole time," Stiles breathed out, annoyance radiating out of him.
"No," he sighed, "Only when it was confused by his own reflection."
"It doesn't know what it is," Scott said.
"Or who."
"What else do you know?" Stiles asked, him and Scott not trusting him completely, especially after what happened to Grace because of him.
"Just stories. Rumors."
"But it's like us?" Scott asked, still not wrapping his head around the fact that there were other creatures different from werewolves. To be fair, not even Grace could wrap her head around it; she acknowledged it but didn't fully understand it.
"It's a shapeshifter, yes, but it-- it's not right. It's like a..." Derek tried explaining, being cut off by Stiles.
"An abomination."
"Okay, let's not call it that," Grace said softly, her eyes dropping to the floor as she thought about the creature she was. Derek ad Erica started to head back, Derek motioning for Grace to follow them.
"Derek," Scott called out, making him turn back, "We need to work together on this. Maybe even tell the Argents."
"Okay, no," Grace intervened, making Derek immediately take her side.
"You trust them?" Derek spat.
"Nobody trusts anyone, ad you know that," Scott started, yet again making reference to what happened between Grace and Derek, "That's the problem. While we're here arguing about who's on what side, there's something scarier, stronger, and faster than any of us, and it's killing people! And we still don't know anything about it!"
Derek's glare was directed only to Scott as he spoke, "I know one thing," he said, turning around as he walked towards his car, "When I find it, I'm gonna kill it."
***
I've found out that I write when I don't want to think about my problems, which is why you guys are receiving another chapter the day after I updated the last. Also, who here ships Isaac and Grace? I'm not saying it's gonna happen, but Isaac does have a little crush on Gracie & it's so pure, i love it.
-- vivian darkbloom