That Girl (A Derek Hale Love Story)

Chapter 24

EDITED

As soon as School was over, Haylie grabbed her things and headed to the studio. She was surprised however, when she headed for the treadmill to get a warmup in prior that the familiar face was already there.

She had been thinking all day about it, with what happened to Jackson and Lydia last night she couldn't help herself from becoming more tempted by his offer. So, she took a deep breath and took up her position on the treadmill next to him.

Dan instantly started to slow down from his run when he realised who had started up next to him. "Miss Stilinksi." He greeted with a grin that told him she knew exactly what she was going to say. The arrogance nearly made her change her mind altogether. "Is this a coincidence or do I need a restraining order." She kept her face neutral as she started to speed up the machine.

"My friends were attacked last night by a mountain lion." She lied without looking at him, but she hesitated as he stopped his machine completely.

"Is that right? A mountain lion in the middle of a video store." He was breathing heavy, obviously from the workout, but rested himself on the machines bars to watch her speed up. "I have to admit, I found it strange when the file landed on my desk this morning."

She still remained neutral as she watched the seconds tick by on the timer. "You can't teach me to defend myself against a mountain lion." She continued, ignoring his comment.

Without a word, he reached over and pulled the emergency stop on her machine, forcing her to nearly fall and snap her head around to him. "What the hell."

"Get to the point." He said, the arrogance gone from his face. "I get why you don't want to join my class I do. You're embarrassed and you think it makes you look weak, but I promise you, it is the opposite." She kept her eyes on him, his blue eyes almost unblinking as he tried to reason with her. "You were attacked in this very studio, you had to hide a little girl in a storage cabinet, and you were scared." He waited a moment, just to see if she was brave enough to admit it. She wasn't as she remained still under his gaze. "Yes, your friends were attacked by a mountain lion last night and maybe I can't teach you to go bareknuckle with a giant cat but," He paused, "you weren't hiding that girl from a mountain lion."

She shrugged once. "I didn't see who it was." Her voice came out quieter than she wanted but it wasn't a lie.

"I didn't ask." He jumped down from the treadmill and moved round her side. "Come on. Gyms basically empty. Let's work out a little." She stayed on the machine until she saw him pick up a pair of boxing gloves from a larger bag in the corner.

She did come to get a workout. She told herself as she jumped down and timidly made her way over to him. She let him take her hands and start to fasten the gloves on her. "I thought it was self-defence." She mumbled as he then fastens his own pads to his hands. He chuckled and shrugged.

"Believe me. It feels better to make someone defend themselves from you." This time, when he shot her that arrogant grin, she let her lips curl at the ends.

Haylie lost all sense of time as she listened to his instructions. As she hit the pads in the movements, he instructed, ducked from the pads that he swung around her head. As her knee connected to his side, over and over again. With every 'That's good.' That he gave in encouragement. He seemed impressed by the strength that she allowed to show more and more off as they went on. As she let the swiftness of her ballet grace show in their movements.

She was completely at peace with it. Like she was when she danced. Her mind turned blank and she was drowning in the movements and routine. She had no idea how much time had passed when he suddenly stopped. "Are we done?" Not bothering to hide the disappointment.