Prelude

Chapter 8: Hello? Is It Me You're Looking For?

"Lydia and Erica are at Guinevere's house right now." Stiles said, walking onto Scott's porch with his phone out. Derek nodded and continued watching Isaac rough housing with Boyd, working on their fighting techniques, as Liam practiced lacrosse with Scott in the back yard. "Jordan is going to swing by in five minutes to pick you up."

"Watch your left, Isaac!" Derek called to him, arms crossed and looking extra brooding to hide his emotions about meeting Guinevere. Isaac turned but not fast enough, Boyd grabbing him and pinning him in a matter of seconds. "Broader stance, more arms and only kick down low unless you know they can't grab your leg as a response." Derek instructed. Isaac nodded and Boyd pulled him to his feet, both taking stances to fight again. 

"You wouldn't happen to know as much about U.S. history as you do fighting, would you?" Stiles asked, glaring at the textbook that was opened on the porch table. 

"Try me." Derek invited, still watching Isaac and Boyd. 

"Really?" Stiles asked in surprise.

"Or don't." Derek said, making him scramble for his book. 

"No, no, no, no, no. I'm getting there." Stiles scanned the page quickly. "Who was the first to be beheaded in the French Revolution?"

"That doesn't sound like U.S. history." Derek said. "Tighter swing, Boyd!"

"You know, I got a detention for bringing up the same point. I think Jones has it out for me though." Stiles said, staring at seemingly nothing as he thought about his detention. 

"Everyone has it out for you Stiles." Derek told him. "Nicolas Jacques Pelletier." 

"Thank you." Stiles said, writing down the answer on his worksheet. 

"Your welcome." Derek replied as a reflex. That was another one of Stiles' Pavlov tricks. Getting the pack to say "your welcome" instead of dismissing whatever they had done with a "no problem". It was more rewarding than just waving it off. 

"Who was the shortest U.S. president?" Stiles asked. 

"What kind of history homework is this?" 

"Hey, I just answer the questions, I don't make them." Stiles said, hands raised in surrender even though Derek wasn't looking at him. 

"James Madison, 5'4" and 100 pounds." 

There was a moment of silence where Stiles was writing down the answer and then Derek very faintly hear him mumble, "I could take him." He tried to hide his smile. "Which president had the incident with the bath tub? Taft, right?" 

"Yeah." 

"Wikipedia does know something." Stiles said as he wrote down the name. "Which two presidents died on the same day?"

"Jefferson and Adams. July 4, 1856? I know it was July fourth for sure." Derek said, eyes trained on the way Boyd was grabbing Isaac. "Under, Boyd!" He called. There was the crunch of tires on gravel and Stiles looked up to see the patrol car pulling into Scott's driveway.

"I thought you were off!" He called to Jordan, the car windows down and allowing his voice to carry.

"Change of plans. I have to go back after we're done with this."

"Pack meeting when you get off then. We're hanging out here for most of the day anyways so just drop by when your off." Scott announced, ducking just in time to avoid being hit in the head by a lacrosse ball and sending a glare towards Liam. Jordan nodded as Derek climbed into the car. They left and Stiles decided his homework could wait.

Derek hated the mall. Despised it with all of the hate he could fit inside his six foot body. Laura used to drag him along when she would meet up with her friends and sometimes Cora asked him to drive her when Laura or their parents were busy and their uncle refused to. He didn't like all the noises and smells and people. Most of the time, he could deal with it but he didn't like going without family or pack around. Separating his wolf senses and human senses wasn't always easy for him because he was a born wolf and couldn't really differentiate. 

Turned out it wasn't going to be a problem because as soon as they stepped into the mall, all Derek could smell was her. She smelled like chocolate and paint and spearmint shampoo and the overwhelming fragrance made Derek stop in his tracks as he went lightheaded and swayed on his feet a bit, stumbling to the side like he had spun in too many circles. 

"Woah, hey." Jordan grabbed his arm to steady him. "You okay?" He asked as Derek opened his eyes, pupils dilatating and shrinking as he tried to get his feet under him and focus.

"Yeah," he managed, shaking his head like his ears were ringing, looking like an absolute animal as he did so, "yeah. I'm fine." He clapped Jordan on the shoulder as he looked around the mall, trying to compose himself. "Let's keep walking."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Derek nodded, walking towards the escalators. Jordan followed right behind him, looking a little cloudy himself but more in control than Derek because he wasn't completely a hound. He could probably smell Guinevere over everything else but at a different level than Derek was. Derek was hopeless when it came to figuring out where she was though. The entire mall smelled like her, it was impossible to pin down a location. He tried to scent for Erica and Lydia but he couldn't concentrate. "Do you know where they are?" He asked Jordan, eyes scanning the second floor as they stepped off the escalators.

"Not a clue." Jordan sighed, looking around too. Derek kept scowling as he looked around, making a few girls in one of the shops gawk at him through the shop window as he pulled out his phone and texted Lydia. Jordan was hiding a laugh when Derek looked back up. 

"What?" 

"I think that girl over there took a picture of you scowling at your phone." He pointed in the direction of the shop and Derek turned to look, raising a brow as he frowned. There was a loud squeal and a thud as one of the girls dropped out of sight, making Jordan burst into laughter. He scowled again and looked back down at his phone as it vibrated in his hand. 

"Third floor, Sticks and Stones Co." Derek read aloud. Parrish nodded and followed him towards the escalators on the other side of the floor, waving at the girls and laughing softly. Derek almost felt like he couldn't breathe, her scent getting impossibly stronger as they rode up the stairs. Jordan's nostrils were twitching as they stepped onto the floor, eyes scanning for the store. 

"You get one look and then we're getting you out of here." Jordan told him as he closed his eyes, trying to take a deep breath of fresh air but only getting Guinevere. Derek didn't argue, only nodded and let Jordan lead him away from the top of the escalators. Sticks and Stones turned out to be a witchy shop that sold things like amethyst and sage sticks. Lydia's bright red hair was easy to spot and if that didn't give them away, Erica's loud laughter did. They were stood at a table directly behind the entrance, in plain sight as they looked at the jewelry on the table.

Erica shifted to the left a bit and there she was. Derek's mind went blank and his eyes went wide as he looked at her. He couldn't smell anything, hear anything, feel anything happening around him. All he could see was her.

He watched as she laughed at something Lydia said, her fingers curled around a pink gemstone necklace and her head tilting back as she laughed.

"Alright," Jordan said, voice a little breathy as he grabbed Derek by the arm and tugged him back towards the way they came. "Come on. Time to go." Derek blinked and just like that, he was swimming in her scent again.