Beacon Hills ♚ TMR x TW

12; studying up

After hours of translating and reading, Lydia announced she had to go home to avoid her mom freaking out, leaving Thomas and Derek to continue the search. The time passed quietly, neither of them in the mood for a conversation.

It was Derek, oddly enough, who broke the silence. "You seemed a little rattled when you came back. Everything okay?" The man looked genuinely concerned.

Thomas felt his heart flutter, remembering the phone call he'd made in his Jeep. He didn't trust himself to speak so he nodded and said nothing at all, flipping to another page in the ancient book and taking a picture. He didn't have to look to know the man's eyebrows had shot up in skepticism.

"I hope you realize I don't need to hear your heartbeat. You're hiding something. What happened?"

Thomas stared down at the translation on his phone, keeping quiet.

Derek grabbed the phone and book and slid them away from Thomas' reach at the far end of the table. He gave him a hard stare. "Relax and tell me. I'm not going to let it go."

Thomas relented with a soft sigh, staring at the lit up phone under Derek's rather large hand, unable to make eye contact. "I... I asked Peter to keep an eye on Newt and Minho."

Derek's face became stony. "And what did he ask for in return?"

That was the question Thomas hadn't wanted to answer because the plain and simple truth was that he didn't know. Thomas mumbled his answer incoherently, just enough that Derek's couldn't make out what he said.

"I don't have super hearing anymore so for the love of god speak up," Derek snapped exasperatedly, lips pressed in a firm line.

Thomas bit down on his lip hard enough to almost draw blood, running his long fingers through his messy hair. "He just said that I owed him a favor now." The words came out as a whisper and he cursed himself for sounding so small.

Derek audibly cursed, standing so fast his chair was thrown to the floor. "What in the hell would make you call Peter?" He fought his inner raging beast in front of Thomas, his words coming out clipped and loud.

"You guys are powerless, or did you forget?" Thomas snapped back, standing to meet his height and bringing his eyes up to stare at the man. "I knew you'd react this way it's why I didn't want to tell you. Forgive me if I want them to have a fighting chance if those wolves went after them."

He could see the anger building in Derek's expression. The slight twitch of the eye and corners of his mouth facing downward were dead giveaways for Thomas who knew his tells by now.

"Listen-"

"No, Thomas, you listen." Derek's tone shut him up immediately. "I understand your worry, I really do. But, Peter? That was a bad plan and you know it. Hell, Chris would've been an immensely better option!" The man was almost yelling by the time he finished speaking.

Thomas gritted his teeth together, his fingers tightly curled into fists as he stared Derek down. "Do you not understand how badly Chris despises me? I killed his daughter, he wouldn't have even picked up the phone if I would've tried to call. Whatever Peter wants from me can't possibly be as bad as losing Newt and Minho." The tips of his nails broke the softer skin on his palms, his jaw aching from clenching his teeth too hard.

Derek's anger instantly disappeared, replaced by something Thomas couldn't quite place.

The man's eyes found drops of blood on the floor and trailed them to Thomas' hands, his mouth downturned in a frown. He vanished into the bathroom seconds later.

Thomas' head throbbed and his hands ached, along with all the other parts of him that were hurt. He knew whatever Peter wanted couldn't be good, but the other option wasn't even an option. Chris might have protected the two innocents from the supernatural but getting ahold of him to do so was an entirely different story.