Wolfsbane | Teen Wolf

Chapter 6: 5 Years Later

"NYU! NYU! NYU!"

The chanting grew louder and louder as excitement filled the stadium. Streams of color and people littered the college campus as the first game of the season kicked off.

Across campus, in one of the dorms, far away from all the crowd and chaos, a young Asian girl was banging heavily on a door.

"DEREK! Open the door!"

Several months ago, Ashley and Derek had settled down to college life at one of New York's finest universities. Today, they were supposed to have gone to the game together but as usual, Derek had been MIA. Knowing exactly where he would be, Ashley had marched to his dorm which brought them to the current situation.

Derek groaned as he was awakened by the sounds of banging. Slowly, he pulled the covers off him and headed to the door in nothing but his boxer briefs. He opened the door to find an angry-looking Ashley with her arms folded across her chest.

"Good...Morning?" He greeted her uncertainly.

Unimpressed, Ashley glared at the man, then shoved him aside and entered the room.

"Good morning?! Morning?!" She shrieked. "Do you even know what time it is?! It's 3PM in the afternoon!"

Derek closed the door and turned to her with a sheepish expression.

"You were supposed to have met me hours ago!" To emphasize her point, she poked Derek in the chest as she said you.

"Can you guys take this outside?" A female voice from under the covers asked.

Ashley's head snapped at the direction of the new voice. She stormed towards the bed and pulled the cover to reveal a half naked woman.

Ashley glanced at Derek questioningly, but the latter simply shrugged.

"Who are you?" Ashley demanded. "Actually, no, it doesn't matter, you're probably just another one-night stand. Get out!"

The girl looked at her in disbelief then asked Derek. "Are you going to let her treat me this way?"

"Sorry Deb." Derek grinned apologetically and gestured to the door.

The girl in bed grunted in annoyance and proceeded to grab her clothes.

"All those rumours about you were right Hale. This is last time I'm going out with you." Deb remarked.

Within minutes, she was dressed and out the door but not before Ashley yelled out after her: "That's right, I better not see you here again skank!"

She slammed the door and came face to face with Derek who raised an eyebrow at her.

"Ok fine," She sighed and tossed her hands in the air. "The skank part was too much."

Derek smiled at her knowingly then begun searching for his clothes.

It was the same cycle over and over again. Ever since Derek started dating again, Ashley had become clingy and jealousy when it came to Derek and his girls. Derek assumed she was just looking out for him, knowing that he didn't have the best record when it comes to girls. He knew she just didn't want to see him hurt. Afterall, it took 5 years for him to let go of his anger and hurt from Paige and Kate.

Derek knew all this but at the start, he still found it annoying. Things changed however when he realized he could use it to his advantage. Over the years, Derek dated and slept with many different women. When it was time, instead of having to go through the unpleasantries of breaking up with the women, he would create an opportunity for Ashley and the girl to cross paths. The rest would proceed as it just did.

Ashley wasn't stupid, she knew Derek was using her as a shield but didn't care. She had become possessive of her friend and thought no women would ever be good enough for him. They had a system in place.

Of course, that was the reasons they gave to themselves. As for how they truly felt about the situation, neither really knew.

Derek chuckled as he slipped on a pair of ragged jeans. Then he tossed Ashley an olive green scarf who caught it instinctively.

"What's this?" Ashley asked with a hint of annoyance.

"A peace offering." Derek answered with a grin.

Ashley saw his smile and couldn't help but smile as well.

Whatever happened, one thing constant remained. They would always be family.

xXx

"Seriously?"

"Hey Ash," Derek said flashing her those pearly whites. He always did have a dashing smile.

"Don't 'Hey Ash' me!" Ashley huffed. She watched and waited as an officer grabbed the keys and unlocked the cell that Derek was in.

"Here to bail me out again?" He teased the already mad girl.

Ashley eyed him unimpressed. The officer led them out to the front counter and began handing Derek back his belongings.

"What is the deal, Derek?!" She paced back and forth as she ranted. "I bail you out this morning and not even 24 later, and I have to bail you out again?"

Unfazed by Ashley's anger, Derek just smiled and collected his items.

"What was it this time?! Speeding? Drinking?" Ashley began listing down all his past offences all the while following him as he headed out of the police station.

"Speeding." Derek stopped abruptly causing Ashley to run into him.

"Wha–" Ashley rubbed her nose from the impact.

"I was caught for speeding. But I swear I wasn't even going that fast." He tried to explain but Ashley wasn't buying it. She walked past him towards the car.

"Why am I always bailing you out?" She pouted at him.

"Cause you know you want to." Derek remarked in a sing-song voice.

Ever since they started college, she had been bailing him out time and time again. At first, she would be upset at him and complain about it. Then he would just laugh and tease her about it. Eventually, she would buy into his puppy-dog act and forgive him for it.

Ashley was silent until they reached the car. As she reached for the door, Derek went and stood between her and the Toyota. Then he did something Ashley wasn't expecting.

He hugged her.

Almost instantly, all her anger washed away.

"Thank you." He whispered into her ear.

Ashley pulled away from his embrace and entered the drivers' side. She was still annoyed, but there was a hint of a smile in her eyes.

They both knew. As much as Ashley huffed and puffed, she would always be there for him.