𝓬𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓾𝓼𝓮 || Derek Hale

The Show Must Go On

Cordelia and I sit silently across from each other. It's been three days since I found Natalie. The hospital says she's in a coma. The results on her blood tests haven't come back yet. Claudia says so. "You're gonna have to get ready." My mother finally says, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Today is Friday. It doesn't feel right going to the dance without Natalie.

But the show must go on. Besides, Iris and Damien are watching over her for me as a favor. Probably more because of the fact that Derek commanded them to. But it's not like they were going to the dance anyway. They have the Prom coming up. Agreeing, I stand. Then I head upstairs to be alone, where I look at myself in the mirror. I'm a mess. I haven't seen Derek in two days. And it drained me.

But I have to do this. For Natalie. A soft knock resounds from my door. "Come in." It's Cordelia. "I thought you might want these. I picked them up for you back home." She avoids my eyes. In her hands, she holds a beautiful jeweled necklace. It glints. I accept it, and stand in front of the mirror, holding my hair. No sooner has she slipped it over my neck does it begin to burn me.

I yelp and jump away from it, wincing at the marks on my neck, which take longer to heal than usual. Hm. I examine the necklace throughly, careful not to touch it. It's silver. Cordelia must come to the same conclusion because she drops it immediately. "Sorry. You weren't...you then." She means I wasn't a werewolf then. Right. To my surprise, a single tear slips out.

"I'm sorry. I can't do this, with you." I shake my head. "Why not?" A sob escapes. "Because. My best friend is in the hospital. My father is a million miles away. And you. You were never p-proud of me. I was always a disappointment, I guess." She gapes. "Is that what you think?" She says, softly. "Ginny...I was never disappointed in you. I wanted you to be better than me. I hated who I was."

"A mother who gave up her own son out of shame. Who was so overbearing and obsessed with perfection that-that she drove her own husband away, and now he's dead. I guess, I was afraid you'd end up the same way. Especially after your uncle died." Now she's crying. "I'm-I'm so sorry!" She gasps. I shake my head. This whole time, I hated her because she drove my father away. Because she demanded so much of me. But I was in denial.

My father chose to leave. And because I've been avoiding the sad truth this whole time. My father is dead. At least, he has been for a while. I have an old voicemail of his saved on my phone. I guess the only way I knew how to cope with it, was to direct all of that raw emotion onto someone else. My father is more than a million miles away. In a place I can never reach.

At that point, it's like a lightbulb going off, it all disappears. And I hug her. I hug my mother. "I forgive you." I whisper. And I forgive you, too. Dad.

~~~

The dance is packed to the brim with drunk teenagers. Surprise, surprise, someone spiked the punch. Me and Derek stand in the crowd, dancing. At one point, Lillian, James, Silas, and Peter join us, whooping. Then the song shifts into a slow song. Silas and Peter stop, and awkwardly look around, while Damien and Lillian wrap their arms around each other.

Me and Derek follow suit. Peter and Silas exchange a look, shrug, and begin dancing together. Huh. Well, I guess they are childhood friends. They all are. And I guess that makes me the intruder, in a way. Nah. I belong here. With them.

We sway to the violin melody that floats through the air. A phone call disrupts us. I break off from Derek, apologetically. Then I step out into the hallway of the school. "Claudia? Whoa, slow down. I can't understand what you're saying." Her voice comes out in rushed bits, not very legible. Finally she takes a deep breath. "Natalie's gone!" She screams. I straighten up. "What?! What do you mean?!"

I can hear groaning in the background. "I mean she's gone. Her beds empty. And that's not all. Your two friends? Iris and Damien? I found them unconscious!" I blanche. Holy shit. What the hell happened? "That's not all, Regina." She pauses on the other end, taking a shaky breath. Now I'm afraid of what she's going to say next. "The blood that we found on Natalie? It's not hers."

My whole world drops. And suddenly it all makes sense. I can hear Silas's words echoing in my mind. "A rogue werewolf typically doesn't know what they are or what they're doing." Natalie is the werewolf. Natalie is the one who bit me. I ran into the werewolf after I left her house that night. And she knew my nickname, Ginny, which only Derek and my family knows. She must've been watching me for how long now and hasn't even realized it!

I don't want to entertain the other possibilities. That she's a murderer who's been stalking me for God knows why. Claudia is still babbling over the phone when the screams start. There's a huge crashing noise, and growling sounds. From everywhere, students rush out of the gym. I drop my phone and run into the room. Inside the giant room in the middle stands a massive creature. The Alpha. Natalie.

Derek makes a run at her, but is swiped away. "Derek!" I scream. He hits the floor and doesn't move. I push past screaming kids as I make my way in. Then I drag Derek behind a table where Peter, Silas, Lillian, and James hide. They stare at me with equal looks of horror. With a determined look, I begin to make a plan the fight the beast.