*ARCHIVED* Truth Or Dare (Sciles | Dark Descent, Book 1)

Chapter 14

FEBRUARY 15, 2016
MONDAY
7:46 P.M.

    Stiles scrambled backward up the slanted cement slab and threw himself down onto the grass, not taking his eyes off Derek. He didn't think Derek would turn him against his will, not yet, but that didn't stop him from being afraid of it.

    "Thanks for the offer," Stiles said, "But no. No freaking way."

    Derek swam forward until he was standing on the edge of the cement, his shoulders and chest now revealed and glimmering with water in the moonlight. "I don't understand why you're acting like this."

    "I don't want to be a vampire! I don't want to live forever. I don't want to be a--" Stiles finished in his head: a monster.

    Derek took another step forward. "You don't have to kill anybody. We can get blood bags. You could live forever, with me. Forever wouldn't be as lonely as it sounds, then."

    That's precisely the reason I don't want to be a vampire, Stiles thought. I'd rather die of old age, still trapped with you, than spend an eternity pretending to love you.

    "You want to be with me, don't you?" Derek asked, frowning. He took another step forward, freeing the rest of his torso from the water.

    "Of course I do. I stayed here, didn't I? I told my friends to leave. So we could be together."

    "I believe you. But this is the only way to truly prove it to me. And to Laura."

    Stiles felt sick. He stood, taking a step back. "I have nothing to prove to Laura. You're the one that matters to me, not her."

    "But she's my sister, Stiles. And she's going to be here with us. If we're all spending eternity together, we should get along."

    "I can get along with her just fine. It's her that doesn't want to get along with me. She doesn't trust me, and that's fine, because eventually she will, but I'm not going to make a decision like this based on her. I need time to think it over."

    He knew he would never choose to be a vampire. He would kill himself before he let that happen. But he had to convince Derek that it was a possibility. He had to stall for as long as he could. And now, he had to take Derek down sooner than he'd hoped. There was only so long he could go on pretending he needed to think about it. He hoped Derek would be a bit more patient with this than he'd been with everything else.

    Derek was now completely out of the water in all his naked glory. "I'll give you time. As much as you need.

    Stiles, now distracted by the reappearance of Derek's naked self, could only nod and mutter a thanks. Derek threw himself down onto the blanket beside Stiles, throwing open the cooler lid.

    "I don't know about you but I'm starving," Derek said, taking out the two sandwiches he'd prepared and setting them on the blanket. Stiles stayed where he was but his stomach rumbled with hunger. "Let's eat."

    "What's with all the human food?" Stiles asked, genuinely curious. "I haven't seen you drink blood once since I've been here."

    Derek seemed uncomfortable at the question but he just shrugged. "It's not like I could just whip out a young blonde and eat her at the dinner table."

    "You could if you wanted to."

    "Not anymore. Not with you. I told you. You changed everything."

    "What do you mean?" Stiles went over to the blanket and sat down beside Derek. It was safe, for now. His neck still throbbed from the bite, though. He ignored it.