Not Quite The Same (Hiatus)

Chapter Seventeen

Derek walked into his old house, trying to keep the bad memories at bay. He still remembered that day very vividly but quickly pushed those thoughts down. He didn't want to spend time thinking about that.

He moved as quietly as he could, which was very, into the same room Stiles was in. He was already standing and staring at Derek with a blank expression. It unnerved Derek, the way that there was barely anything source of expression or emotion in his eyes or face. When Derek took a step forward, Stiles stiffened, his eyes hardening. He stopped, standing at the entrance. Derek raised his hands slowly and as non-threatening as he could. "I'm not going to hurt you." he told him, keeping his voice quiet.

"I know that." Stiles replied, his voice quiet, hoarse, like it hadn't been used in a while. It was still intimidating as hell, however. His eyes were still sharp and narrow and hooded, it oddly reminded Derek of himself. In fact, everything about Stiles at the moment reminded Derek of himself. Well, his old self. The hiding in the shadows, the brief speaking, the intimidating stature. Stiles now reminded Derek of himself and it terrified him.

"I'm not afraid of you," Derek found himself saying. He vaguely remembered Stiles saying this to him when he had gotten arrested a while back. The smell of the boy's fear had been filling up the whole cop car the moment he slide into the front seat, a stench that had made Derek's senses flare where he sat handcuffed in the back. Stiles had been terrified. Looking at him now, Derek saw no a spec of fear in his expression, not even a glance of emotion.

That is, until Stiles glanced down for about a millisecond. A flash of something flickered over his eyes before he looked back up and continued to stare into Derek's eyes. Derek did his best not to back down, feeling slightly intimidated by the blank stare. He sighed then said, "My name is--"

"Derek."

He hadn't been expecting that. Not at all. Hadn't Lydia said that he probably has amnesia? How could he remember him? Derek pushed down his thoughts and spoke. "How do you know that?" he asked.

Stiles, again, looked down, as though calculating the situation. He keep his eyes down and hooded as he muttered, "I don't know." Derek might have missed it if it wasn't for his werewolf enhanced hearing and senses.

"Who are you?" Derek asked tentatively.

"To wydaje się być kwestią dni, hę?" 

It was spoken in a quiet voice and in a different language, Derek knew that, but what language or what he had said he didn't know. From what he could tell from Stiles' small reaction was that it had shocked Stiles slightly. His eyes widened by a millimeter but it was noticeable, though the emotions were quickly dropped. His heart beat, which was a slow and as calm as could be, sped up for a moment before it slowed again. Derek noted it as a sign of nervousness, despite it going as quickly as it came.

He didn't question what he had said but took note at the injury on Stiles' shoulder. He could smell the blood, it was completely swarmed around him. On his white t-shirt was a small patch of blood on his left shoulder and it was slowly growing. "Your arm." Derek said simply.

"It'll heal." Stiles told him, not blinking an eye. He didn't even bother to look down at the injury.

"Does it hurt?" Derek asked softly, slightly surprised by how kind his voice sounded.

It seemed that Stiles had noticed it too. His eyes flashed with confusion, as though he didn't understand why Derek was being kind to him. He glanced down but quickly looked back up. It made Derek think that during Stiles' disappearance, he had been with someone who had demanded eye contact. "I'm used to it." Stiles whispered, his voice barely audible.

"That doesn't matter." Derek insisted, hurt by the fact that Stiles was used to pain. "Does it hurt?" He repeated.

Stiles stared at him for a moment before nodding once. It was small and meek but it was enough for Derek. He slowly walked towards Stiles and stopped when he stiffened. He always seemed to be on guard, like he was expecting to get attacked. Derek raised his hands just above his waist, showing Stiles that he wasn't going to hurt him. He slowly walked over to him until he was two feet in front of him. Derek knew that this was a stupid and possibly dangerous move but he went along with it anyway. Derek slowly out raised his hand up to Stiles' shoulder and gently put his hand on it. This proved to be a poor move.

Stiles suddenly gripped his hand and flipped him over his shoulder, sending flying into the wall behind them. Stiles didn't waste any time in grabbing Derek by the front of his shoulder and slamming him into the wall, pinning him there. Derek hated to admit it, but he felt a jolt of nervousness as he looked into Stiles' eyes.

They were hooded and dark, holding an almost animalistic look. His teeth were gritted and bared, reminding Derek of an alpha during a fight. His hands were in fists and the metal one dug into Derek's skin, it was admittedly painful. Stiles looked nothing like himself and that made Derek nervous. He was used to the clumsy, hyperactive, smart kid who could talk someone to death. This wasn't the same person. This person was violent and dangerous and a time bomb, but Derek knew it was Stiles and that's what hurt the most. That this person, as different as he was, was Stiles. He was buried in there somewhere, Derek just didn't know how far.

Stiles' eyes suddenly widened. The animalistic look was now gone and was replaced with, shockingly, fear. He looked afraid but not of Derek. He then let go of Derek and let him drop to the floor. Derek landed with a thud and a groan. He rubbed his chest for a moment before realizing that Stiles was running out of the house. "Stiles!" He called, getting up and chasing after him.

He ran outside and into the open clearing. He spotted Lydia running over to him, calling out, "What happened?" 

"He was bleeding by the shoulder, and when I went to go check it, he freaked out." Derek told her, stretching the truth only slightly. 

"Call Scott." Lydia instructed. "We can search for him." 

He nodded and ran off to his car. He hopped in quickly as Lydia followed in after him. Lydia took out her phone as Derek started up the car and drove off. He had a theory that Stiles would go to towards civilization in order to find some sort of form of transportation. 

"Scott," Derek heard Lydia say. "Scott, listen. Stiles ran off, we're looking for him now... Okay, have you found anything?.... Just take it, then!.... Fine, we can meet back when we find him." She hung up. 

"What'd he say?" Derek asked as he drove through the woods, his eyes glued to the path. 

"They found files on amnesia, but Allison has a theory. Scott didn't say what that was, but he said that he'd explain when we find Stiles." 

Derek decided to go against his better judgement and added, "If." 

(A/N: Just so you guys know, the thing that Stiles said was Polish and the translation is, "That seems to be the question of the day, huh?" I used Google Translate for that and for all of the other translations. I don't know if I got anything wrong, but if I did and you know how it's suppose to be spelt or something, mock me mercilessly!)