The Alexandra Chronicles ¤ Derek Hale

Chapter 12

After the ever-boring detention with Mr. Harris, during which Stiles and Scott finally made up, I headed home to get ready for the group date Cassidy managed to sucker me into. Stiles went off to do whatever it was Stiles does when Scott's busy, and my brother hurried to work. Even though he was over an hour late, I'm pretty sure Deaton would cut him some slack just because he was too nice to write him up. Plus, after Scott explained why he was late, I doubted that it would be a problem.
"Well don't you look hot?" My best friend teased as I walked out of my bathroom.
I smirked and struck a pose. "Don't I always?"
"Confidence, I likey," Cass said with a short giggle. "Okay, you ready? Ri's waiting in my car. You wanna car-pool with us?"
"I should probably take my car," I told her. "Just in case something comes up with Scott or something."
Cassie nodded as I grabbed my keys and led the way downstairs. "Al, what's been going on with you two lately?" She asked as I reached for the door knob. I paused and shot her a questioning glance, although she didn't seem convinced. "I'm serious. You've been acting a little distant lately and I can tell something's wrong. What is it?"
I hesitated. "Nothing, nothing," I insisted, turning and opening the door. "I'm fine - we're fine."
"Alex!" Cassie complained, following me out onto the porch. "You know you can talk to me. Don't shut me out. I'm your best friend, remember? Thick and thin."
I smiled at the motto we made up way back when we were corny ten year-old's. Through all these years, though, it had turned out to be one of the only promises that had remained true to itself. I knew that no matter what happened, Cassie would always be my 'thick and thin,' and that I could count on her for anything. She was and always would be the best friend I could ever ask for... but in the same breath, that was the reason I wouldn't tell her what's really been going on. Cassie deserved to have a normal life, where she was happy with her boyfriend and her only worry was what major she'd be studying once she went off to college. There was no way in hell I was going to drag her into the supernatural reality that was becoming my life.
"I know, Cass. But really, I'm okay. It's just been a bit stressful lately," I said with a shrug. "Come on, Ri's probably getting impatient."
Cassidy for a moment. I knew that she wasn't stupid; when you spend thirteen years of your life being best friends with someone, you get pretty good at reading them. I may have one of the best poker faces in Beacon Hills, but Cass could read me as if I was an open book. We were just too close. "You're lying to me," she said quietly. "You're not okay. But you'll talk to me when you're ready." She perked up and smiled at me. "Let's go, Nick should be getting there any time soon now." That was another thing about Cassidy; she knew that I wasn't an easy bone to crack. It didn't matter what she said to me or how gently she tried to coax me into it: if I didn't want to talk, I didn't want to talk, and that was that. But she also knew that when I was ready to talk about it, I would.
Nick was already there when we arrived, and apparently he'd also paid for our game, too. "You didn't have to do that, bro," Riley said. "We were supposed to split the bill."
Nick smiled. "Hey, if everything goes good with the first game, I'll let you pay for the second." Then he turned to me and said, "Alex! You any good at this?"
I smirked. "Guess you'll just have to wait and see, pretty boy."
He laughed. "She thinks I'm pretty," he said to Riley with a grin.
Cass nudged me and wiggled her eyebrows; I just shot her a look and she giggled quietly. I couldn't help but smile at the sound of it. "What do you say, boys against girls?" She asked.
Ri smirked at us. "Oh, we shouldn't," he teased. "Wouldn't wanna smoke you girlies too bad, ya know?"
"Well we're not putting you and Cass on the same team," I said bluntly. To Nick I explained, "There wouldn't even be a competition, because those two would just stay at base and make out all night."
He laughed and Riley scowled at me while Cassidy blushed. "Okay, fine," Riley said. "We'll do inverted couples. Nick and Cass against you and me, Al."
"Game on!" Cassidy exclaimed, fist-pumping the air. "We are going to smoke you bitches, ya heard?" As she grabbed Nick's arm and towed him over toward the blue team's equipment, Riley and I just stood there and watched her go.
"Am I the only one that thinks that whole ghetto-talk thing she was going for completely backfired on her?" I asked.
"No," he agreed with me. "But she looks damn good walking away, though." I scoffed and slapped him on the arm. Pervert. "What?" Riley whined, following me over to the red team's equipment. "Did you see her, Alex? She's like the walking epitome of Barbie. You should see how nice and perky-" When he noticed the annoyed glare I was giving him, he immediately stopped and cleared his throat. "You don't want to hear me talking about your best friend like that. Noted."
"You'd think after all the years we've been friends, you'd know that by now." Riley and I have been friends just as long as Cassidy and I have been; he was like an older brother to me.
He shrugged. "Yeah, but... I am a guy, so..."
I sighed. "And you wonder why I over-ruled you two being team-mates," I muttered.
When the first game ended(Riley and I won, probably just because Cassie giggled and gave off her location a lot), it was decided that we were going out to eat, and that this time, Riley was taking the bill. I had left my cell phone in my car, seeing as how I didn't want to lose it while I played laser tag, and when I saw I had a few texts and a missed call from Stiles I sort of began to freak out.
The first text was from an unknown number, saying that it was Scott and asking me to meet him at the school. The second was from Stiles, telling me to ignore the previous text and that everything was fine. The third text was from Lydia, freaking out about being at the school with a murderer. Just as I was about to call Stiles and see what the hell was going on, he actually called me. "Hello?" I said. "Stiles, what the-"
"I need you to go to the police station and tell them that our call wasn't a prank," he said in a rush, interrupting me. "We're stuck here at the school and if you don't get some help, we're all going to die, I mean Scott went out to try and get the key but he hasn't been back yet and I don't know what to do-"
"What? Stiles, slow down! Who is 'we' and why are you at the school, and who's going to kill you? What happened?"
Stiles sighed deeply and his voice got quieter as he explained, "It's the alpha. Someone texted you, Lydia, Jackson and Allison to meet us here. Now we're all trapped in the school because the alpha's trying to get us, and it killed the janitor, but Scott had to lie and tell the others that Derek's the murderer. Lydia called the police but someone tipped them off that there'd be prank calls about the school. Alex, you have to go there, now!" I heard a few bangs in the background and Lydia and Allison screaming. "It's okay, it's okay, we're gonna be fine!" Stiles told them. "Alex? Alex, are you there?"
"Yeah, I'm on my way to the station now." I peeled out of the parking lot behind Riley's car and went in a different direction than they did; I'd just have to explain later that something happened with Scott. They'd understand. "Stiles, where's my brother?"
"He went out to try and get the key to the fire escape. But he hasn't been back yet, Alex."
I took a deep, shaky breath. "You tell me if he doesn't come back in three minutes, okay?
"A lot can happen in 180 seconds, Alex," Stiles said nervously. "And... there's something else you should know. I wasn't sure if you'd care or not, but he - uh - I heard him say your name, right before Scott and I ran, and..."
"What?" I was confused. "Stiles, what are you talking about?"
There was a long pause. "It's... Alex, it's Derek," Stiles said softly. "He's dead."