METAMORPHOSIS • DEREK HALE [COMPLETED]

Epilogue

Moments. They often come and go, but Alex wanted this one to last. Standing next to Derek's side, hand in hand, they shared a last look at the loft. With everything they needed, the few possessions the two had accrued, packed in the car, they were bound for a trip that would settle the questions about the revelating news Gerard revealed to them nearly two months ago.

It had taken awhile to find him, including a series of rifling through adoption papers, family trees, and even social media sites to find him. But they did it.

Braeden had become a close friend to them all, and with her help, they got access to those documents along with copies of Alex's identity records.

Leaving the Calaveras had left her without her driver's license and social security card, and she was grateful to get those back. Although with leaving them gave her a lifetime of constant paranoia and fear, it also brought her to her friends.

The heavy feeling of saying goodbye to Scott, Stiles, and Lydia still hung with her, but she knew it wouldn't be the last time she would see them. Her and Derek had vowed to return to Beacon Hills, but they both had the urge to travel, to see a new set of horizons.

Turning from the empty loft, they both shared a warm smile and few words before leaving. They walked slowly down the few flights it took to reach the parking lot, and a thought from the night in Mexico came back to Derek's mind. It was one he didn't forget, but it was pushed to the back of his mind following the strings of events that followed the revelation of the other Demontra. It was the thought that he wanted to wait for the right moment to bring up it again. Yet as the days seemed to pass, he realized there wasn't going to be a right moment, and he didn't want to miss his chance to tell her.

"Alex, do you remember that night in Mexico? When everything happened?"

"Vividly," the brunette nodded, yet she rose a curious eyebrow, "How come?"

"There was something I wanted to tell you, but I never got the chance to," he paused at the passenger side of the door, his fingers lightly scratching the back of his neck as he felt his heart rate pick up.

Heart racing and blood rushing to his cheeks, tinting them a light pink, were unfamiliar feelings to him. Not new, but ones that he hadn't felt in years. But he had never been this nervous in front of a girl before.

"What is it," Alex looked up at him, her voice warm.

"I love you," he nearly blurted, the words coming out in a string without pauses, but Alex knew the meaning all the same.

Her expression though, caught him off guard. It was blank at first, guarded for a split second as she processed the words. Yet when they settled, a slow grin spread over her face, her blue eyes growing ever so wide. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her height rising to match his as she shifted to her tip toes.

It was a moment she didn't want to forget either.

"Derek I love you too," she uttered. Her breath warm on his ear, she then changed her stance to see him. His green eyes on hers, he smiled, knowing that he had found his moment of happiness that wasn't going to end anytime soon.

He pressed his lips to hers, tasting her minty chapstick and smiling in the kiss when she kissed back. Her hands soon became entangled in his hair, pulling herself closer to him as she felt butterflies erupt in stomach.

They both lost track of time spent in each other's embrace, the already dim sky turning a dark, nightly shade. Neither knew when they parted, but they later found themselves climbing into the car with the sun dipping below the western horizon. With a map on the southern side of the United States and an X marking their destination and a line guiding them to the spot plopped on the console between them, they were just beginning to embark on a two day long journey to meet him.

Both were at a loss for what to expect when it came to actually meeting him, but as long as they knew that he was okay, it would be enough for them. It would be enough for Alex to put her mind at ease. Yet chances were slim for him to not have encountered a supernatural existence given his residency.

The majority of the car ride was spent with long talks of their past travels and comfortable silences within each other's company, alternative music playing quietly in the background. It was a good change of scenery for the two of them; it was a way for the both of them to shed off the weight of their pasts knowing that they had a bright future ahead.

Two days had passed, the only stops were to sleep soundly in random hotels and to stretch their legs ever so often, yet when they passed the welcoming signs of Louisiana and eventually New Orleans, a new sense of adrenaline began to course through Alex's veins.

She was nervous yet excited all the same.

It took them a couple of days to settle into the new rented apartment. Neither knew how long they would be staying in the buzzing city, yet the small apartment seemed reasonable given its proximity near the heart of the city.

And although their settling time went by fast, finding him took longer than expected.

They knew he lived in the French Quarter and worked at a popular bar within it, yet when it came it to approaching him, Alex found that feat difficult to overcome. How could she possibly tell someone to stay clear anything that could turn you into a supernatural creature if they didn't already know?

The day came though on one of the seemingly hottest days of Louisiana, or it was just the adrenaline coursing through her veins that caused her temperature to rise. But with Derek by her side, she felt more at ease.

They stepped inside of a bar named Rousseau's, a light bell ringing overhead as the door swung open. They were great with the sound of jazz music in the background and the warm smell of food, but the bar was empty in the middle day lull. A calm before the storm.

Alex and Derek studied the interior, looking for a sign, a scent, until a person came into view, and they knew. 

He stood behind the bar, having come from an opening leading to the back of it. Dressed in a sweater and a t-shirt, he greeted them as a draft began to pick up their scents within the air. Both Alex and Derek knew he wasn't entirely human from the faint trace, yet she stopped when she noticed that he knew as well.

His eyes burning a sudden purple and his casual greeting falling short, Alex froze on the spot.

"Who are you," he asked, voice wavering as his eyes returned to a brown shade.

Alex tried to respond with her name, but all she could sputter out was his in shock that they had finally met.

"Jack Gansey."

COMPLETED: 8/1/16