Need

Chapter 10

Stiles

Jhene sobbed into my shoulder and I rubbed her back. I tried to hold back tears. I didn't even know the kid, he had tried to attack me, but he was so young... I thought. I felt so bad for Jhene, all of her family was gone except for her evil murderous stepfather. I looked up and saw Derek staring...caringly... towards me. I tried to smile at him, but I had to sniff and it turned out weird. He bit his bottom lip and nodded his head at the door. My stomach jumped around and my heart beat a little faster. I pulled back from Jhene and tried to smile. It turned out like a grimace. I passed her over to Liam who gave her a kiss on her forehead. I smiled, they were really cute. He was good for her.

I followed Derek out the door giving Cora a quick eye roll when she gave me a teasing look. She hadn't heard us fucking...making out, right?  It was possible, she was a werewolf so she had superhearing and her room was right next to ours... I pushed the thought out of my mind. I sniffed.

"You ok?" Derek asked. Under different circumstances, I would of thought he asked just as common courtesy. But now I could hear the feeling in the back of his voice, and I was sure it was more than that. I wanted to be sure, anyway. 

"I'm fine," I assured him. He gave me a sideways grin.

"Wanna get out of here?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow. 

"And go where?" I questioned. Derek wanted to go somewhere...with me? 

"I saw a bar a couple of minutes from here," He told me. I held back a grin but failed eventually.

"Sure!" I said excitedly, "I mean uh, yeah, ok," I fixed it, blushing. Derek chuckled in a low tone and it sent chills up my spine. I really hoped he wasn't paying attention to how fast my heart was beating. I had a flurry of chills run down my spine, as he placed his hand on the small of my back and led me out the door. Derek texted Cora and told her we were heading out, and then we jumped into the jeep and drove off. Derek directed me to the place he had spotted and in about three minutes we arrived at Jack's Bar. It looked like something you would find in Vegas; bright neon signs and flashing lights. It was a bit corny and odd, but we went in anyway. I sat down at a barstool and ordered a water. I didn't really want to get drunk tonight because I didn't want one more thing for everyone to deal with. Derek ordered a beer and sat down next to me. 

"Do you think Jhene will bounce back from this? You know her better than I do," He asked. I looked over at him and into his hazel eyes. I shrugged.

"I'm not sure, I hope so. She seems like the type to do that," I told him. He nodded.

"How are you, really?" He questioned. I took a deep breath. I was about to tell him I was fine, but he cut me off before I started. "Sti, be honest," He told me. I snorted. 

"You're calling me Sti now?"I asked. He rolled his eyes at me.

"You didn't answer the question," He told me. I sighed.

"I guess I'm sad. He was just a kid, and even though he didn't have the best intentions he shouldn't of died. To be honest, I want to fine Zeke even more now," I told him, finally opening up. He put his warm hand on top of mine. 

"We will,"

Derek

I didn't want to show Stiles how much I cared. The nickname just slipped out. I held his hand because it always made me feel better to hold his hand. I wasn't going to think about how this moved the relationship --that I felt like should stall, because of the repercussions that it could have on the group-- forward. But he looked so sad. He looked alone, and I wanted him to know he wasn't. Stiles looked over at me with those big brown eyes and I felt chills roll up and down my spine. 

"You don't know that, what if he's not even in this fucking dimension? What if this is the one 'big bad' we just can't beat, Derek?" He said, the frustration in his voice barley masking the worry.

"If you think like that, it's more likely to happen," I told him, nudging him with my elbow. I was trying to lighten the mood. He gave me a worried stare and I knew he wasn't in the mood for jokes. "It's going to be fine, the only reason that we beat anything, is because we stuck together, because we're a pack," I assured him. He shook his head.

"But we aren't together, Scott, Lydia, and Malia are all missing," He protested. I shook my head.

"It's going to work out, it always does," I told him. I squeezed his hand and he let out a deep breath, turning to me. I knew what was coming. He wanted to talk about the kiss. Personally, I was as confused as he was. Sure Stiles was cute, sure he made me laugh, sure his crooked smile made my internal organs do flips and hearing his voice made me smile, and his eyes were so beautiful. What was wrong with me? In the past, I had fallen for people, no doubt about it, but not like this. I didn't fucking swoon. 

"So-" He started but a young boy, probably fifteen, interrupted. He was scrawny and below average height, with dirty blond hair. Stiles jumped and a low growl rotated in my throat. I realized the kid was human, and probably didn't pose much of a threat. I stopped growling before he freaked out.

"You guys looking for Zeke?" he said breathlessly. I raised my eyebrows expectantly. 

"Uh, hi...who are you?" Stiles asked. The kid laughed.

"Sorry, I'm Maliki. My brother...well he was like you," He said looking at me. "And in the early stages of the hybrids, he tried to turn him into one of those things, but t didn't work," He said somberly. I was surprised he was being so trusting.

"What makes you think you can trust us?" I inquired. Maliki looked down. 

"Well, I was listening to you guys talk--sorry by the way-- and I heard you mention Zeke. Then I heard you mention Scott? As in Scott Mccall? The True Alpha?" He asked. Me and Stiles nodded. "Anyway, if you want to beat Zeke, I want to help," he said bluntly. I laughed.

"You want to help?" I asked. Stiles kicked my shin. 

"Well, we do need some assistance," He said at the same time I said:

"You would probably get killed," Stiles gave me a lazor glare. 

"Look I know I probably don't seem trustworthy, or seem like I would do good at all in a fight, but I tried to get my brother from Zeke. I spent two whole days in the air ducts in that place. I can fit into small spaces really well, and I know that place pretty well," He told us. As he said this I listened to his heartbeat. He was telling the truth.

"Fine," I told him. "You can sleep in Liam's room," I told him. I got a text on my phone from Cora, saying we should come back. "We should head back," I told them. We got up and jumped into the Jeep, Maliki in the back, and tried to think up ways to introduce him without him seeming highly suspicious.