That Girl (A Derek Hale Love Story)

Chapter 11

EDITED

"You're fast." Derek sighed as he took of his black jacket and threw it onto the old worn out couch. "Faster than the alpha probably expects for someone so small." He hid his smirk by keeping his back to her, but he had taken enough notice of her to know she probably had a glare on her face. "You can use that."

"Sounds like you're telling me to run."

Derek scoffed and turned to face her, "Haylie, that's exactly what I'm telling you to do." He knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear so he held up a hand to stop her protest. "If you want me to teach you something useful, I will. But it isn't to fight."

She nodded, not accepting it but willing to listen. "Okay, so I'm fast." She motioned with her hand for him to elaborate while taking a seat on a non-broken chair. It was odd how comfortable she suddenly had become in a house filled with ghosts of Derek's past. Even as her eyes fell on all the broken pieces of house littered around them, she felt why it was home to him.

"There would be no point in you trying to outrun him completely. But as long as you can think rationally, you can run to something that could help until I can get to you." She was about to protest again, not liking the idea of her always being a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. However, he continued, not taking notice of her denial. "Think about small spaces. He's big and he wouldn't take a chance shifting to his human form to get to you."

"In case I recognise him?"

"In case you can identify him. There's a difference." Haylie nodded along, suddenly very interested in what he had to say. "We know he's smart, he picks his battles wisely."

This time she made sure she could interrupt, not wanting to pretend she understood something she didn't. This wasn't school, this was survival. "Stop, what does that mean?"

Derek folded his arms and looked above her head to the woods. "It means he took off yesterday instead of finishing the job. He saw a reason to wait to get to you instead of continue fighting with me."

Haylie sighed and lent back a little in the chair. "I don't suppose he could have just realised I'm harmless?" He didn't acknowledge the sarcasm, just shook his head. "Okay so he's smart. I'm fast and can fit into small spaces. It sounds like your making it a mind game."

"This isn't a game Haylie." He spoke with such determination that she was nearly insulted. "This is your life, you asked me to help you defend it."

"What you're telling me isn't useful." He watched her stand up, the annoyance towards each other both showing in their misunderstanding. "You're trying to teach me how to run and hide and wait for you to come and save me. What if you don't?" At the question, Derek frowned. She had doubts that he would protect her, which made sense considering how little she knew about him, but he didn't realise how much he wanted her trust until now.

"Okay. You want something useful." He mumbled before opening a beat-up drawer and pulling out a small blade. "Here you are." He picked up her wrist and slapped the knife into her hand. Haylie looked down to her hand, half covered by the thin black material of her thin jacket. "Why don't you take a swing?"

She snapped her eyes back up to him to see he was incredibly serious. "What do you mean? You want me to stab you?"

Derek let out a small laugh with a nod. "I'd like to see you try; I can't imagine the blade will get close to my skin. Humour me."

Behind the seriousness, hid denial. Haylie could see it in the way his lips curled just a little at the corners and his body stayed so relaxed considering he asked to be stabbed. Haylie looked back the blade, shaped into a perfect point and wrapped her fingers round the black handle, her thumb turning white on top of her knuckles. "Here," Derek reached forward again and pulled the knife from her hand, turning it to face the other way. "Hold it like this, its easier at close range when you want to use it."

He expected her to hold it in front of her chest, but instead she still let her arm fall to her side, examining his body for where to attack. "Where?"

"Anywhere but the heart." He watched her carefully, not bothering to hide the humour he was finding in this situation. Her brown eyes scanning his torso. Her bottom lip slightly tucked in from the teeth biting on it. Her hand clenched so tightly around the knife, afraid she was going to drop it and embarrass herself. He hadn't realised when her eyes had lifted to his face and she saw his focus elsewhere. Of course, it wasn't enough to catch him of guard when she lifted her arm quickly to her chest with plans of throwing it into his shoulder.

Derek's hand caught her wrist the second it was at her chest and used it to pull her body up against his, so she was unable to move her hand from his grip. "I know you're stronger than that." He said, his breath fanning against the face that was now stuck looking at his own. "I didn't catch your wrist because I'm quick, I caught it because you froze."

Of course, she was aware she had frozen. Although, she didn't have time to react to the freezing before he had pulled her body so tightly it made her frozen state begin to warm. "You still think you want to do this?" He asked, his eyes falling down to her lips. When she saw where his focus went, it took everything inside of her to give two short nods.

"Let me go." The words were meant to sound firm but instead she was too focused on the shivers running up her spine and her legs now loosing some strength. While Derek knew her voice wasn't convincing, he still let her go. More for his own benefit.

"Physically, you're strong." He stated and began to move behind her as she regained her composure. "But mentally, you couldn't hurt a fly." He watched her from behind as her head had fallen to her weak legs. Her heart was beating fast and he knew it was from the closeness of his breath on the back of her neck. "You're a ballerina, right?" He asked but, of course, knew the answer from following her to the studio early this morning. "So, you have strength in you already. Mentally and Physically, it's just up to you on how you use it."

Haylie listened carefully, knowing he was standing behind her to pre-empt whatever move she was going to make. He had told her she was strong and fast, but both knew those two things wouldn't mean anything unless she held just one other quality and when the knife hit the floor and she turned to face him, they knew she didn't have it. "I can run and hide that's no problem. But I'm not brave. So, what if you don't come?"

Derek looked down to her smooth face, her eyes searching his for something honest even though it was all he was showing her. "I need to trust me." She liked how his voice had dropped into more of a whisper, maybe to appear calmer. "I won't let anything bad happen to you. I will always be there."

She was conflicted on the right thing to do. Trusting him seemed like a bad idea on all basis of the fact he had lied to her, she barely knew him, he wasn't human however, she couldn't help the fact she did. She began to nod again, her eyes still searching his until they dipped down to her lips like they had done previously. When another moment had passed without either moving or saying a word, Haylie wondered how it would feel to kiss him. She wondered if it would set her world on fire.

Derek felt in a haze of his own, he wanted to kiss her so bad that he didn't even register when his head dropped a little to fall closer to hers. Although, the second he did, Haylie looked down to her feet and took a step back. "I should go. I have another class."

He straightened himself immediately. He had wanted to kiss her and knew she wanted to kiss him. So, the fact that she moved away meant she still didn't trust him, and she had no idea the trust he was placing in her and the risks he was taking. It brought him to the realisation he should have had from the beginning. She was just a kid. While only 4 years younger, she was incredibly naïve and predictable. Although, when she lifted her head back up again and forced their eyes to meet once more, he decided he didn't care about either of those things. Her brown eyes had a power that left him completely hypnotised.