Chapter Text
Back in Beacon Hills !! Just being back is more problematic than Derek ever expected. Nice thing is his Uncle Peter made the return of the entire Hale family as problem free as possible which Derek was thankful. But, why you ask... it can be summed up in one word: Stiles. To catch you up to speed, their Hale family history is convoluted to say the least.
It has now been slightly over four years without his Derek's best friends, Stiles and Scott, and it has been nothing short of torture. The exit from each other's lives was quick, unexpected and confusing. Now that the Hale family is back, Derek's uncle Peter has been trying to help Derek out with his internal struggle that has been coming to a peak over the past few years.
It appears Derek cannot bring himself to come to some sort of resolve about these unfamiliar feelings he has for one friend in particular; Stiles. He has suppressed them for years but with Derek going through puberty, feelings are re-emerging with an unusual intensity; like a giant whale breaching the water's surface.
He does not understand these feelings but they bring a stark emptiness to the center of his chest that he has tried to fill since he last saw Stiles. Having a crazy girlfriend certainly did not help matters much. Along with ill success in the romantic sense comes an unfamiliar anger he does not know what to do with; it needs directed to something or someone. His Uncle Peter has tried to help him with his confusing emotions but Derek was preferring to work this out on his own.
Peter stated he was always there if Derek had any questions about "werewolf puberty" but Derek being Derek, stubborness was all he seemed to wrap his mind around. He did not need any help and he would figure he feelings out on his own.
Derek has tried to fit in for the past 4 years. He has tried to date and he successfully (if that is what you want to call it) dated several girls while he was away. He even tried to have one girlfriend but distance seemed to be a determining factor which made pursuing that any further.
It was something he was not particularly upset about when they parted ways when they moved back to Beacon Hills. All of these efforts the past number of years have proven rather unfruitful. He has tried to do what he could to make the bleak emptiness disappear but with each effort, it became more and more evident that nothing was going to fill that lone open sore spot in his heart.
The girlfriend he had was only something that just took his mind off of other things. He is actually sort of relieved because said girlfriend was kind of getting freakishly jealous. He promised to keep in touch but he preferred to keep his communication with her extremely limited. Rare texting was about all he could tolerate.
So here he is now, nervously sitting on the newly finished steps of the oak wrap-around porch of the restored Hale mansion. Derek had been thinking about the girlfriend that he left behind but it didn't really seem to bother him so much. He was back in Beacon Hills and he had other people whom he needed make amends.
Derek stared out through the fog and into the cold and damp morning mist just before sunrise and is perseverating about what today will bring. He was going to text his exgirlfriend but he decided against it because there was no need to keep that line of communication open.
It is finally the last day of school and next year he will be considered a senior at Beacon Hills High and hopefully this 2 and a hallf month summer break will give him some respite from the gnawing in his gut every time he sees Stiles. his former best friend. It has been odd since his return because Stiles nor Derek have even tried to acknowledge each others existence. Stiles had heard through the rumor mill that Derek had a girlfriend and it did not suprise Stiles at all.
It is odd knowing how close friends that Derek and Stiles were and now they seem to avoid each other at all possible costs. Stiles just did not want to deal with finding out about Derek and his girlfriend. Derek's parents have come close to possibly even intervening and insisting that he get reaquainted with Stiles but they decided it would be best to leave Derek up to his own devices. After 6 months, his parents believe that they may have made a mistake. Derek's parents did not like his old girlfriend in the least and they were hoping their return to Beacon Hills would re-ignite his desire to reach out to old friends.
Derek takes one last look at his phone screen and sets it aside. His Uncle Peter introduced him to a game on his phone called "Words with Friends". His current game was put aside while he took in the new surroundings of the Hale home. He had missed it for so many years. The feeling of "home" is warm and comforting to him and it was only getting stronger the more time he spends there.
He was well aware that this feeling was amplified a hundred-fold when he was with back with his Uncle Peter. Derek had always had a special bond with Peter. However, when he thought of Stiles, there was an unexplainable sense of security and safeness when his best friend was by his side. But that seems like an eternity ago. (4 years!!)
The amplified feeling was lost years ago but is sort of dull and not as strong after his family moved back.
The entire Hale family, thanks mostly to his Uncle Peter, has moved back into the now massive and elegant mansion. Peter had it rebuilt and is now three times as large as before but maintains many of the previous elements of home.
His parents told the family that If they were actually going to make Beacon Hills, Pennsylvania, the central werewolf hub and the official Hale headquarters, the home they needed upon their return would have to be much different than before and Peter took meticulous care to make sure that happened.
This new home resembles the old one, but over the years his uncles bought even more land to accommodate their increasing lycanothropic needs. It has an extensive two room library and research center which Peter made sure had the latest technology and literature available. He also made sure that the Hale documents and books which were almost lost, were also available upon request. The home had two huge modern kitchens with pantries enough to feed an army, various outside vegetable, fruit and herbal gardens, more guest rooms than a motel and direct access to the huge Preserve lake. Peter bought an enmormous amount of surrounding property surrounding the Hale Mansion to make sure hopefully, what happenned before will not happen again.
The mansion has other amenities that not many know about such as secret passageways and hidden rooms within the house, extensive underground tunnels spidering out to various significant landmarks throughout the city. After what happened to the family before, Peter made sure that he would take extreme care with the design of the new mansion. Peter and his husband at the time even started up a business that is something that is much needed for the werewolf community but is also serves as a front for generating finances for the family.
Peter's clever investments and dealings have made the Hale family on of the top financial earners in the state of Pennsylvania. Money was nice to have and it kept flowing in to increase their wealth but it was something that was secondary to the family. It did however allow them to set up a formitable contingent in the tri-state area which became a place where many werewolf packs hoped they could one day be invited over to firm up werewolf relations. The Hale family had been away so long, the leader of the pack, Talia Hale, had taken a backseat to lycanthropic duties all in an effort to protect her husband and the rest of her family. It was imperative that nothing happen to them.
Even though it is going on six months since they have been back to the mansion, Derek has been feeling this pervasive nudging at his consciousness. His inner wolf will not let him settle in and ignore "the call". He is unfamiliar with "the call" and he thought he had experienced it with his former girlfriend but he was told by his parents that what he was experiencing was not actually the call but misdirected hormonal drive. He can tell his parents and older sister Laura know the changes that are occurring within him. Even now, he is just too embarrassed and proud to confront them and ask for help which will eventually lead to his detriment.
He had been told about "the call" but it is confusing to him nonetheless.
He catches his entire family looking at him at times with empathy and it is almost like they want to tell him something that seems to be alluding him but, they remain steadfastly silent. It is made known to him, especially by his Uncle Peter who is rather close to his age, that he always has an ear with which he will listen, a shoulder to cry on. Full transperency was afforded to Derek whether it be his Uncle Peter, a friend, parent or sibling which he could lean on.
He feels like he should talk to them but he honestly does not even know what he would say or how he would even begin the conversation. Peter tried to have an adult conversation with Derek several times but came up against a thick brick wall. Derek innately feels something he cannot describe or put his finger on. How could he speak with anyone when he cannot even put this feeling into words. It is beyond frustrating.
He currently has very few mundane worries especially with the current Hale wealth. He is quite fortunate because when they abruptly moved away four years ago, his family was financially well off at that time. He never had to worry about material things but he never took it for granted.
His uncle Peter and his husband at the time had made brilliant decisions to make sure the Hale pack would have enough to do whatever they wanted to do when they came back. Peter's older sister Talia, the Alpha, had grand ideas about how to expend the pack but also provide a safe haven for werewolves to come and learn more about their history as well as advance their education and learn some new skills which these days, are fairly mandatory with the werewolf hunters still being a problem from time to time.
Derek Hale has everything he could ever want and he is thankful but he also has a sadness that seems to want to drown his soul. Derek's inner wolf is not interested in anything material right now. The nudging at his consciousness feels like something that, when it is revealed, will might feel complete. Like a part of his soul will be whole and not as vacant as it has been for years.
So far, returning to Beacon Hills has just amplified that sense of loss. Going back to school seemed rudimentary and it was always helpful knowing that his Uncle Peter was actually the principal of the Beacon Hills High School.
While clasping the Triskele necklace made from an arrowhead for him years ago, he sips his smooth yet bitter morning coffee and fondly remembers his life when things seemed more clear and carefree; before they moved. Nothing was 'missing' back then. Everything seemed clear and crisp with the help and guidance of his Uncle Peter. Seeing his former best friend Stiles, even from a distance, provided some relief.
When he had his best friend, he could honestly say now and back then, he did not desire anything. Or anyone else for that matter.
Derek had just turned fourteen with his best friend trailing behind him only by a few months. The both of them were constantly over his Uncle Peter and Uncle Sam's cottage for weekend getaways. They all four had an incredible amount of fun and Peter could not help but take a special liking to Stiles. Derek and Stiles were constant companions and the four of them did nearly everything together. He keenly remembers his mother pulling him to the side one day and telling him that one day he would find out just how important this relationship would be.
This was one of many hints that Talia and his father provided Derek hoping he would see what was so special about the person who was right before his eyes.
He never was sure exactly what his parents meant by the word "relationship". It seemed like a word only adults talked about, but it always brought the brightest smile to his handsome face.