Chapter Text
Derek Hale was tired, grumpy, and above all impatient.
The fans outside the pane glass windows had been screaming for hours. They weren’t here for him, although Derek was a celebrity in his own right. They were here for Derek’s uncle, Peter. Derek sat in the chair, observing the screaming mass of people. Most of them were women; most of them were young, foolish, naïve. A few were men, a few were teenagers but all of them were here for Peter. Who, incidentally, wasn’t here for them. Derek glanced at the clock. Peter was late.
As if sensing Derek’s annoyance, Peter came sauntering through the doors. Peter Hale was one of those people who nobody could tame, he would always have a slight arrogance, he would always be happy about that. His ‘sexy’ smile looked more like an evil smirk to Derek, drawing Peter’s lips out into a gesture which was surely unnatural to his uncle. The cameras flashed frantically outside, the people screaming as they pressed themselves against the windows. To have such a squashed nose must have been painful. Derek merely raised his eyebrows.
“Look at them! They love me!”
“I can’t see why.” Derek muttered.
Peter threw a hand into the air in dismissal. His eyes still soaked in the fans, like a sponge filling hungrily with water. When he seemed satisfied with the amount of adoration, he called out to his personal body guards.
“Ok, I’m ready. Let’s start signing.”
The body guards nodded silently, moving forward to open the doors. It was a good job there were so many guards, so much muscle, because the fans were going insane. They filled into the room, some of them weeping, and were led into a side area. This was the queue area; it had those flimsy rails you saw in airports and artificial lighting. Peter sat on a table, around the corner, a board blocking the view. He reached for his pen, smirking again, as the first fan drew near to the table.
“I’m such a big fan! It’s so great to meet you! Your character on the show is just…wow…all the poor things he’s been through!”
“Yeah, I often empathise with him. I face new challenges everyday but still smile through.”
At this, Peter smirked again, obviously counting that as a charming smile. He asked who to sign the photo to and the girl looked positively petrified with glee. Derek stood to the side, watching with loathing. He and Peter were both part of a TV drama about supernatural creatures, mostly werewolves, yet Peter got all the attention. Derek skulked around, signing for the few fans who noticed and wanted to meet him, but decided to head elsewhere after ten minutes.
The mall was hosting the signing event in one of the DVD shops which had the new DVD for Adult Wolves. Derek had always disliked the title of the show but he knew the show itself far exceeded expectations. He walked out of the shop, his hands in his pockets, his frown in place, and headed for the nearest cafeteria. He ordered a sandwich, earning a ‘are you Derek Hale?’ from the customers near him and the cashier, and ate in broody silence. It was at that time a young teenager, a few years younger than Derek, came crashing down a few seats away from him. The teenager was positively ecstatic with energy, his whole face lit up with amusement, his eyes smiling.
“Scott, you will never guess!”
“You met him, haha, Stiles.” The teenager’s friend rolled his eyes.
“Exactly I met him. Peter freaking Hale.”
Scott, who was evidently Stiles’s friend, seemed a little taken aback at this. Scott’s expression was dubious, his eyes narrowed.
“Look, an autograph and everything.” Stiles triumphantly slammed a picture onto the table.
Derek was growing more infuriated as Scott grew more impressed. Scott took the picture, staring at the signature with disbelief. He looked up, beaming, his excitement tangible.
“Did he say anything to you?”
“He said my moles were cute.”
Stiles seemed a little confused by this, blushing anyway. Perhaps, his face was naturally flushed with the adrenaline of having met his idol. Derek’s anger purred inside him, the injustice stinging his nerves, grating on the last one. He walked over to their table, slammed his hands on it, demanding attention. The stunned teenagers glanced up. Stiles’s mouth dropped, he gaped there, trying to move it and failing. He reminded Derek of an endearing or annoying goldfish. Derek couldn’t decide which yet.
“You shouldn’t look up to him. He’s a selfish, smug, arrogant jerk.”
Stiles gawped. Scott seemed to come desperately to the rescue, his brown eyes apologetic and damn that actually worked. Derek’s expression became slightly disgruntled instead of furious.
“We don’t really look up to him.” Scott said, the words spoken pointedly.
Derek frowned again, leaving before he had chance to punch the kid for ridiculing him. Nobody liked him over Peter. Nobody. This was why Derek had a plan in place. He was going to show Peter who was in charge. This was a game of power and Derek was not going to lose. He walked over to the guards, muttering something and flashing a few notes. Their eyes lit up with greed. After all, Derek was part of the same family; they would still be doing their job. A little differently but if that fact made their consciences feel better than so be it.
*
The Hale family are notorious for their drama, yet somehow Stiles never thought that he would be caught in the middle of it. Years ago, Talia Hale and her not-so-famous husband had an argument over their son, Derek. The news articles had reported that the husband had forgotten to book a baby sitter, leaving Derek alone for forty minutes. It had ended so badly that said husband’s car had caught fire. Then, there was that time Laura Hale had announced she wasn’t going to University anymore but joining the family business of acting. She had been seen as one of the most academically gifted of the Hales. Her parents hadn’t been pleased but she’d run away from home, living with friends a few towns over whilst being reported missing. Of course, Peter Hale always flaunted ridiculous style whenever he could, arriving in helicopters and shades. Cora Hale had started her own fighting business, training up young men and women. Peter had disapproved, saying she had a natural gift with acting, often tweeting horrible things about her business. In retaliation, Cora had trashed one of his precious Lamborghinis with a hammer. The picture of glass, wrecked leather and a spray can message on the hood of the car saying ‘tweet that you asshole’ had made the front page of every magazine. Derek Hale was the only one Stiles really admired. Derek was attractive and smart. Derek Hale also played a major role in Adult Wolves, the Hale family preference to star in, which Stiles never failed to miss. All of these things led up to the reason why Stiles had missed his chance to speak when the famous, brooding star had casually stormed to their table.
“Dude, did you see that? I can’t believe I just stared at him!” Stiles groaned.
“He was pretty good-looking.” Scott pointed out.
All the Hale family were good-looking. It was a well-known fact. There must be something in those genes. Stiles dismissed the thought, staring after the direction Derek had walked.
“I can’t believe I missed him at the signing! He was just hanging out here!”
“Yeah, that’s a bit weird.” Scott nodded along.
“I’m going to find him. I’m going to do it. I’ll just walk right up to him and say…”
Stiles trailed off, licking his lips nervously. What would he say? He had no idea what to say! Scott laughed good humouredly, his lips quirking into a smile, his brown eyes shining with amusement.
“That you always say he’s the hottest person on the show, every week, without fail.”
“He’s the hottest person ever.” Stiles emphasized.
Stiles leant forward, his eyes dead serious, his expression of determination one Scott dreaded. Now he was in for a fan rant.
“Did you see those muscles? Rippling, Scott, rippling. I haven’t seen any muscle in our school ripple like that.”
“We have an entire lacrosse team.” Scott protested, his head in his hands.
“Who all sweat and beat me at lacrosse. I’m definitely going to look for him.”
With that, Stiles pushed his seat from the table, stood to his feet, and walked off in the direction which Derek had left. His mind was dead set upon what he had to do. Find Derek. Say hi. Remain calm. Talk. Maybe hug. Life equals over. Waving goodbye to Scott, with an optimistic grin on his face, he didn’t realise it may be over for far more tedious reasons.
*
Derek stood on the side-lines, watching Peter bask in the flashes of each camera, winking at fans, signing away, boasting that he needed a new pen. He glanced over at Derek.
“Ah, brilliant. Yours is full of ink. Pass it here, dear nephew.”
Derek chucked it across the room, aiming for Peter’s eye, but Peter caught it surprisingly well. The smirk never left his lips. Derek discreetly took out his mobile. Peter was busy with the fans but that didn’t mean Derek wasn’t nervous about this. He had always prided himself on being the best one in the family when it came to the no stunts rule. Everybody had broken it apart from him. Now, he was giving in to the family ways. He dialled Cora’s number.
“I’m a little busy now, Derek.” Cora panted, yelling off to the side.
She was in a lesson, teaching her pupils whilst also punching them into pieces. They must be newbies. Derek bit back his annoyance; he would need to if he wanted help on this. Cora was the master at revenge.
“I need your help.”
On the other end of the phone, Cora paused, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear. Her students carried on punching, kicking and jabbing in the background but she was focusing on Derek’s angry tone. Something had obviously gone wrong at the signing. Peter. She climbed down from the boxing ring, ducking the tough ropes, fiddling at the hem of her tank top. On one hand, any chance to get one over on Peter had to be counted as a good thing. On the other, Derek was extremely new to this whole personal vendetta thing. She sighed. The opportunity was too great to miss.
“I’m listening.”
Derek glanced at Peter, who was gazing at him with a quizzical expression. Derek ignored the look, turning his back on his uncle, leaving the man to his fans. His voice was low as
he spoke the idea aloud.
“We’re going to take control of the mall.”
On the other end of the phone, Cora laughed.
“Oh, this is going to be good.” She predicted.