willow | d. hale [on hold]

49 | argentina

you are going to stand on the couch and look him in the eye.

[ 5.01 ]

All was quiet at Derek's loft — a welcome absence of sound after the last year the pack had. Really, the only sound that could be detected was the occasional sound of Willow turning a page in her textbook or scribbling down words in a notebook. The coffee table, in addition to coffee, was covered in notes, highlighters, and glitter pens.

Finals week had arrived at Beacon Hills, and that meant every moment of Willow's time was spent on academics. If she wasn't studying for her own tests, she was helping Malia or Scott or Liam get ready for theirs.

But for the moment, as she sat on Derek's couch, all she was focused on was her anatomy study guide, which was a nauseating fifteen pages long, front and back — which made Lydia incredibly glad she didn't opt to take two science courses at once. But thankfully, it was the last high school exam that Willow would ever take.

And Derek, knowing how important this particular week was, did his absolute best to be as helpful as possible, doing anything Willow needed. But when she asked him to give her space so she could focus and study, he pouted like a child the entire time. But he did hold off on the affection and distractions for the most part. But the final exam was within sight, and Derek was getting a little impatient.

As Willow for the sixth time in fifteen minutes rubbed her sore head, fighting off a stress headache, and further messed up the already messy braid in her hair, Derek got off his bed where he'd been silently reading — or rather, staring at Willow. But who could blame him when she looked so damn cute wearing one of his shirts like an oversized dress? It was bunched around her thighs and hanging off her shoulder, showing off her neck that he just wanted to devour.

Willow hardly paid Derek any mind as he came up behind her, the back of the couch separating them. She didn't even pull her eyes off her notes when he started to gently rub her tight shoulders.

"Take a break." Willow simply hummed in response, shaking her head as she continued to study. Derek sighed softly and leaned down, placing a kiss to the back of her neck. "Take a break."

"I can't, Der," she said half-heartedly. "I have to pass this anatomy test if I want to graduate."

"Willow, you could make a seventeen and still pass the class with a C," he told her.

But Willow sharply cut her eyes to him. "Make a C? I can't make a C—"

"I sense I've said the wrong thing—"

"Oh, god," Willow whined, looking back at her notes. "I have to be able to label all the major muscles, and don't even get me started on all this vocabulary and the nervous system and—"