Teen Vamp

Chapter 2 - I'm Ready To Say I'm Glad To Be Alive

***DEREK***

After Kate Argent screwed me over in more ways than one, I never thought I'd enjoy a woman's touch again. Skylar Renard, however, has changed that.

Since she and her brother arrived in Beacon Hills on Memorial Day weekend, they've stayed in my loft, in secret (from everyone outside my pack, that is.) All through June, they've officially been nestling in sleeping bags in my room (for some reason, neither of them would take my bed.) Then, after Hunter's relationship with Danny fell apart (no surprise there), he took to sneaking out and spending the night with Stiles. He's been uncharacteristically silent about the particulars of what he and our favorite fresh vampire get up to. It doesn't matter to me, though, unless it's not mutually agreeable. Which, technically, it can't be because both boys are underage, but against my better judgment, I trust that Hunter won't hurt Stiles. Vice versa, though, that's another story.

In the meantime, while Hunter's been...exploring, I've been getting closer to Skylar. She doesn't sleep much at night - if at all, really - so I've been finding myself staying up pretty late pretty often to keep her company. We've talked a lot, learned each other's life stories - as much as we're comfortable telling each other, and there's not a lot we've kept hidden, I don't think.

It also turns out she's a big fan of Under the Dome - something we have in common, to my surprise. Last week, after the season premiere, she fell asleep with her head on my shoulder and her arms wrapped around me. Awkwardly, I stood up with her still clinging to my body and went to bed, unable to even take off my clothes without removing her - and she looked so sweet and gentle, completely at odds with everything I ever learned about vampires, that I didn't even want to. In the morning, when I woke up sweating through my shirt and alone in bed, I realized how much I actually craved her contact.

Last night, Skylar told me she was ready to take the next step. For the first time, I shared myself with a woman who truly wanted me as much as I wanted her. You wouldn't believe how liberating it was, letting her through my guarded outer shells and feeling those barriers break down for her.

And Stiles thinks I'm a sour wolf.

Again, I wake up and she's already out of bed. I hear the sound of the toaster doing what it was made to do, and I slide off the mattress, grabbing my underwear and my jeans and putting them on before coming out of my room. My shirt is missing, but I have a shrewd idea where I can find it. Yep - Skylar's wearing it.

"Bonjour, monsieur," she says, grinning and waving at me - I notice she's got the sleeves on my shirt rolled up so she can wear it properly. "Wheat toast? I'm never not happy you've got that on hand."

"It's...um, it's healthier than white," I say. Jesus, Derek, get all tongue-tied around a pretty girl like you're sixteen again, why don't you?

"Oh, I just love the way the whole grains feel on my tongue," she says.

"That's not the only thing you like on your tongue, is it?" I send her a wink.

She laughs, the sound as beautiful as she is, then looks down at my shirt. "Hmm. This isn't really my style." She strips down to her bra, revealing a small line of dark pink on her collarbone. She asked me to scratch her last night, and I was only too happy to oblige. I even have nearly identical scratch marks on my back, marks I can still feel because they haven't healed yet. Personally, I'd have preferred to have bitten her, because that's how we werewolves really get into it (just ask Scott and Allison...or rather don't), but that would have risked turning her. Scratching involves less exchange of bodily fluids, so it's safer. It's like the same pros and cons of condom use for humans - it's less satisfying but more healthy to go with than without.