The hot, glistening sun was shinning down on the residents of Beacon Hills on a regular summer day. Children were laughing and playing on the playground by the school while the nearby mothers and occasional father lounged around and gossiped about their neighbors and planned their next weekend barbeque. Families were dressed in either flowery sundresses or board shorts while wearing ridiculously sized straw hats as they made their way to the public pool or a nearby beach. Teenagers were scattered throughout town, enjoying their summer session without the ever-so-difficult struggles of homework or teachers who were out to get them.

Stiles barely remembers a time when schoolwork was the most difficult and stressful part of his day. It seems so long ago that school actually mattered to him in the grand scheme of things.

Sitting alone on a distant bench, away from the perpetual smiles and sunshine that lay before him, Stiles can't help but feel both jealous and angry at the idyllic scene of naïve and careless citizens in front of him.

There was a time when he was like them. A time when he had not a care in the world beyond meaningless crushes and making frontline in lacrosse. Not long ago, the town he called home was the place he wished to grow up and raise a family in. The weather, the people, and even the schools all seemed so great to the young boy who was always so cheerful and outgoing. Stiles wished, prayed, and even begged that he could go back to that time. He'd give anything just to be a regular teenager again who had regular friends and regular problems.

After all, regular people weren't responsible for carrying the weight of death, murder, and loss on their shoulders before they were even eighteen.

So as Stiles sat on the wooden bench, he observed everyone as they passed by, noting one common mood that they all seemed to share.

Blissful happiness.

Unfortunately for Stiles, happiness is something that he hasn't felt in a very long time. Sure, he's been able to put on a smile or two when anyone asks if he's ok, and no one is better than Stiles when it comes to putting on a brave face when other people need him to, but genuine happiness has not been present within the young man for quite awhile. Every reassuring face he has plastered on, and every pleasantry he has exchanged have all just been part of a carousal of well-constructed masks to hide the truth.

The truth that the great Stiles Stilinski, the dependable optimist, had been broken.

Ever since the Nogitsune possessed him, Stiles has not been the same. Haunted is the easy way to describe what has become of the boy that once was, and slowly he has been falling into an even greater darkness that has overwhelmed him. Plagued by nightmares of what he did while under the control of the Nogitsune, it has been impossible for Stiles to recover from the traumatic event that saw him kill and hurt many people, including his friends and family.

Including Allison.

He can't close his eyes without seeing the bloodshed and death that this town witnessed while the Nogitsune went on its rampage. It doesn't help that his group of friends has been fractured to the point that he doesn't know if they can ever be fixed.

Issac disappeared shortly after Allison's death with her father to do god knows what, and has not been seen or heard from since. Likewise, Ethan also left town after his brother died, needing to move past the terror that seems to come from living in Beacon Hills.

Lydia has nearly closed herself off from the rest of the group and nearly fights back tears whenever she's around any of them. After losing both her best friend and boyfriend, no one blames her for wanting to leave all this stuff behind. Unfortunately, any semblance of a normal life seems impossible at this point for the young girl.

Kira avoids most of them due to her own guilt and shame over the incident and her mother's involvement with the Oni. Occasionally she was seen with Scott in the halls while school was still in session, though Stiles hasn't seen much of her since the summer began.

Even Danny has been avoiding everyone after Ethan left, rightfully not wanting to get involved in any supernatural matters that bring nothing but pain and suffering.

The worst however has been Scott. Of all people, his best friend has been the most difficult person he's tried to face.

No matter how many people who tell Stiles that this wasn't his fault, that it was the Nogitsune that caused everything, he still blames himself. It was still him who was controlled by this, thing.

It was him who took control of the Oni away from Kira's mother and massacred a police station and a hospital.

It was him who got Allison killed.

Looking Scott in the eyes for the first time after Allison died was the hardest thing Stiles ever had to do. The pain and suffering that filled every part of Scott's being culminated in the most devastating look Stiles had ever seen in the eyes of his childhood friend.

This grief that Stiles believed he caused Scott to feel leaches onto his conscious every waking moment, and the eyes that Stiles looked into that day have been branded into his memory.

This is why Stiles has not looked Scott in the eyes since.

Thinking back on everything that has happened, Stiles doesn't know how it all managed to get so screwed up. He doesn't understand how a group so close as his group of friends could have its foundation destroyed so quickly.

He simply doesn't know what to do.

Stiles is the one who is suppose to have all the answers. He's supposed to be there for everyone to depend on and to help. He's the support system that anyone can turn to looking for help.

Recently though, he has been nothing.

No longer a shoulder to cry on, an ear to talk to, or a body to hug, The connection that Stiles had with almost every person he cared about has fallen apart, and he doesn't know how to get it back. Doesn't even know if he ever can. The guilt makes him believe that he doesn't really deserve to anyways.

All he knows is that he's lost and alone, and no one can help him.

No one can fix what he's done.

After begrudgingly helping a girl retrieve her kite from a tree, Derek continued walking through the park as he headed to Scott's house to see how the teenage alpha was holding up. The boy had obviously been distraught from the whole ordeal with the Nogitsune and Allison, and Derek was worried that Scott still hadn't recovered from everything.

Although he doesn't openly admit it, Derek cares about Scott's well being, and doesn't like seeing how badly Allison's death has affected Scott and his friends.

While passing a man trying to tie his son's shoe while the mother retrieves the other shoe from a pond, Derek is suddenly hit with a gut wrenching smell that's strong enough to stop him in his tracks.

Looking around, he notices that it's coming from a bench slightly in the distance. A man with his back facing Derek sits with his head in his hands, and when listening closely, Derek can hear the slight sound of crying coming from that direction.

Derek knows he should just ignore the sight and continue on with his own business, but the smell is so overpowering that he finds himself questioning what to do.

Complete and utter misery is radiating off of the man ahead of him, and Derek can smell the shame and hopelessness that is within him.

Derek knows this pain. He knows this smell.

Guilt.

Anguish.

Loss.

Instantly, Derek can relate to this man's life, knowing that he went through what Derek went through with his own family. The feeling of responsibility over the death of those you love, being helpless to those that need you, and knowing there's nothing you can do to change the past are all things Derek understands completely.

Without realizing, Derek has been subconsciously walking over to the bench as he's contemplated just how tragic this man's life must be to put off such a scent. As he approaches the man, another scent soon overcomes him that stops him once again in his own tracks.

He can smell Stiles.

Initially masked by the smell of his emotions, Derek realizes that it is Stiles who is sitting alone on the bench, and his heart immediately breaks for the boy who should never experience feelings like this at such a young age, or hell, even ever.

Confused even more now and only a few feet from the kid, Derek doesn't know if he should walk away or check to see how the boy's doing. Truth be told, him and Stiles have always had a difficult relationship when it came to understanding each other, and Derek tended to get easily annoyed with his antics, but Derek couldn't just leave the kid here, could he?

Fortunately, or unfortunately for Derek, the decision was made for him when Stiles felt like he was being watched and turned around to see Derek standing behind him.

"Derek! What are you doing here?" Stiles nearly shouted as he frantically wiped at his eyes. Having Derek see him cry was not on his to do list for today.

" I, uh…" Derek mumbled, trying desperately to figure out what to say after being caught off guard. " I was going to Scott's to see if he was doing okay."

"Oh, ok then." Stiles said, not sure what exactly to say to the normally cold wolf.

The two stood there silently for what seemed like minutes, which equated to actually be about eight seconds, while looking at everything and anything besides each other.

"So how are you doing?" Derek finally spoke up.

"I'm fine." Stiles blurted out a little to quickly to go unnoticed.

"You don't look fine."

"Well I am." Stiles forced on one of his trademarked grins before staring at the ground, hoping it was good enough to please the werewolf so he left.

"You were crying." Derek spoke softly, clearly uncomfortable with this conversation, and unsure exactly how much to push the kid.

"Did you do that werewolf sense thing and listen to me?" Stiles questioned.

"I smelled you."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean I could smell your emotions." Derek didn't like where this conversation was headed, but felt like he needed to at least try and help. "I know everyone's still dealing with the Allison situation, and I could smell your guilt and pain."

After a few seconds, Stiles finally looked up from the ground and directly at Derek, eyes starting to tear all over again.

"It's not a situation... She's dead, and she's never coming back." Stiles lip quivered as he stopped to take a deep breath. "It's all because of me." Stiles voice was barely a whisper at this point, as he went to sit back down on the bench.

Once again facing Stiles' back, Derek didn't know what to do. Slowly, he made his way to the other side of the bench as he sat down next Stiles, keeping a fair distance between them.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, Stiles occasionally wiping at his eyes, as neither really knew what to say or do in this circumstance. Finally, Derek spoke up, hoping to calm Stiles down a little.

"It's not your fault."

Gradually, Stiles turned to look up at Derek with fresh tears streaming down his face, bearing no pretence of being "fine" anymore.

"That's what everyone keeps saying, but why don't I feel like that's the case. I can tell they all look at me differently, and I know that deep down they will always see me as the monster that killed Allison and everyone else." Word Vomit. All Stiles could define this uncontrolled outburst as is word vomit. However, he didn't care, he just needed someone to understand and listen to him for once. So he pushed forward and continued to let everything pour out of him.

" If it's not my fault, why has everyone left me? Why has everyone abandoned me? Why is every one of my friends gone?" Stiles was having a complete breakdown at this point, and couldn't stop himself from sobbing any longer. He was tired of everyone pretending that they didn't blame him, and that they were just lying to protect him. He knew the truth, and the truth was that he was a murderer.

Derek was frozen in place as he watched Stiles openly weep in front of him. He's been so focused on making sure Scott's had support in order to get through this, but he never thought about how Stiles might have been handling everything. It made sense to Derek that Stiles would blame himself for all the death and chaos, as it was him that was taken over by the Nogitsune. Derek realizes that the kid has a point in that looking at him does remind people of what happened. Seeing the face that represented terror and death will cause traumatized people to avoid him, and although it may not have been Stiles himself, it was still his body being used. However, everyone knows it's not Stiles' fault for what happened, and no one honestly blames him. Derek wished Stiles would understand that, and he felt like an idiot for not thinking about how badly Stiles was coping with his friend's death.

Derek wasn't sure how to convey this to a distraught Stiles, so he did the only thing he could think.

Before Stiles could react, Derek slide over to him and pulled him into what Stiles could only describe as the tightest bear, or wolf, hug he's ever experienced. After the initial shock wore off a bit, Stiles leaned his head against Derek's shoulder as his sobbing subsided and his breathing started to return to normal.

Derek listened closely as he heard Stiles' heartbeat slow down and crying soften. His shoulder was damp as tears seeped through his t-shirt, but all he was focused on was making sure Stiles felt that he was there for him. When Derek was in this position, all he wanted was for someone to help and understand him, but he had no one. Derek was going to make sure that Stiles doesn't go through this alone.

He's going to make sure that he's going to be there whenever he needs him.

As he started to calm down and gain slight composure, Stiles slid his head from Derek's shoulder to his chest. Soon he found himself listening to Derek's steady heartbeat, which served as an effective distraction from all the thoughts that have been running through his head.

At one point, Stiles moved his hand to rest it on Derek's thigh, noticing the wolf stiffen as his heartbeat skip a beat. Stiles couldn't help but smile to himself at his own amusement of Derek feeling uncomfortable.

For the first time in a long time, that was Stiles' most genuine smile.

Hopefully with Derek, he would need no more masks.

Hey, this is my first official fanfiction writing ever! So hope you guys enjoy :)

If there's any spelling mistakes or any really dumb thing I messed up, feel free to let me know. I edited this on way to little sleep, and probably made it worse than it was before.

Also, I intended to make this a one-shot, as it's my first attempt at Teen Wolf fan fiction, but if you guys like it and review it, I may expand on it a little with more chapters, so please leave reviews if you can. I would LOVE feedback and critique.