The weather was nice. Compared to California, Hawaii weather was amazing, at least in his opinion and his dads'. Also, to highlight even more, they were closer to the beach than they've ever been, which meant they could go swimming at any time, besides dusk that is.

About two weeks into the well-deserved vacation, his dad announced that he was heading back, as he, the Sheriff, "had a duty to uphold". Although a little upset his dad couldn't stay longer, he was equally glad that he became Scott-free of all Beacon Hills responsibilities, no matter how terrible that sounded.

Danny's aunt, Maddie as she insisted on being called, had absolutely no problem with Stiles spending the rest of the summer with her. She admitted that it was nice to have someone besides her and her husband in the house, and she went as far as convincing the local music shop owner to give Stiles a part-time job that wasn't being offered.

After the music shop job was given to him, Stiles had an easier time relaxing and opening up to the inhabitants. Eventually he joined a well-established friend group and they, mostly Keanu, taught him how to surf. At first he denied all aspects of learning due to his insane lack of balance and the need of a certain level of concentrating But after a week of watching the others have fun, and getting bored of cheering them on by himself, he gave in. Keanu actually started him out on land by laying down a board and showed him where to position his feet. Once he figured that out, Keanu's girlfriend Akela helped him with balance by setting up a fallen log and telling him to walk across it. At some point she, the other two guys Mason and Brad, and the other girl Haukea started moving the log back and forth gently so he could get used to being under something that's moving.

The first time Stiles got out and into the Pacific Ocean, he completely wiped out, not even being able to stand up. By the end of that day though, he was able to at least stand up for a few minutes. In celebration of that, the group had gone out and went cliff diving, which Stiles will never forget. When he had gotten home that night, his cheeks hurt and Maddie commented saying that he seemed so much happier than he had been when he had arrived and she was extremely glad that he has been able to relax. Stiles had nodded and agreed, because for the first time in a while he truly was relaxed. There was nothing to worry about, nothing to stress about, nothing to anticipate. His nightmares were increasingly rare, and sleep became nothing short of easy.

But now countless amounts of footsteps passed, some in a hurry and others taking their time. Among those echoed his own footsteps which came to a sudden halt, as if another step wasn't physically possible. Stiles breathed in deeply, smiling wildly at the small group of welcomers just a few feet in front of him.

And then his feet unfroze, and he ran dropping his bag just before stopping right in front of them.

"Hey dad…"

"Son." With a wide grin, his father was the first to hug him, nearly suffocating him with a tight squeeze. Next up was Scott, who literally knocked the two of them on the ground with his enthusiasm. Laughing, Stiles patted Scott on the back. "Scotty, my man, let me up you great big lug."Smiling, Scott jumped off of him and reached out a hand to pull him up. "Dude you're so tan."

Once upright, Stiles brushed off the back of his pants from any potential embarrassing dirt marks. "Hey Lydia." The strawberry blonde lightly smiled at him before rushing into his arms. With a small 'oof' sound, Stiles wrapped his arms around her. "I missed you too." He whispered into her ear before pulling away.

Letting out a sign, Stiles let tension run out of his shoulders. "So...curly fries for lunch? He questioned with hope shining in his eyes, which in turn caused his dad to burst into laughter.

"How'd I know? Come on." His dad motioned with his head, grabbing one of Stiles's suitcase. "I have a table reserved at 'Yours Truly'. And you guys can come too. Scott whooped and flung an arm across Stiles's shoulders, who just laughed.

"Curly fries here I come!" He said gleefully, definitely ready for his all-time favorite food.

"I call shotgun!" Lydia claimed, or more like demanded, which got another set of laughs going.

"I get handgun!" Stiles imitated her the best he could, which got him a punch in his shoulder.

After a very lengthy lunch drawn out about Stiles just catching up and sharing stories of his own, Lydia kissed him on the cheek and left, blushing profusely after saying she had promised Jackson she would sleep over since his parents weren't home at the moment. Scott had volunteered to help him unpack, but said that he was later meeting up with Kira, since they were going to try dinner with her parents again after it epically failed the first time. Happily, Stiles agreed and said that having someone to be a servant wouldn't be bad, even if it was only for a short amount of time. This resulted in yet another punch to his shoulder.

Very little unpacking got done. The two of them got distracted by the video games neither of them have been able to play together for three months. At some point amidst their yelling, Stiles's dad came in and told them that the neighbors called and said to settle down. A few minutes after that, Scott had gotten a text and bowed out, saying he'll be back tomorrow and just the two of them will hang out.

Finally turning off his Xbox, Stiles set up some music and actually started to put his things away. When he was a third of the way through though, his stomach grumbled and, glancing at the time, decided it was definitely time for dinner.

Laughing Stiles closed the refrigerator door that he opened upon sliding into the kitchen. "Forget I was coming home?" His dad, looking a little shocked, turned around and pointed at the now-closed door.

"I-" A grimace or realization came to his face and he lowered his finger. "Oops?"

"Don't worry. I'll go get something right now for me, and stop by after school Monday for actual food. No more take-out!" Stiles teased, grabbing the keys off the hook. "I'll be right back" Saluting, he sing-songed his way out of the house.

Humming, Stiles turned on the radio as soon as his jeep was started. Once on the road, he turned a left, and then a right before pulling into the gas station parking lot. By then, he was singing loudly along with the recent pop song.

Shutting off the engine also killed his singing, so Stiles mouthed the rest of the words to the song. In the corner of his eye though, pausing his lip movement, a jet black Camaro stood out. How could he have not noticed that before he parked?

Scoffing at the chances, Stiles ignored the obvious foreshadowing and practically skipped inside, picking up humming the rest of the song. He didn't look around when he got inside, not wanting to see if he was there, and he would've greeted the cashier but he didn't recognize the guy. So, pacing himself, Stiles grabbed a basket and started in the snacks area, taking some beef jerky off the shelf. Moving his way to the back, he became too absorbed in putting various foods in the basket. By the time he got to the front again, Stiles was carrying a 12-pack of Mountain Dew and his basket was halfway full.

Starting to take up humming again, Stiles tapped his foot to the supposed beat. The person who managed to get in front of him set his stuff down in a hesitant manner, and Stiles would normally be curious but he could care less since he successfully managed to not bump into Derek.

He couldn't have thought that soon enough as the man in front of him turned around to reveal a...well, Stiles refrained from having a coughing fit.

Derek hadn't changed much. He still had the stubble of a beard and his jaw-line was well-defined as well as perfect. His green eyes were still full of the same vibrant life as when he left. Maybe the only thing that did change was his clothing, which was definitely not his trademark leather, but instead a pair of sweatpants and a wife-beater. Before Stiles could even think of talking, Derek was turning back to get his receipt.

Tracing Derek's every move, Stiles watched as the man walked away. Yet just before he closed the grocery store door, Derek sent a soft, knowing smile his way, as if he had known Stiles was watching him. Flushing, Stiles set his items on the store counter and paid for everything as quickly as he could. Taking a step outside, Stiles noticed the Camaro was already gone and a feeling of relief came over him. Smiling, Stiles walked over to the jeep and started opening the door when a piece of bright green paper between his windshield wipers caught his attention. Setting down the Mountain Dew and a few of the bags, Stiles reached over and yanked it from its hiding spot. In neat, all capital letters it said;

"Welcome home. -D"

Stiles, no matter how many times he'd deny it, dropped the bag of beef jerky he had decided not to put down, and just stared. His body became unfrozen after a few minutes and, calmly, he put the note into his jean pockets as he picked up the food. "Stupid sourwolf." Stiles shook his head as he got everything he bought into the jeep and started her up. Glancing around at the dusk-lite town, Stiles sighed and spread his fingers out of the jeep's steering wheel. "It's good to be back."

Just like Stiles said, it's really good to be back. How was everyone's December/Holidays?

I can't wait for you guys to see what I have planned for this. I know this chapter was a little fast paced but there'll be details coming up about what happened in Hawaii.

So starting off right away: Any predictions?

Until Next Time... :)