
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/2173386.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Teen_Wolf_(TV)
  Relationship:
      Derek_Hale/Stiles_Stilinski
  Character:
      Derek_Hale, Stiles_Stilinski, Laura_Hale, Cora_Hale, Scott_McCall
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe_-_High_School, Alternate_Universe_-_Werewolf, Online
      Friendship, Pseudonyms, Fluff, Teenage_Werewolf_Problems, Masturbation,
      Accidental_Phone_Sex, Alive_Hale_Family, Stiles_Wears_Glasses, Wet_Dream,
      Phone_Sex, Awkward_Teens_and_Sexual_Situations, Loss_of_Control, shackles
      and_chains, Of_the_Werewolf_Variety, Explicit_Sexual_Content
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-08-21 Completed: 2014-09-17 Chapters: 6/6 Words: 21317
****** Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon ******
by secondstar
Summary
     Being a teenager sucks. Being a werewolf teenager sucks even more.
     With a life full of holding back who he really is, not having any
     privacy whatsoever, and the seemingly sudden appearance of one Stiles
     Stilinski, Derek Hale's life just got a whole lot harder.
Notes
     thanks to my betas: lauren, becky, beth, and mel! i love you guys.
     I thought I was done, but then HIGH SCHOOL AU.
     I can be found on tumblr @ attoliancrown
     date: please do not REPOST this fic anywhere else without my consent.
     Please do not put it on GoodReads that is a site for PUBLISHED works,
     not fic.
***** Chapter 1 *****
Life as a teenage werewolf wasn’t exactly what Derek would call exciting. Sure,
he could bench press 300 lbs. without breaking a sweat, could run a two-minute
mile, and could hold his breath for five minutes without really trying but that
didn’t mean he was allowed to. It took him all of middle school, and a lot of
begging, for his parents to allow him to even try out for the swim team. Even
that was a bit of a stretch for them, considering they hadn’t let Derek’s older
sister Laura so much as try out for any school sports at all.
When they were younger, they did gymnastics. No team sports, no close contact
to other children. It was to protect not only Derek and Laura, but others as
well. Learning one’s strength was difficult at a young age, and it was
something that Derek, at age seventeen, was still struggling with, especially
surrounding full moons.
Derek took what he could get when it came to his extracurriculars and switched
out gymnastics to swim team once he hit high school. He did Habitat For
Humanity with his father because bonding time was important and helped in the
garden with his mother. They lived outside of town, close to the preserve, down
a long winding dirt path that was hidden behind trees. Privacy was everything
to the Hales.
Which is why Derek never had friends over to their house, their den. It wasn’t
really a problem for him, per se, since to him it made sense. He could go over
to friends’ houses, but they couldn’t come over to his, not for sleepovers or
for school projects, anything. It was their home, their sanctuary, and it
wouldn’t be encroached upon.
Derek’s room was much like his family’s home, but on a more personal level. No
one was allowed in his room except for him, just like he wasn’t allowed in
Laura’s or Cora’s rooms, either. They each had their own space, with their own
scents, their own safe haven. Derek’s room was a dark blue color, painted
himself the summer between sophomore year and junior year. He even did an
accent wall, which he heard about from one of the television shows his mom
always had on about home improvement. His parents were always doing something
to the house, so he had wanted to repaint his childhood room which had had his
parents’ and his handprints on the walls from when he was six.
His room faced the front of the house, with two windows looking down over the
front porch. Another window, which faced north, had a makeshift window seat,
made out of an old trunk, so that he could sit and read by it, with bookshelves
on either side for him to lean his back against. To him, his room was perfect.
He spent all of his time in it, when he could. They did a lot together as a
family, such as game night and camping trips, but he liked to think of himself
as a normal teen who needed his space, especially near the full moon.
So that’s why straight after Saturday morning swim team practice, Derek was up
in his room in front of his computer with his headset on, logged onto Mythical
Mayhem, an online MMORPG where he spent countless hours slicing the shit out of
werewolves, vampires, orcs, and other ‘made up’ creatures. Derek’s character, a
level 38 Sylvan Elf, was a kick-ass archer. His raiding party was small, only
him and an online friend with the username ‘RobieLody’ whose character was a
werewolf. Derek thought it ironic, really. They always raided together if they
were online at the same time. It just so happened that they were almost always
on at the same time.
“Okay Robby,” Derek said into his headset. “Got any other plans today?”
“Only kicking some ass and stealing all of the loot, until I have to go at
three.” Derek looked at the clock on his bedside table, it was only eleven.
“We got this.”
Derek wasn’t really much of a gamer, and Laura actually bought it for him as a
gag gift for Christmas because it had a horrible rendition of a werewolf on the
cover. Derek, of course, was hooked on it. He met RobieLody on the first day he
signed on. Robby had gotten it for Christmas as well but was a veteran MMORPG
player unlike Derek. They played it almost daily, talking to each other the
entire time.
After playing for two hours, Derek needed a break.
“Alright, I gotta piss,” Derek said. “And make a sandwich or something.”
“Sounds good, I think I’ll do the same.”
“Be back in ten,” Derek said as he took his headset off. He stretched as he
stood up, almost reaching the ceiling. As soon as he walked out of the bathroom
not even two minutes later, he ran into Laura.
“How’s the boyfriend?” Laura asked with a wry smile. Derek rolled his eyes at
her as he tried to pass her to get to the stairs.
“Not a boyfriend.”
“The amount you two talk, it’s like you are.”
“Pretty sure I’d be getting some if he was,” Derek pointed out, putting a hand
on the railing before jumping over it and onto the landing below. He looked up
at Laura, quirking an eyebrow, and grinned. “Besides, I don’t even know what he
looks like.”
“Weirdo!” Laura called out just before she walked into her room, slamming the
door behind her. Derek rolled his eyes as he made his way into the kitchen,
foraging the fridge for ingredients for a sandwich. Werewolf metabolism was
insane. The amount that a household of their size consumed felt like it should
be able to feed an entire army. Derek made himself two sandwiches with ham and
turkey piled high with lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, and banana peppers. He also
grabbed a bag of chips and a Coke. Halfway up the stairs, he was stopped by his
mother.
“I need your help in the garden,” she said. Derek’s shoulders sagged. Not only
was she his mom but his alpha too. It wasn’t a request.
“Mom, I’m talking to Robby,” Derek whined a little. “After I eat?” He asked
when he saw the look she gave him.
“After you eat,” she conceded.
Once Derek was back upstairs with his headset on, he heard Robby talking, but
not to him.
“Yeah, no bro, I’ll be there at three.” It sounded like he was on the phone,
probably with his headset down around his neck by how close it sounded. “Scott,
man, I will definitely be your wingman but you gotta calm down. I’m in the
middle of something right now -- what? Of course MMORPG’s count as being in the
middle of something. I don’t judge your weird ass hobbies. Hey, I gotta go
though. Yeah, see you.” Derek cleared his throat before he took a bite. It felt
like he had been invading their privacy a bit, but it wasn’t like he’d done it
on purpose. There was some shuffling around and then Robby was back online.
“You there, man?”
“Hey,” Derek said through a half full mouth. He finished swallowing, then took
a gulp of his Coke. “Bad news though, Mom has requested that I go help
outside.”
“Ah, balls.”
Derek laughed, the corner of his mouth lifting.
“I can stay on headset until I’m done eating though, if you want. Or we could
hang up.” It was weird, now that Laura pointed it out to him. He and Robby
talked... a lot. Not just about the game. He knew a lot about him, like how his
dad was a cop and worked weird hours, how he was an only child and had a best
friend named Scott. Robby, too, knew stuff about Derek that not even his
friends at school really knew about him. Like how he had a yearly reading list
and usually went through a book every three days or so, that Derek climbed onto
the roof on clear nights to look at the stars, and that one time Laura had
caught him jacking off in the bathroom.
Robby didn’t know the real details around it, like how usually their family
just knew when privacy was needed, but it hadn’t been jacking off. It’d been
fingers and lube and awkward poses and a lot of embarrassed screaming. Derek
choked a bit when he recalled it. He shook, pushing the bad memories away.
“Sure man, no problem. I’ve got to go soon anyways. I sort of haven’t showered
yet and I can’t really go out smelling like I currently do.” Derek snorted,
because he could imagine. They’d stayed up late the night before playing, too.
Derek didn’t need much sleep, really, so when he got up for swim practice he’d
been fine. “I just took a whiff a bit ago when I stretched and you know what
they say about being able to smell yourself.”
Derek bit his lip, thinking about what Robby, in fact, did smell like. Derek’s
life revolved around smells, scents and aromas. He could scent strong emotions
in the air such as fear, anxiety, happiness, even arousal. Everyone had a
distinct smell that was theirs and only theirs, and Derek wanted to know what
Robby’s was.
“You okay over there?” Robby asked. Derek looked down at his last half-eaten
sandwich.
“Yeah, I was just thinking-- about nothing.”
“Sounds trippy,” Robby said with a half hearted laugh. “I’m gonna sign off.
I’ll be around later if you are!”
“Sounds good, see you.”
“See you, man.” With that, silence fell over Derek’s room. Sighing to himself,
Derek finished off the sandwich and Coke, leaving the chips alone. He brought
the bag downstairs, putting it away before he joined his mom outside. His
afternoon was spent with his family, getting his hands dirty as they readied
the garden for spring. He pulled weeds with his little sister, and only ended
up getting in a fight once. After that, he showered, then helped his sister
make dinner. Every Saturday the two of them made the meal, together. Their
parents were all about bonding activities, about being close to one another.
They decided to make pizza from scratch. The dough was already rising, Laura
had made it that morning, so Derek was on vegetable chopping duty.
“I think I’m going to get rid of some books tomorrow,” Laura said. “Take them
to the new used bookstore.”
“Hmm,” Derek said as he moved from the tomatoes over to the mushrooms. Laura
was going to make her own sauce with the tomatoes he’d just cut.
“Want to come with?” She asked, looking at Derek out of the corner of her eye
as she got the tomatoes ready to puree. Derek shrugged. He didn’t have any
plans, except for playing his game. “Maybe get rid of some old books and
exchange them for new ones.”
“That-- maybe,” Derek said, his brow furrowing. “I’d have to think about it.”
Derek spent an hour after dinner going through his books, making a pile of the
ones that he’d be willing to get rid of for new ones, when he heard a ping on
his computer. He looked over to see that Robby had instant messaged him via the
game.
You on? He asked. Derek sat down, unable to help but smile as he got ready to
respond.
I’m here. Wanna play?
A call came up, RobieLody popping up. His user picture was blurry, as was
Derek’s, but all Derek could make out was two middle fingers. Derek put his
headset on and hit accept as he logged his character on.
“Heyo,” Robby said. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” Derek said as he watched Robby’s werewolf appear. He wasn’t alone
while raiding with Robby, not the only werewolf. He didn’t know any others,
besides his family, and even though it was just a game, it mattered to Derek.
“Ready to kick some ass.”
“Then let’s do it.”
They played until Derek fell asleep at his computer. He woke up to the sound of
silence, Robby had disconnected at some point. Before climbing into bed, Derek
sent an instant message for him, whenever he’d sign on next, ‘sorry for
snoring’.
The next day, after running five miles around the preserve and showering,
Derek, Laura, and Cora headed into town with bags full of old books. The new
used bookstore, named 2nd & Charles, coined by the two streets it sat at the
corner of, was barely open a month yet was full of books. Derek loved the smell
of books, especially older ones. They dropped off their books in order for them
to be assessed. Derek browsed the rows and rows of books, stopping in teen
fiction. He looked around him, then rolled his eyes at himself. He didn’t care
if anyone saw him in the section: he loved teen fantasy. It was the closest
thing he had to being normal. He liked stories where the main character was
supernatural or had powers thrust upon them.
Laura teased him about it, but he teased her right back because he knew she’d
been in the romance section. Laura’s guilty pleasure was bodice rippers, the
cheaper the better. Derek lost himself by reading the backs of books he hadn’t
heard of and didn’t notice someone trying to get his attention. He took a step
back, his nostrils flaring when he saw that it was an employee with messy hair
and a pair of glasses that Derek would use the word ‘hipster’ to describe. With
a Marvel shirt covered by a long sleeved plaid one, he definitely fit the part
of a bookstore clerk.
“What?” Derek asked, after he realized they probably asked him a question.
“Can I help you with anything?” He asked, looking at the stack of books Derek
had in his arms, his eyes ghosting over the titles. Defensively, Derek turned
his body away from him, which got Derek a smile. “It’s just-- I couldn’t help
but notice the trend in what you’ve picked out and that’s basically my genre
so--”
“Your genre?” Derek asked. Glasses licked his lips before answering, running
his fingers through his hair.
“Yeah, I’ve basically read all the ones you have in that pile.” Derek looked
him up and down again. He looked familiar. “We go to the same school, you
know.”
“Really?” Derek asked. He looked at the name tag that simply read ‘Stiles’. It
didn’t sound familiar. Stiles shrugged, sighing as he pointed at one of the
books.
“This one isn’t worth it, the summary sounded awesome, but there was no follow
through.” Stiles picked up a book from the shelf, adding it to Derek’s pile.
“This one is better. The main character is female, which is awesome because
she’s a badass. So, yeah.”
With that, he left, leaving Derek alone in the aisle to read the back of the
book that was thrust upon him. He ended up putting the other one back, the one
Stiles said wasn’t worth it. He decided to trust his judgement.
Derek ended up getting almost thirty credits for the books he turned in. He
only needed to pay five dollars in the end, because he went home with over ten
books.
“The point was to get money,” Laura said as they exited. Derek caught the eyes
of Stiles, who gave him a thumbs up. Derek lifted his chin in recognition as
they walked out the door.
“You get twice as many credits than cash, though,” Derek said as they piled
into the car, Cora with her nose already in a book she’d started once she
dropped her used books off. “I’d rather have more books.”
“Weirdo.”
Derek stuck his tongue out at her, not caring.
He didn’t so much as turn on his computer until after dinner, when he realized
he had a paper to write. As soon as he did, a slew of messages popped up, most
of which had been in the last hour, all of them from Robby. Derek grinned as he
paged him, hoping he’d pick up. Derek barely had his headset on when they
answered, out of breath.
“Hey,” they said. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, you okay?” Derek asked. “You sound like you were running.”
“I mean, I was on my bed, fell off it, and ran to my computer. Does that
count?” Derek rolled his eyes but smiled as he leaned back in his swivel chair.
“In bed, huh?” Derek asked. His cheeks reddened because he could hear his heart
beating fast, the certain uptick and sound of his voice: fucked out. Derek knew
exactly what he’d been doing. They laughed, sighing as if laying back down.
“Yeah,” they said. Silence hung between them, though it wasn’t awkward “So,
hey, want to raid?”
“I can’t, actually,” Derek groaned. “I have to write a paper I forgot about.”
“Oh yeah? What about?”
“It’s on Canterbury Tales.”
“Shoot me now, I just had to write a paper about that, too.”
“Huh,” Derek said, biting his lip as he waited for Microsoft Word to open.
“Public school.”
“Right?” Robby said with a laugh. “Well, I don’t want to keep you--”
“No, I mean-- It’s fine. I could use the company.” The words were out before
Derek had time to think about what he said, what it implied. They hadn’t really
ever talked outside of playing the game. Sure, they talked for hours but that
was because they’d been playing the game for hours, too.
“Oh, yeah, sure. We can stay on, then. I’ve got some calc I need to do.”
“You’re in calculus?” Derek asked, whistling low. “Smart.”
“Yeah, AP. I regret taking it,” he said. “That and AP English and history, I’ve
got my plate full.”
“I get you, I’m in AP physics, English, and Spanish. Math is not my forte.”
“Spanish? Hardcore. I’m in basic, but I dropped Spanish for Latin this year
since we only really needed three years in one language.” Derek found it
interesting that he’d just drop a language like that.
“So you’re a senior too, then?” Derek asked.
“Yeah,” Robby said. They’d never discussed that, Derek had only assumed he was
in high school like him.
They fell silent as they worked, Derek typing away as he listened to the sound
of Robby breathing. It calmed him. By the time he got to his conclusion, he
realized that they hadn’t talked in over an hour. He yawned, checking the time.
“Hey, do you need to go to bed?” Derek asked. It was past midnight.
“Huh?” Robby said after obviously being woken up, judging by the sound of his
voice. “Dude, I’ve been in bed.”
“What? Really? Why didn’t you say something, we could have hung up.”
“The sound of you typing was sort of like white noise, you know? I -- I didn’t
mind staying on.” Derek’s neck heated up. “You done?”
“Almost. I’ve only got the conclusion to write, which is basically reiterating
what I already wrote.”
“And yet it’s so hard to get the words out,” Robby said with a yawn. Derek
adjusted himself, realizing that he was getting hard at the thought of being on
headset while Robby slept. As his hand grazed over his basketball shorts, he
let out a low grunt, then cleared his throat.
“I’m -- I’m gonna let you go.”
“Alright bro, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
Derek was fucked, so fucked. He put his headset down around his neck, then
pushed his shorts down just enough that he could palm at his growing erection.
Derek moaned as he pulled at it, biting his lip as he got harder, his head
showing as he jacked himself off. With ragged breaths, he let his legs fall
open as he watched his own hand stroke up and down. He let his head fall
against the back of the chair as he thought about how much a voice could get
him off. Derek let out a short, choked sob as he pictured Stiles from the
bookstore as he came on his own hand. Panting as he rode out his orgasm, Derek
let out a sigh, his eyes widening when he saw that he was still connected to
their chat.
Derek panicked, immediately hitting end, his hand still covered in come. All he
could do was hope that Robby hadn’t heard, that he’d fallen back asleep. Derek
decided as he reached for the tissues that he was going to tell himself that
yeah, this crush wasn’t anything really. You can’t actually like someone you’ve
never met, have never even seen. And they definitely, definitely didn’t hear
him jacking off.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Every morning, Derek ran before school. It kept his head clearer and got out
some of the excess energy he felt coursing through his body otherwise. He
showered, then headed to school with Cora. Laura was in college -- she commuted
home on the weekends to be with family. Derek and Cora shared a car and took
turns driving it. It was Cora’s turn, and as they pulled into the parking lot
she almost hit a Jeep that had stopped abruptly in front of them.
“Goddammit, Cora be careful!” Derek shouted, his claws out as he held onto the
dash in front of him.
“It wasn’t my fault the asshat in front of up stopped,” Cora grumbled, her lip
lifting in a silent growl. When they finally parked, it was right by the Jeep.
Derek froze, book bag barely on his shoulder, when he saw who it was: Stiles.
“Oh, hey,” Stiles said, giving him a lopsided grin. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“It’s school,” Cora said with a roll of her eyes. “What do you expect?” With
that, she left. Derek stood there, unmoving, as he tried to pinpoint why Stiles
seemed so familiar to him. He definitely didn’t smell familiar.
“You okay, bro?” Stiles asked, looking concerned as his eyes gazed up and down
at Derek. As if snapping back to reality, Derek walked forward, shrugging.
“What’s that word called when you don’t hear or see something ever then
suddenly it’s everywhere?”
“Oh, uh, you mean the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon?”
“The what and the who now? That sounds made up.”
Stiles laughed as they walked, his hands flailing about as he revved up to
explain it to Derek. Derek was entranced by Stiles’ constant movement while
each step he took was calculated.
“It’s literally where you hear some rare word or piece of information for the
first time and suddenly it’s everywhere; Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.”
“And you know that off the top of your head?” Derek asked, unbelievingly.
“I know a lot of useless information,” Stiles said with a wave of his hand.
“But why did you ask about it?”
“Because you’re my Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon,” Derek said, giving Stiles a
smile before he headed towards his first period.
At his locker between fourth and lunch, Derek caught Stiles’ scent. He knew it,
now, and it grabbed his attention. He looked around until he spotted him
halfway down the hall talking animatedly with another senior, one that Derek
had only seen in passing.
Derek wouldn’t call himself popular, not really. He didn’t think in those terms
because to him, family was everything. Sure, he had friends, he went to parties
when invited, he’d even had a girlfriend, but that had ended badly, so he
picked himself back up and said he’d concentrate on what mattered: pack.
Stiles, though, Derek could tell didn’t care about high school hierarchy. He
didn’t care if he was ever going to be prom king or first string for whatever
sport.
Stiles and Derek locked eyes from across the busy hallway. Unable to break eye
contact, Derek jerked his chin upward as he shut his locker door. The corner of
Stiles’ mouth lifted as his friend put an arm around his shoulder, leading him
down the hall away from Derek. It was odd, never really noticing Stiles at
school and then suddenly he was there, twice.
At lunch, Derek was always surrounded by friends. His table was full and
boisterous, everyone laughing and trying to talk over everyone else as he ate.
He was quieter than his group of friends but was known for his one liners and
quick jabs when need be. His mind was elsewhere, though, as his friends held
conversations around him and over him as he ate. He couldn’t stop thinking
about the night before, about how he’d still been online, and that Robby hadn’t
disconnected. It made Derek’s stomach turn. He discarded his half-eaten
sandwich, finding it no longer appetizing.
He found himself in one of the bathrooms, splashing water on his face.
Embarrassment wasn’t something he felt often, living in a house full of
werewolves, but this was different. He’d jacked off, came even, thinking about
someone who was on the end of the line. His life was over.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Derek said to himself as he gripped the sink, looking
at himself in the mirror.
“I wasn’t being dramatic,” a familiar voice said, making Derek’s eyes widen.
Stiles walked out of a stall, lifting an eyebrow at Derek as he washed his
hands. “I just came here to use the facilities, I honestly feel so attacked
right now.”
Derek couldn’t help but laugh. It sounded like something that Robby would say,
the inflection and everything.
“Are you stalking me?” Derek asked.
“I should be asking you the same thing, I was in here first,” Stiles retorted
as he dried his hands on his own pants; all the paper towels were out.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Derek scoffed, running his fingers through his hair. “It’s nothing.”
Stiles gave him a look, nodding his head slightly.
“Alright, I get it,” he said as he adjusted his glasses. “Too cool to talk to
me at school. But I know you, Hale.” Derek’s eyebrows skyrocketed, his jaw
dropped. Stiles’ heart beat was smooth, without an uptick. “You’re just as
nerdy as I am.”
Derek let out the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in. There was no
way that Stiles would know he was a werewolf, no way.
“You caught me, I’m living a lie,” Derek deadpanned. Stiles grinned at him and
Derek could have sworn under his breath at the way it made his stomach flip.
“See you around.”
When Derek left, it felt like he was walking through molasses. He’d wanted to
stay there with Stiles. He felt drawn to him but he couldn’t pinpoint why.
After school, Derek had swim practice. He did laps in the pool, the feel of
water encompassing him relaxed him. To him, swimming wasn’t stressful. The
water weighed him down, pushed him to work hard. He was the fastest on the
team, even though he held back. He couldn’t ever be himself unless he was at
home, surrounded by his family. He liked to compete, and brought recognition to
his school’s swim team due to his speed. After finishing his last lap, Derek
stopped at the edge of the pool, catching his breath. As soon as he lifted
himself up onto the edge of the pool he heard Stiles’ voice echoing off the
walls.
He really was everywhere.
Derek looked around, surprised to find Stiles standing with his sister and
Erica. Erica was on his team and one of his closest friends. She was dripping
wet, a hand on Stiles’ shoulder as she laughed. Derek approached them, not
missing the look Stiles gave him as he looked over his body. He was wearing his
usual, a pair of tight fitting swimming trunks, but with Stiles’ gaze on him he
felt exposed.
“How fast did you go?” Cora asked him. Derek shrugged. He hadn’t had anyone
timing him.
“Probably broke his own record again,” Erica said with the roll of her eyes,
teasing him as she elbowed his side. Derek feigned being hurt, holding onto his
side. Stiles’ gaze never left him. “We’re all going to get coffee after this,
you two want in?”
Derek and Cora exchanged glances before answering.
“We better not,” Derek said, dabbing his face with a towel that was handed off
to him. He patted down his chest, then his arms.
“Next time though, for sure,” Cora said.
Derek showered, then met up with Cora at their car. With Cora at the wheel,
Derek checked his phone all the way home. The full moon was coming, and his
body was practically buzzing because of it.
“So you know Stiles?” Derek asked. “I mean, from besides the bookstore?”
“Where have you been?” Cora asked. “Of course I know Stiles. He’s up there with
Lydia Martin in the running for valedictorian, only he doesn’t care about it
half as much as she does. He used to be in my grade in elementary school but he
was bumped up, so he’s just now turning seventeen.”
“Huh,” Derek said, but didn’t add any more to the conversation.
Derek didn’t log onto Mythical Mayhem, he couldn’t face Robby, and didn’t even
know what to say to him. He had no excuses for why he did it. They’d been
talking for months and nothing like that had ever happened between them. He
didn’t log on until two days later, where he found a slew of messages waiting
for him.
Hey you around??
What’s up?
Let me know if you want to raid.
Hey you alive over there?
Derek felt bad, because they were all timestamped, with the last being not even
ten minutes prior. Derek sighed, hesitating before he began typing.
Sorry, I hadn’t been on. Busy. Even Derek knew it was a lame excuse, but he had
nothing to offer, no real reason except that he was avoiding everything. After
waiting a few minutes for a response, Robby typed back.
You’re allliiiiiiiveeeeeeee. Derek laughed, relaxing for the first time in what
felt like days. Want to chat?
Derek hit call, taking a deep breath beforehand. He didn’t have much time
because before he knew it, Robby picked up.
“Heyo, what’s crackalackin’?”
“Uh, not much,” Derek said, clearing his throat. Robby sounded so familiar to
him, but he couldn’t place it, it was on the tip of his tongue, just out of
reach. If only he could smell him, scent him, he wouldn’t feel as though he
were tripping on the last step of a set of stairs. He sat back in his chair,
his eyes staring off at his walls. “Sorry I disappeared on you.”
“No problem, man, it’s not like it was a date or anything,” Robby said. They
fell silent for a moment. “Hah,” he said a beat too late. “So, what? You want
to find some treasure?”
“We could,” Derek said, his voice distant as he bit his lip. “About the other
night--” He didn’t know why he was bringing it up, it was dumb to do it, but he
had to come clean.
“Yeah, sorry I passed out on you,” he said. Derek’s stomach clenched. Maybe
he’d been wrong all along. “I guess that’s what happens when I chat while
laying down.”
“No problem,” Derek mumbled, running his hands over his face in relief.
“Everything okay?” Robby asked, his words echoing in Derek’s mind. Flashback to
earlier that day in the bathroom, Stiles’ worried expression as he reached out
for Derek, but didn’t touch him. Derek groaned. “Guess not.”
“Shit’s complicated, it’s going to be a rough week,” Derek practically growled
as he looked at the calendar he had hung in his room, the full moon circled:
three days and counting. He was already irritable enough, he didn’t need the
moon fucking with him.
“Well I’m here if you ever need to vent, you know that right?”
“Same,” Derek murmured.
“Well, I can’t help you in person, but I can give you this awesome sword I
found yesterday while I played alone.”
“You don’t need to give me your sword--”
“Nope, nope, I insist, besides... I know you’ll like it.” Derek grinned to
himself when he saw that he had a new item in his inventory. Sometimes having
an online friend was awesome.
Derek got offline without embarrassing himself, which he was grateful for.
They’d played until he had to start his homework. He jacked off before bed,
trying, in vain, not to think about Robby or Stiles. It didn’t work, but at
least this time he didn’t have a headset around his neck. It’d been the first
time in days, and it didn’t take long. Cleaning himself off with a tissue,
Derek stared up at the ceiling until he fell asleep, hoping the week wouldn’t
be too hard on him. Dreams weren’t something that Derek remembered. By the time
he woke up, and got out of bed they were so distant Derek rarely recalled even
the feelings they evoked unless he was wrenched out of sleep with a jolt as if
he had been falling. Those were the only ones he ever remembered.
Derek bolted upright, his chest heaving as he looked around his room. Drenched
in sweat, he peeled off his shirt, groaning. Derek’s nose scrunched up when he
realized that it wasn’t only sweat that covered him.
“Shit,” Derek said, kicking his sheets away from him, sticky and smelling of
come. He’d had a wet dream. He hadn’t had one in years, at least one that he
hadn’t woke up in time to deal with it himself. Derek walked out into the
hallway, checking to see if anyone else was awake. It was barely four in the
morning, and the house was completely quiet. Derek washed himself off in the
bathroom, then changed his boxers as he grumbled to himself. Stripping his
sheets off his bed as he gathered them into a ball.
He had to do them now, in the middle of the night. In the laundry room with the
door shut, Derek sat on top of the washer as it ran, his head in his hands.
Derek’s life was an embarrassment. A knock on the door startled him, the sound
of the washer drowning out footsteps on the hardwood floor.
“Derek?”
It was his mother. She opened the door with look of concern across her face as
Derek hunched over. She gave him a knowing look as she pat his arm, then ran
her fingers through his hair.
“I heard you puttering around out here,” she said with a warm smile.
“Everything okay?”
“Besides pure embarrassment? Yeah,” Derek mumbled. “I was just going to stay
up, no sense in going back to sleep when I have to be up in an hour.”
“Come on, let’s get new sheets on your bed,” she said, grabbing a new set from
the linen closet. Together, they made Derek’s bed. She sat down on it, patting
the mattress beside her, indicating for Derek to join her. He did, leaning
against his mom as he put his head on her shoulder. “Tell me what’s on your
mind.”
“The moon,” Derek admitted. He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers.
“This month is going to be hard.”
“Are you at war with yourself over something?” She asked him as she scratched
his back idly. “Full moons are harder when we have too much on our minds.”
Derek thought about Robby, about Stiles, about school work and acceptance
letters from colleges and the upcoming swim meet.
“Not too much different than last month, only now--” Derek sighed. “Now I like
two people? But I don’t know. Like is a strong word. I feel drawn to one, who
sort of appeared in my life.”
“Well,” she said with a small smile. “You are a catch, and worth the time of
anyone you see fit.” Derek rolled his eyes, but grinned nonetheless. “Just be
careful.”
“I will, I am, now,” Derek murmured as he thought about Paige, about what
happened. Derek sighed, looking his mother in the eye. “What happened before,
it won’t happen again.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Talia said as she stood up. “Paige was a nice
girl. Her death, it had nothing to do with you. You couldn’t have prevented
it.”
“I just feel like I could have done something, anything,” Derek said as he
pulled his legs up to his chest, hugging them close. “I miss her.”
“First loves never truly leave us,” she said. “But you’ll find it again.” Derek
nodded, but didn’t say anything else. “Get some rest before your alarm goes
off. I’ll switch the laundry out.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Derek said as he lay back against the mattress. She shut the
door behind him, leaving him alone with his thoughts. All he could think about,
though, was Stiles.
The days leading up to the full moon went by in a blur full of morning runs,
last minute homework attempts, late night gaming sessions, and avoiding Stiles
like the plague. He was seemingly everywhere, around corners and at lunch.
Derek couldn’t walk the halls without scenting him. It drove Derek mad, so much
so that on the day of the full moon, Derek hid out in the bathroom until the
bell rang. As the teacher wrote him a tardy slip, he sat down at his seat,
sighing with relief. Bullet dodged.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like Stiles, or disliked him. It wasn’t about that.
Derek’s instincts were what was the problem. What he really wanted was to ram
him up against the lockers and shove his face against Stiles’ neck, but he
wasn’t going to allow himself the opportunity. He’d had to clean his sheets
every single night leading up to the moon and Derek was at his wits end.
He didn’t get a detention for his tardiness, but he might as well have because
it would have been preferable, because Stiles was there, at swim practice,
talking with Erica again. He was surrounded by girls, in fact, from their
grade: Kira Yukimura, Allison Argent, along with Erica. Derek broke out in a
cold sweat as he walked by them in his tight fitting swim trunks. They felt
smaller all of the sudden, constricting. As Derek dove into the water, he swam
out his frustrations. His blood pumped through his veins as if it were on fire.
When he came up for air, Stiles and the coach were squatting down where his
hands held onto the edge of the pool.
“Are you alright, Hale?” Coach asked.
“Yeah coach, why?” Derek asked as he wiped dripping water from his face. He
looked to Stiles, who had a look of shock across his face.
“Well, you just did a full lap without taking a breath,” Coach pointed out with
a look of awe. Derek sunk down into the water to his nose. He hadn’t been
paying attention. Stiles’ gaze on him coursed through his veins. Derek felt his
fangs elongating, so he dunked himself down into the water. When he emerged, he
felt better.
“Sorry, I don’t know how that happened,” Derek said, making sure he looked
solely at Coach Finstock.
“Just be careful, we need you this weekend.”
“Sure thing,” Derek said, his eyes flicking to Stiles one last time before he
pushed away from the edge. It hadn’t even been a week since Stiles had been on
his radar but something about him got under Derek’s skin.
By the time he got out of the pool and showered, Cora was beyond ready to go
home. She had issues dealing with the full moon too, but in different ways than
Derek.
“It took you long enough,” she snapped as they walked towards the car.
“Don’t,” Derek said through gritted teeth. “My patience is just about done for
today.”
“Yeah well mine flew out the window in fourth period when whatsherface’s phone
kept going off during our quiz and then at lunch they didn’t have steak fries
they only had curly fries--” Derek laughed, his shoulders shaking as he
unlocked the car door. Cora pinned him against the door, grabbing hold of his
jacket as she growled. “You--”
“Guys?” It was Stiles, because of course it was. Cora let go of Derek, her
hands clenched at her sides to hide her claws. “Everything alright?”
“Yeah,” Cora said, her lips hiding a hint of fang as they retracted. She was
lucky she hadn’t shifted, or that her eyes weren’t glowing. They needed to get
home. Stiles looked apprehensive, jangling his car keys in his hand; his Jeep
was nearby. Derek could smell anxiety on him, along with arousal. Derek closed
his eyes, willing himself to calm down.
“We’re fine,” Derek said, delayed. “See you tomorrow.”
Stiles gave a half-hearted wave, looking over his shoulder before he got into
his Jeep. Derek and Cora waited until he’d driven off before they made a move.
Cora punched Derek in the arm with more force than necessary.
“What was that for?” Derek asked, shoving at her. Cora pointed her finger at
his face and snarled.
“Don’t touch him.”
“What do you mean by that?” Derek asked, his voice cracking as Cora took the
car keys from him. “I’m not touching anyone but myself.” Cora scoffed at him.
“Oh, don’t I know it. My room is next to yours.”
“Fuck off,” Derek said, the back of his neck turning red as he got into the
passenger side. They rode home in silence, Derek with his arms crossed and his
leg bouncing in its place. He wanted to be free from the confines of the car,
of society. He needed to get out and run; he needed to howl.
There were four hours until the moon would rise.
***** Chapter 3 *****
Every full moon, weather permitting, the Hale family ate under the stars. They
walked deep into the woods well after sunset and ate together as they waited
for the moon to rise. When it did, Talia normally kept her unruly children in
line as they ran together. Derek hadn’t needed to be locked up or chained in
over a year, but as they trudged through the woods, he could feel the moon’s
pull. It tugged at his skin, made his jaw ache as he opened it, adjusting it as
his fangs extended.
“Fangs away!” Talia called out. She didn’t even need to look back at him. Derek
sulked, fingers on his jaw, a chill going down his spine. Laura walked beside
him, her eyebrow quirked.
“What?” Derek murmured petulantly.
“Nothing, you’re just a little strung out tonight,” Laura said. Derek rolled
his eyes, his nostrils flaring as something in the distance caught his
attention: a twig snapping. Voices echoed through the woods, making the hair on
the back of Derek’s neck stand on end. No one should be out this far. Derek
jerked to the side, ready to take off when his father’s hand on his shoulder
grounded him.
“I’ll go scout,” he said before he took off.
By the time they made it to the nemeton, a massive tree in the middle of the
woods that they met under during the full moons, the moon was about to rise.
Derek’s father, William, appeared empty-handed as Derek stood uneasily by the
tree.
“Teenagers,” he said with the shake of his head. “Told them they were on
private property and sent them home.”
“Should I--”
Derek indicated to his wrists, asking to be shackled. He could tell he was
going to have a rough night already, and didn’t want to take any chances. His
mother cupped his face with her hands as she shook her head.
“You won’t grow unless you give yourself the space to, or the belief. You’re a
strong wolf, and an even stronger man. You don’t need shackles.”
Derek wanted to believe her, since she had so much faith in him, but he
couldn’t. He knew his limits, and being at war with himself over Robby and
Stiles, he knew the mixture would be disastrous during a full moon.
“I’ll be here with you.”
He nodded his head, accepting that his alpha would be able to stop him if he
couldn’t handle it. The moment the moon rose, Derek felt it all the way down to
his bones. He screamed, as did Cora, their cries echoing through the preserve.
Falling to his knees, Derek clawed at the ground as he shifted. With his senses
heightened even more than normal, he could smell Stiles on his father. Derek
pressed his face against his father’s neck, breathing in his scent. Stiles had
been in the woods, had been one of the teens his father made leave.
Objectively, Derek knew he had to calm down. His father’s words were drowned
out by his own beating heart and the instinct to run.
With his chest heaving, Derek dug his claws into his own hands in order to get
control. For a moment, he saw clearly. Derek thought about Robby and ran, fast.
Normally, he ran with his sisters, his mother, but not tonight. Tonight, he
went on pure instinct. When not fully shifted, he could run a mile in three
minutes, but now, without holding back, he barely broke two. Before he knew it,
he surpassed the preserve and headed towards town.
He didn’t even break a sweat, or if he did he couldn’t tell because the only
thing that mattered was the fact that he was standing in front of what he
assumed to be Stiles’ house. He could hear Stiles inside, talking as he walked
around. Derek climbed a tree, hopped onto a bit of roof by Stiles’ window and
had his hand on the sill before he managed to get ahold of himself. Derek stood
there, wide-eyed, as he looked into the window.
Stiles was on the phone with his back turned towards Derek, completely unaware
of his presence. Derek growled so low that he felt it in his chest, his claws
leaving marks on the window sill as he watched Stiles with glowing eyes. Derek
wanted to be inside, where the scent would be stronger.
Stiles’ laughter pulled Derek back to the present as it rang out, Stiles’ head
thrown back as he held onto his side, falling onto the bed, bouncing as he
situated himself. Stiles sat with his legs crossed and the phone cradled
between his cheek and shoulder.
Derek placed his hand on the glass, then his forehead as he listened, his heart
rate slowing down, his eyes closing as he listened to the beat of Stiles’
heart, to his voice as it carried. Stiles sounded like home.
“Home,” Derek said to himself as he slid down the wall, sitting beneath Stiles’
window, hugging his legs close to his chest, looking up at the moon as it
coursed through his veins. Derek bit down on his lower lip hard enough that it
bled, his claws digging into his shins as he fought back the urge to claim
Stiles.
He didn’t have the right to; Stiles wasn’t his. Derek let out a whine, looking
through the window one last time before hopping down onto the ground and making
his way back towards the preserve, his blood lust curved as the moon began its
descent.
When Derek returned, he was tackled to the ground by his mother, pinned in
place by clawed hands as she scented him, checking him over.
“I didn’t do anything,” Derek admitted, his eyes flashing as he submitted to
her, exposing his neck.
“I know you didn’t,” she said, letting up on the pressure but her hand
remaining to show strength. Derek let out a groan when she finally let him go.
“Don’t go into town again.”
“I couldn’t help-- Yes ma’am,” Derek said when he saw the look he got from his
parents. He hadn’t meant to, it wasn’t like he’d done it on purpose. Cora had
blood all over her, along with cuts and scrapes that were in the middle of
healing. “What happened?”
“I tried to run after you, you’re faster than me.”
Derek smirked; that he was.
By the time Derek made it to bed, it was almost time for his alarm to go off.
The day after full moons was rough, like a hangover, or so he was told. He’d
never be drunk, but others would never be a werewolf, so. Derek dragged himself
out of bed, showering off the dirt and grime of the forest, as well as jacking
off down the drain, before getting dressed.
Cora was silent on the way to school until they were about a mile out.
“So,” she said, giving Derek a look. “Where’d you go?”
“What?” Derek asked, glaring at her as he drove.
“Where. Did. You. Go?” Cora said, accentuating each word with a jab to his
shoulder.
“Nowhere--”
“Bullshit. You’re a bullshit liar you know that? For a werewolf, you suck--”
“Stiles’ house!” Derek said, gripping tight to the steering wheel, his eyes
flashing as he glared at her. “I went to Stiles’ house.”
“Did you hurt him?” She asked, concerned. Derek shook his head as he wrung the
steering wheel, gritting his teeth.
“No, I didn’t-- I wouldn’t hurt him,” Derek confessed. “But that’s where I
was.”
“Doing what?”
“I sat.”
“You... sat...”
“Yeah, I fucking sat outside his window.”
“Did you jack off?” Cora asked, making a face as she flailed her arms, feigning
disgust.
“What? No!” Derek shouted as he pulled into the parking lot. “No, I just...
listened.”
“Was he jacking off?” Cora asked, grimacing.
“No! What’s with you today?” Derek asked as he got out of the car, slamming the
door shut. Cora rolled her eyes dramatically as she followed Derek towards the
school, keeping her voice down.
“I know you, okay, you gotta claim your territory.”
“Oh, okay,” Derek said, stopping dead in his tracks, crossing his arms. Cora
crossed hers as well, snarling a little, her lip lifting. “Like I’m an animal.”
“Well, so am I,” she pointed out. “And unlike some of us, I don’t feel the need
to piss on what I want.”
“That was one time!” Derek said, his voice raising. “And I was twelve.”
“It was my doll.”
“I apologized, didn’t I? And it wasn’t a doll, it was a Rogue action figure.”
“A doll,” Cora said, her clawed finger jabbing him in the chest.
“What’s up, guys?” Stiles said, his eyes wide. Derek hadn’t even noticed he’d
walked up, he and Cora got so riled. Cora retracted her claws and Derek made
sure his eyes weren’t glowing. If Stiles said anything, Derek could play off of
the sun’s reflection. Plausible deniability, the mind would take the
unexplainable and fill in the most logical explanation without pause. “You look
like you’re about to attack each other.”
“Yeah, well,” Cora said with a shrug and a smile. “I’ll catch you two losers
later.” She left Derek standing there, with Stiles, alone. Derek’s nostrils
flared because Stiles didn’t only smell like himself, but he smelled distinctly
of sex, too, but of no one else. Stiles had jacked off before school.
Derek had too, but he’d showered. Stiles didn’t know that he could be scented,
though, that it was so distinct and pungent, that Derek covered his mouth,
hiding a cough as he tried to compose himself. Worst full moon hangover ever.
It took all of his willpower to start walking instead of burying his face
underneath Stiles’ arm, or in his groin where odors were strongest.
“You okay? You guys always seem to be at each others throats.”
“You have no idea,” Derek said as they walked into a crowd, dispersing Stiles’
scent. Derek breathed easier, though they bumped shoulders as they walked. He
kept his eyes ahead in hopes of keeping in control. Despite there being no
moon, Derek still felt volatile. “See you,” Derek said without another word,
slipping into the crowd, leaving Stiles behind.
He was so screwed.
That night, while playing Mystical Mayhem, Robby was quieter than normal. Derek
tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t shake it off.
“Something up?” Derek asked as he took a sip of his Coke. Robby let out an
audible sigh.
“A lot, actually. But it’s real life stuff, non game related.”
“No shit,” Derek laughed. “Everything is real life fuckery.”
“Point,” Robby said, silence falling between them. “Listen, I, uh. Shit. This
is going to be awkward no matter how I say it.” Derek’s stomach dropped as
dread overcame him. Robby was going to end their semi-nightly rendezvous, for
lack of a better term. “You know that night, uh, last week when I told you I
fell asleep?”
“Oh,” Derek said. Yep, he was done for. The game was paused, Robby’s doing,
which made Derek all the more anxious.
“Yeah, ‘oh.’ I meant to bring it up sooner, you know, but--”
“You don’t need to explain,” Derek offered. “I was out of line.”
“What? No-- I’m telling you that I like you.”
“What?” Derek asked, sitting up in his seat.
“I heard you, and uh, I want you to know that, you know, I’m right there with
you.” Derek sat there in shock, his eyes wide as all of the blood in his body
seemingly flowed south. Robby let out another sigh, this time of relief.
“There, I said it.”
“You like me?” Derek asked.
“Pretty much.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah,” Robby said. Derek could tell he was grinning, which made him smile as
he ran his fingers through his hair. “So, uh, yeah.”
“Yeah.”
Derek didn’t know what to say, it was a relief, in a way, knowing that Robby
felt the same way as he did. Only now, there was a silence.
“Well now that that’s out of the way, how about we find some gold and kill some
bad guys?”
“Sounds stellar,” Derek said, unable to stop grinning. Two hours later, he
found himself yawning, though he wanted to stay up. Within the last hour, Robby
started dropping horrible sexual innuendos and puns whenever he could. Not only
did they make Derek laugh, but what he really wanted was to get off.
“Don’t tell me you’re leaving me, I was just getting to the good puns,” Robby
complained.
“Well, what if we moved this to, say, a bed.”
“I’m listening.”
Derek felt his cheeks redden as he twirled his seat around, walking towards his
bed.
“I’ve, uh, never really--”
“Lies, we’ve already done this you just didn’t know it,” Robby pointed out.
Derek smirked as he thumbed at the elastic around his boxers, shoving them down
his thighs, getting ready to step out of them.
“Well,” Derek said with a sigh. “I just took my boxers off.”
“Love the sexy talk, it’s great,” Robby laughed. “I’m naked, too.” Derek
gulped, thinking about it. He imagined Stiles, his entire body reacting to the
image. It wasn’t right, thinking of someone else, but that’s who he saw, since
he didn’t know what Robby looked like. Derek cleared his throat, worried for a
minute that Robby was some older guy.
“You aren’t like, forty are you?”
“Do I sound forty?”
“No,” Derek stumbled. “I just--”
“What’s your number?”
“Like my phone number?” Derek asked, fumbling with his shirt as he tried to
take it off without catching it on his headset.
“Yeah, exactly like a phone number.” Derek spouted it off as he climbed into
bed, lying back with a leg propped up and leaning outward as he palmed at
himself. They were actually doing this, they were going to jack off together.
Beside him, Derek’s phone pinged. With bated breath, Derek checked it, his jaw
dropping when he saw a picture of a dick, erect and curved, with long fingers
wrapped around it, a thumb against the head.
“You get it?”
“Yeah,” Derek said, his voice cracking. That got him hard. “I’m gonna send you
one.”
“You better,” Robby joked, his breath catching. Derek closed his eyes as he
stroked himself a few times, letting his cock fill out before he snapped a
photo. He hit send, then put his hand with his phone against his forehead as he
bit his lip. He’d just sent a fucking nude photo to someone, shit.
“Fuck, alright,” Robby said with a grunt as if resituating himself. Derek did
the same as he played with his foreskin before stroking downward, revealing his
head. He could hear the sound of lotion being pumped, and smirked. One good
thing about being a werewolf, no circumcision, no need for lotion. But now,
Derek could hear the sound of Robby jacking off, along with his quieted moans.
Derek let out a moan, timing his strokes to Robby’s, the pace quicker than he
normally jacked off. He lost himself in the sound of Robby’s breathing, short
bursts of breath as the slick cadence of his hand over his cock filled Derek’s
ears.
“Fuck, this is hot,” Derek said as his free hand roamed over his chest and
stomach, tweaking a nipple as he felt his orgasm build. “Shit.”
“Fuck me,” Robby said, half laughing as he moaned, coming. Derek’s pace
quickened even more as he imagined Stiles kneeling in front of him, come on his
cheek and lips. Derek came, his body jerking as he stroked through his orgasm.
Derek panted, his mind reeling at the fact that he’d had phone sex. He reached
for tissues, cleaning his hand and stomach before tossing it into the trash.
“That, that is something we should do again.”
“I concur,” Derek mused, way too come drunk to move or say anything else. Robby
hummed, patting his stomach, or something similar. Derek yawned again.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” Robby asked.
“Yeah,” Derek said. “It’s a date.”
-
The next few weeks passed by in a blur. With Derek’s swim meet behind him,
where he came in first in all his events, he had time to concentrate on other
things like Robby, and spending more time playing Mythical Mayhem with him.
He’d barely gotten it booted up when his mother called him downstairs.
His father was waiting at the kitchen table as his mom stood behind him with
her arms crossed. Derek looked between them as he sat down across from them.
Somewhere in the house, Cora was eavesdropping. It would be hard not to.
“Derek, we’re concerned,” his father said, his hands folded out in front of him
on the table. Derek looked to his mom, who nodded her head.
“About what?” Derek asked. “I’ve got good grades, I go to every swim practice--
”
“It’s not that,” Talia said, her voice stern.
“You’re spending too much time in your room, playing that game.”
“It isn’t just a game,” Derek implored, his face contorting. “I-- I’m being
social on it.”
“You don’t hang out with friends.”
“I am, though,” Derek said, looking between them. “I’ve got, he’s-- I’m--”
He didn’t know how to explain himself, how to tell them that he found someone,
only they were online and not right in front of them. Derek’s jaw clenched as
he stood up, his face set in a frown.
“It isn’t like we can have people over, or invite them to dinner. No one is
allowed in, it’s better this way, isn’t it? To keep people away? Well I’m
keeping him safe, he won’t get hurt if he’s online but telling me that our
friendship, our relationship isn’t anything real because physical contact
hasn’t been made is just--”
“Derek, calm down,” his mother said, her eyes flashing red. Derek lowered his
head to the side, exposing his neck to her. “We were only concerned. We want
you to make an effort, to go out.”
“I thought the point was to remain hidden.”
“It’s not about that,” William said, looking to Talia. “We want you to have
friends, to go out. We don’t want what happened with Paige to keep you locked
up in your room.”
“I’m not locked up in my room,” Derek said. “I’m having fun, I’m being social.
I’m not some recluse.”
“Less time on the computer, please,” his mother said, her decision final. Derek
narrowed his eyes, but knew better than to backtalk. He got up from his seat,
and walked out the back door. He needed to go for a walk.
Once he was out of earshot of the house, Derek took out his phone, pulling up
Robby’s number. They hadn’t really used the phone since that night, so Derek
hadn’t really registered it before, but Robby’s area code was the same as his.
Derek looked around the forest, looking for proof of some sort of cosmic joke
that was being played on him. Robby was from Beacon County.
Derek hesitated before calling him, but ended up hitting send as he put the
phone up to his ear, shoving the other into his back pocket as he looked down
at the ground, kicking at rocks idly. It rang three times, four, five, before
going over to voicemail.
“Hey there,” Robby’s voice said, with a certain snark that Derek rarely heard
from him. “I’m obviously not available right now, but I’ll call you back....
when I get to it.”
Derek paced as he thought about if he should leave a message or not. Before he
knew it, the voicemail beeped and he panicked.
“Hey, this is Derek, uh, I was just calling because I was out and I thought we
could chat instead of raid... I’ll talk to you later.”
Derek hung up, his eyes widening when he realized that, not once, had he ever
told Robby his name. Robby would know who he was by his voice, and it wasn’t
like they hadn’t jacked off together so it wasn’t really a big deal; it just
felt like one.
He stayed out until dinner time, waiting for Robby to call back. He ended up
watching a movie with his parents and sister, and didn’t go online at all. He
waited, and waited, going to bed without hearing from Robby. Derek tried not to
think too hard about it.
***** Chapter 4 *****
Chapter Notes
     thanks so much for the subscriptions, comments, and kudos!! as
     always, I can be found on tumblr at attoliancrown :D
Derek groaned when he opened his locker to find a flyer tucked in it. There was
one slipped into every locker, reminding the student body to buy tickets to the
spring masquerade. Derek wasn’t interested in going in the slightest. He
crumpled it up, tossing it into the recycling bin as he passed it.
“Nice shot,” Stiles said, appearing by Derek’s side with a wry grin plastered
on his face. Derek wasn’t in the mood. He hadn’t slept at all, not hearing back
from Robby the night before.
“Thanks,” Derek said, avoiding Stiles’ gaze. Stiles wasn’t so easily deterred,
it seemed, and started rambling.
“--didn’t go last year, what with the whole Lydia debacle--”
“Lydia debacle?” Derek asked, his brow furrowed. Stiles stopped walking in the
middle of the hallway once he realized Derek had as well, a few steps back.
Students walked around them as they stood right in the center, in everyone’s
way
“Yeah,” Stiles said, shrugging his shoulders as his head jerked to the side,
obviously feigning
nonchalance. “You know, me asking her during lunch, in front of people, her
saying no. It was kind of the worst day of my life.”
“Oh,” Derek said, frowning. He hadn’t known that had been Stiles. Sure, he knew
someone had asked Lydia, that people laughed, but he didn’t see why they would
have laughed at Stiles. Stiles was awesome. “I didn’t go either.”
“I know,” Stiles said, biting his lip. “I’m sorry about what happened-- I mean,
fuck. I didn’t mean to bring it up.”
Derek stood there for a second, not realizing what Stiles meant. He kept
forgetting that the whole school knew about the car crash, that he came out
unscathed but Paige hadn’t; that she died in his arms. With his eyes closed,
Derek concentrated on breathing. Stiles’ scent filled his nostrils, enveloping
him. Derek wasn’t so sure that helped matters.
“It’s okay,” Derek found himself saying. “It’s no one’s fault but the drunk
driver.”
“My dad, uh--” Stiles scratched the back of his head as he cleared his throat.
“He was the first there.”
“Yeah,” Derek said, his voice distant.
“Anyways, so about this dance--”
“I’m not going,” Derek said. “But I hope you find a date,” he mumbled as he
pushed past the crowd, leaving Stiles behind.
After school, Derek sat in his room on his bed with his legs crossed and his
phone in his lap. He stared down at it as if willing it to ring. When it did,
he jumped. At first he thought it would be Robby, but instead it was Boyd, one
of his closest friends at school.
“Hey man, a bunch of us are going bowling tonight, you in?” Boyd asked. Derek
looked to his computer, and thought about how he had been moping.
“Yeah, I’m in,” Derek said. If Robby wasn’t going to call him, he wasn’t going
to wait around for him.
Cora ended up tagging along, and when they got there it seemed like a large
group was there, splitting them off into two lanes. Derek shouldn’t have been
surprised to see Stiles there with Scott, but he was. Stiles had a drink in his
hand, with his back turned towards Derek but Derek would know that back
anywhere. The sound of Stiles’ heartbeat also carried through the noise of the
bowling alley as if it were Derek’s own heart beating.
Derek grabbed his shoes and a ball before heading over to their designated
lanes. He sat down on a seat in the lane opposite of Stiles’. It seemed safer
that way. On Derek’s team was Boyd, Erica, Allison Argent and Isaac Lahey while
Stiles was on Scott’s, Cora’s, Lydia, and Kira Yukimura’s. Derek had blinders
on for four years apparently because Stiles was friends with all of his
friends.
“Oh, it’s going down,” Stiles said, pointing at Derek. Cora put her arm around
Stiles’ shoulder as she narrowed her eyes at Derek and Boyd, two fingers going
from her own eyes to pointing at Derek.
“You’re on,” Derek said with a smirk. He could do this. He could pretend to be
okay. Being a smart ass was easy, it kept a defensive wall up between him and
Stiles. Sarcasm was exactly that, a defense that kept others at arm’s length.
Stiles grinned, his eyes narrowing before he cracked his knuckles, looking to
Cora.
“What do you say, Cora, a little wager?”
“Oh, what do you have in mind?” She asked, lifting an eyebrow as she put her
head on his shoulder, intrigued. Derek gritted his teeth as Cora winked at him,
riling him up.
“I don’t know, how about if we win, Derek goes to the masque,” Stiles wagered.
Derek scoffed, waving a hand at them as Scott and Boyd both took their time
plugging in their names.
“And if I win?” Derek asked, cocky. He knew he could win.
“If your team wins, then Stiles and I will...” Derek waited for Cora to think
of something, anything, that would benefit him. She wouldn’t do his chores, and
Stiles wasn’t allowed over.
“If you win, then you get your car washed every weekend by yours truly,” Stiles
said. Derek looked him over again, then at their team. He didn’t really want to
go to the masquerade, and didn’t care about washing the car when he could just
get it done himself, but the way that Cora smirked at him, he knew he’d accept.
“Deal,” Derek said, holding out his hand. Stiles shook it readily, for a couple
seconds too long.
“Stiles, you’re up!” Scott said, patting Stiles on the back.
Stiles bowled a spare for his first round. Derek was impressed, but not as
impressed as he was by Lydia’s strike. Stiles scowled at him as he ran his
fingers through his hair. Scott had a gutter ball, which had Stiles flailing
around.
“Scotty, you’re killin’ me here!”
Derek laughed his way to the lane, ball in hand. He and Cora were up together,
but he let her go first. On his turn, he got a strike, sending the ball
straight down the middle. It would be hard for him not to, but he’d have to
allow some imperfection in his game.
Between him and Lydia, Derek thought they had it in the bag, considering
Scott’s failed attempts at knocking pins over.
In the end, it came down to him and Cora. If Cora got a strike, their team
would win. She’d been pretty consistent, and he’d just split his down the
middle and he’d never gotten the hang of curving it right.
Derek wasn’t a spoil sport, not really, but as Cora jumped into the air and
into Stiles’ arms, he wanted to punch something.
“Come on, Derek,” Stiles said, laughing. “Don’t look like a kicked puppy, it’ll
be fun.” Stiles pulled Derek into their celebrations, his hand clenched around
Derek’s jacket as their team jumped up and down signing ‘we won, we won’ over
and over. Of Derek’s team, Lydia looked the most disappointed.
Derek couldn’t help but smile with Stiles so close to him. With a look to
Stiles’ lips, Derek licked his own. It would be so easy to kiss him like this,
but Derek restrained himself. Stiles looked into Derek’s eyes, his grin wide as
if knowing what Derek had been thinking.
“See you at the masque,” he whispered. Derek’s cheeks reddened as the
celebrations dispersed.
After Derek put his bowling ball back and handed off his shoes, he checked his
phone, hoping from a response from Robby. There wasn’t one. He was silent on
the way home, only half listening to Cora as she talked about her ideas for the
masquerade.
As soon as Derek got home, he ran up the stairs two steps at a time, going
straight into his room. He’d had enough of not being online, of not talking to
Robby. When he signed on, he wasn’t surprised to find no messages waiting for
him, though it hurt a little bit. Robby was online, as indicated by a little
green dot by his name. Derek clicked it, calling him as he put his headset on.
It took longer than normal for the call to be answered, but as soon as it was,
relief flooded him.
“He--hey, Derek,” Robby said, his voice unsure.
“Hey,” Derek said. “I haven’t-- I hadn’t heard from you.”
“Uh-- right. Sorry? I just got home, I was out, bowling.” Derek stilled. Had
Robby been at the bowling alley and he hadn’t even realized it? What if they’d
passed by each other and didn’t know it. Derek’s mind was reeling at the fact,
since there was only one bowling alley in Beacon County, the options were
limited.
“Huh,” Derek said. “Well, I meant the other day, I called.”
“Oh,” Robby said, hesitating. “Right.” The conversation was stilted, awkward.
Derek wanted to bury his head in a hole in the ground. “Sorry. I’ve been...
thinking.” Derek’s stomach clenched: Robby didn’t want to have anything to do
with him. This was the end. He let his imagination take over his mind, thinking
about all the reasons Robby wanted to stop talking to him, so he completely
missed part of the conversation. “-- so what do you think?”
“What?” Derek asked, panicking over missing Robby’s question. Damn his vivid
imagination and paranoia.
“Uh, do you want to go to the masque with me?”
“Masque-- like Beacon Hills’ masque?”
“Yeah, do you want to meet me there? I think we should... meet.” Derek coughed,
holding back as he laughed. Robby went to his school. He could be in one of
Derek’s classes for all he knew, even his English class. It hadn’t been a
coincidence that they both had to write a paper about the same book.
“I-- yeah,” Derek said, taking a calming breath. “That would be great. So you
go to Beacon Hills?”
“Yeah,” Robby said. “I do.”
Things went back to normal after that, well, sort of. The masquerade was only a
few days away and Derek didn’t have a clue as to what he could wear. Cora was
going all out with her outfit: Harley Quinn.
“You should go as the Phantom of the Opera,” Cora said as she held needles in
her mouth. She was seated cross-legged in the den where Derek was watching a
movie. Derek rolled his eyes.
“Try again.”
“Zorro.”
“No.”
“Go in one of those lame ass skeleton one pieces, then,” Cora grumbled as Laura
came in the door, bearing groceries for the dinner she was making.
“You need help?” Derek asked as he got off the couch, itching to get away from
talk about the masquerade. He hadn’t told anyone he was meeting Robby, and he
was getting nervous about it.
“You can cut the veggies, I’m making fajitas,” Laura said, doing a dance that
looked something like a salsa, sort of. Derek made a face, but didn’t comment.
He wasn’t much of a dancer, either.
“So,” Laura said as she got a pan down to cook the chicken in. “Cora tells me
you’re going to a dance.” Derek rolled his eyes. He couldn’t escape it. “That,
and you are only going because you lost a bet.”
“I lost a bet, yeah, but I’m going for other reasons too,” Derek mumbled,
chopping onion and green peppers with more fervor than necessary.
“Do tell,” Laura said, giving him a smile. She always knew how to get
information from him, he caved so easily.
“I have a date-- I’m meeting someone there.”
“What?!” Cora said from the den. Derek could hear her scrambling to get up,
running down the hall. She appeared, sliding in on the wood floor. “You have a
date? Who?”
Derek’s eyes narrowed. The look on Cora’s face was that of shock.
“I can get dates, you know.”
“Oh, I know. I just want to know who it is.”
“None of your business,” Derek said, putting the knife down. Cora stuck her
tongue out at him and lunged forward.
“Children!” Laura said, putting her hands between them as Derek made to meet
her hand to hand. “Simmer. Derek, who are you going with?”
“His name is Robby,” Derek said, watching Cora’s reaction. She looked to the
ground, her shoulders sagging. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing, it doesn’t matter. Who’s Robby?”
“I was-- he goes to our school. He’s in our grade.” Cora gave him a look. Derek
knew he didn’t know everyone in their grade, but he was sure that Cora did.
They were only nine months apart, with Cora just reaching the deadline before
she would have had to be a year behind him.
“Like, Robert Weise?” Cora asked. “That’s the only Rob in our class.”
“Probably,” Derek said with a shrug. He didn’t know them. Cora looked
skeptical. “What does it matter who?”
“Because-- because I know of someone else who wanted to go with you.”
“What?” Derek asked, confused. He didn’t realize anyone liked him. He had girls
come onto him at parties, but drunken hookups weren’t his thing, especially
since he couldn’t even get tipsy. That, and consent. “Who?”
“Doesn’t really matter now, does it?” Cora asked as she took one last look at
Derek before she went back to her costume. Derek didn’t know what to say to
that.
At school, Derek tried to find Robert Weise. He didn’t know what he was going
to say, but he wanted to get it out in the open who he was, and he was
definitely interested in seeing what Robby looked like.
He couldn’t ask Cora, because she’d make a spectacle out of it at lunch. So
before she sat down, Derek asked Stiles, who was already sitting down.
“Do you know Robert Weise?” Derek asked him. Stiles stopped mid bite, his fork
in front of his mouth.
“What?”
“Do you know him?”
“Yeah, why?” Stiles asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
“He’s the only Robert in our grade, right?”
“Yeah...” Stiles tapped his fingers against the table, eyeing Derek. “He’s not
in our lunch, why, what’s up?” Stiles pried. Derek thought about not telling
him, considering he wanted to be immersed in Stiles’ scent. Emotions were
complicated.
“Just wondering,” Derek said as he opened his can of Coke. Next time he looked
up, he realized he hadn’t noticed when Stiles started sitting with them at
lunch. When Stiles tried to steal one of his apple slices, Derek grabbed his
wrist, his thumb grazing Stiles’ pulse point. Stiles’ heartbeat elevated. Derek
let go of his wrist, turning his attention towards Erica who talked about her
traditional masquerade mask she’d been working on.
“I’m not telling you guys what I’m going as,” Stiles said, sitting up
straighter. “It’s a surprise.”
“Let me guess,” Erica said, leaning over the table towards Stiles, pinching his
cheek. “You’re going to be Spider-Man.” Stiles swatted her hand away.
“No, that’s too easy to guess.”
“Batman,” Derek suggested. Stiles grinned at him, but shook his head.
“Nope,” Stiles said, stealing another apple slice. Derek couldn’t help but
smile. “What are you going as?”
“Oh, you’re not gonna tell, but I’m supposed to?”
“Come on,” Stiles said. “How else am I supposed to tell you even came.” Derek
rolled his eyes at Stiles, kicking at him under the table. Stiles kicked back.
It felt right, messing around with him. It made Derek realize that he wished
Robby was Stiles, that he was going with Stiles. Derek’s face fell as he
concentrated on his sandwich.
That night on the phone with Robby, Derek brought up how he didn’t know who he
was.
“You know me, though, right?”
“Derek Hale? Everyone knows you,” Robby laughed. Derek smiled where he lay out
on his bed, feet hanging over the edge. He was shirtless, hanging out in only
his boxers, a hand on his stomach as he stared up at the ceiling. “You’ll know
my face when you see me.”
“That is so fucking vague,” Derek laughed, but he couldn’t help but be excited.
“Whatever. Just tell me what you’re going to be so I can find you.”
“I’m going to be Deadpool,” Robby said. “It’s going to be badass.”
“Sounds like it, I’ll keep an eye out.”
“You better, so what are you going as?” Derek sighed, thinking about keeping it
from him. “Come on, I told you. I haven’t told anyone else, not even my best
friend.”
“Wow, I’m honored,” Derek said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Robby groaned.
“Okay, okay, I’m going as Scarecrow.”
“Like, Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz or--”
“What? No!” Derek laughed, rolling onto his stomach. “No, like from Batman
Begins.”
“Freaky, I like it.”
“I thought you would.”
“So I guess I’ll see you there.”
“Definitely,” Derek said. “I can’t wait.”
-
Derek paced around his room, checking the time over and over. He and Cora
weren’t leaving for a while yet. He’d checked, and Robby wasn’t online so he
couldn’t even go on a quest to bide his time. His costume was ready, on his
bed, and all he had to do was put it on. He was going stir crazy waiting. A
ping on his phone indicating a text, brought him back to reality. He welcomed
the diversion. It was a group text.
Drinking at Boyd’s after the dance? It asked. It was from Erica. Derek
responded to all.
Maybe, he said. He wasn’t sure how things with Robby would go. Derek tossed his
phone aside groaning. An onslaught of texts came in, everyone giving their
answers. He scanned over them, his eyes widening when he saw Robby’s name
amongst his friends.
“What?” Derek asked his phone. Since when was Robert Weise friends with his
friends? He really needed to pay more attention. Robby, like Derek, said he
wasn’t sure.
At least there was that.
Once Cora was ready, since her makeup took a while, Derek got dressed. His mask
was hot, stuffy, and a little bit itchy, so he didn’t put it on until he went
downstairs. His parents, of course, took pictures of them together. Derek’s
favorite pose was when they both had hands around each other’s throats, faking
strangling the other. Such a Kodak moment.
Derek was nervous, and Cora could tell as he strummed on the steering wheel as
he drove.
“You’re freaking me out,” Cora said as she watched him. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?” Derek said, defensive. “I’m not doing anything.”
“You reek of anxiety, get away.”
“I can’t help it!” Derek shouted as she poked at him. “Don’t touch me when I’m
driving.”
“You’re fine, keep your eyes on the road,” Cora jabbed. Derek groaned.
Sometimes Cora got under his skin, and she wasn’t helping. “Any ideas what
Stiles is going to be?”
“No, he wasn’t telling anyone,” Derek said. Cora bit her lip, holding back a
smile. “What?”
“You think you can hide it? From me?”
“Hide what?” Derek asked. Cora rolled her eyes dramatically as she played with
her pigtails.
“Whatever, fine. Don’t fess up.”
“Fess up to what?!” Derek asked. He’d had enough of Cora’s bullshit evasive
tactics. “I don’t have anything to fess up to.”
“I know you like Stiles, so who’s this Robby?”
“See,” Derek said, hitting the steering wheel. “This, this is why I don’t tell
you anything. And nothing is going on between Stiles and I.”
“No, you just went to his house on the full moon for shits and giggles.”
“That’s-- that isn’t fair.”
“But it’s the truth. You know he likes you, right? The whole point of the bet
was because he wanted to see you here. Now, you’re not even single.”
Derek’s mouth went dry as he stared ahead. He felt like he was having an out of
body experience as he drove on autopilot to the school. His mind was completely
blank.
“And now I’m the asshole who told, so thanks for making me the asshole,” Cora
added.
“You’re not an asshole,” Derek said, clenching his jaw. “I am.”
“Pretty much. Just don’t rub it in his face.”
“I won’t,” Derek said as he pulled into a parking space. Before he got out of
the car, he put his mask on, which was good, because now he could avoid eye
contact with everyone. He had been excited to meet Robby, finally, but now it
left a sour taste in his mouth, knowing that Stiles liked him.
Once inside, he and Cora split up. He was on a mission, and that mission was to
find Deadpool. He got complimented on his mask, which he just nodded at as he
continued around the gym, searching. His heart beat fast as time passed. He
wished he knew what Robby smelled like, because this was like finding a needle
in a haystack.
Derek smelled Stiles before he saw him. He walked towards him before he
realized what he was doing, following his scent. It felt like some sort of 80’s
movie, how the crowd parted for him, but that probably had more to do with the
fact that he was kinda scary dressed as Scarecrow more than the fact that he
was finally meeting the guy he’d been talking to for months.
He stopped when he realized when he’d just thought, just as Deadpool came into
view. Derek grinned, stepping forward. He closed his eyes, breathing him in.
Deadpool was Stiles, Stiles was Robby, and Derek couldn’t be happier.
***** Chapter 5 *****
“Hey,” Derek said.
“Hey,” Stiles said, though Derek was sure that Stiles didn’t know that Derek
knew, yet, because Stiles didn’t know that Derek was a werewolf. No, he wasn’t
even sure Stiles knew that he was Derek. Derek panicked for a moment, until he
remembered what Cora said: Stiles liked him. “Fancy seeing you here.” Derek
laughed as he reached out for Stiles, hesitating at the last second.
Derek couldn’t believe that Robby was Stiles.
“Can I?”
“Yeah,” Stiles said, nodding his head. He’d be hard to hear, if Derek wasn’t a
werewolf. Luckily for him, he was, because he could also hear how fast Stiles’
heart was beating, how anxious he was. Derek put his hand on Stiles’ shoulder,
sliding it up to his neck as he stepped closer. It was funny, because he
couldn’t see Stiles’ face, nor Stiles his because of the masks. Around them,
everyone else was in their own world, not realizing how monumental this moment
was for Derek.
“So, hey.”
“We already did that,” Stiles pointed out, his hands on Derek’s jacket. They
were the same height, would be eye to eye if he could see them. He could hear
it now, how similar Stiles’ voice was to Robby’s, since they were one and the
same, but how different it sounded in person than over headset. Derek took a
moment to breathe Stiles in, since he could, what with the mask on. He smelled
so good, intoxicating, as Derek leaned in.
“Want to get out of here?”
“Really?” Stiles asked.
“Like, the hallway.”
“Oh,” Stiles said, laughing, taking Derek’s hand in his. “Come on, then.”
Stiles led Derek out of the gym and into the hallway. Once there, Stiles backed
Derek against a set of lockers, his hands on Derek’s neck and waist. Derek
groaned. “So do we want to get this over with?”
“What over with?” Derek asked, already half hard in his pants from the way
Stiles touched him.
“The big reveal.”
“Oh, yeah,” Derek said. “Want to... want me to--” He indicated to taking
Stiles’ off. Stiles nodded as he took hold of Derek’s, lifting it at the same
time that Derek lifted Stiles’.
Stiles’ face, flushed and hair tousled, stared up at him, unsure. Derek ran a
thumb over Stiles’ lips, smiling.
“I knew it was you,” Derek said as he leaned forward, capturing Stiles’ lips
with his own. Stiles moaned into the kiss, pressing Derek harder against the
lockers, his hands cupping Derek’s face. “I knew it.”
“You asshole,” Stiles said as he hovered over Derek’s mouth for a second before
kissing him again. “You knew?”
“Not until tonight, but it makes sense,” Derek said, his nose dragging over
Stiles’ cheek. He could get drunk off of the scent of him mingling with Derek’s
own. “Did you?”
“Did I what?” Stiles asked, his eyelids heavy as he leaned in for another kiss.
“Know.”
“Oh,” Stiles said, stilling. He licked his lips as he let out a shaky breath.
“Yeah.” Derek’s gaze traveled across Stiles’ face.
“Where are your glasses?” Derek asked.
“What? Oh, uh, contacts. I hate them, actually, they make my eyes itch,” Stiles
said, rubbing at them. “I wish I brought my glasses.”
“Ah,” Derek said, still crowded against the locker. “So, how long have you
known?”
“Not long,” Stiles confessed. “Not until the voicemail, when you said your name
was Derek.”
“That’s why you didn’t call me back.”
Stiles looked guilty, though Derek wanted to kiss him all the more for it.
“Yeah, I just-- I liked you from school, you know? And to find out you were the
same person I’d been talking to for months-- it was a lot to take in. A lot.
And I knew that I wanted to come to the dance with you, you know, for reasons,
and when I realized the easiest way was to just ask you online... I don’t
know.”
“It made sense,” Derek said, giving Stiles a reassuring smile. “I’m here.”
Stiles grinned at him, kissing him again.
“I have a question, though,” Derek said.
“What?” Stiles asked, giving Derek a little more breathing room.
“Robby? Your name isn’t Robby.” Stiles snorted, covering his face with his
hands as he took a step back, laughing. “What’s so funny?”
“I couldn’t correct you,” Stiles wheezed. “Ever. It was too good.”
“What was?” Derek asked, desperate to be in on the joke.
“My screenname? RobieLody? It’s Polish.”
“Okay?” Derek said, still in the dark.
“I speak Polish, well, half-assed, because my family is from there and,
anyways,” Stiles flailed, “Robielody literally means ‘I make ice cream’.” Derek
narrowed his eyes at Stiles, who was still laughing. “It’s a colloquialism for
‘I suck cock’.”
Derek’s eyes widened, his cheeks reddening.
“Oh my god.”
“Yeah,” Stiles said, trying to hold back a laugh. “So you’ve been calling me
that, and it’s made my day every time.”
“You could have said!” Derek said, laughing despite his embarrassment. “‘I suck
cock’, really?”
“It’s funny! Oh god, it’s even better now I know it was you calling me that.
Ice cream. Cock. Oh, man. The best.”
“You have a twisted mind,” Derek said as he shook his head. “And to think, I
was trying to find Robert Weise.”
“I almost lost it, dude,” Stiles said, holding his stomach because he’d been
laughing so hard. “Literally, I almost busted out laughing.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t.”
“Well, to be fair, I was afraid what you’d think when you found out it was me.”
“What do you mean?” Derek asked, frowning.
“You know, I was invisible to you up until a little over a month ago. There was
no way that you’d-- think of me.”
“Well, I was a little trapped in my own mind, if I’m being honest. I don’t know
how I didn’t notice you because I wasn’t lying when I said I’m glad it was you.
This entire time I thought I’d liked two separate people and I couldn’t-- I
couldn’t choose.”
Stiles smiled, stepping forward again and kissing Derek. This time the kiss was
chaste, and lingered longer than the others had. Derek wrapped his arms around
Stiles, pulling him close. It felt so good to have Stiles in his arms, finally.
It felt right. As the kiss deepened, Derek felt himself slipping, his heart
rate rising as Stiles’ tongue slid into Derek’s mouth. His grip on Stiles
tightened as he resituated them, pressing Stiles against the lockers. Stiles
let out a groan, probably from the latches sticking out, as Derek kissed him
back. He could feel himself losing control as Stiles’ hands roamed his body.
Inhaling deeply, Derek rolled his hips against Stiles, giving in to the
feeling. Stiles moaned, his hands finding Derek’s ass as they both rutted
against each other, panting.
“Wait, wait,” Stiles said, his lips swollen, pupils blown. Derek didn’t want
to, though, he wanted more, needed to feel more. Stiles put his hands on
Derek’s chest, keeping him back. Stiles swallowed as he caught his breath,
licking his lips. “We could get caught.”
“We are out in the open,” Derek pointed out. Stiles nodded his head, his gaze
no leaving Derek’s lips. “Locker room?”
“Yeah, yeah, we can do that,” Stiles said, untangling himself from Derek. He
grabbed Derek’s hand, leading him once more down the hallway, their footsteps
echoing off the walls. As they walked into the boys’ locker room, Derek tried
to get ahold of himself. Stiles, with a grin, beckoned Derek to one of the
benches, where he sat Derek down by pressing his hands down on Derek’s
shoulders. Derek could have stayed upright, but Stiles manhandling him turned
him on more than he thought it would. Stiles straddled Derek’s lap, rubbing up
against Derek as his open mouth hovered over Derek’s. “This is better.”
Derek grabbed onto Stiles’ ass, which earned him a loud, guttural groan as he
captured Stiles’ lips with his. Stiles moved against him, practically bouncing
in his lap as he wrapped his arms around Derek. Their kisses were frantic, as
Derek moved his mouth from Stiles’, mouthing down his neck, sucking at his
skin. Stiles bit his lip, his head thrown back as he slid against Derek’s
erection. Derek could feel his claws coming out as he buried his face against
Stiles’ neck as Stiles slowed his movements.
“Too much?” Stiles asked, panting. Derek nodded his head, fists clenched behind
Stiles’ back to hide the evidence of Derek’s lack of control. He couldn’t look
at Stiles, in case his eyes were glowing. “That’s okay,” Stiles said, pressing
his head against Derek’s as he put a hand to the back of Derek’s neck. “I don’t
really want to get jizz in this costume.” Derek couldn’t help but laugh as he
hugged Stiles, the tension leaving him. “Seriously though, I was about to come.
It would have been embarrassing.”
“Not if I came, too,” Derek said, pressing his nose against Stiles neck,
breathing him in. Stiles was Derek’s personal version of catnip, it seemed.
“That-- that’s actually pretty romantic of you to say,” Stiles joked. “I
appreciate that.” Derek shrugged, smiling as Stiles cupped his face, bringing
their lips together once more. They were disrupted by the door opening and a
flashlight shining on them.
“Alright, out,” Coach said, pointing to the door. “No sex in the locker room,
it’s disgusting in here.”
Stiles scrambled off of Derek, almost tripping on himself, but Derek saved him
by grabbing onto his arm, hoisting him back upright.
“We weren’t gonna--”
“Don’t give me that. I just found you in a compromising position that even
bleach won’t help me with. If I catch you two again, it’ll be detention! Now
out!”
Coach chaperoned them all the way back to the dance, eyeing them as they made
their way back into the crowd. They ran into Cora first, of course, whose face
scrunched up when she smelled them.
“What?” Cora asked, looking between the two of them. “What happened?” She
asked. “And where are your masks?”
“Oh,” Stiles said, rubbing the back of his neck. “We dropped them.”
“You dropped them?”
“Yeah, in the hallway,” Derek added. “We should go get them.”
“Yeah--”
“Hold up,” Cora said, grabbing onto Derek’s arm before he could get too far,
her grip bone breaking. “Explain.”
“Uh,” Derek said, not so eloquently.
“We were sort of online dating but then realized we knew each other from here
and so we made out, ta-da?” Stiles rambled. Cora’s face went through at least
four expressions in five seconds as she dropped Derek’s hand.
“You’re the one he’s been talking to every night?”
“Yep,” Stiles said, popping the ‘p’. “That’s me.”
“Your name isn’t Robby,” Cora pointed out. Derek and Stiles both burst into a
fit of giggles, holding onto each other to keep from falling over. “What’s so
funny?”
“Inside joke,” Stiles wheezed, taking Derek’s hand in his. “We’re gonna go get
our masks.”
Once they retrieved them and put them back on, they joined the dance and their
friends, dancing like maniacs together, dressed like Deadpool and Scarecrow. As
the dance was winding down, the post-dance party was brought up again.
“Party’s at Lydia’s,” Scott said as they all walked out. “You in?” He asked
Stiles. Stiles looked to Derek, who shrugged. He wasn’t big on parties, but he
was interested in spending more time with Stiles.
“I’m in,” Stiles said. “But I’m riding with Derek.”
“Ugh,” Cora said, folding her arms. “I’m catching a ride with you guys,” she
said to Erica and Boyd.
“What? Why?” Scott asked. Cora pat his cheek as she walked by him.
“Oh, my sweet summer child.”
“No, but what?” Scott called out as Derek and Stiles headed to his car.
“Later, Scott!” Stiles shouted. For the first time since he got his car, Derek
wished it was an automatic instead of a manual. Manuals weren’t conducive to
hand holding.
“So,” Stiles said, his leg bouncing up and down as he looked out the window,
his thumb close to his mouth as if he were about to start biting it. His mask
was in his lap, as was Derek’s, his other hand clenched tight around them.
“So,” Derek said, letting himself smile a little as he looked at Stiles. Stiles
turned his head, looking back at him. “You’re the one who gave me an awesome
sword.”
“That sword was a wooing sword, okay,” Stiles pointed out. “I liked that
sword.”
“It’s a good sword,” Derek admitted. “I use it all the time!”
“I know you do!” Stiles laughed, then fell silent. “This isn’t weird, is it? I
mean. We’ve, you know--”
“Had phone sex?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, well, don’t think of it as weird,” Derek suggested. “Do you want to
start over?” Derek asked.
“Like, hi, my name is Przemysław Stilinski, nice to meet you?”
“Your name is who and what now?” Derek asked, his eyebrows skyrocketing towards
his hairline. “I can’t even say that.”
“Try it.”
“Primiswaf?” Derek asked. “How do you even spell that?”
“That wasn’t bad,” Stiles admitted. “Now you know why I go by ‘Stiles’.”
“Definitely,” Derek said. “I don’t think I’ll be calling you that anytime
soon.”
“Good,” Stiles said with a wry grin as he slouched down in the seat. “I’d have
to retaliate.”
“Oh, really?” Derek asked, amused. “But back to the subject, I mean like, we
aren’t physically where we are mentally... if that makes sense.”
“Like, I wooed you with a sword online, but now I need to buy you coffee or
something in real life?”
“Something like that, but I meant more like, phone sex versus full contact.”
“Oh,” Stiles said, covered his face with his hands. “Duh.”
“But coffee sounds nice.”
“It’s a date, then.”
When they got to the party it was in full swing. They had to park two blocks
down the street and had to walk the distance to the house. Everyone was still
in their costumes, most of them sans their masks. Derek and Stiles left theirs
in the car. As they walked towards the house, they bumped shoulders, grinning
at one another. Once inside, it was loud. It didn’t bother Derek, since he
concentrated on the sound of Stiles’ breathing and his heartbeat.
“Want to go out back?” Derek asked.
“What?” Stiles asked, leaning in towards Derek, his hand on Derek’s arm. Derek
pressed his lips practically against Stiles’ ear.
“Want to go out back where it’s quieter?” Derek asked, his fingers linking with
Stiles’ free hand. Stiles nodded his head, following Derek outside. It was
cooler out, the sky clear, and not as many people outside due to the keg being
in the kitchen.
“Want something to drink?” Stiles asked.
“No, I don’t drink,” Derek said, knowing he sounded lame. No high schooler at a
party said no to alcohol. He didn’t care for the taste, and he didn’t see a
point since he couldn’t get drunk.
“Oh,” Stiles said, rubbing the back of his neck, avoiding Derek’s gaze.
“You can, though, go get a drink. I’ll wait here.”
Stiles gave him a quick smile before he disappeared inside. It gave Derek time
to think about the situation, about how Stiles was Robby, and Robby was Stiles.
They were one and the same. He’d spent hours talking to Stiles. Stiles knew
him, except for one fact, the fact. It made Derek’s heart ache that he couldn’t
tell him. He wouldn’t tell him. Not after what happened with Paige. That would
never happen again.
Stiles returned a short time later holding two cups in his hand, one half
finished.
“Sorry, there was a line.”
“That’s fine,” Derek said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Stiles now
smelled of alcohol, which was slightly less pleasant, but his true scent still
lingered. Derek frowned as he thought about how attracted he’d been to Stiles’
scent before, and if his instincts knew Stiles was Robby before he did or not.
Sometimes being a werewolf was confusing, like how he wanted to ram Stiles up
against the wall and kiss him, but he knew it wasn’t the time or the place for
it.
Stiles watched Derek with a keen eye as he downed the first beer.
“I don’t know how to drink without the intention of getting hammered,” Stiles
confessed.
“Maybe slowing down would be a good thing, then,” Derek said as he watched
Stiles gulp down half of the second. “No judgement, though.”
“You’re right, I mean, maybe if you were drinking,” Stiles said with a shrug.
“I didn’t know you didn’t drink.”
“My secret’s out,” Derek teased. “I’m no longer going to be cool.” Stiles
shoved at him playfully, which Derek dodged easily. He ended up wrapping his
arms around Stiles, who began to squirm, to twist his way around so that he was
facing Derek, the two of them staring at each other’s lips.
“Want to go find a quiet room?” Stiles asked. There were people around them
talking, having their own conversations but Derek drowned them out so that he
could only hear Stiles, feel his heartbeat jack rabbiting against his chest.
Instead of kissing him, Derek buried his nose against Stiles’ neck. “You really
like necks, huh.”
“Yes,” Derek confessed, pulling Stiles closer.
“Yes to necks, or yes to a room?”
“Both,” Derek supplied. Stiles laughed as he took Derek’s hand, leading him
back inside. Without so much as a look at anyone else, they made their way
upstairs. Somewhere in the house, Cora was probably within earshot. Derek hoped
she wasn’t paying attention. Stiles found them an empty room, surprisingly, at
the end of the hall. He locked the door behind them, putting his back against
it as he bit his lip.
“So,” Stiles said in an exhale. “Here we are.” Derek couldn’t help but be
amused as his brow furrowed. Stiles was nervous.
“Yeah,” Derek said as he leaned forward, kissing Stiles. Stiles moaned into it,
his eyes closing a moment before Derek’s as Derek pressed himself against
Stiles. It wasn’t until they started kissing, when Stiles opened his mouth for
Derek, that Stiles pushed Derek, edging him towards the bed. They fell onto it
haphazardly, limbs tangling awkwardly as they laughed against each other’s
lips. Stiles sat straddling Derek, bent over so they could continue to kiss.
Derek’s legs hung over the side of the bed, dangling off of it, his feet
brushing the ground as Stiles’ hands slipped beneath the fabric of Derek’s
shirt. Derek shrugged his jacket off, then pulled his shirt over his head,
giving Stiles access. Stiles’ hands on him sent blood surging towards his
groin, moaning as Stiles mouthed at his neck, thumbs grazing over his nipples.
“Yours--” Derek said, tugging at Stiles’ costume.
“Mine,” Stiles laughed. “Zips in the back.”
“Annoying,” Derek grunted as he attempted to sit up. Stiles held him down,
though Derek could easily overpower him. He wouldn’t, though.
“I didn’t think it through,” Stiles said, looking down at Derek, his lips
swollen and red from kissing. “But that’s okay,” he said as he sighed, carding
his fingers through his hair. “Can I-- I mean, I want to blow you.”
All the air rushed out of Derek as he nodded his head. He couldn’t believe,
didn’t want to believe, that this was happening. He watched as Stiles shimmied
off of him, tugging at Derek’s belt, his hand brushing across Derek’s obvious
erection. Derek decided he couldn’t, in fact, watch, so he looked up at the
ceiling as Stiles wrapped a hand around him, stroking him a few times.
“You’re bigger than the picture you sent.”
Derek snorted, but bit back a moan as he felt Stiles’ tongue on him. Derek
clenched his fists around the comforter he was laying on, the feel of fangs
apparent, as well as the taste of blood as he panted. He looked at Stiles take
him completely into his mouth, his eyes closed as if savoring it. When his
mouth popped off, he looked up at Derek. Derek, unable to keep control, closed
his eyes in case they flashed blue.
“Derek?” Stiles asked, his voice broken. “Are you okay?” Derek nodded his head.
his mouth hanging open.
“Yeah,” Derek said, finally able to open his eyes without the fear of them
being blue. “Yeah, just, intense,” he said, which was true. He never felt this
intensely when it had been he and Paige. She didn’t make him feel like his
insides were burning, like he was about to shift at any given moment.
Derek pushed himself up by his elbows, watching as Stiles knelt by the bed, his
tongue lapping at Derek’s exposed head as his hand wrapped around Derek’s
length. Derek felt himself losing it once more, and counteracted it by pulling
Stiles up onto the bed, towards him, so they could kiss. Stiles didn’t seem too
put out as Derek rolled Stiles onto his back, pinning him to the bed, Derek
rutting against him.
“Fuck,” Stiles panted, matching Derek’s movements. “I’m really gonna come in my
costume.”
“Ngh,” was all Derek could manage to say before he sucked at Stiles’ neck,
marking him. His hands were on either side of Stiles’ head as they dug into the
comforter. He heard the fabric rip at the same time Stiles let out a low whine:
Derek had nipped his skin too hard.
Derek was off off him in a second, his hand covering his mouth in shock. Stiles
sat up, holding onto his neck, his face unreadable as Derek shook his head,
grabbing his discarded shirt and jacket. It had been a horrible idea, getting
close to him. Robby had been safe, Robby had been unreachable.
Stiles was so undeniably human that it made Derek ache. He’d hurt him, and that
was unacceptable.
“Derek--”
“I’m sorry,” Derek said, not even bothering to slip his jacket on. “I can’t.”
Derek made his way to the door, watching Stiles stand out of the corner of his
eye. He didn’t look back as he took the stairs two at a time, leaving the party
within the blink of an eye. He couldn’t handle hurting Stiles, that he couldn’t
control his impulses. It was too much.
***** Chapter 6 *****
Derek was definitely a moper. He moped around the house all weekend while
helping his mom in the garden. He moped when he joined his father for Habitat
for Humanity and he definitely moped through swim practice.
He didn’t even have a way to unwind, because before that would have been with
Robby and now Robby didn’t even exist. Derek, for all intents and purposes, was
a wreck. He’d ruined everything before it barely started, and it was all
because he couldn’t control his instincts. He wanted Stiles, badly, but had no
impulse control. The look in Stiles’ eyes had said it all, and Derek didn’t
need to stick around to hear about it.
He had the ghost of Paige’s reaction to play over and over again in his mind.
At least this time there was no car wreck after the big reveal, no death. At
least Stiles was alive.
Derek curled up on his bed with his back towards the door, his memories
haunting him like a broken record, repeating over and over again her screams,
her last breath. She’d been scared of him, even at the end as he held her in
his arms.
Derek skipped dinner.
Sometime later, there was a knock at his door. Derek didn’t answer, but it
opened anyways. It was Cora.
“Can I come in?” She asked, because they didn’t go into each other’s rooms.
Derek didn’t move, but sighed deeply when he heard her footsteps enter, along
with the door closing. “You could try talking to him.”
“No,” Derek said, his voice catching in his throat. He couldn’t face her. “He’s
safer this way.”
“Horseshit,” Cora said, nudging him. Derek growled, sneering at the jab. He
wasn’t in the mood. “He deserves something better than silence for putting up
with you.”
“I bit him.”
“Not on purpose,” Cora chided.
“It doesn’t matter,” Derek said, turning around to face her. “I hurt him.”
“It didn’t hurt him when you nipped at him, it hurt him that you left without
explanation.”
“How do you know?” Derek hissed.
“Because he’s my friend, asshole. He isn’t just yours. I told you not to touch
him, and look where we are.”
“You’re not helping,” Derek grumbled, pressing his face into his pillow. “Go
away.”
“No, you need to talk to him.”
“No, I need to stay away from him. The full moon is tomorrow.”
“No, you need to apologize before tomorrow night.”
“Fuck off,” Derek snarled.
Cora left in a huff. Derek skipped school the next day; moon sickness. It
wasn’t uncommon, especially in his younger years when he was less controlled.
The full moon had been untamable for him when he first hit puberty, and now he
could feel its effects more so than normal. He felt like his body was on fire,
like he needed Stiles.
Derek put himself in the basement, his hands shaking as he clasped shackles
around his own wrists as he dripped with sweat.
“Derek,” Talia said as she knelt before him, putting them on right. “You
haven’t needed these in years.” Derek wanted to cry, weak before his mother,
his alpha. He told her what happened. Of course, she was understanding, just as
she had been with Paige.
“You wouldn’t hurt him,” she said, cupping his face. Derek cringed, because
though she might believe he wouldn’t, he wasn’t so sure himself. Stiles was
human, fragile compared to himself.
“I need to be locked up tonight,” Derek said through clenched teeth. “I just
need to.”
“Alright,” she said, carding her fingers through his hair before she left him,
shutting the door to the basement behind her. Derek listened to her footsteps
fading as he knelt on the hard-packed dirt floor. In his pocket, his phone
rang. He’d forgotten to leave it upstairs in his haste to be cuffed and
secured. He thought about tossing it away, out of reach, but he answered it
before thinking.
“Hello?” Derek asked, his voice shot.
“Derek,” Stiles said, relieved. “I didn’t think you’d answer.” Derek shouldn’t
have answered, because he doubled over, grimacing at his stupidity. “Are you
okay-- you sound--”
“I’m fine, Stiles. I should go--”
“Please, don’t-- I’m sorry.”
Derek stilled, his breathing heavy as he tried to figure out what was going on.
“Sorry for what?” Derek asked.
“For forcing you, okay? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have--”
“Stiles, you didn’t force me, I-- I bit you.”
“You got aggressive because I basically gave you a blowjob against your will.”
“That’s not what happened,” Derek practically growled. “It wasn’t you, it’s me.
I’m the problem. Stay away from me, okay?”
“No, Derek, listen--”
Derek hung up the phone, tossing it away from himself so hard that it broke
into pieces. Derek screamed as he allowed himself to shift. He tugged against
the chains, claws out as he howled for Stiles. He wanted to be near him so
badly, and the night would only get worse.
As time passed by, Derek watched the sky darken. His family would be leaving
for the preserve soon, and he wouldn’t be with them. He whined for his pack,
about his personal isolation that he did to himself. Derek wanted contact,
wanted to be touched. He needed Stiles.
Derek’s head lifted as he heard a car approach, the brakes squeaking when it
came to a stop in their driveway. Derek tugged at the chains, practically
keening as Stiles’ scent washed over him, and then panic.
Stiles just drove into a wolf den without invitation, and on a full moon.
Derek howled, yanking at the chains until he bled. The doorbell rang and he
couldn’t do anything as he listened to his father answer the door.
“Is Derek home?” Stiles asked, his voice muted, being so far away, but Derek
would know his voice from any hearable distance. Derek snarled as he tried to
rip the shackles off of the wall.
“I’m sorry, but he’s not,” his father said, his voice clipped.
“Hi, Stiles, I’m Talia,” his mother said, her voice commanding yet welcoming.
Derek whimpered, wishing he were upstairs.
Only then did he remember why he was downstairs in the first place: Stiles’
safety. This was torture, Stiles being so close and he being unable to break
free.
“We’ve heard so much about you.”
“You have? Oh, well. I wanted to stop by because Derek wasn’t in school.”
“He’s not doing very well,” Talia admitted, though she omitted the reason.
“I tried calling him, but I wanted to come over.”
“Why don’t you wait here in the den, I’ll go see if he’s up for visitors.”
“Okay, thanks,” Stiles said. Derek panted, shaking his head as he heard his
mother tell his father to take Cora and Laura into the preserve without her. He
couldn’t see Stiles like this, he’d hurt him. The door to the basement opened,
his mother appearing in front of him.
“He’s here,” she said.
“I can’t,” Derek said, unable to look her in the eye. “The moon is about to
rise.”
“You have time before it does, you should talk to him.”
“I--” Derek began to panic as his mother began unlocking his shackles, his
heart rate skyrocketing.
“Breathe, Derek. You have to trust yourself, trust your instincts.”
Derek tried breathing in through his nose, out through his mouth as Talia freed
him.
“I hurt him.”
“Are you sure?” Talia asked, taking Derek’s chin and lifting his head so that
they could see eye to eye. “He doesn’t have any bruising, or marks. Humans heal
slower than us.”
“I know, but--”
“Talk to him.”
Derek ascended the stairs slowly, picking up Stiles’ heartbeat as he entered
the house. His nostrils flared as Stiles’ scent mixed with his home. Stiles is
the first person not in their pack to step foot inside their house. When Stiles
came into view, Derek held his breath.
“Hey,” Stiles said, his hands wringing together nervously.
“Hey,” Derek whispered as he hung back. He wanted to touch, to taste as his
body throbbed, the moon calling to him in a constant reminder that Stiles
wasn’t safe. Stiles cleared his throat when it became apparent that Derek
wasn’t going to instigate conversation.
“So, about the other night--”
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” Derek blurted out. Instinctively, Stiles put his hand
to his neck, rubbing at it as he gave Derek a small smile.
“It’s fine, I just-- that isn’t why you left is it? You just surprised me.”
Derek looked away from him, his hands clenched into fists in case he couldn’t
control his shift.
Derek gave a stilted nod as Stiles stepped forward.
“That’s-- that’s not, okay. I mean, I thought I was the one that pushed you
away.”
“You didn’t,” Derek said, still avoiding his gaze as Stiles ducked to one side,
trying to get into Derek’s view.
“So that’s settled, then. Have you been sick? Why weren’t you at school, Cora
didn’t say.” At the mention of his sister, Derek couldn’t help but sneer.
“Something like that.”
“Well, I mean, will you be there tomorrow?”
“Yes,” Derek said, finally looking at Stiles. Again, the conversation fell
flat. “You shouldn’t be here,” Derek said after an awkward silence. “It’s not
safe.” Stiles’ face twisted in confusion as he looked around the family living
room.
“Not safe? The road was fine, I mean, gravel is rocky but I drive a Jeep. No
big.” Derek rolled his eyes, Stiles didn’t get it, that he wasn’t safe in the
room with Derek. Only, Derek didn’t feel like maiming or tearing his throat
out. He felt calm, calmer than he had been down in the basement. “What do you
mean ‘not safe’?”
“Nevermind,” Derek said. “How did you know where I lived?”
“Well, my dad’s the Sheriff,” Stiles said, lifting an eyebrow. The corner of
Derek’s mouth lifted upwards in amusement before it fell back to a stoic
expression, void of emotion. “I-- I’m getting mixed signals here, dude,” Stiles
confessed. “I thought you liked me.”
“I do,” Derek said, taking a step forward. “A lot.” Stiles visibly relaxed, but
crossed his arms.
“Then why the cold shoulder? What did I do, if you didn’t have a problem with
the-- you know,” Stiles said, making a jerk off hand gesture. Derek was
grateful for that, considering his mother was probably within earshot. Derek
groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. He couldn’t tell Stiles, he wouldn’t
do it. “You’re acting weird.”
“Am I?” Derek asked. “Do you actually know enough about me to know when I’m
being weird?”
“Uh, I think so,” Stiles said. “I know you more than you think.”
“Oh, yeah?” Derek asked, taking a step closer, his chest rising and falling
rapidly as he let himself get worked up. Stiles nodded as they stood face to
face, mere inches from each other. Derek could say so much, he could goad
Stiles on, he could pick a fight. He wanted to, wanted a reason to lash out,
but he refrained. Instead, he kissed him, cupping Stiles’ face and closing his
eyes. Stiles let out a moan as he desperately clung to Derek, yanking at his
shirt.
And then Stiles pushed Derek away.
“No, no, we aren’t kissing until we talk. No thinking with our dicks, alright?
I want to know why you bolted on me the other night.”
“Because,” Derek said, his heart beating out of his chest as he stared at
Stiles wet lips, the sound of his own heart just as fast as Derek’s. “I was
afraid.”
“Of what?” Stiles asked, making a face. “We were-- were we going too fast?”
Derek nodded his head, because in a way, it was true. He couldn’t keep himself
under control, because he wanted Stiles too much. Stiles’ cheeks reddened.
“Don’t laugh,” Derek whispered, his own embarrassment at the situation making
him flush as well. Stiles smiled, but it wasn’t out of amusement at Derek’s
expense.
“I won’t,” Stiles said. “But just-- don’t walk out on me, alright? We can go
slow. It’s not like I have much experience anyways.”
“What do you mean?” Derek asked. “Haven’t you--”
“Done stuff? With girls, yeah, I mean, I’ve given a hand job-- TMI,” Stiles
rambled. Derek couldn’t help but laugh. “Hey now, don’t laugh,” Stiles said,
though he was laughing along with Derek. Despite the moon being out, Derek felt
relaxed, as if he’d found an anchor, something he’d been searching for all his
life.
Derek stilled as Stiles linked his fingers with Derek’s. Derek looked down
between their hands, squeezing his hand slightly. Stiles squeezed back,
watching Derek intently.
“So, going slow,” Stiles said. Derek nodded his head, biting his lower lip. It
was the best course of action that enabled him to still see Stiles, be close to
him. “I can deal with that.”
“Good,” Derek said. Stiles kissed Derek on the lips, chastely. It felt amazing,
perfect even. “Let me walk you out.”
“Alright,” Stiles said.
As Derek took Stiles out to his car, they bumped shoulders multiple times,
their fingers still intertwined. He didn’t want to let go as Stiles climbed
into the Jeep. He got another kiss before Stiles turned the engine over, his
Jeep coming to life.
“So, tomorrow, after school,” Stiles said loudly over the sound of his Jeep.
“You, me, coffee?”
“It’s a date,” Derek said, loud enough for Stiles to hear.
Derek waited until Stiles’ Jeep was out of sight before he took off towards the
preserve to join his family, unable to keep from grinning as he ran through the
woods, elated that he found control, an anchor. It was like a weight had been
lifted off his shoulders.
School passed by slowly, with the seconds ticking by as the clock mocked his
excitement about his date. A real date, one with intent and purpose that wasn’t
making out in the back row of the movie theatre or sneaking off to make out
point. No, he would be in the public eye with Stiles, talking and getting to
know him better. Well, if time hadn’t slowed down to a snail’s pace, he’d get
to go on his date. By the time the final bell rang, Derek was ready to bolt for
the parking lot where he was meeting Stiles.
He was the first to make it to the Jeep, a little too eager and too fast
compared to everyone around him. Derek leaned against it, waiting for Stiles to
appear. What Derek didn’t expect was for Stiles to show up with Scott in tow,
the two of them ambling towards the Jeep at a leisurely pace. Derek’s jaw
clenched as they neared, wondering if it was no longer a date if Scott was
invited, but then Scott veered off, waving bye to Stiles, who held his own hand
up in a farewell before he spotted Derek and broke into a run the rest of the
way to the Jeep.
“You got out here fast,” Stiles said, jingling his keys in his hand nervously.
“You ready to go?” He asked. Derek nodded his head, hesitating as he leaned
forward, unsure if he was allowed to kiss him. Stiles met him halfway, their
lips touching in a chaste kiss that lingered.
The coffee shop was littered with classmates and underclassmen since school
just let out, with the line already out the door when they arrived. Derek
groaned as he leaned against the brick building, his head resting against it.
Stiles stood mirroring him, looking at Derek with some sort of fondness that
Derek couldn’t describe. He imagined that he probably was looking at Stiles in
the same way, so he didn’t really have any ground to stand on when he came down
to it. As the line inched forward, Stiles pulled on Derek’s jacket, urging him
to move up.
After they got their coffees, they walked around Beacon Hills’ small downtown
area, which was merely a four- or five-block strip. Derek only got a small
coffee, whereas Stiles got a large, so it took him longer to finish his off.
Despite being in public, Derek found himself drawn to Stiles, wishing to be
closer as they walked side by side, talking about English, how they needed to
do a raid together later that night, and about how Scott finally hooked up with
Kira after the dance.
By the time they got back to Stiles’ Jeep, Derek found himself not wanting for
their date to end. Things were comfortable between them as they lingered by the
Jeep, both of them refusing to get inside.
“What about the comic book store?” Stiles suggested.
“Okay,” Derek said, following Stiles as he took him down one of the side roads
where there was a hole in the wall comic book shop that Derek didn’t even know
existed. He wasn’t really that big into comics, though he enjoyed the Marvel
movies, but he knew Stiles was into them. He watched Stiles search through
boxes and boxes of comics, showing Derek certain ones as he explained character
arcs and plotlines. Stiles went on a fifteen minute tirade about the new X-Men
movie, which Derek thought was good, but Stiles couldn’t handle how it was
supposed to be about Bishop but he was barely even in it.
“It’s bullshit,” Stiles said, exasperated. “It was his power what the movie was
about, and he got shafted.”
Derek didn’t know what to say to that, so he kissed Stiles instead. Right
there, in the middle of the comic book store.
“Uh,” Stiles said, unsure before he kissed Derek back then took his hand,
leading him out the door. Once outside, Stiles kissed Derek again, pressing him
up against the side of the building. With Stiles’ hands on him, Derek no longer
cared about PDA or their words of caution about taking things slow.
“Jeep?” Derek asked. Stiles nodded his head and before they knew it, they were
inside the Jeep and Stiles was driving towards the preserve. At first, Derek
thought they were headed to his house, but then Stiles made a turn off towards
make out point.
“This is okay, right?” Stiles asked him before parking the Jeep.
“Yeah,” Derek said, letting out a breath of air. “Yeah,” he said again as he
cupped Stiles’ face with his hands, pulling Stiles onto his lap. Stiles moved
awkwardly, the Jeep not really conducive to make outs. With Stiles straddling
him and his hands on Stiles’ ass, which was Stiles’ doing, Derek was hard in
his jeans and panting into Stiles’ open mouth as they kissed. He thought about
Stiles being his anchor, about how he was fine on the full moon with him, that
he could control his urges.
He was fine until Stiles’ hand brushed against his crotch. Derek buried his
face against Stiles’ neck, slowing their kissing down to a full stop.
“Sorry,” Stiles said, his hands moving up and down Derek’s arms, then carding
through Derek’s hair. “I got carried away.”
“You’re fine,” Derek said, his eyes closed as he moved his hips, seeking
friction. He wanted to get off, but he wasn’t sure he could without showing
fang. “You just-- drive me mad.”
“Really?” Stiles asked, somehow sounding surprised. Derek nodded his head as
Stiles cupped his face, forcing Derek to look him in the eye. “Hey, look at
me.” Stiles said. Derek opened his eyes, wincing as Stiles let out a gasp.
“Your eyes look... so different like this.”
“Like what?” Derek asked, knowing full well what Stiles was seeing.
“Blue, glowing.”
“You don’t-- you’re not scared?” Derek asked. Stiles shook his head, kissing
Derek on the lips slowly, his tongue brushing against a sharp tooth. Derek
jerked away, wondering how Stiles knew.
“I’m not scared,” Stiles admitted.
“Why?”
“Because,” Stiles said, shrugging. “I’ve known you, of you, basically all of
high school and you’ve never hurt anyone. Why would you hurt me?”
“You don’t think I’m a monster?” Derek asked, perplexed. Paige had screamed,
even cried, and here was Stiles, calm and collected while straddling him.
“No,” Stiles said, his hands still cupping Derek’s face. “I mean, when I
figured it out, I was like ‘what the fuck, werewolves can’t be real’ and yet
here you are, and Cora, I mean the way you two fought, all snarling and shit,”
Stiles said, making claw gestures. “It’s kinda obvious if you know what you’re
looking for.”
“I didn’t-- I thought we were subtle.”
“Oh, sure,” Stiles said, rolling his eyes. “But that’s why at the party, I
didn’t know how to bring it up, you know? ‘Hey by the way, I know you have
fangs and shit’.”
“‘And shit’,” Derek mumbled. Everything he had been worrying about, about
telling Stiles, was unnecessary. Derek laughed, his hand resting on Stiles’
hip, toying at the hem of his shirt as he stared up at him. Derek gulped as he
thought about it. “You came to our house on the full moon.”
Stiles blushed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
“Yeah, about that... that wasn’t my greatest plan but hey, it worked, right?”
“You know, you are the first human--” Derek licked his lips, stalling for a
moment before he gave too much away, but the freedom to be able to talk about
it, talk about himself, with someone he cared about was too big of a
temptation. “The first human to come into our house.”
“Really?” Stiles asked. “Ever?”
“Yeah,” Derek said, barely audible.
“So, what does that mean, then?” Stiles asked. “It means something, right?”
“It means you should probably come to dinner,” Derek said. “If, you know, you
want to.”
“Yeah,” Stiles said, leaning over. “If that’s what you want.”
“I do,” Derek admitted, capturing Stiles’ lips with his own. This time as the
kiss deepened, Derek let himself go, let his instincts take over. As he did, he
found himself melting against Stiles. He didn’t shift, he didn’t hurt him. In
the end, it had been his anxiety that held him back and fear that he wouldn’t
be able to control himself that caused his instincts to react badly. Now that
Stiles knew, that he knew the real Derek, he was no longer bound by those
fears.
Derek finally trusted himself with Stiles, and he now knew that he could never
truly harm him.
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