Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/6172642. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage Category: F/M, M/M Fandom: Teen_Wolf_(TV) Relationship: Derek_Hale/Stiles_Stilinski, Lydia_Martin/Jackson_Whittemore, Isaac Lahey/Jackson_Whittemore, Allison_Argent/Scott_McCall, Ethan/Danny Mahealani Character: Stiles_Stilinski, Sheriff_Stilinski, Derek_Hale, Allison_Argent, Scott McCall, Jackson_Whittemore, Isaac_Lahey, Ethan_(Teen_Wolf), Aiden_(Teen Wolf), Danny_Mahealani Additional Tags: mild_depression, Anxiety, eventual_sterek_relationship, Unrequited Stiles/Lydia, Isaac_Lahey_&_Stiles_Stilinski_Friendship, Slow_Build, Eventual_Smut, Minor_Ethan/Danny_Mahealani, Minor_Lydia_Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Werewolf_Jackson_Whittemore, Human_Stiles_Stilinski, Beta Derek_Hale, McCall_Pack, High_School, canon_up_to_3A, lydias_mom_is_not the_chemistry_teacher, Stiles_is_17, background_jackson/isaac, Minor Aiden/Lydia_Martin, Sexting, teenage_girl_nudity, Masturbation, thoughts of_male/female_sex, Lydia_Martin/Stiles_Stilinski_-_Freeform Stats: Published: 2016-03-06 Updated: 2016-06-28 Chapters: 9/? Words: 16384 ****** Live Another Day ****** by princess_slash Summary Takes place right after 3A. (canon up to 3A mostly). Another year at BHHS is upon the McCall pack. Stiles is watching everyone around him pair off and still feels the loss of all that have died. Just when he thinks there is hope for him and Lydia, Jackson rolls back into town fresh from London. Moving on from the one you thought you loved more than anyone is tough. And Derek is one of the only people to realize just how depressed Stiles is. Along the way, feelings are forged between the two. Despite all this, it seems to be a quiet time in Beacon Hills. How long can that really last? Notes Hi! So one thing that's really important to know before you read is that Lydia's mom is not their chem teacher. Mostly this is canon up to 3A besides the fact that Derek has a degree in chemistry. I won't say anymore because I don't want to ruin the surprise! So, I have depression and anxiety tags for Stiles. In this chapter both are pretty mild. But, as we keep going it's liable to get worse. Be forewarned before you take on reading this if that affects you in any way. I do not have a beta, if someone wants to offer that'd be great: D I believe I listed all of the relationships that will appear in this story so far. More could be added later on of course. Please read and enjoy! See the end of the work for more notes ***** Chapter 1 ***** After the kanima, darach and alpha pack Stiles thought he might have a shot at his one true love, Lydia Martin. He saved her a life a few times, hoping that would earn him a few points in her favor. Watching Scott and Allison together was torture especially after Scott became a true alpha. Stiles’ self-esteem took a hit as he watched Scott get everything he wanted. Stiles tried not to be envious of his best friend. Especially since he knew that Scott was humble and deserved his true alpha status. It felt like Stiles fell to the way side once Scott and Allison got back together. No one risked their life for Stiles; it was always reversed. There were no passionate kisses or proclamations of love for him when Beacon Hills went to shit. Affection was something he craved like oxygen. The anxiety and depression haunted him daily whether he was at school or not. The panic attacks hadn’t resurfaced as of yet. It was the one blessing in a sea of bad feelings. Until the first day of school when Jackson- Jackson Whittemore- was leaned up against Lydia’s locker waiting for her. Scott and Stiles were walking through the hall to their lockers where the newly turned werewolf made an appearance. Watching Lydia stride down the hallway, her eyes transfixed to the gorgeous blonde was a train wreck Stiles couldn’t look away from. Tears streamed down her pretty face as she said his name. Not saying a word, Jackson wound his hand in her long red hair, bending down to kiss her. The moment she threw her arms around him, Stiles’ chance with Lydia burst into flames. Resentment, jealousy and despair radiated through him as he tried not to fall apart in public. “The Brits must not have liked him,” said Scott, shaking his head at the spectacle. “Yeah, I guess. Just when I thought we got rid of him,” replied Stiles, trying to tear his eyes away from the reunited couple. “Bummer. I saw Ethan and Aidan registering for classes. How’s Aidan going to take that when he has something with Lydia? I smell a fight before the day’s over,” said Isaac, who had walked up to them at some point during the reunion. “I didn’t think they’d want to stay considering everything that’s happened. Seems both have motivation,” pondered Scott, looking over at Ethan talking to Danny. “Probably have to see if they want to join the pack or stay on their own,” said Isaac. “This is too much drama for the first day,” quipped Stiles walking ahead to his first class which was chemistry. Allison took his place beside Scott so he didn’t feel bad for leaving them. Since all the threats were gone, he thought his life would change. That maybe Lydia would finally notice him and that he’d earn some respect. All of that seemed out of the question since fucking Jackson came back to town. “It’s fucked up,” he said to himself, going into the classroom. When he walked in and saw the new teacher he couldn’t believe his shitty luck. Derek Hale was somehow sitting at the teacher’s desk not wearing jeans or a Henley. Instead, he sat there in tight black slacks with a gray button down barely fitting over his biceps and his hair perfectly styled. His blue green eyes flicked over to Stiles as he strode in the room. It wasn’t enough that they head to deal with him during werewolf shit. If Stiles was being honest with himself the only problem he really had with Derek was when he referred to him as skinny defenseless Stiles. At the time, it was one of the quirks that made him Stiles. Now it punched a hole in his already fragile confidence. He ignored Derek as he walked to the table he usually shared with Scott. A couple minutes passed with students filing into the room. Among them were Lydia and Jackson who held hands, Scott and Allison, along with Isaac who slid into the seat by Stiles. Stiles was grateful for some type of company since Scott needed to be close to his girlfriend. “This is an interesting turn of events. I see Aidan’s not in this class which is a good thing,” commented Isaac. “I’m sure Derek would hate to get in the middle of two wolves having a pissing contest,” replied Stiles, trying not to look at Lydia and Jackson. “Alright, I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here. Before I came back here, I actually earned a degree in chemistry. I’ve been asked to take the class until they’ve found an appropriate replacement. I know a few of you obviously. But, that doesn’t mean I’ll be showing favoritism. Be prepared to work in this class just like any other one. Everyone can call me Derek because none of the rest would call me Mr. Hale anyway. Work sheets are on your desks for the first lab you’ll complete. Get started,” instructed Derek, making his rounds to assist and answer questions about the experiment. Stiles heard Isaac moving around beside him to set up the equipment. But, he watched Lydia who was pretending not to be smart in front of Jackson, who measured the liquids. Seeing Lydia revert back to dumbing herself down for perfect Jackson sickened Stiles. The Lydia he loved showed off her smarts without worrying over the opinion of a guy. Even Aidan was a better choice than Jackson. Derek stopped at Scott and Allison’s table falling into easy conversation with Scott. It kind of surprised Stiles that Derek led a real life before becoming sucked into Beacon Hills. Once again jealousy threatened to seep in at the great friendship Scott and Derek seemed to have. “Jackson looks a little different. Still wearing the same horribly expensive yet fashionable clothes, but his attitude isn’t as pompous. He might still be an asshole though,” contemplated Isaac. “Even if he is, Lydia still loves him,” deadpanned Stiles. “I thought I’d come over and find Stiles rushing around a million miles an hour talking all the way while working. Here Isaac is doing all the work and gossiping about Jackson,” scolded Derek, coming to a stop in front of their table. “I’m not in the mood to talk today,” said Stiles, not bothering to look busy. “Since he’s back is he going to be a problem?” asked Isaac. “Technically, he’s Scott’s problem since he’s alpha. But, if he acts right and doesn’t get involved with psychopaths then I don’t see a problem. Try not to make me look like too incompetent of a teacher,” said Derek, walking over to Jackson and Lydia. Not wanting to see Jackson charm Derek and Lydia, he rose out of his chair. “Bathroom,” he said to Isaac before exiting the classroom. The tears leaked out of his eyes before he made it into the bathroom. Everything hit him at once as he ducked into the boys bathroom which was deserted. He braced his hands on the sink, looking at his golden eyes watering and turning red. How was it that he couldn’t even make it through his first class? Boyd, Erica and a whole slew of other people dies around him. First it was his mother and then all of the others followed. Losing people never got any easier no matter how many times it happened. Even though the dynamic with he and Scott’s friendship changed, Stiles still couldn’t bear to lose him. His dad was another person withdrawing from Stiles. Since the FBI and the murders, Sheriff Stilinski worked overtime to clean up the department and solidify his position. He assumed Stiles was okay and barely spoke to him in passing. Literally no one paid attention to Stiles’ feelings. He tired of the burden of only being paid attention to when it was time to stop a supernatural threat. This year was going to be the year he took his relationship with Lydia to the next level. Once he had his queen by his side, he planned to quit the lacrosse team. With Lydia by his side, he didn’t need that to be cool anymore. Jackson swept back into town and ruined all of his plans. But, he refused to let Jackson one up in that respect too. Somehow, he had to be better at lacrosse this year. Plus, someone had to look after all the werewolves on the team. With that small grain of hope, his tears ceased. He promised himself not to let anything ruin the rest of his day. There would be plenty of time to mourn the loss of his relationship with Lydia later. He splashed water on his face and dried under his eyes. Once satisfied with his appearance, he trekked back to chem class. Scott and Allison smiled at him as he passed by them. He threw a quick smile back at them as he slid in by Isaac who was scribbling on his paper. “You ok?” he asked, not looking up from his paper. “Yeah, a stomach ache was all,” lied Stiles. “Then, why can I still smell the sadness on you?” questioned Isaac. That was the last time Stiles lied to Isaac about his feelings. Someone noticed his feelings which was a nice feeling. “You’re right, but I don’t want to talk about it. Thanks for picking up the slack with the school work,” said Stiles. “Don’t sweat it. You don’t always have to be on top of everything. No harm in letting someone else do the work for once,” said Isaac grinning. The rest of the day wouldn’t be so hard to get through with a friend who paid attention. That was until Derek asked him to stay after class. ***** Chapter 2 ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes Stiles trudged up to the desk, going through the excuses in his head that he could provide. “If this is about me going to the bathroom-“started Stiles. “No, it’s not. Take a seat,” said Derek, waving his hand nonchalantly. Stiles lowered himself onto the table closes to Derek’s desk, trying to keep his face neutral. “I know it’s been a bit of an adjustment with all this supernatural stuff finally tapering off. No one has more regrets than me. My own sister doesn’t even want to be around me right now. She asked for her space and went off somewhere. All I know is she’s safe. Point is I know things got a little hairy for a while. But, I’m trying to make it better. That includes keeping you safe and out of the crossfire for once.” Stiles stared at Derek, surprised and confused by his words. Cora left Derek and wasn’t speaking to him. Some tiny part of him felt sympathy for the alpha- turned-beta. Mostly, he was just skeptical. “If this is you trying to separate me from the pack and my friends, that isn’t right. No one cares or would bust their ass for them, for you, like I would. It’s bad enough that everyone’s paired off with each other. And now Jackson’s back. Leaving me on the outside would hurt me more than help me,” ranted Stiles, curling his hands into fists. Derek’s pretty, wait did why did he think that, eyes regard him with an unreadable emotion swirling in their blue green depths. “Whoa, that’s not what I meant at all. All I meant was that I’m going to do a better job at dealing with situations. Plus, it’s been difficult going from alpha to beta. Jackson hasn’t been clued in on that yet. Hopefully he won’t find out for a little bit. Don’t need him trying to undermine me just yet. Anyway, I’d never try to keep you away from anyone. I’m trying to be better,” replied Derek, rubbing a hand over his stubbed jaw line. Stiles’ anger dissipated for the most part as he allowed his hands to relax. “Good talk, Mr. Hale.” Giving a mock salute, Stiles slid off the table and out of the class room. He wanted to end the conversation before it got any deeper. One part of his rant stuck out to him: bust my ass for you like I would. Where the hell had that come from? Maybe it was just the anger directed at Derek forcing him to say that. The other two classes before lunch passed by without incident. Lunch however was a different story. Stiles took his seat on Scott’s left as Allison was on the right. Isaac came up sinking down on Stiles’ other side. Danny and Ethan sat at the table with Jackson and all his wannabes desperate for his attention. Lydia was nowhere in the cafeteria. “What did Derek want?” asked Isaac before biting into his pizza. “Um, nothing…just wolfy business. Oh and Jackson doesn’t know about Derek not being an alpha anymore. So he wants to keep that quiet as long as he can,” said Stiles attempting to not look around for said beta. “Oh, makes sense. I wonder where Lydia and Aiden are? Or if they’re together,” suggested Isaac, raising an eyebrow. Allison threw a dirty look to Isaac before turning back to her conversation with Scott. The depression threatened to climb back in as Stiles was reminded of Lydia and what he lost. Speaking of the red haired temptress, she flounced in the cafeteria with Aiden following her like a lost puppy trailing after its owner. She stopped at Jackson’s table with Aiden glaring at him. “You left me for a long time. Lydia Martin does not cry over spilled milk. I was bust as you can see,” said Lydia, in a quiet tone. Jackson rose out of his seat staring down Aiden. “Why did you kiss me back then? You loved me so much it saved me. But, yet you’ve been slumming it with a shitty version of me for comfort.” Before Stiles could register what he was doing, he was out of his seat and standing beside Lydia. “No one talks to Lydia that way,” jumped in Stiles. Lydia took his hand and squeezed it. Even though his chances with her were shot, the need to protect her still existed. For once, the anger overpowered the depression which caused him to be reckless. “Piss off, Stilinksi. You might’ve grown balls in the time I was gone. But, Lydia doesn’t want you. Never has,” sneered Jackson. “A shitty version of yourself. I resent that a lot. That’s my twin brother you’re talking about. You fight him, I’m jumping in for sure. If you want to be the prodigal king of this place, go ahead. But things have changed,” chimed in Ethan who stood up. Red anger flashed through Stiles’ mind as Jackson’s words played on repeat through his mind. Danny tugged on Ethan’s arm, trying to pull him back down in his seat. “Stay out of it, Ethan. Something tells me it’s in the past whatever happened. I think this can be easily talked out. You don’t really want to have this fight right here do you?” questioned Aiden, his eyes shifting around the cafeteria. “It’s going to have to be dealt with at some point,” said Jackson, reaching out for Lydia’s hand. Lydia shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. Aiden smirked before guiding Lydia back out of the cafeteria. Jackson lunged forward causing the table to scoot forward a couple inches. Isaac darted behind Jackson, locking his arms around him to keep him from moving. “Let them go, Jackson. She doesn’t seem to want you either,” cut in Stiles who was still seething. The next few seconds caught Stiles off guard slightly as Jackson’s fist came at his face. Stiles blocked it with his elbow before landing a hit to his jaw. “No you fucking don’t, pretty boy. Isaac keep him on a better leash,” chastised Stiles, before turning to grab his bag. “STILES! Come with me now.” Derek stood at the doors of the cafeteria looking particularly pissed off. “Whittemore started it by trying to hit me first. You can talk to him. Pizza ran right through me,” called Stiles, saluting Derek and the rest of the cafeteria before leaving. Scott, Isaac and Ethan stood dumbfounded at the fact that Stiles blocked and punched Jackson the kanima-turned-werewolf. The last thing Stiles heard before he walked out was, “get the fuck off me lahey!” Stiles chucked to himself as he went to the locker room instead of the bathroom. One aspect he changed about himself over the summer was his muscle tone and ability to defend himself. He trained at the gym and also sparred with a fitness instructor who rivaled Jackson’s good looks. Not that he’d really noticed since he trained to fight the anxiety away and get Lydia to notice him. Right when he started to feel the sadness over losing her, he stripped off his shirt and went to the weight bench. Lifting made his mind focus on pumping the iron and nothing else. As he forged a rhythm, his eyes closed to stop the onslaught of tears. Even if he got the last word and upper hand with Jackson his words still cut him. Lydia never wanted him in the way that he wanted her. The euphoria from punching Jackson faded fast as the red headed wailing woman invaded his mind. Why did it feel as if his world was ending? How was he going to get past it? His movements became robotic as his arms pumped up and down. The next time he tried to drop down the bar, he couldn’t. His eyes opened seeing the blue green eyes of fucking Derek. “Of course,” muttered Stiles, puffing and shaking his head. “Drop your arms.” The tone in which he said it told Stiles not to argue. He lowered his arms to his sides, slowly hoping his eyes weren’t watering. “What is it wolf man? Can’t a guy lift in peace?” asked Stiles not able to forgo the sarcasm. Derek placed the bar in its place, looking at Stiles curiously. “You’re supposed to be in class. Not to mention the fact that you ran off from me after I told you to stop.” Stiles shrugged his shoulders saying, “It’s not the first time I’ve disobeyed a direct order.” “Why do I put up with you? Don’t answer that. So, the fight in the lunch room. Three guys fighting over one Lydia Martin. Two of which are werewolves. You punched Jackson for saying what exactly?” Stiles sighed not wanting to be reminded of this. “First, he insulted me and then talked to Lydia like the disrespectful prick he still is. Yet Isaac thinks he’s changed for some god awful reason. Anyway like I said, before he tried to hit me, I hit him,” relayed Stiles raising himself into a sitting position. “I have an idea why Isaac thinks that. Jackson has detention which pissed him off, but he started the whole thing. Scott said it was pretty impressive and a solid hit you threw. I’ll give you a note to get back to class.” Stiles slipped his over shirt back on nodding. “Thanks, sour wolf.” Derek rolled his eyes, throwing the note at Stiles before leaving the locker room. Stiles laughed to himself before picking up his bag and heading to Econ class. Coach didn’t bat an eye as Stiles handed over the note before sitting by Scott. All the female eyes landed on Stiles as Jackson seethed. One blonde girl winked at him, Stiles Stilinski, but it didn’t make him feel as good as he thought it would. Chapter End Notes I'm enjoying writing this soooo much (: ***** Chapter 3 ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes The first day of school was finally fucking over. Emotionally, it drained the life out of him. As he got in his jeep he debated what to do after school. He could hit the gym and train with his trainer. The thought of it made him feel tired. He felt around in his pocket for the crumpled up phone numbers random girls gave him. After the whole punching Jackson incident in the cafeteria, his reputation earned some cool points. IT was what he wanted, but he wanted it with Lydia. So, he was at an impasse. What did he have to live for? And better yet why was he measuring his validation based on Lydia’s opinion of him? “Stilinksi.” A fist pounded on his window shocking him out of his thoughts. Stiles looked over seeing Jackson standing there looking unimpressed. He rolled his eyes, letting the window down. “What?” “Look, I’m sorry about what I said. I was a shitty person before and I gave you a lot of shit that you didn’t deserve. Things have changed for me. I’d like it if we could be cool with each other. Accept and I’ll forget you punched me.” Was Stiles having hearing problems? Just like a werewolf to throw out an apology while giving an ultimatum. “Are you doing this to make Lydia happy? Or did Derek or maybe even Isaac put you up to it?” “What? No, that’s not why. Wow, you don’t take apologies well do you? But, yeah I know you’re not involved in the whole Lydia and Aiden thing. It would look better if we were cool with each other. The new cool guy friends with the old cool guy. Plus, it boosts both of us up socially. It’s obvious you’ve been working on yourself and I can help you with lacrosse if you want,” suggested Jackson, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “Okay, you’re on Whittemore,” replied Stiles. Jackson quirked up his lip in a small smile before strutting off. Stiles shook his head to himself not able to believe he and Jackson were trying to be on better terms. What were the odds of that? Maybe it could work if Stiles would just get over Lydia. Then, there wouldn’t be a need for hostility between he and Jackson. Sitting at the house alone didn’t sound as appealing as it did a few minutes ago. He decided to hit the gym to train with Trip. Without Trip, Stiles’ body transformation may not have happened. He was the right mix of aggressive and encouraging which forced Stiles to be better. He started the jeep, bailing out of the parking lot. Snap Fitness rested on the outskirts of town in a strip mall between a video rental store and a coffee shop. Before, Stiles never noticed any other BHHS students at the gym. The pack usually trained at Derek’s place or their own. Which was exactly what Stiles wanted, a place to train alone without people he knew distracting him. As Stiles walked into the gym, heads turned and it seemed people took more notice of him than usual. If only everyone knew that the only reason Jackson didn’t hit him back was because he could have ripped him limb from limb. It didn’t stop him from feeling good about catching Jackson off guard. Regardless, Jackson was sort of his friend now. The idea was foreign to him, but with a little time he could learn to accept it. Stiles ceased all thoughts, making his way to the locker room. He stripped out of his school attire opting for a pair of black compression shorts. Shirtless, he slid black fingerless leather gloves on his hands. Once he stored his belongings in his locker, he walked to the sparring room. The centerpiece was a boxing ring, mats on the floor, a couple hanging punching bags and a water cooler. Trip was of average height, perfect physique that was lean without being bulky, a handsome face and ash blonde hair spiked up from his face. He stood in front of a bag throwing punches before landing a high kick that was impressive for his height. “Awesome kick, man,” said Stiles walking up to the trainer. “Thanks, bro. How are you?” asked Trip, pulling into a hug while clapping a gloved hand on his back. “First day of school, so not that great. I did however get the jump on the ex- golden boy of the school. He tried to hit me, I blocked and swung at his jaw. All that training paid off,” said Stiles with a grin. “Look at you, Rocky. Why do I get the feeling there’s more to the story?” asked Trip, walking over to the water cooler. Stiles followed him over debating on how much to tell. “Part of why I started training as you know was to build up my confidence. This was going to be the year for me. I was going to be stronger, better and finally get the girl I’ve loved since the third grade. I thought since her asshole boyfriend broke up with her and moved to London that I’d have a chance. Nope. Asshole shows back up, kisses her right in the middle of the hallway. Only she was seeing somebody else. I hit him because he said she never wanted me. Now, I have to get over her and said asshole wants to be my friend,” said Stiles, not taking a breath. “There’s only one girl I know of that’d be worth three guys fighting over…Lydia Martin,” replied Trip, sucking down water from a paper cup. “Wait, how on earth would you know that?” asked Stiles, knowing Trip was employed by the gym full time. “All the high schoolers that train here…conversations, particularly in the locker room revolve around the beautiful Lydia Martin with perfect lips,” responded Trip. If the Stiles from yesterday heard that he’d storm the locker room and threaten everyone not to besmirch Lydia’s name. This Stiles was only Lydia’s friend which meant it wasn’t his responsibility to worry about those kinds of things anymore. The new and improved Stiles would be friends with Jackson and finally let Lydia go. “Honestly I’m torn between being pissed and not caring. I think I’ve got to let go of the torch I’ve been carrying for her,” Stiles finally said. “That’s the spirit. Let’s start out with the bag then,” directed Trip, walking back over to the bag. “I gotta get over this,” mumbled Stiles quietly. “Okay, right hook. Remember to breathe. Imagine you’re beating out the feelings that you have for her.” Trip held the bag as Stiles pounded the bag with his right fist. He focused on channeling all of his feelings into his hands. Trip had him alternate between hooks and kicks. The last part of the workout they spent sparring in the ring. By the end, sweat clung to Stiles’ chest as his muscles aced. “Thanks, for kicking my ass as usual,” said Stiles, taking his off his gloves. “No problem, man. You’re getting pretty damn good though, I have to admit. You feel better about everything?” questioned Trip, handing him a cool towel. Stiles accepted. Rubbing his face before draping it over his shoulders. “Thanks. I think maybe it’s going to be easier now to move forward. I’ve been building it up so much in my mind that who knows if it would’ve even lived up to these crazy expectations I’ve had. It’s possible I could even move onto a guy,” chattered Stiles, unable to stop himself once he started. “That’s whatever, dude. For the record, you are stronger and better. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” said Trip, patting his arm. “I’ll see you later and thank again.” Stiles smiled at him, going into the locker room to grab his stuff. He skipped the shower, not wanting to change back into his school clothes. His hair still stood up in its new style, keeping him from messing with it. As he left the inside of the gym, he smiled back at everyone staring at him. People were starting to notice Stiles and he needed to learn how to deal. Once, he got out to his jeep he checked his phone seeing texts from Scott and Isaac. Both wanted to know if it was true Jackson really apologized to him. Stiles rolled his eyes hating that no one could believe he deserved to be apologized to by His Highness. Lydia texted to say a pretty girl named Delilah asked for his number. Aiden sent a message saying he was a badass and so cool for defending Lydia. Stiles opted not to answer anyone since there wasn’t an emergency. One unknown message remained and it was from Delilah. Only it wasn’t a message, but a selfie of her braless boobs. Girls hardly ever came onto him in this capacity. It was shocking staring at the bare skin and pinkness of her huge nipples which were hard. Stiles dropped his phone, not able to look at them any longer. He couldn’t explain it, but it didn’t feel right staring at them. Even though she sent it to him of her own accord, something felt off. Wasn’t that what he always wanted was for a girl to pay him attention? Today, just mind fucked him to hell and back. He started the jeep to get home to his bed. For once, the anxiety and depression left his mind alone. Half way home, the jeep switched of and spluttered to a stop. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Stiles banged his fist on the steering wheel. The first person he attempted to call was Scott. It went to voicemail and the same occurred with Isaac. The twins, he wasn’t on those kinds of terms with. Lydia and Jackson definitely weren’t who he wanted to ask for help. Sheriff Stilinski left a note that morning stating that he’d be working a double that day. Stiles hated to interrupt if he was in the middle of something important. Not only that but the last thing he needed was for his dad to think that was back in the thick of supernatural trouble. That only left one person to call- Derek. The whole damn day with Derek and the conversations they’d had were awkward. He didn’t have werewolf abilities to help him out. So, he hit the button for Derek’s name before he could change his mind. “Stiles, is everything okay?” asked Derek when he picked up. “Supernaturally, yes. No one else is picking up. I was on my way home from the gym. The jeep stalled out on me halfway home. Any chance you can come get me or help me get it running?” asked Stiles, trying to fight the nerves that suddenly cropped up. “Yeah, of course. There’s a storm coming so stay in the jeep. Where are you?” “Down a way from the seven eleven on Pear Street.” “I’ll be there soon.” Stiles ended the call, setting his phone in the cup holder. Sure enough, the rain poured down as Stiles waited for Derek. Due to the always possible threat of life and death, he kept an extra zip up hoodie in the jeep. He shrugged it on, leaving it unzipped. Delilah texted again only this time it was a photo of her ass while she was bent over. Headlights distracted him from staring too much. Derek’s Toyota pulled directly in front of him. Stiles popped the hood and threw his hood up before getting out. Derek asked him to turn his flashlight on as he was ready to place the cables. Stiles hurriedly tried to click off the picture but all he did was zoom in. “Well fuck.” As if Derek wanted a face full of teenage girl ass. Finally, he clicked on the flashlight shining it on the jeep’s battery. “Okay, go try to start it,” said Derek, as he ran to his car. Stiles rushed over to the jeep, turning the key and pressing on the ignition. Nothing happened not even a flicker of the lights. “Fuck,” Stiles cursed, stepping out too quick causing him to lose his footing. Expecting to hit the ground, he closed his eyes as he felt a solid presence preventing him from hitting the ground. Brown eyes opened to see blue green eyes with arms around him. “Careful,” said Derek, setting him on the ground. The rain pelted down around them as Stiles’ heart hammered against his ribs. From the feel of his body, Derek was dressed in a soft hoodie and sweat pants. The other thing that affected Stiles was the weird sense of safety he felt to be in Derek’s orbit. “Son of a bitch won’t start,” muttered Stiles, stepping out of Derek’s grip. “Right, I brought a chain to hook it up. I can tow it to my place. But, it’s too bad to get you back to your place. I can get it running before school. Just crash with me,” suggested Derek not making it sound like a suggestion. He ran back to the Toyota, pulling out a long chain. A few minutes later, they had the jeep attached. Both rode in Derek’s vehicle as he slowly drove to his new place of residence. Stile was exhausted and couldn’t believe his luck. It went down in his memory as one of the most memorable first days of school. “So, you were texting with your girlfriend when you broke down?” asked Derek casually. Stiles almost choked knowing that he’d seen the picture. “She’s not my girlfriend and we weren’t sexting. FYI, she asked Lydia for my number and sent those to me. Without me asking,” replied Stiles, covering his face with one hand. “And you didn’t reply?” Derek glanced over, raising a dark eyebrow. “I’m trying to get over Lydia and maybe I don’t want anyone else. If I really need someone I can get a friend with benefits. Not that it’s any of your business. My heart needs a chance to heal.” Stiles wanted to slap himself once again for saying too much. “Let your heart heal. Don’t get a friend with benefits. More trouble than it’s worth.” Derek’s hand came u and brushed his thumb over Stiles’ cheek stroking gently. Stiles’ human heart sky rocketed as he gazed at the older handsome wolf who was running away with his heart unknowingly. Chapter End Notes Awww a moment between Sterek. So freakin cute! Let me know what y'all think. Please leave feedback and thank you to Oz for the wonderful comments. <3 Blair ***** Chapter 4 ***** Chapter Summary Stiles spends the night at Derek's new apartment Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes The rest of the ride to Derek’s new downtown apartment was silent. Stiles was locked into his thoughts, wondering if Derek was being comforting or something else. He was starting to become cool and having a thing for the older werewolf didn’t seem to fit into that plan. Which was ridiculous since he was trying to get over Lydia. Was it even possible to jump from one love to another so quick? It was, but it wouldn’t be fair to the other party, Derek. He would be projecting his feelings for Lydia onto him which definitely wasn’t the same thing. Lydia, he had an emotional connection with. Derek, he didn’t have anything but a semi pack relationship and past resentment. Once again, Stiles was overanalyzing simple events. All that thumb across his cheek thing was a way for Derek to comfort him because of what they were talking about. So, Stiles needed to forget that and slow down the mess in his head. Derek pulled up to the apartment building which came with a parking garage. Both of their vehicles would be safe from the possibility of hail. Stiles jumped out, patting his pocket to make sure he had his phone. Derek leapt down onto the ground, locking his Toyota before striding to the elevator. Stiles followed, trying to regain his sense of normalcy. “It’s a lot different than the loft isn’t it?” asked Derek, dropping his keys and wallet onto the coffee table. “Yeah, but it’s nice man. I like it,” replied Stiles, feeling the sudden need to appease the beta. “Thanks, it doesn’t reek of blood shed or bad memories. It took me a while to plan out my design concept and find a good location for me to live. Obviously, I’ll have pack members dropping by sometimes to discuss business or whatever other excuse they’d use to drop by. I did have to move because since I took the teaching job I needed a home office. Now, I did get a great deal on it because it was outdated. Currently, I’m renovating the other bathroom. If you need a shower, you’ll have to use mine in the master,” explained Derek. A hot shower sounded exactly like what Stiles needed after a tough work out and getting rained on when the jeep broke down. “A shower sounds good right now.” “Alright, you can leave your clothes out and I’ll wash them. I’ll leave a pair of shorts out for you. Um, you can also borrow one of my shirts for tomorrow if you end up not having time to go by your house and change,” suggested Derek, walking down the hallway and opening up the door on the end. As Stiles followed him into his bedroom, the centerpiece was a white king sized bed with grey decorative pillows. The master itself was decorated in blues and greys with a small flat screen tv across from the bed and a walk in closet. “There’s already products in the shower, but I have different brands in the cabinet if you don’t like any of the others. I’ll be downstairs figuring out something for dinner,” said Derek, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Stiles took a deep breath, glad to be alone for a minute. His phone buzzed alerting him to a text from his dad asking where he was. Rolling his eyes, he shot a quick text explaining the jeep and staying with Derek for the night. Sheriff Stilinski wrote back with his assent telling Stiles to be careful going to school the next morning. Since there wasn’t a supernatural threat looming, the Sheriff was more approving of the pack. Which suited Stiles just fine since he wouldn’t split from Scott anyway. Another text came in from Lydia asking about Delilah. Stiles responded that she sent naked pictures and that he wasn’t interested in that. Lydia apologized saying she’d find a more suitable candidate. Stiles shook his head, not sure he wanted to bother with dating. Before anyone else could text him, he threw his phone on Derek’s bed. He stripped off his workout gear and underwear, pulling his school clothes out of his gym bag. Then, he went to the bathroom which resembled something out of a Greek palace. There was a white marble tub with steps leading down into it as it was set low into the floor. An open shower with grey tiles and a frosted glass door looked appealing with its fancy shower head and array of products lining the shelf on the back wall. He shut the door behind him, excited to turn on the water. The setting of the shower head was a hard one that caused the water to pelt down his back giving his sore muscles a deep massage. Standing under the water, he examined Derek’s arrays of shampoos and body washes. The shampoos were mostly salon brands that Stiles hadn’t heard of. However, the body wash was Armani which smelled amazing. It didn’t occur to him that he thought Derek smelled amazing. After selecting a shampoo and conditioner, he wet his hair throwing his head back under the spray. As he leaned back, he tried to let all of the negative thoughts that plagued him that day rinse down the drain. He didn’t want to hold onto his feelings for Lydia anymore or his past hatred towards Jackson. Both of those emotions needed to be cleansed from his body so he could get on with his life. Lydia was happy with Aiden and would never see Stiles that way. To get closure, he should jack off one more time to the thought of her before putting it to rest. He was a teenage guy so it made perfect sense to him. Once he was done with washing and conditioning his hair, he let his right hand wander down to his cock. All it took was a thought of her naked with her fair skin and great tits. The tits he desperately wanted to suck and make the nipples hard. Letting his mind wander, he pictured Lydia in the shower with him. Her naked body pressed up against the frosted glass as he rubbed the head of his cock over her clit. Once she started to beg him, he entered her in one thrust going deep. As he imagined her moans and clenching around his dick, he stroked his cock fiercely. Once it came to the point of him pounding into her slick body over and over, it brought a rush to his head. Somewhere outside of his head, he heard the sound of a door opening. Realizing it must be Derek coming in to collect his clothes, he stroked faster not wanting to delay his orgasm. Something told him it would be hot for the werewolf to hear him coming in his shower. As his cock shot come up onto his chest, he stifled his groans as best he could. Still riding the high, he didn’t give a fuck how much Derek heard or smelled. He needed that orgasm to get over Lydia. The door slammed shut and Stiles realized Derek stayed to hear him come. He didn’t know if he should be ashamed or flattered. Once he was back to normal, he finished washing off his body. After that, he grabbed one of the luxurious bath towels to dry himself off. He went into the bedroom to see a grey pair of shorts laying on the bed. Noting the absence of his school clothes, he slipped into the shorts. A buzz sounded and his phone lit up with several notifications. “God damn, can I not get a moment’s peace to myself?!” he asked himself, scrolling through the notifications. More texts from Lydia talking about another girl named Claire who was sweet and a wholesome girl. Said girl texted him a picture which was of her smiling and wearing a low cut top. It was a decent picture and he texted back telling her she was pretty. Then, there was Jackson texting about how Scott was a dick for letting Lydia hook up with Aiden while he was gone. As if Scott was Jackson’s errand boy. Stiles wrote back telling Jackson exactly that. Once that was sent, he made his way out into the living room. Derek was in the kitchen opening up containers of what looked to be Chinese takeout. “Hope this is okay,” he said, dumping the containers on plates. “Yeah, I’m starving so it sounds great. You have a top notch bathroom…hell your whole apartment is super nice,” said Stiles, walking up to the counter where Derek was. “It sounded like you were enjoying yourself up there,” commented Derek, raising an eyebrow. Fuck. Why couldn’t he just ignore it? Did he really have to point that out? Stiles decided to keep up the air of casualness and replied, “Well after the shitty day I’ve had, it was much needed.” “Yeah, I’m sure. Here’s your plate,” said Derek, sliding a plate of chicken and fried rice towards him. Derek grabbed a beer and a soda out of the fridge, setting them onto the counter. Stiles grabbed the soda and plate going over to the couch. Derek followed sitting next to him while setting his own plate on the coffee table. He picked up his remote, switching on the TV which was on Netflix. Pressing play, an episode of Mad Men came onto the screen. “Holy shit, you like this show?! Isn’t Don the greatest? That man has a way with women. He literally can have anyone that he wants. Not only that but he’s a wizard at selling shit to people. If I ever went gay, he’d be the one I would do it for,” chattered Stiles, excited to be watching one of his favorite shows. “That’s good to know. All it takes is green eyes and black hair and you’re in,” teased Derek, cracking open his beer. “Um, yeah. Lydia is obviously Joan Harris who is too hot for her own good. And Jackson is Pete, the overconfident asshole. Though I’m not in love with Lydia anymore and Jackson isn’t that big of an asshole,” said Stiles, not really paying attention to Derek’s comment. “As entertaining and accurate as your commentary is, I wanna eat and watch this episode,” replied Derek, digging into his food. “Okay, wolfy,” huffed Stiles, spooning some rice in his mouth. The 60s scene of Manhattan played out around them as they ate and watched Don consort with other women and bang out amazing advertising ideas. As the episode played on, Stiles finished off his food and soda. Derek leaned back into the couch, sipping on his beer looking like the epitome of the manliest man. Stiles’ phone buzzed again, another text from his new assumed bff(who was taking it way too seriously) Jackson. He groaned, slapping a hand over his face as he read yet another text. It said that he had problems getting over her and wondered if there was still a chance. Much to Stiles’ surprise, it didn’t bother him that Jackson wanted to get back with Lydia. “Something wrong?” grunted Derek, glaring over at him. “Yeah, Jackson treating me like his god damn therapist as if I have the answers to everything,” complained Stiles. He decided to tell Jackson that he was trying to get over Lydia himself that the key was to focus on something else. “Huh, isn’t that a turn of events. First, you punch him and now he’s blowing up your phone,” said Derek. “Oh, we’re past that now. He apologized and wants to put the past behind us. For the good of the pack and our own good, we’ll try to be friends. It’s kinda strange having him come to me like this about shit. But, it’s either that or have him be the bully,” shrugged Stiles. “Hm, well I think you proved today that him being a bully to you isn’t going to work. I’m taking your phone away for the rest of the night. It’s stressing you out and distracting you from the show.” Derek leaned over, scooping up his phone and powering it off, placing it on the coffee table. “I would try to argue with you about how you’re not my dad and whatever. But, you’re right and I’m tired of it buzzing every five minutes,” relented Stiles, leaning back into the couch. Derek threw him a look before turning back to the TV. Watching the show without any distractions proved to be fun and stress free. Especially seeing how Derek would laugh and smile at certain parts of the show. It was an interesting turn a around to his usual broody self. The show was one of Stiles’ favorites so he was interested in what was happening. After two episodes, he passed out somehow managing to lay his full body on the couch. The next morning, he woke to a shirtless Derek gently shaking him awake. His brown eyes admired Derek’s torso wanting to be as cut and defined as him. “Morning, jeep’s running. It was just a loose cable. You have a half hour to get ready to make it to school on time,” mumbled Derek. Stiles stretched, trying to sit up only to find his back searing in pain. “Fuck, I must have slept all awkward last night. My back hurts,” he moaned. Derek’s eyebrows knitted together in concern before shoving a hand under Stiles’ body, placing his hand on his bare back. Stiles’ heart sped up at the touch, feeling the pain dissipating. After a minute or two, Derek removed his hand. “Thanks, that feels better,” conceded Stiles, pulling himself up into a sitting position. “No problem. I made breakfast so if you want to eat it’s there. Um, I gotta get ready.” Derek nodded at him before making his way to his bedroom. Stiles rose from the couch to go into the kitchen. A cup of coffee sat on the counter with a plate of eggs and toast. Since when did Derek become so domesticated? It was possible it was because of all that time of being an alpha and having to take care of other people constantly. For some strange reason, the idea of Derek taking care of him warmed his heart. It gave him this strange need to want to reciprocate and take care of the older wolf. He dug into his food and drank his coffee happily. Today would be a much better day than yesterday. Or at least that’s what he told himself as he looked around the living room for his clothes. He spotted his jeans and a short sleeve v neck tee of Derek’s. Inspecting it, he noticed it was a John Varvatos which meant it was expensive. The material felt so nice and a pleasant scent that could only be Derek wafted around his nostrils. Finally, he slipped it on and spotted his underwear underneath his jeans. The thought of Derek touching and washing his underwear gave him an awkward feeling. Pushing it out of his mind, he dressed himself and walked over to the closest mirror. He pushed his hair away from his face, hoping he had a casual bed head type of look. Once he was satisfied with his appearance, he went to the coffee table to grab his phone. As he powered it on, Derek’s bedroom door opened and he walked out wearing black slacks and a blue and white striped button down. The real kicker to his look was the thick framed black glasses that gave him the sexy academic type look. Fuck, if he didn’t get away from Derek soon, he’d never be able to stop these weird feelings he kept getting. Shaking his head, he leaned up against the counter. “Thanks for breakfast, fixing my jeep and everything else. I really appreciate it,” said Stiles, hoping they could get back to a normal dynamic. “You can thank me by getting to class. I’m planning an important day of lecture. How did it happen that I managed to get all of you in the same class?” asked Derek, setting down a briefcase that Stiles hadn’t noticed. “Just lucky I guess. Don’t worry I’m on my way now, wolf man,” teased Stiles, picking up his gym bag. Derek growled in response prompting Stiles to rush out of his apartment. He could’ve swore he heard Derek mumble something about ‘stupid nicknames’. Stiles smiled to himself going over to his jeep to throw his bag in. As he climbed into the cab, he noticed a black animal hair in the front seat. At first, it appeared to be Derek’s hair. But, something told Stiles it was animal. He went back through his memory to see if he could remember having an animal in his jeep within the last few weeks. Nothing came to mind, but he decided to worry about it later. Stiles turned the key hearing the jeeps motor purr to life. The noise comforted him as he pulled out of the garage and headed to school. Even though he slept in an awkward position, it was a deep sleep. The anxiety that usually plagued him was absent. Without really realizing it, all of his anxiety free moments happened when he was around Derek. The being-in-love with Lydia thing was still in his feelings, but not at the forefront. As he drove, he pondered the possibility of having a normal day without depression haunting him. Chapter End Notes Sooo, I know that following the show that Stiles would know about Derek being able to shift into the black wolf. For this story, we will say that he doesn't know Derek can change to that form. I want to work that in as a supernatural element.. Anyways, I hope you're enjoying this so far! I know this chapter had some het in it, but keep in mind how long Stiles was obsessed with Lydia and that him getting over her won't happen after a day. From this point on, there will be slight mentions of het. But, it is over! :D Feedback is appreciated much.. Also this chapter was way longer than the others. ***** Chapter 5 ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes As Stiles drove to school, he ran through the events after school yesterday. The random girls texting him, masturbating in Derek’s shower, training with Trip, trying to get over Lydia, hanging out with Derek and Derek coming to get him without any hesitation. Derek also fixed his jeep for him, taking care of him completely. It could be written off as part of Derek’s plan to be a better wolf and protect Stiles more efficiently. However, there was a small part of Stiles that wanted it to be more than that. That warm feeling of care was something Stiles found himself craving. Even though Derek elicited that particular emotion in Stiles, it didn’t stop him from wanting it. Was this how Scott and Allison felt together? The way Lydia once felt for Jackson and now for Aiden. This was what Stiles had been missing and all it took was one moment from Derek to make him realize it. Tears sprang to his eyes as he realized Lydia never felt that way for him. No one had so far in that romantic type of way. It was a different type of affection than what Scott or his dad felt for him. Sobs tore out of his chest as he came face- to-face with this fact. Was it the ADHD, the curiosity to never leave things alone, his constant chatter or god forbid his looks? Could it be possible he was unworthy of affection and love? Or was he paranoid and letting the anxiety come back in? Before he could drown too much in his sorrow, he arrived at school. He kept his head down as he pulled into a spot. When he stopped, he yanked a tissue out of his glove compartment, wiping his eyes. He pushed the feelings down as he flipped open his mirror. His eyes weren’t as red as he thought. A tap came from his window causing him to jerk out of nervousness at being seen at a weak moment. Turning to look at the window, he spotted Isaac standing there with a puzzled expression on his face. Stiles grabbed his book bag, dabbing at his eyes before he jumped out of the jeep. “You okay?” asked Isaac, stepping back to give the other teen space. It’s just I felt some of the anxiety come back on the way here.” “I’m sorry. Pease talk to me when you feel comfortable. I can smell the sadness and it’s hurting me. If it makes you feel better, you’re the talk of the school since you’re Jackson’s new best friend,” enthused Isaac, resting a hand on his shoulder. Stiles felt himself leaning into the touch wanting to trust Isaac. “So I’m a badass huh?” he asked with a grin. “You blocked and punched Jackson without him retaliating. And he’s rumored to now be your best friend. Point is if that’s not badass then I don’t know what is,” answered Isaac, smiling and slinging his arms around Stiles’ shoulder. Stiles felt the anxiety ebb away as he walked over to the entrance of the school with Isaac in tow. The moment rivaled that of any teen movie when the popular group walked through the school as everyone’s eyes turned to them. It was a surreal moment for Stiles as he was used to the background role. The most surprising part came when Jackson sidled up to Stiles on the other side throwing him a smile. That really was the icing on the cake since Lydia and Aiden leaned against her locker as she talked to him. Her eyes flicked over the threesome walking down the hallway before pursing her lips into a thin line. Scott and Allison entered the school and veered off to talk to Lydia and Aiden. Stiles didn’t miss the shocked looks that came from them as they saw Jackson being friendly with him and Isaac. He set his confidence in place as if he’d been friends with Jackson his whole life. It was the easiest way to get people to believe it if he believed it himself. “You’re sitting with me at lunch, Stiles. You too, Lahey,” said Jackson as they approached the chemistry classroom. “Cool, you still sitting with Lydia in here?” asked Stiles curiously. “Yeah, but only because I know it’ll piss off Aiden,” replied Jackson, smiling at them before ducking into the classroom. Stiles shook his head looking at Isaac who had a dazed expression on his face. He nudged Isaac’s shoulder as he sidled into the room seeing Jackson laid back in his seat lazily, waiting for Lydia. Isaac let out a puff of air as he plopped down beside Stiles. Stiles glanced around seeing Derek pulling down a screen over the white board. Derek’s back muscles flexed as he stretched up to pull down the screen, catching Stiles’ attention. As soon as Derek finished fiddling with the screen, he turned around to where his eyes landed on Stiles who had been caught staring. Shit. Derek’s eyes flashed brightly as he shot a small smile to Stiles, before focusing his attention on the class. “Alright, I actually didn’t get a lesson plan done last night regarding today’s subject. So, movie day. Take notes because there will be a small quiz on Friday.” Instead of doing his lesson plan, Derek spent his night watching Madmen with Stiles. It was an oddly satisfying thought to Stiles. But, it didn’t make sense why Derek said it was an important class. Unless of course he was talking about the quiz. It was sort of cute that Derek slacked off on his work to keep Stiles company. This train of thought was super confusing to Stiles so he shut it down. A snapping sound occurred prompting Stiles to look at Isaac who broke a pencil in his hands. “Dude! What’s wrong with you?” whispered Stiles. He threw a glance around the room, but all he saw was Jackson with his arm thrown over the back of Lydia’s chair. “Something’s been bothering me, but it’s okay. I need to feel pack around me right now,” replied Isaac. Isaac wrapped his hand around Stiles’ wrist leaning in to his neck to breathe in. Stiles stayed still watching as Isaac nosed at his neck as the claws receded. Isaac’s demeanor cooled off as he loosened his grip around Stiles’ wrist. “Thanks, man,” whispered Isaac, nudging Stiles with his shoulder. Stiles threw a smile to Isaac, turning his attention back to the movie. Jackson’s fingers slowly crawled up the back of Lydia’s chair to play with her hair. Lydia shot him a scathing look, batting his hand away before facing the front. Isaac and Stiles laughed together at Jackson’s misfortune. Derek chuckled at the antics of the pack. The rest of the class passed by too fast for Stiles’ liking. He knew for a fact none of his other classes would let him watch a movie on the second day. Plus, some of the other teachers weren’t as laid back as Derek. Once the bell rang, Jackson skulked over to Isaac and Stiles with a pout on his lips. “Better luck next time,” said Stiles. Jackson growled, knocking into his shoulder playfully before heading to the exit. Stiles laughed looking at Derek over his shoulder, giving him a smile. Derek nodded at him, smiling back. For whatever reason, he hated to leave the class. The rest of the day went by smoothly as Stiles hung out with Jackson and Isaac. It was different than how he usually hung out with Scott and Allison. The two girls that had been texting him had both been crying because of his lack of response. It wasn’t that he wasn’t flattered, it was just too soon after Lydia. It seemed Jackson wasn’t in a rush to move onto someone else either. Once Lydia sunk the proverbial banshee claws in someone, it was hard to remove them. Jackson still wanted to act like Lydia still belonged to him. Aiden was not gonna be okay with that at all. But, Stiles figured he’d work around it over time. Finally having some status made Stiles feel like he fit in more. Scott rose to popularity quick once he was a werewolf. He was still Stiles’ best friend, but it felt different. Even though Jackson was a bad person at first, the kanima experience changed him. Who was Stiles to hold a grudge and continue to hate him? It took a lot of energy to hate. More energy than Stiles had. It wasn’t as easy to forgive as it was to forget. Sitting at lunch at the cool table with Jackson, Isaac, Danny and Ethan made it easier for Stiles to consider Jackson as a person. Once they put their differences aside, it was easier to be semi normal teenage guys. Some other lacrosse guys sat at the table too while Allison, Scott, Lydia and Aiden sat together. It was weird not sitting right beside Scott, but Stiles was sure that a little time apart couldn’t be a bad thing for them. Plus, being around werewolves made him feel safe. Coach Finstock came into the cafeteria halfway through to pass a sign-up sheet around for lacrosse tryouts which were happening the next week. Everyone at the table signed their names on the sheet. “You doing anything after school?” asked Jackson, looking at Stiles.   “No, not that I know of,” answered Stiles. “Good. Let’s get together and practice for these tryouts,” said Jackson. “Can I join? Think I need the extra practice too,” interjected Isaac. “Sure, meet me at the field after you get changed.”   Stiles shot a funny look at Isaac, wondering why in the world a werewolf needed to extra practice for a sport. But, it would be less awkward being around Jackson with someone else there.   After school, Stiles headed to the locker room to throw on a pair of short and old sleeveless shirt along with his gloves. Isaac followed him in, putting on shorts but forgoing a shirt throwing on his own gloves. Both guys closed their lockers and started to make their way outside to the field. Jackson was already there practicing hitting the ball into the net. His control was fairly good as the ball didn’t bust through the net and his aim was spot on. He was wearing blood red shorts with no shirt and already sweating. Which meant he must have ran around the field before he started practicing. Isaac stood beside Stiles with his mouth open watching Jackson. “Yeah, he was good at that before…even better now since he’s a wolf,” commented Stiles. Isaac didn’t reply as he continued to keep his eyes on Jackson. “Get your asses over here. Let’s run some plays,” called Jackson, bending down to grab the ball. Stiles shook his head, bounding over to the blonde who was sure to try to kill him with practice. Chapter End Notes Thank you so much for the comments! Glad, everyone is enjoying. I'm getting some serious Jackson/Isaac vibes right now. Would anyone be opposed to me doing an Isaac POV for the next chapter to get some insight on that? :) <3 ***** Chapter 6 ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes For Isaac to be a werewolf, he did a good job pretending to play shitty to get Jackson to help him during their lacrosse practice session. Stiles played better, surprising Isaac and Jackson with how much more agile he was. All that time in the gym was paying off for the human. Currently, Stiles was guarding the net as Isaac tried to get a shot. He saw the predatory look in Jackson’s eyes as he rushed towards the taller brunette. Isaac’s heart sped up as he gazed in Jackson’s eyes which were gleaming damn near beta blue. Before he could decide whether to shoot or fuck up again, Jackson tackled him straight to the ground. His back slammed on the ground as Jackson’s lithe form pinned him. The breath went out of his body as Jackson turned that smirk onto him. “Really, Lahey? Stiles moves faster than you and he’s human,” chastised Jackson, poking him in the chest with a gloved hand. Isaac growled, shaking himself out of his stupor before flipping their positions. Jackson seemed caught off guard as Isaac looked down him with his light eyes before jumping up and bounding off with the ball. Stiles kept jumping from side to side trying to anticipate what side Isaac would come from. Isaac shot the ball right into Stiles’ glove. Stiles blocked the shot perfectly, starting to do some weird victory dance. Isaac pulled out his phone, turning on one of his favorite dance songs. Then, he dropped his stick starting to rock back and forth to the music. Stiles started moving his hips, full out dancing. “When did this become dance class?” asked Jackson, walking over to break up the party. “Stiles blocked that shot so good. I think that’s cause to celebrate,” replied Isaac, dancing over to Jackson. He broke it down using his best moves, ghosting his hand over Jackson’s sculpted face. Before he could get too carried away, he turned back to Stiles, grinding on him from the back. “Okay, no more dancing. Isaac, you’re too good at that. How cool is it that I finally blocked a shot?” enthused Stiles, pushing Isaac off of him. “Fantastic, you’ve mastered that simple skill. Lahey, you take over the net while we practice actually making shots,” instructed Jackson, shooting Isaac a glare. Isaac just smiled back taking Stiles’ place at the net while Stile ran off down the field with Jackson. Jackson passed the ball to Stiles as Stiles took off down the field. Isaac kept his eyes trained on Stiles which was hard considering he wanted to look at Jackson’s shirtless torso. Stiles kept the ball as long as he could before Jackson advanced on him. Jackson reached over to check him to steal the ball only Stiles dodged, going straight for the net. Before he could shoot, the ball was stolen at the last possible by Jackson. Jackson shot the ball with an extreme amount of force that sent the ball whizzing right past Isaac’s head. “Well, I thought I was getting better…” started Stiles, rubbing at the sweaty mass of hair that fell in his face. “You did steal it from me. A human wouldn’t have been to get it back so quickly. That’s the advantage of practicing with werewolves that you’re having to work twice as hard to keep up. Which means when you play against humans, that it’ll be easy for you after going up against me. So, good job,” said Jackson with a grin, bumping Stiles’ shoulder. “Huh, never thought about that. I definitely feel good about my abilities now. Thanks,” replied Stiles, a smile quirking up his lips. “Hmm, I’m proud of you Stiles. But, I think I need extra practice,” observed Isacc. “You usually don’t play this shitty, Lahey. It’ll take more than one practice to get you back to an acceptable level of playing. However, I think both of you have had enough for today,” acquiesced Jackson. Stiles nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket. A puzzled expression crossed his face as he looked down at the small screen. “Yeah, I gotta run. Let me know when you two want to do this again, yeah? Need as much as I can get before the tryouts,” suggested Stiles. “No problem, see you tomorrow,” said Jackson. Stiles waved over his shoulder, running back towards the locker room. Isaac removed the goalie gear, tucking it under his arm. Even after Jackson insulted him, he still found him extremely hot. What was wrong with him? “Do you have a ride home?” questioned Jackson. “Ahh, no not really. Scott’s at work and that’s where I’ve been staying which has gotten kinda suffocating to be honest. Due to the love fest between he and Allison that’s always going on. So, I might try to stay with Derek for a while,” replied Isaac, not knowing why he is telling Jackson of all people his problems. “Well, I’m kind of alone in my huge house. Both of my parents work a lot of hours. Since, Lydia hasn’t been coming around…it feels empty. In London, I was surrounded by my pack out there. Here, I’m trying to fit back in with everything. It’d help me to be around pack. Stay with me tonight,” said Jackson in a tone brooking no argument. The intense look Jackson gave him sent his heart into a frenzy which Isaac hope would be attributed to the exercise. Staying the night with Jackson sounded a lot more appealing than staying with Scott again or with his former grumpy alpha. He nodded his agreement, not knowing what else to say. Jackson took the equipment out of his hands, heading back to the locker room. Isaac followed, still shocked at what was happening. How could it be that he was staying the night with Jackson, whom he may or may not have developed a small crush on? Jackson burst through the doors, pausing to hold the door slightly for Isaac. Then, Jackson proceeded to take the equipment back into its rightful place in the gym. Isaac kept going towards the locker room, anticipating a quick shower. A few minutes later, he emerged from the locker room dressed in his usual jeans with a v neck tee. Jackson stood leaned up against one of the lockers, glaring at his cell phone looking every bit the model he always tended to look like in his tailored outfit. As Isaac walked towards him with a duffel bag slung around his shoulder, Jackson looked up shoving his phone in his pocket. “Ready?” he asked. Isaac nodded, following the blonde out to his Porsche that he still owned. As Isaac slid into the plush leather passenger seat, Jackson jumped in grabbing a pair of Ray Bans out of a compartment build into the roof. Once his light eyes were shaded from the glaring sun, Jackson took off out of the parking lot. It prompted Isaac to think about how he was unknowingly taking off with his heart as well. Chapter End Notes Thanks so much for the comments, y'all! I loveeeee this story so much. I'm excited to hear what you think of my Isaac/Jackson interactions. Also, let me know if you want me to continue on where I left off or go back to Stiles? Have a good weekend! :) --Blair ***** Chapter 7 ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes Practice with Jackson and Isaac was an interesting, but positive experience for Stiles. Jackson turned out to be a more effective coach than what Stiles had first pegged him for. He pushed Stiles to play harder and think faster on his feet. With Stiles’ new gym routine, it was easier to make it through an intense practice. It was also different that Jackson didn’t resort to motivating Stiles by bullying or insults. Isaac played decent, but seemed distracted throughout. Stiles felt better about the tryouts and planned to keep practicing with them. It just didn’t make sense why Scott hadn’t ever offered to help Stiles. It could’ve been because Scott was only good at it because of his werewolf abilities. Since Stiles wasn’t a wolf, Scott may not have thought about helping him. Jackson excelled at lacrosse before he took the bite. Therefore, it made perfect sense that Jackson be the one to help him up his skills. After the practice ended, he received a message from his dad that he wanted to have dinner with him. It was one of the odd days where the sheriff worked first shift. Stiles didn’t know if he felt up to really acting like everything was okay. Things were getting better since he had a new friend and was actually putting energy into lacrosse. The physical exertion kept the depression at bay. There was really nothing to be sad about that particular day. It was like once he decided to get over his thing for Lydia, it made him realize how crazy it was to be that obsessed with her. Don’t get him wrong, Aiden was one lucky son-of-a-bitch to have the bombshell banshee on his arm. It was just Stiles was realizing that Lydia wasn’t what he wanted after all. It was like starting over since he didn’t have expectations on who to date or what to do. Getting fit, making new friends and being better at lacrosse were things he didn’t consider doing while he was crushing on Lydia. Using someone else as motivation to better yourself never worked. Until you were doing something for yourself, it wouldn’t take. In a way, dropping Lydia was making things better for him. That realization stung a little bit since he hated that he couldn’t be that good for Lydia. There it was again. Once he thought he was getting better, the self- depreciation started again. Even if he did become better, it didn’t mean Lydia would all of a sudden want him. And why would he want Lydia when he was always in the friend zone to begin with? It would be tempting to take her up on a possible offer, but that would make him desperate. This version of Stiles wasn’t willing to take whatever scraps were thrown his way. Plus, if girls were the route he wanted to continue to go then he had plenty of new ones to choose from. However, that wasn’t what he wanted at the moment. His dad wanted him to cook something for them since eating out wasn’t really the best option for the older man. It had been a while since Stiles actually cooked a decent meal since his life was threatened every other day. Hopefully, things would stay quiet in Beacon Hills. Cooking a meal would be great and a distraction away from everything else. A grilled chicken salad sounded amazing. But, he needed to stop by the grocery store to pick up a few ingredients. Since his emotional state wasn’t that bad, he could suffer through a dinner with his dad. Especially since it might be the last time he was on first shift for a while. With that thought in mind, Stiles drove down to the grocery store he normally used. The drive was pleasant enough with no interruptions from his phone (surprisingly). Once he was parked, he jumped out of the jeep and strode into the store. Since he had quite a few things to get, he grabbed a buggy. He started out with the produce aisle collecting all of the vegetables he needed for the salad. As he turned the corner to get to the meat section, he ran right into a pretty red head. “Stiles! What are you doing here?” asked Lydia, running over to link her arm with one of his. Stiles jerked in surprise, not used to shows of affection from the strawberry blonde. “Just picking up a few things for dinner. You?” “Oh, same. I’m having dinner with my mom. Aiden’s off doing some kind of brother bonding thing with Ethan,” she replied. “Guess it’s a twin thing,” he said, starting to walk down the aisle with her still in tow. “Scientifically, yes it is. Well, I just can’t believe what Delilah told me today. She said you were texting her fine and she sent all the right pics and you just dropped her like she was nothing. I told her that absolutely did not sound like the Stiles I knew,” ranted Lydia. Stiles turned red in shame, not believing what he was hearing. “She was the one that started trying to sext me and that wasn’t what I wanted. I just didn’t know what else to say to her. Not only that, but you’re a hard one to get over.” Lydia nodded in satisfaction, looking deep in thought over something. “I can believe that. Delilah has a tendency to want to move way to fast with guys. Which brings me to my next point. She has also been doing the same with Aiden. Only he responded to her. I take it you had no idea?” “Um, no. He has you so not sure why he’d want to answer her,” admitted Stiles, hating how awkward he seemed. “That is why you are an absolute catch, Stiles. I don’t understand it either. All I know is, he never would’ve told me. So, I don’t want to confront him. I have a better plan and want you to be a part of it. How about you fool around with me on the side since he’s doing it?” she suggested. Stiles stopped in his tracks, looking at her in shock. Was Lydia, his ex- longtimecrush really asking what he thought she was asking? How was it possible that she wanted to be with him on the side? Should he really do that since he was trying to move past the whole being-in-love-with-Lydia-Martin part of his life? Also, Jackson was his friend now. Would he really want to hurt the blonde by creeping around with his ex? So many questions and no answers came to him. He did the only thing he could think of. “Why me?” he asked. “You’re really the nicest guy and we’re already friends. I know you’ve always wanted me so this would be a good opportunity to get it out of your system for good. Think of it as good friends with benefits.” This was exactly what Stiles had been afraid of. Being so desperate that he would willingly take any scraps Lydia gave him. But, the stars aligned just right for him this year. He was friends with the most popular guy in school and the most popular girl wanted a piece of him. He’d be a fool to say no. It wasn’t like anyone had to know. It would be something he’d be doing for himself. Not only that, but he needed to get over an unnatural crush he developed on a certain sourwolf which was totally not going to work at all. Or at least that’s what he was telling himself for now. “Well, Lyds, I’d say that you made an offer I can’t refuse.”     The drive to Jackson’s house was silent as the only sounds in the Porsche was the loud rock music playing. For Jackson to be a preppy sort of guy, he had great taste in music which surprised Isaac. Isaac didn’t know when it had happened, but there was an attraction to Jackson. In all honesty, some might consider it fucked up due to the situation with kanima-Jackson murdering his dad. Isaac didn’t think it was fucked up because Jackson had unknowingly saved him from a living hell. Now, Isaac had a pack that looked after him and he was stronger than he’d ever been. Something just clicked for him that day he saw Jackson grab Lydia and kiss her right in the hallway. It unleashed a feeling of want that he hadn’t ever known existed inside of him. The wolf in him wanted to tear Jackson away from Lydia and make him pay attention to Jackson. The ins and outs of the strange feeling was something Isaac was still trying to work out. Scott had been great as a friend and an alpha. But, it got lonely always being the third wheel to everyone. Plus, it hurt when Scott had stopped caring about his well-being as much since he and Allison linked back up. Derek had dealt with Isaac a lot more delicately and thinking back on it now made Isaac miss the old sourwolf. He whipped out his phone and sent out a quick text to Derek telling him so. “Here we are,” said Jackson, pulling to a stop by the curb of the street. “This place is super nice, man,” commented Isaac, sliding out of the car with his duffle bag. “Of course it is. But, thanks,” said Jackson, throwing him a smirk as he made his way up to the front door. Isaac shook his head, trailing behind Jackson. Jackson walked into the house and started pointing out the different rooms. The bedroom Jackson inhabited was pretty impressive with the floor to ceiling window, large bed and minimalist decorating style. There were no curtains on the window which made Isaac wonder whether or not Jackson was an exhibitionist. Isaac dropped his duffle bag on a chair before sitting on said chair. “The bed’s big enough for two of us. So, don’t worry about that,” called Jackson, as he went into his ensuite bathroom. “Mhm, got it,” replied Isaac checking his phone. There was a text from Derek telling him that he was welcome to come stay with him any time he wanted- no invitation needed. The thought brought a smile to Isaac’s face making him feel better about the whole Scott situation. For now, he planned to push those thoughts away and enjoy what little time he had left with Jackson. Speaking of Jackson, he came out of his bathroom in a pair of expensive looking sweat pants with no shirt. As if Isaac needed another reason to stare at the gorgeous blonde. “Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” teased Jackson. “Get over yourself, Whittemore. I wasn’t ogling you. I was simply wondering how even a pair of sweats that you own were super expensive,” quipped Isaac, trying to act casual. “If you must know, these are Yves Saint Laurent. I can’t help that I like to look nice, Lahey. You want something to drink or dinner? There’s a left over casserole that my mom made,” said Jackson, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, that’d be great actually,” replied Isaac, trying to commit to memory the way that Jackson said the French designer with a perfect accent. Jackson nodded before leaving the room. Isaac took a deep breath trying to will all of his feelings away. He knew the moment he started to get hard, Jackson would be able to smell it within a second. There was no way he could make it through that embarrassment. So, in order to combat that he was going to have to put those feelings aside. It was just as well that he didn’t know how to decipher the feelings. All he knew was that Jackson needed to be close to pack and that’s what he would do for him. “Eat up, tiger,” said Jackson, coming in with a serving tray that had two plates and bottles of water on it. Isaac blushed at the thought of the unintentional nickname, thinking that it sounded way too good to be coming out of Jackson’s mouth. When Jackson became soft like that, it did something for Isaac. Seeing his usual cocky self become vulnerable just floored Isaac. He had a hunch that not everyone was allowed to see Jackson in such a way. “Thanks,” said Isaac, accepting the plate and water.   After eating dinner, Jackson turned his plasma screen onto a sports channel. The blonde was really absorbed in the game, laid back against the headboard. Isaac was only halfway watching, choosing instead to spend his time sneaking glances at Jackson. Eventually, his eyes started to fell heavy and he drifted off to sleep. The last thing he remembered before he went to sleep was a muscled arm wrapping over his shoulders to pull him in closer. Chapter End Notes Sorry guys, that's it's been a little while. I hope you enjoyed the two perspectives. Please let me know what you're thinking. Might be a while before I can do the next one. I'm covered up in work and my younger sister is getting married next weekend. So I'm covered up in maid of honor duties as well. However, I will try to work on it a bit here and there as much as I can in my spare time. I'm always thinking about this story, so don't worry :D ***** Chapter 8 ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes Dinner with Sheriff Stilinski went as good as could be expected. Stiles cooked a fabulous chicken salad that the older man actually liked. The dinner wasn’t as bad to get through as Stiles had first thought. Once the Sheriff heard his son was actually excelling at lacrosse and getting ready for tryouts, he seemed happier with Stiles. The approval from his dad meant a lot to him. That night he slept peacefully for the first time in months. The next day, Stiles actually chose his outfit carefully. He had no idea if Lydia planned to start their thing today or not. Either way, he wanted to look better today than he had. It led him to choose a linen light blue button with a polka dot pattern and straight leg jeans. His hair styled up in the right way made him feel like someone good enough for Lydia. Even though he didn’t have boyfriend status, he had something. This new something was going to help with his self-discovery or whatever the hell he was doing. He finished getting ready, tossing all of his books and other belongings into his back pack. Once that was done, he rushed out of his room into his jeep. There were already messages on his phone from Jackson and Lydia. Jackson wanted to know if they were still practicing later that night. Lydia inquired about his plans for that afternoon which he responded letting her know about practice. That was interesting. It must mean that she wanted to get together after school. As much as he’d like to do that, he already committed to the practice and he wanted to practice. Seeing himself actually improve had felt so good. His emotions were being pulled in several different directions. For now, all he could do was drive to school.   At school, Jackson and Isaac met him at the entrance before they went in together. In chemistry class, Jackson still sat by Lydia which was fine by Stiles. In today’s class, there wasn’t any flirting between Jackson and his ex- girlfriend. Isaac was in a particularly good mood, chattering on about practice later that day. Derek lectured for most of the class period, occasionally throwing glances to his pack members. Stiles felt weird every time Derek looked at him with those gorgeous green eyes. It was as if the older wolf was looking through him. Since Beacon Hills was so quiet, there wasn’t a need for Derek to be chasing Stiles down like before. Scott was a hands off alpha unless there was something that needed immediate attention. Which was why Isaac was staying with Jackson now, according to Isaac. “But, I don’t have to be stuck with pretty boy. Derek said I was welcome to stay at his place too,” said Isaac, during the last fifteen minutes of class. “That’s cool, Derek’s new place is super nice,” commented Stiles. “You’ve been there?” asked Isaac. “Yeah, my jeep broke down in a storm. Couldn’t drive home so I crashed with him,” replied Stiles, shrugging. “Damn, did Scott not answer the phone?” questioned Isaac. “I figured he was busy and didn’t want to bust up whatever party he was having with Allison. Derek was the better choice as he actually knows about cars and all that,” answered Stiles. “Yeah, he’s so busy with Allison. I couldn’t stand the constant PDA so staying with Jackson was better for me,” sympathized Isaac. “Never thought I’d hear the day when both of us preferred Jackson over someone else,” said Stiles, shaking his head. “Pretty boy’s not too bad once he drops his attitude,” agreed Isaac, grinning. Jackson whipped around in his seat to cast a glare in Isaac’s direction as he snarled at him. “Break it up, kids,” intervened Derek, raising an eyebrow at Jackson and Isaac. It was odd to see the two young wolves back down even though Derek wasn’t technically an alpha anymore. Of course, it could’ve been the fact too that he was their teacher/authority figure. Seeing Derek call them down, twisted up Stiles’ insides in a way he couldn’t explain. The air was sucked from his lungs as he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Derek. What was going on with him?   On his way to the cafeteria, Lydia pulled him into an empty classroom. She was clad in a red dress with a pair of strappy sandals. The strawberry blonde mane was pinned back away from her face in a loose bun. Her arms pulled him into a hug as she shut the door behind him. “It’s getting worse,” she said, burying her face in his shoulder. “What is?” he asked, awkwardly locking his arms around her. “Delilah sent him even more pics last night and they sexted. I don’t understand why he can’t leave her alone,” answered Lydia. “That is weird that he’d keep doing that with her. Maybe you don’t know the whole story. Wait…how do you know what he was doing on his phone?” asked Stiles. “In history, I sat behind him and dug his phone out of his bag when he wasn’t paying attention. That’s when I saw everything,” she replied, pulling out of the hug to walk over to the teacher’s desk. “Wow, that’s pretty slick. I’m not surprised though since it is scary what a woman will do when she thinks her man is cheating. You sure you wanna continue this and not just have me investigate them for you?” suggested Stiles. “He’s really not paying me any attention right now. I don’t wanna show that I need anything from him. Jackson has stopped trying with me too. He is settled into the idea of being my friend, which is nice. Oh, it’d be the icing on the cake if I could get him to mess around with me. But, pretty sure he wouldn’t agree now since I rejected him that day. Stop worrying, I picked you for this for a reason. Just enjoy it,” said Lydia, beckoning him to come to her. Stiles went forward, not knowing what to say as he came to a stop in front of her. She threaded a hand in his hair, pulling his face down to hers. The moment her lips touched his, it was like everything he had ever pictured in his wildest dreams. It was pleasurable, but it wasn’t fireworks and love. His lips overtook hers, sliding his tongue in her mouth. The moment came where he found himself wanting to finally touch her tits. However, he didn’t want to do that without asking. He pulled back from her face, whispering, “can I touch your tits, Lyds?” “Go ahead, Stiles. I know you’ve been wanting to for a while,” she said, pulling down the front of her dress which exposed a red bra. Stiles wrapped his hands around her full breasts, squeezing them a bit. He brought his lips back to hers and continues kissing her, as he inched his fingers inside the cups. Her nipples were huge and felt so soft underneath his fingers. She nipped at his bottom lip, caging him in with her legs around his waist. He moved his lips down to her neck, sucking and biting at the skin. Her breathing quickened as he kissed over the top of her chest before pushing the bra up and latching his lips around a nipple. He sucked and rolled it between his teeth, loving the sounds she made. A knock sounded on the door, breaking him out of his thoughts. Lydia shoved him towards the door, as she straightened up her clothes. He opened the door a crack, seeing Derek standing there with his gleaming green eyes. All of the emotion he was trying to fake into his rendezvous with Lydia suddenly appeared as he stared at Derek, unable to form words. “Are you two okay? Aiden is looking for her,” said Derek. “Yeah, we were just talking about something private,” answered Lydia, coming forward. Derek nodded, allowing Lydia to pass by him to get through the door. Stiles glanced down at himself, noticing that his dick wasn’t hard at all from his activities with Lydia. God damn it, this was a problem. Chapter End Notes Thank you so much for all the comments on this! Next chapter: continues in the classroom with Derek and some jisaac interactions at the second half. Remember that Stiles isn't really in love with Lydia anymore. This thing between them is going to help him on his path of self-discovery. So...don't be disappointed. It won't last much longer. Everything is necessary because it leads to a bigger picture. Hope everyone's enjoying their summer so far! (: ***** Chapter 9 ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes Stiles stood there in shock, running a hand through his hair nervously. How was it that Lydia finally let him have some of her physically and yet his dick wouldn’t get up? Could it have been that the stress of being caught at any moment took a toll on him? If he went to Lydia’s that afternoon, he’d find out. “What were you really doing Stiles?” asked Derek, shutting the door behind him. Stiles focused his attention on Derek, not knowing exactly how he was supposed to act. “What do you mean?” “Well, arousal was pouring off of her and her lips were slightly swollen. Not to mention the fact that you’ve got a dab of pink lipstick on the corner of your lips,” observed Derek, stepping forward. His big hand reached out and his thumb rubbed the lipstick away. Stiles sucked a breath in forgetting that werewolves could smell fucking everything. Not to mention the fact that Derek was always observant to a T. Nothing escaped his notice. Derek either didn’t believe that Lydia would get up to anything with Stiles or he was giving Stiles the benefit of the doubt. Either way they were both shocked when the door of the classroom opened. Aiden strode in with Lydia half hanging onto his arm. His eyes flashed blue as he bared his teeth launching towards Stiles. “Why were you kissing my girlfriend, Stiles?! I can smell you all over her,” roared Aiden. Stiles immediately went on the defensive, putting his fists up to protect his face. Before either of them could make a move, Derek grabbed Stiles around the waist and jerked him back. “Let me go, Derek! This asshole can’t just say shit and not expect anything to happen,” said Stiles, struggling to get out of his grip. Aiden roared, launching himself right for Stiles when two strong arms shoved him against the wall. “Don’t think so. If anyone’s gonna get a hit on Stiles it will be me,” said Jackson, slamming Aiden against the wall a second time for good measure. “You’re not a wolf, so back off,” demanded Derek, picking him up and setting him on top of a desk. As much as Stiles was spoiling for a fight, he knew that Derek was right and that he wasn’t playing with him. No point in getting fucked up by wolves who had the advantage. “Stop it Aiden. We were just talking. If you don’t walk out of this room, we are done,” seethed Lydia, glaring at her boyfriend. Aiden tore himself out of Jackson’s grasp, going for Lydia. He took her by the hand, leading her out of the classroom. Stiles found himself thankful for Lydia’s excellent lying skills and able to pass off the scent thing as something innocent. Otherwise, Stiles would have had no choice but to expose Aiden’s own wrong doing to save his ass. It was too soon for Aiden to be exposed as the cheating asshole he was. Only, he seemed awful pissed that Lydia might have been sliding lips with someone else. Derek nodded his head to Jackson who left the room with a smirk lining his face. The only thing running through Stiles’ mind was how Isaac managed to miss all of it. Derek walked back over to shut the door again. Then, he made his way back over to Stiles coming to a stop in front of him. Stiles tipped his head up looking at Derek’s furrowed eyebrows as he swung his legs in anticipation. “So, Aiden wasn’t smart enough to put two and two together. Empty headed pretty boys usually aren’t blessed with ability. I know what was going on. The question is why?” asked Derek. “You should have let me have a shot at him. I could have defended myself you know,” shot back Stiles, tipping his chin up in defiance. “Really? What kind of wolf lets his human pack mate get his ass beat by another wolf. That would have been beyond fucked up. Besides, you’re avoiding the subject,” said Derek sternly. “I’m not as fragile as you think I am. Not physically anyway. Whatever’s going on with Lydia and I is between us. When did it happen that we were the kind of people that told each other everything anyway?” asked Stiles, not sure where the anger was coming from. “So, there is something going on. You know she’s with Aiden. I thought you were moving on. Not to mention Jackson’s your friend now. I don’t know if he caught on to what happening. If so, you better watch your back around him as well. I never said we’d tell each other everything. However, I can’t help that it was plain to see you were getting hot and heavy with her in here,” accused Derek, glaring down at him. “I know, Derek. There’s a reason for it. That’s all I will say. I’m not worried about Jackson; I can deal with him. And frankly, I didn’t need your help with Aiden either,” quipped Stiles, still pissed about being perceived as fragile. Derek’s mouth tightened to a thin, tight line as he stared Stiles down. The wolf advanced forward, caging Stiles in with his arms. “If you don’t keep feelings out of it, you’re going to end up being hurt by Lydia again. You were moving in the right direction. Also, you did need my help. He had the element of surprise on his side when he charged in here like a rabid dog. There’s no telling what kind of injuries you would have sustained. Before, you were used to me not paying attention and letting you get hurt at every corner. That’s unacceptable now. Keep on trying to defy me and I’ll quit teaching just to watch you at every turn to make sure you don’t get hurt again,” warned Derek. Anger and a foreign feeling tingled down his spine as he took in Derek’s words. Heat flooded his cheeks as he tried not to brush up against the muscly arms caging him in. “Kinky much, Derek?” Derek smiled, pulling back from the younger brunette. “You wish. Take me seriously on what I said, Stiles. Because I mean it. You need to get over that little affinity you have for getting yourself into trouble.” “I’ll try, sourwolf,” chided Stiles, enjoying their banter. “You better do more than try. You might think you can handle Jackson just because you bonded over lacrosse practice. He has a deep history with Lydia and I doubt he’d be happy to know what you were getting up to. Did you not hear what Jackson said just minutes ago? That he wanted to be the one to get a hit on you,” said Derek, his eyebrows raising in skepticism. “Yeah, he’s referring to the day I hit him. However, he didn’t hit me back. He’s a different person, so he’s not really raring to hit me like you think. Something tells me he’s moving on,” replied Stiles. “You love disregarding what I say, don’t you? Always got an answer for everything, don’t you?” spat Derek, stepping back. “Of course I do and you know this,” answered Stiles, going over to rest a hand on Derek’s bicep. Derek turned around to face him, appearing calmer as Stiles stroked his thumb over the hard muscle in his arm. “Get out before I give you detention this afternoon,” demanded Derek. “Don’t want that. Supposed to be doing lacrosse after school,” said Stiles, removing his arm and going back to open the door of the classroom. Derek shook his head a smile coming to his lips as Stiles bounced out of the room. Chapter End Notes jisaac to come(; End Notes Well, that was the first chapter. I have so many ideas for this story and am excited to keep going with it. Feedback is much appreciated. Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!