A/N: So I am obsessed with Teen Wolf now- especially Scott and Stiles. So, naturally, I had to write about them. This takes place about a year before the show starts.
When the doorbell rang at 10am, Scott was ready. His mom had left for work at 9, and the house was his all day. Five boxes and three bags of assorted chips were on the counter, plus two boxes of Oreos and one of chocolate chip cookies. Call of Duty was already set up on his Xbox, with four other games ready to go next to it. His comic book collection was sitting in the living room, no longer shoved in the back of his closet. The local pizza place was on speed dial on his cell phone.
Yeah, Scott was ready.
Taking a deep breath, the 15-year-old walked to his front door and pushed it open, knowing exactly who he'd find on the other side.
"Hey, Stiles," he said, ignoring the redness in his best friend's eyes.
Stiles was staring at his shoes, and he actually looked shy and spoke quietly, which was unusual for the hyperactive teenager... But not on this day.
"Hey Scott," he said, not looking up. "Um, I'm sorry to bother you; I was going to stay home, but my dad..." He stopped speaking, biting his lip.
Scott knew what Stiles was saying without him saying it- he often did. Stiles' dad was drinking, just like he did every year on this day. And, just like every year, Stiles had gone to the only other person he felt completely comfortable with- Scott.
"It's no problem man," Scott assured his friend with a smile. "Come on in."
Stiles loved his best friend. Every day, but especially on this day. October 21st. The anniversary of the worst day of Stiles' life- the day he sat alone in a hospital room and watched his mother die.
But Scott wouldn't let him think about that. Instead, Scott would make him play video games and eat junk food and laugh. And, honestly, Stiles no longer knew how to function without that.
So when Scott grinned, obviously trying to keep the mood up, Stiles managed a shaky smile in return.
"You ready to lose at Call of Duty?" Scott asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're on," Stiles responded, his smile growing and becoming more genuine.
Yeah, he loved his best friend.
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"Head shot! Yes!"
"Oh, yeah, 10 kills, so impressive," Stiles responded to Scott's enthusiasm with his normal sarcasm.
"How many do you have?"
"32."
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"Come on Scott, open your mouth."
A vigorous head shake was the only reply he got.
"Come ooooon. It's just fun!"
Another head shake.
"Fine. Have it your way."
Scott guessed he shouldn't have been surprised when the goldfish Stiles was holding hit him in the forehead with a dull 'thump'.
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"Seriously? You named you character 'Scott'? Where's your imagination dude?"
"Stiles, you named your character 'I eat butts!'"
Stiles' hysterical laughter at his own genius lasted the whole game, and Scott, in spite of himself, had to join in.
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"Ready?"
"This is probably a horrible idea, you know."
"No it's not. I'm a genius."
"Riiggghhht..."
"Come on Scott, you afraid you'll lose or something?"
Scott stared down at the package of Oreos in his lap and opened his mouth to make another weak argument, but he didn't get the chance.
"Go!" shouted Stiles, and immediately both boys began eating as fast as possible, shoving Oreos into their mouths with ridiculous speed.
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"I wanted to be Mario!"
"You were Mario last game! I'm always Luigi!"
"Guess you're just more of a Luigi person, Scott."
"Oh come on. I am NOT the pointless sidekick."
Stiles just grinned in response and pressed play.
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Melissa arrived home a little after 7 to a trashcan full of empty chip bags, the smell of pizza waiting in the kitchen, and the sound of laughter from the living room. "Scott?" she shouted, opening the pizza box to find 3 slices of Hawaiian pizza- her favorite.
The laughter slowly died down in the next room. "Hey mom!" shouted her son, and she was unsurprised to hear Stiles yell, "Hey Mrs. McCall!" at the same time.
Grabbing a plate for her pizza, Melissa moved into the living room with her dinner. The boys were, as per usual, deep in the middle of some violent video game or another. Stiles seemed to be winning, if his frequent triumphant shouts were any indication. She watched in amusement until the game was over, and then had the "privilege" of seeing Stiles perform a victory dance.
"How long have you been here, Stiles?" she asked, eyebrow raised.
The dancing stopped immediately, as the teen had apparently forgotten that Melissa was in the room. He turned around slowly, seeming smaller than Melissa had ever seen him. "Um... Almost 10 hours?" he answered, quietly.
Scott was looking at her with those ridiculous puppy dog eyes, and suddenly Melissa remembered what today was, why Stiles looked so vulnerable. Why he was, even now, getting up to leave, feeling he had overstayed his welcome.
So Melissa just smiled. "Well if you've been here that long," she said easily, "it really doesn't make sense for you to leave now. Why don't you sleep over?"
Scott was grinning at her now, and Melissa felt a warmth in her chest at the sight of Stiles' face lighting up immediately. Who knew it was so easy to make that boy smile?
"Well, I don't know about you boys, but I'm worn out. You can stay up as late as you like, as long as you stay quiet. Got it?" Melissa received twin nods in response. "Good." With that, she finished up her pizza and went upstairs to read. Dealing with two teenage boys was not something she wanted to do- one was hard enough.
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Scott and Stiles ended up going to bed earlier than they had thought they would- just a little past midnight. Rather than arguing over the bed, the two teens simply set up sleeping bags and settled in on the living room floor.
They had been lying in silence for only 15 minutes or so when Stiles spoke up. "I still miss her, you know. Even though it's been so long."
Scott stayed silent, knowing his friend needed to say this, needed to talk about it.
"It's the little things," he continued after a moment, "that remind me of her. Remember her lasagna?"
Scott nodded, smiling even though he knew Stiles couldn't see it. "That stuff was sooo good. I hardly ever ate anything else at your house."
Stiles laughed quietly. "Yeah, she knew that was your favorite." The laughing stopped, and he continued more sadly, "I can hardly eat lasagna now. None of it is as good as hers was."
Scott hated hearing his friend so sad, so quiet. But he had noticed Stiles' happiness at the good memories. So after a moment of silence, he said, "Remember that time she took us to the zoo, just the three of us?"
"You mean when I tried to break out the snakes?"
Scott smiled at Stiles' amused tone. Mission accomplished. "That's the one. Man, your mom was terrified you were actually going to do it."
"I was though! The snakes just looked so sad in there; I thought they'd rather be free..." He trailed off again, but this time when Stiles continued, he didn't sound sad. "The only reason I didn't was because she told me not to. I hated disappointing her."
"What about that time we played catch in your living room?" Scott countered with a smile.
"Oh, yeah, she didn't like that much, did she?"
"Not when we broke your grandmother's vase she didn't!"
"Yeah but come on," Stiles reasoned with a laugh, "that thing was ugly."
Scott joined in with Stiles' laughter. "I'll never forget her face after it hit the floor. She was PISSED, man!"
"Yeah, but I got her a new one, remember? Those dumb vases we made in art that year." There was a short silence, before Stiles continued, "I think that's the best gift I've ever given her."
Scott was, frankly, thrilled. Stiles was talking about his mom, and was able to separate all the good, happy memories from the sad ones. He was remembering his mom as the awesome cook, the best friend, and the parent that she was. And Scott knew that was exactly what Stiles needed.
Stiles knew what Scott was trying to do, but he didn't care. It has been awhile since he had talked about his mom without crying, and... It felt good. He liked remembering. The good stuff, that is. The last few months of her life he would rather forget.
The two friends stayed awake for almost an hour, swapping stories and memories about Claudia Stilinski. All the trips she took them on, all the amazing meals she used to make, all the odd phrases she used, all the things she did for Stiles and Scott and everyone she met.
Scott, Stiles decided as they were finally going to sleep, was the best friend ever.
A/N: I have a few more Teen Wolf stories written/in progress, so if you liked this, please review and let me know!