So this story is a sequel to the story "Stereo Hearts". You don't really need to have read it first, but it would probably help a bit. This is a part of a series, now. I'm not exactly sure how long it will be; but, look out for more in this world.
The weeks between Valentine's Day and prom seemed to pass by in a blur to Stiles, and before he knew it, it was Monday the week of prom. He was a little nervous, not that he would admit that to anyone. It was the first time he was going to have a date to a school dance, and he was going with Derek Hale. Despite having been on a few dates with the other teen, Stiles was still completely shell-shocked that Derek was actually interested in him that way. He was gathering the crafts supplies that he brought to the school to take to the elementary that morning when Derek came up next to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek, making him smile before turning enough to steal another kiss. "Morning," Stiles stated with a smile.
"You're in an unusually good mood for a Monday morning," Derek mumbled, picking up Stiles backpack from next to his feet while Stiles closed his locker with his elbow, arms full of the craft supplies. "Scott bring you coffee this morning?"
"Mm-nope," replied Stiles as he shook his head, smiling in thanks as Derek started to walk with him toward the door that led to the parking lot. "Just in a good mood, I guess. I dunno. One of those mornings. You should cheer up, Mr. Sourwolf. It's supposed to be a nice day."
It was the first day out of the previous week and a half in which the sun was actually shining. Stiles was tired of the rain. The two of them talked about how nice it'd be to actually be able to spend time outside again as they walked to Stiles' Jeep to put the box of craft supplies and his backpack into the passenger seat. It had become routine for Derek to walk Stiles to his car, even when it was raining. The younger boy could not bring himself to mind any.
They did not have much time beyond the few minutes between classes and before school to actually talk or spend time together between Stiles' very full academic schedule and his part time job, and Derek's involvement in sports plus his demanding family (of course, that bit wasn't a burden; Derek just joked that it was). They had gone on exactly one and a half dates (Stiles insisted only one and a half because the second was a group date, and that didn't really count), but prom was Friday, and they were both looking forward to the excuse to spend time together.
"I'll see you later," Derek said with that half-smile that Stiles always wanted to poke at with a smile of his own. It would have looked forced were it not for the look in his eyes that validated the sincerity in the gesture. Not many people really got to see Derek smile, but Stiles would consider himself a lucky person for being one of the few.
With a nod and a smile of his own, Stiles climbed into the Jeep and started her up, waving slightly at Derek before actually taking out to head across town to where the elementary school was. He sang along with the radio on the drive over, tapping the steering wheel with his hands, unable to keep from smiling. It really was just a great day.
Derek was not listening to his teacher, idly tapping his pen on the pages of his textbook that was open in front of him. He laughed faintly at something Dean told him, though he was not exactly sure what Dean had said. The guy was nice enough, and he was glad that the guy made Laura happy; but, Derek was not feeling very social that day. Honestly, all he wanted to do was to go home and lock himself in his bedroom. Maybe it had to do with the fact he was nervous about the dance on Friday; but, he really just did not want to deal with people.
It was not the first time Derek was going to have a date to the dance; but, it would be the first time he would be there with someone he really wanted to spend his time with and he wanted to dance with. He was going to make a fool of himself. He just knew it.
"Hey, are you going to be going to Lydia's after-party Friday?" questioned one of the lacrosse players from Derek's left. He was pretty sure the guy's name was Greenberg, but he was not completely sure.
To be honest, Derek wanted nothing to do with Lydia Martin's after-party. He wanted to spend time with Stiles after prom, just with Stiles. He did not care if they went somewhere to talk, or went to his place to watch movies all night or what. As long as he got some time alone with the teen, Derek would be content. He knew it was expected for him to be at the party, however. After a moment, Derek lifted his shoulders in a shrug and said, "I dunno. We'll see what Stiles wants to do."
Greenberg pulled a face at the mention of Stiles, making Derek narrow his eyes for a moment until the teacher came over to their table and said, "Am I interrupting social time?" Mrs. Jester rose both brows as she pursed her lips, looking between Derek and Greenberg. "Care to share with the class? No? Keep it to after class then, boys, unless you want to stay after for detention."
Both of them shook their heads, though Derek fixed another glare in Greenberg's direction before he focused on the teacher's lecture on the book they were reading. Derek had read it the year before and did not really pay attention to the lesson. He could pass the test without listening, anyway. Derek wished Friday would just get there already.
Once again, Stiles had glitter on his hands, clothes, and some on his face as well. The class had decided they wanted to make pretty, sparkly flowers for spring to tape up onto the blank wall in the room. At least he had been smart enough to tug his beanie on before he had gone in the classroom. It would save him from having to deal with glitter in his hair. He had left the craft supplies at the classroom, since they would be finishing their projects the following day. Stiles enjoyed the few minutes he got alone in the hallway before the classes were released. It gave him a chance to gather his stuff for art, and to finish up a sketch in his sketchbook if he had not finished the assignment already.
Stiles had just put his things into his backpack and closed his locker when the bell rang, which led to all the students filing out into the hallways, filling them with noise once again. He sighed inaudibly and wet his lips as he turned to head down the hall, only to pause as a student rushed past him (he was pretty sure it was Greenberg from lacrosse), nearly bumping into him. Stiles blinked a few times and shook his head before starting to walk, smiling when he spotted Derek talking to Laura. "Hi, Stiles," she said when she spotted him, making her brother turn to look at him as well. "Did you get into a fight with a Cullen or something?"
"Huh?" Stiles asked, cocking his head to the side with a completely confused expression while Laura smirked in amusement and Derek rolled his eyes at his sister. He looked down at himself and laughed softly when he saw the specks of glitter on his arm before looking back to Laura. "Cute. No, the kids I tutor seem to have a habit of getting more glitter on me than on their projects."
"Aw, damn. And here I was hoping to get to see some of that sparkling sexiness," replied Laura with a click of her tongue and a shake of her head, making Derek sigh and roll his eyes once again.
Stiles laughed softly and nudged Derek with his elbow before smiling at the teen. "Walk me to class?"
Derek nodded a little, smiling a little at the bright smile he got from Stiles in response and the two of them then said good-bye to Laura. They walked close to one another, their knuckles brushing without either one of them actually making the move to hold hands. It was not that either of them were against PDA or anything, they were still just discovering what worked and what did not between them. Stiles knew he preferred Derek's arm around his waist more than around his shoulders, and Derek liked to walk on Stiles' right side. Plus, if they weren't holding hands, Derek could easier open any of the doors in their way or stop Stiles from tripping, as he often did.
Once they got to the art room, Stiles leaned against the wall by the door, facing Derek with a smile. "So, dad wants pictures Friday," Stiles stated, his smile turning into more of a smirk at the grimace that formed on Derek's face. "Just one good one, at least. Plus, he'll want to do the whole threatening your manhood speech that I'm pretty sure he's rehearsed in the past few weeks."
"Your dad's about as threatening as a kitten, Stiles," replied Derek with an amused smirk, chuckling a little as Stiles rolled his eyes with a dismissive wave of his hands.
"Yes, well, maybe so, but that's just because you've not given him a reason to seem more than that. I'd much appreciate it if you kept it that way."
Stiles nodded once before stilling as Derek reached up, brushing his thumb along the line of Stiles' lower lip on the left side. He absentmindedly wet his lips after Derek pulled his hand away, brow furrowing a little. "Sorry. There was a piece of glitter there. Kinda distracting," Derek explained, smiling softly at the laugh the statement earned him.
"Well, uh, thanks." Stiles laughed softly again as he reached up to run a hand through his hair, ruffling the strands before letting his hand drop to his side. "You should probably go, before we're both late." Stiles knew that he could easily spend the rest of the day just standing there talking to Derek. It was not very conductive to school work, but Derek was... well, he was Derek.
"I'll see you at lunch." Derek nodded once as he leaned in to press a kiss to Stiles' cheek, and he smiled as he pulled back so that he could walk to his own class.
Stiles stood there a moment, smiling dumbly to himself before shaking his head and turning to go into the classroom just as the tardy bell rang.
The next few days were too busy for Derek and Stiles to really spend any time together that was not them walking together in the halls. Even those moments were usually cut short by one of them being dragged off by a friend. By Friday afternoon, Stiles' nervousness was starting to get the best of him. He was not really sure why he was so nervous. It was just a school dance. That he had to dress up for. And he would be there with the most sought after guy in school.
Stiles sighed and ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up even more as he spun around once in his desk chair. He just knew he was going to make a fool of himself in front of everybody. A glance at the clock told him that he needed to hurry up and get ready, and stop sitting there over-thinking everything. There was a large group of them that was going to meet up at the diner before the dance to eat something and just hang out. That part Stiles was not nervous about in the slightest (except for maybe the worry he was going to stain his white shirt before they even got to the dance), but it was everything else. He felt ridiculous for being nervous like he was some silly little school girl or something and finally forced himself up to start to get dressed.
His shirt was not a traditional one (though Lydia had tried hard to get him to wear one), and it had a rather deep neck that was draped a little. It was loose, comfortable, and stylish but still looked nice. It was, as Isaac had pointed out, very him. Stiles had never been one for tradition. It was just after he had tugged on the jacket he was wearing, which had its sleeves rolled up to about quarter length, that his dad knocked on the door and came into the room. "So, are you sure I can't pull out the ol' gun and clean it threateningly?" questioned the sheriff as he leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms over his chest with a smile.
Stiles rolled his eyes, but smiled over at his dad as he said, "I'm pretty sure he would be able to tell you weren't seriously threatening him, Dad." Stiles adjusted the jacket he was wearing and let out a heavy breath before holding his arms out for his dad to see. "So?"
"You look good, kid." John Stilinski nodded a little, unable to keep from smiling though he wanted to make his son go back to being five years old again. He was proud of the young man that Stiles was growing to be, though, and he would not miss out on that for the world. "I'm just surprised that Martin girl didn't rope you into wearing a tie."
"Yeah, well, she tried." Stiles shrugged a little, laughing as he absently rubbed the back of his neck, glancing out the window.
"Derek's downstairs already, y'know."
The look of surprise that formed on Stiles' face and the way his arm went slack at his side was well worth it in John's opinion, especially when Stiles started to stammer over a sentence. "Why didn't you say anything?" the teen finally managed to say, wondering how long Derek had been there and if he had been able to tell how nervous he was from his heartbeat.
John simply chuckled and reached out to place a hand on Stiles' shoulder, squeezing it before pulling his son into a quick hug. "C'mon, let's get that photo you promised, and I'll let you two go."
"Oh, my god," Stiles breathed out, absently wetting his lips before following his dad downstairs.
Derek's eyes were on him the moment that he walked into the room, and Stiles relaxed almost the second that he caught sight of Derek standing there. Stiles smiled as he walked over to him, while the sheriff went to go grab the camera. "Wow," stated Stiles with a soft laugh, reaching out to run his fingers along the front of Derek's tie. "You clean up great, dude."
"Yeah, well, so do you," Derek replied as he reached out to gently tug on the front of Stiles' jacket. "You look... great, Stiles."
Stiles smiled at him, unable to respond as his dad announced that he had the camera. The two teens were not quite sure what to do with themselves, but ended up simply stepping closer together, Derek resting his hand on Stiles' back. Stiles smiled at the camera, and Derek smiled as well, though most of his focus was on Stiles next to him. John did not make them take another photo, finding that it was a rather perfect picture of the two of them (not that he would ever admit it to anyone); plus, he was not good with the stereotypical moments where Stiles' mother would have been perfect at. Stiles remained oblivious to the fact that Derek had not been focused on the camera at all, and he said good-bye to his dad, who warned Derek that he best have Stiles home before one o'clock.
"Yes, sir," Derek replied with a nod before he led Stiles outside to where the Camaro was waiting and only then did he comment on how fast Stiles' heart rate had been with a soft laugh.
"Oh, shut up," he said with a soft laugh, reaching over to hit Derek's arm lightly as Derek turned on the car. "I'm nervous about this whole dance business. I've never really done the school dance thing before, and I'll be there with you, and... 'M going to make a fool of myself."
Derek smiled slightly as he pulled the car out onto the street before he reached over to take Stiles' hand in his own, linking their fingers together. "You won't make a fool of yourself, Stiles." He brushed his thumb against the back of Stiles' hand repeatedly as the other teen slowly started to relax more in the passenger seat. "You really do look great, y'know."
"Thanks." Stiles smiled, gently squeezing Derek's hand as he shifted in his seat, attempting to get comfortable and not fidget so much. Lydia would kill him if he wrinkled the already non-traditional suit he was wearing.
When they got to the diner, the two of them got out of the car and Stiles waited for Derek to walk around the car before they started to the building. He smiled when Derek wrapped an arm around his waist, keeping him held close to his side. Allison, Scott, Danny, and Isaac were already there sitting at one end of a group of tables they had pulled together. The group was still waiting for Lydia, Jackson, Laura, Dean, and a few other of the more popular students in the school.
It was fairly awkward for Stiles, but he soldiered through it with a smile, spending more time talking to Danny, Isaac, Scott, Allison, and Derek than any of the others that he did not really know. Lydia kept eying him like she wanted to do something to fix his appearance, so he did his best to never make eye contact with her. That would only make her do whatever it was that she was thinking about doing.
About an hour later, the group of them started to make their way out to their separate cars, and Derek squeezed Stiles' hand gently as they walked. "So, that wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be," Stiles stated once they reached the Camaro, laughing a little with a shrug.
Derek knew that Stiles was really only friends with Scott, Isaac, and Danny out of the group, and he could easily see how the whole thing could have been weird. Hanging out with the same people in a party setting was less close-quarters than trying to share conversation over food was. Everyone knew that Stiles liked to talk, but when he was in a situation like that, it was rare that he ever said anything of value. That was kept for when he and Derek were alone, or he was with friends that he was close to. "I'm glad you agreed to this," Derek told him quietly as most of the others left the parking lot to head to the dance, pressing a light kiss to the corner of Stiles' lips, making him smile. "After the dance, we can go somewhere just the two of us if you'd rather, instead of Lydia's party."
Stiles smile brightened a little more as he nodded and squeezed Derek's hand once before pulling away to actually open the car door. "Yeah, I'd really like that," answered Stiles as the two of them finally got into the car so they could make their way to the school.
The gym was decorated with streamers and white Christmas lights. It was all very cheesy, but for the most part, the students seemed to be enjoying it. Isaac was especially fond of the lights, something that made Danny smile as he held his date close. "Don't blame me when I step on your feet," Stiles warned Derek as he let the teen lead him out to the dance floor.
Derek simply shook his head and smiled at Stiles, wrapping both arms around the teen's waist to hold him close as a slow song played over the speakers. Stiles smiled as he wrapped his arms around Derek in return, practically hiding his face in the side of Derek's neck while letting him lead. "People keep looking at us," Stiles mumbled after a few moments.
A slight smile tugged on his lips when Derek lifted his shoulders in a shrug and replied, "Let them."
Stiles pulled away enough to press a light kiss to Derek's lips as the music changed tempo to something faster and he laughed softly as he took one of Derek's hands in his own. "Wanna sit this one out? I don't think I've had quite enough sugar to attempt anything fast yet," Stiles told his date, smiling when Derek nodded and led him over to the table they were assigned to with Laura, Dean, Danny, and Isaac. He sat down and almost reluctantly let go of Derek's hand when the teen said that he would go grab them drinks, resting his arms on the table when Derek walked off. "Where's Danny?"
Stiles' brow furrowed a little as he looked around them and back to Isaac, who was sitting across from him at the table. "Washing off his shirt. Someone bumped into him and spilled punch on him. He insisted I wait here, so..." Isaac said softly, barely audible over the music, and he shrugged as he toyed with the cup in front of him, but he smiled at Stiles. "You look like you're having a good time so far."
"Yeah." Stiles laughed softly, reaching up to ruffle his hair absentmindedly, mussing it up more than it had been already. "I like being able to spend time with Derek. He just always makes me feel better."
"I know what you mean."
Isaac nodded as he spoke, continuing to toy with the cup, only stopping when Danny appeared at his side and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "What're you two talking about?" he questioned, stealing a drink out of Isaac's cup with a slight smirk, chuckling when the curly-haired teen nudged him with his elbow.
"Oh, y'know, just world domination," answered Stiles with a straight face and a nod only to smile when he spotted Derek heading back to the table.
"Guess we shouldn't leave the two of you alone for very long, then," Derek stated as he sat down next to Stiles, handing him one of the plastic cups with a slight smile.
"Mmhmm. Probably the safest bet." Stiles nodded before he took a drink of the punch that was, surprisingly, not spiked. Whether or not that was simply because no one had a chance to dump alcohol in it yet, Stiles was not sure.
Danny stole another drink of Isaac's punch before he stood up and took the other teen's hand. "C'mon, dance with me," Danny insisted, smiling when Isaac easily stood up and followed him out into the crowd.
The dance went on in a blur of songs, laughter, being dragged out onto the floor during some fast songs by Lydia and Laura, and everyone just generally having a good time. Scott and Allison disappeared about half-way through the dance, but nobody really questioned where those two went off to. They mutually agreed that they did not want to know.
Derek and Stiles waited until the dance was almost over before they left, both of them wanting to avoid getting dragged into going to Lydia's after-party. They went out to the Hale house, instead; and, Stiles was rather surprised to find out they would be there alone. Derek's parents were out of town, and his younger siblings were all at friends' houses.
It was starting to rain as Derek parked the car and the two of them got out; but, that did not stop Stiles from tugging on Derek's arm to get him to stop when they were half-way to the house. "What?" Derek asked with a furrowed brow as Stiles just smiled and shook his head to indicate that there was not anything wrong.
"Nothing, it's just..." Stiles said as he laughed a little before leaning in to steal a quick kiss from Derek, lingering for a few moments longer than he had meant. "Thanks for asking me to the dance tonight. I had a lot of fun tonight."
"You needed to say this in the rain?" Derek's brow rose a little, though he had a slight upturn to his lips that Stiles knew meant he was amused and not irritated, like the rest of his expression would lead.
Stiles shrugged and laughed before kissing Derek once again. "Just felt like it. Let's get inside before it really starts to rain, though."
Derek chuckled lightly and nodded, taking Stiles' hand in his own to lead him up to the house. It was a lot warmer inside, but Stiles shuddered a little as a cold drop of water ran down his back under the collar of his shirt. They took their shoes off there in the main hall, Stiles putting his shoes where Derek told him to; and, then they made their way upstairs to Derek's room.
Stiles was not exactly sure how they had ended up laying out in Derek's bed; but, there they were, laying on their sides facing one another as they talked softly, listening to the rain on the roof above them all the while. They talked about Derek's plans for that fall, about Stiles' plans for after high school, about their friends and family, and about anything else that came to mind. They were getting Derek's bed wet, but honestly, he did not mind. He was more focused on the fact that Stiles was there with him at all than anything. Stiles was never still, even as they talked. He was always shifting in place, or running his fingers along Derek's arm, hand, shoulder, chest, face. He did not even realize he was doing it until Derek turned into the brush of fingers along his jawline, lips brushing against Stiles' skin.
"Oh, sorry," Stiles mumbled, though he did not pull away. He smiled softly when Derek lightly gripped his wrist to make sure that he would not, anyway.
"Don't apologize," replied Derek, shaking his head minutely enough that Stiles almost missed the gesture.
The rain started to pick up outside, and the already dark room grew darker, but neither of them moved to turn on one of the lights. "Will you come to the game next week?" Derek asked after the conversation had turned to sports, smiling almost sheepishly.
Stiles laughed softly and nodded with a smile as he leaned in to kiss Derek, resting a hand on the back of his neck. "Front row," Stiles said softly as he slowly broke the kiss, letting his fingers play with the hair at the nape of Derek's neck. "Should I bring my pom-poms?"
'"Shut up." Derek laughed with a smile as he nudged Stiles lightly but then hugged the boy closer, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. He closed his eyes as Stiles continued to play with his hair, and they lay there, talking about whatever came to mind until Derek realized that it was past time for Stiles to be home and he winced a little as he informed him as such.
"Shit!" exclaimed Stiles as he quickly sat up, nearly falling off the side of Derek's bed. "Shit, dad's going to kill me." He groaned and ran a hand through his hair as they both got up, but relaxed a moment later when Derek's arm wound around his waist.
Stiles closed his eyes for a moment and sighed as Derek pressed a kiss to his temple. "I'll just tell him it was my fault," Derek said calmly as he started to lead Stiles downstairs without removing the arm around his waist. "I wasn't ready to let you go yet."
"Cheesy, and cute." Stiles laughed softly as they stopped in the main hallway to pull their shoes back on.
He could not keep his face from flushing a little when Derek wrapped the leather jacket that Derek was known to wear most often around his shoulders so that he could pull it on. Hoping that Derek would not be able to see the faint pink in the dark, Stiles did not bother ducking his head like he would in full light. However, a part of him knew that Derek could see it. "We don't have an umbrella, so you might still want to run," Derek told him with a slight nod while pulling on a jacket for himself. "C'mon, let's get you home before your dad calls a search party."
Both teens smiled and laughed softly as Derek took Stiles' hand in his own, leading the way out to the car. They both ran to try to avoid getting more wet than needed; but, by the time they climbed into the Camaro, water had flattened their hair and their exposed skin looked as though they had just stepped out of a shower. At least their clothes had not gotten too watered down. Derek would not have to worry about water damage to the inside of the car.
They listened to the radio as Derek drove, neither one speaking the entire time. Stiles absentmindedly tapped his fingers on his leg as he bounced his knee, unable to keep still for more than a moment. He sang softly under his breath a few times with the music playing, but he never actually spoke until he was on his front porch by the door, smiling softly at Derek. "I had a great time tonight," Stiles told him before leaning in to kiss him just as the sheriff opened the front door.
"Boys," John Stilinski said in his "I-mean-business" tone, crossing his arms over his chest as Stiles pulled away from Derek to step closer to the door.
"It was my fault," Stiles stated with a smile as he looked toward his dad. "I wasn't ready to let him go yet."
Derek could not keep from laughing at Stiles' choice of words, and he smiled as he said, "Cheesy, and cute."
