If you ask Stiles what it was that helped him concentrate when the Adderall didn't work top notch, and he didn't want to take anymore in fear of getting sick, he'd shrug and make up a witty excuse. He wouldn't say that it was the CD's that his mother bought him every Saturday at flea markets and old thrift stores every time he had a pretty good week. He wouldn't pull out his bottom desk drawer with the beat up CD player having survived a decade of abuse at the hands of a hyperactive child. He would control his gaze, and definitely not glance at his bottom drawer where albums of CD's are collected, some store bought, some made from burning playlists off of Itunes.
Social activities have never been the easiest task for Stiles, and while he'd like to play it off as trying a little too hard, it's never been easy to fit in. Never easy to translate exactly what it is he's feeling in the moment of things. It's why he relies on exaggerated facial expressions and gesticulations. And when he's alone and got a few minutes to poke through his music collection, he'll compile a playlist or two and burn them onto a CD. Then he'll tuck them away because mix CD's are definitely not something people still do, and not for no reason like they just felt like making one.
That's why when Derek is injured and laying low in Stiles's bedroom while the last of the damage is being controlled and swept away, he finds a dozen black binders tucked away. At the bottom drawer, someone would think they're put away to be ignored, but he doesn't find any dust. The binders are all very well maintained, even the ones that are clearly older. He flips through some of the new ones, catching Stiles's scrawled words like "Mama's Sunday Cleaning" or "Dad's Not Listening So Here Comes Loud Rock." He grins at a few, and looks solemnly at "Closest Thing To Her Hugs."
When he makes it to the new ones, he can track which CD means different people. There are a couple puppy love mixes for his feelings for Lydia. Some jealous mixes for when he felt threatened by Isaac befriending Scott. Then he finds ones like "That Jerk" and "Hot Abs Stupid Scowl." It draws his attention. Then he finds one called, "Not Like He'll Ever Know." He slips the CD out and wraps it in some tissues, pocketing and hiding the evidence of having looked through the binders before Stiles can come back and catch him.
That's why three days later Stiles nearly has a heart attack when he comes upstairs from dinner to find Derek leaning against his window, arms crossed, looking equal parts determined and unsure. It's not exactly a look Stiles is familiar with, and he's about to question it when he catches somethings changed about his desk. There's a CD sitting on the side of his keyboard. He panics for a moment, and looks up at Derek, but he's already gone, a blank window in his place. Stiles walks closer to the CD and in a handwriting he's only seen twice he reads "Too Young But I Can Wait."