Stiles knew he was dreaming. It was the same dream he had had for the past seven years; a dream wrapped in a memory. He was at a zoo with his dad and they were looking at the polar bears.
"Stiles, aren't the polar bears neat?"
Stiles put his hand on the glass water tank and watched the polar bears swim around. They were so big. "They're pretty."
And that's where the memory ended and the dream started. Just like every other time he had this dream, one of the polar bears swam to the glass and looked at Stiles.
"I think he likes you," Stiles's dad said.
Stiles smiled and brought his face closer to the glass. "I wish we could take him home with us."
The polar bear, as if he understood what Stiles had said, placed his paw on the glass opposite Stiles's hand and began tapping on the tank. Stiles tapped back, thinking it was the polar bear's way of saying hi. Then the polar bear starting tapping louder and harder.
"Wow, son, you sure have made an impression!"
Stiles backed away from the tank. Something was wrong. The polar bear was now banging on the glass with both paws feverishly. Stiles noticed a crack in the tank.
"Dad! This can't be good!"
Stiles's dad had a big smile on his face. "Why not? He just wants to be your friend!"
Stiles could feel a ball in the pit of his stomach. The crack in the glass was spreading and the polar bear now had a vicious look on its face. The polar bear lifted it's paw and proceeded to bang on the glass. Water began to leak through and Stiles turned to his dad.
"Dad, we have to get out of here!"
Stiles's father laughed. "Why son?! I thought you wanted to take him home?! He's gotta come out of his tank if he's going to come home with us."
Stiles could hear the glass begin to give way and before he knew it the polar bear was crashing through the tank with its mouth wide open. Stiles knew the polar bear wanted to be anything but his friend, but before he could become a tuna steak, he woke up.
"Polar bears are white and majestic!" Stiles opened his eyes. It took him a minute to realize where he was. He was in Derek Hale's house...on Derek Hale's couch...laying on Derek Hale's shoulder. He was afraid to move.
Derek began to stir. "Ugh, my arm is numb."
Stiles sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, sorry, man."
Derek opened his eyes and Stiles could tell by the look on his face that Derek was surprised to see him before the events of last night came back to him.
"You give a whole new meaning to the term 'heavy sleeper'," Derek said as he stretched his arms.
"Sorry. Going by the massive headache I have, I'm going to say hangovers add an extra pound or two."
Derek scuffed. "Sure blame it on the alcohol. Ever think you just have a really big head?"
An exaggerated look of shock and horror swept over Stiles's face. "I'll have you know that my head is perfectly proportioned for my body, you jerk. Is this how you treat all your houseguests? With embarrassment and humiliation?"
"Well, I don't ever have houseguests, but if I did and they were like you, then yes; embarrassment and humiliation is an amenity provided at the house of Hale, courtesy of yours truly."
"You're such an asshole."
"If I was such an asshole I wouldn't have let you sleep off your drunken stupor here on my couch. Instead I would have brought you home and let you face your sheriff father. Or, better yet, I could have just left you alone completely and let you fend for yourself."
Stiles bowed his head. "You're right. I, uhm, I'm sorry. I appreciate all that you did for me last night. You didn't have to do any of what you did. We're not even friends, so you didn't owe me anything. Thanks."
Derek saw the look of shame on Stiles's face and immediately felt bad for the kid. "You don't have to thank me. It's fine. You were just being a regular teenager. You don't have to feel bad about that."
Stiles rubbed both of his temples. "No, all this regret and embarrassment I'm feeling right now is well deserved. I knew Jackson and his of neanderthals were probably up to no good when they invited me to their little shindig and I went anyway. So, yeah," Stiles said.
"So, then why did you agree to go?"
"Well," Stiles looked up at what was left of the ceiling and then back at Derek. "I guess I was hoping that my judgement would be wrong and that maybe I would actually have a good time. If you haven't noticed I'm not exactly Mr. Popularity. I just wanted to have a normal teenage experience."
"Well, you puked in a bucket, stayed out all night, and got a hangover. I say you definitely had yourself a teenage experience."
"I guess you're right."
After a moment's silence, Derek spoke up. "Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"What's with the polar bears?"
Stiles turned red in the face. "Ah, ah, what do you mean? I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about."
Derek raised one eyebrow. "You can't play dumb with me. Last night and this morning you said, "Polar bears are white and majestic" as you jumped out of sleep. What's with the polar bears?"
Stiles gave a sheepish grin. "It's nothing, really. Just a stupid nightmare I've had since I was a kid."
"What happens in your nightmare?"
"I'm at the zoo with my dad and we're looking at the polar bear enclosure. One comes up and starts banging on the glass until the it breaks and the polar bear comes flying at me with it's mouth opened, and then I wake up."
Derek chuckled. "That's it? That's your idea of a nightmare?" Derek let out a maniacal laugh. "Forget being afraid of killers and monsters like a regular human being, no, no, instead Stiles is afraid of POLAR BEARS!"
Stiles couldn't fight the anger that suddenly washed over him. "Really? And you say you're not an asshole. Could've fooled me." Stiles got up from the couch and began to walk away.
Derek stood up and stopped Stiles by grabbing his arm. "Hey, I'm sorry."
Stiles yanked his arm out of Derek's grasp. "You're the first person I've ever told about my nightmare. The only one. Wanna know why I've never told anyone else? Because I knew they would react just like you did. Not everyone is afraid of the same things, you know. And it's not even like I'm afraid of the polar bear. Sure it's scary looking, but that's not what makes it a nightmare. It's the way it makes me feel. Like time stands still and I know this big beast is going to attack me, but there's nothing I can do, but stand there and watch. I'm frozen in fear. Do you know what that's like? To know that something horrible is about to happen, but you can't do anything to stop it? No, you wouldn't, because Derek the big bad wolf is invincible right?"
"I'm not invincible, Stiles. I know what it's like to be that scared. Trust me, I do. I shouldn't have made light of your nightmare. Everyone's fears are their own. I'm sorry, really."
"Whatever, it's cool. Like I said before, we aren't even friends, so you don't owe me anything. Especially an apology."
"Then why did you tell me about the polar bear? If we aren't even friends, why would you confide something like that in me?"
Stiles felt a knot begin to form in his chest. Why did he tell Derek? "I, uhm, I'm still mildly under the influence, so my judgement is impaired."
Derek stepped closer. He could hear Stiles's heartbeat quicken. "That's not it."
Stiles swallowed the lump that traveled from his chest up to his throat. "I...I guess I thought I could trust you."
Derek gave Stiles a devilish grin. "How can you trust me if we're aren't friends? Do you always give your trust away so freely?"
Stiles didn't know what to say. Right now he couldn't think of anything. He was too distracted by how close Derek was to him. He could feel Derek's breath on his nose and it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "No, I don't."
"Then what makes me so special?"
Stiles could feel his heart banging on the walls of his chest. "I didn't say I trust you. I said I thought I could trust you."
Derek inched even closer. "And now what do you think?"
Stiles looked up and met Derek's eyes. There was something primal and untamed looking back at him. He couldn't tell if it was fear he felt or exhilaration, but either way he didn't like it. "I think it's time for me to go home."
Derek smiled ever so slightly. "I think you're right. Wouldn't want your dad to worry."
"No we wouldn't want that," Stiles stepped back and started walking toward the front door. Before leaving he turned and said, "Thanks again for last night."
Derek gave a nod in response and watched Stiles walk out the door. He walked over to the window and watched Stiles until he was out of sight.
As Stiles walked down the front steps of Derek's house, he knew he was being watched. He could feel Derek's eyes on him as he made his way down the driveway and onto the path in the woods. He couldn't stop thinking about the look in Derek's eyes. It was dangerous and frightening, and it made him feel uneasy...but at the same time it excited him and he wasn't sure what to do with that.