AN: Hey guys! Again thank you for all the alerts, favorites and reviews! Go have yourselves a cookie as a reward for being awesome. Chapter 4 has lots of drama, so prepare yourselves. Hope you guys like it. :)
Disclaimer: We own nothing! Except for our slightly pervy minds, that is. But you can't sue us for that! :P
Stiles grumbled. He knew this wasn't over. He wasn't done with Derek. He was going to fight for him. He had to.
He left for his Jeep and decided to pay Scott a visit. Seeking out your best friend after a break up was after all the normal thing to do. And besides, he knew that Scott needed some cheering up as well.
Derek tried to call his brother as he weaved his way through the trees. He had to talk to him, get him to move back to the house. As much as he hated to admit it, he was dependent on Melissa McCall right now. And if she kicked him out, he would literally have nowhere else to go. Well, there was always his uncle Peter who lived in the old, abandoned family mansion in the woods, but Derek would sooner live on the streets than share a home with that sadistic lunatic.
He watched his phone as he dialed Scott's number, but it just rang. He tried again a few seconds later, but there was still no answer. 'Not a good sign', Derek thought to himself. 'He still doesn't want to talk to me.'
After trying one last time to reach his brother to no avail, Derek decided to head home, hoping he'd find him there. If not, well then it would be up to Stiles to save his ass.
Stiles knocked on the front door to Allison's house, silently praying that her dad wouldn't be the one to answer.
He gave a mini sigh of relief as he saw a surprised looking Allison peeking her head around the door. "Stiles?"
"Allison, hey," he smiled. "Is Scott here?"
"Yeah, he is," she replied, tossing a thumb over her shoulder. "Do you want to come in? Or?"
"Having him come here is fine," Stiles nodded.
Allison flashed a friendly smile and disappeared back inside the house.
"It's open," Scott called when he heard a knock at the door.
"Stiles is looking for you," Allison informed him, leaning into the guest bedroom slightly.
Scott couldn't help but smile at the mention of his best friend's name. At least he wasn't mad at him for what had happened this morning. He stood up from the bed and made his way over to the front door, giving Allison a thank you smile as he passed her.
"What's up?" he asked his best friend as soon as he reached him, a little discouraged by the frown he was sporting.
"Hey, man. Do you think we could talk? Not here, though," he said, rambling slightly. "Want to come to the car?" He lead the way over to the street where his Jeep was parked, waiting for Scott to get into the passenger side before climbing in as well.
"What did you wanna talk about?" Scott asked, raising an inquiring eyebrow at the nervous teen. He was acting kind of weird, and it was starting to worry him a bit.
"I think you should move back home," he told him. "Like, today. I know you said you'd prefer not to and you can't face Derek yet, but I think you need to."
"What? Why?" Scott asked, sounding confused. He looked at Stiles inquisitively before his expression changed to one of slight annoyance. "Wait, did Derek put you up to this?"
"No Scott. Your mother did." It was partially Derek, but he could be kept out of it for now. "You need to be back home by the end of the night."
"Wait, you talked to my mom? When?"
"A little while ago?" Stiles said awkwardly, lifting a hand to the back of his neck. "I ran into her at the park while she was out on her jog." He sighed before continuing. "Look, your mom wants you back. She said Derek is gone if you're not back there by tonight and I'd seriously hate to be the reason that he ends up a homeless kid begging for change on the side of the road."
Scott looked shocked. "My mom really said that?" He sat in silence for a while, not really knowing what to say. "Wow."
"Yes. She did." Stiles was moving his fingers around lazily on the steering wheel. "And if it helps getting you back home, I'm not seeing Derek anymore," he added, sounding disappointed.
"Really?" Scott asked in disbelief. "Did something happen?"
"Well, we kinda did it for you. And so that Derek has a place to stay," he told him, turning his head to face his best friend.
Scott looked confused again. "You broke up because of me?" He thought about something before continuing a few seconds later. "Does it have anything to do with what I told you this morning?"
"Derek thinks it'll be easier that way. Apparently us being together just caused too many problems," he said dejectedly. "And which part of this morning? The jealousy thing?"
"Yeah," Scott replied shyly, his eyes cast downwards. He was actually happy about the fact that Stiles and Derek broke up, but at the same time he felt guilty about it as well.
"Well, no. It had nothing to do with that." Stiles didn't want Scott to feel responsible for anything that was going on. He just wanted him to come home so that all this drama could finally come to an end already.
Scott seemed kind of disappointed with Stiles' reply, though, and all he could muster was an "Oh." He stayed quiet for a while longer before eventually looking at his best friend. "I guess I'll go get my stuff then."
Stiles felt bad. The disappointment in Scott's voice hit him hard. He'd basically just told his best friend: "screw you and your jealousy! It doesn't faze me!" But the truth is it did faze him. He just wasn't exactly sure how he felt about the whole Scott wanting to kiss him thing. It took him back to his childhood. The days when he had that boyish crush on him, even though he found Lydia shortly after and averted his eyes in her direction, leaving his feelings for Scott behind. "Wait," Stiles said quickly and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I-," he began, but he had no idea what it was he wanted to say. But whatever it was, he had to get it out.
Scott looked at him expectantly, not sure why he was stopping him.
"Don't be mad at me," he muttered after a while, but he knew it wasn't what he wanted to say. He still had this weight on his chest. He looked to his hand that was still tightly gripping Scott's arm, which was starting to grow pale around his fingers. He quickly let go, not realizing that he was gripping so tight.
"I could never be mad at you," Scott told his best friend, his lips spreading into a pained smile.
Stiles' world felt like it was in slow motion. He watched as Scott's lips moved and they seemed to move forever. He felt drawn to them. He blinked fast. What the hell was wrong with him? He hadn't paid this much attention to Scott's face since he was a kid. He remembered when they were little and he would struggle to fall asleep at their sleepovers. He'd turn over and watch as Scott's eyes would flutter in his sleep or how his lips would twitch. It used to calm him down until he'd eventually doze off himself.
"Stiles?" Scott said, trying to draw his best friend's attention back to reality.
"I-," he began, but shook his head. "Nothing. Nothing at all." He licked his lips before continuing. "Do you need help with your things?"
"Sure," Scott replied, offering a smile before getting out of the car. He was kind of hoping that Stiles would make a move now that all his cards were on the table, but Stiles obviously wasn't interested. He wasn't planning on letting it affect their friendship, though, so he just hid away his disappointment.
He led the way as Stiles followed him into the Argent's guest bedroom, grabbing his suitcase before starting to pack up his clothes. "You can start folding the sheets if you'd like," he told Stiles, who was standing in the doorway.
"That's fine," Stiles sort of mumbled. He folded the sheets as Scott had asked, glancing over his shoulder at his best friend every now and again.
He made his way to where Scott was as soon as he was done, handing him the neatly folded sheets. "Look, my day's been kind of crappy so far. Can I give you a quick hug? I kinda need one." Getting a hug from Scott would just be a temporary guilty pleasure. Until he could return to Derek. And hugging is something he and Scott had done so many times that he wouldn't exactly feel like he was using him.
Scott was a little confused; Stiles had never actually asked him for a hug before. But he hated the vulnerable look on his best friend's face, so of course he complied. He wrapped his arms around him and squeezed tightly, as though it would help take some of the pain away.
"You really liked Derek, huh?" Scott asked from over Stiles' shoulder. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew it was true. He could tell that Stiles was really upset over this whole breakup thing.
"Yeah," Stiles replied sadly. It felt nice to hold Scott like this. "I'll get over it, though. We all do." He chuckled lightly. "I'll just stay friend zoned. For life."
Scott pulled back, still holding his best friend by the shoulders as he looked into his eyes. "Hey, I'm kind of in the friend zone too, you know," he said teasingly, letting out a slight chuckle himself.
"By who?" He laughed back. "You live with her! Well, not anymore, but you did," he said, obviously referring to Allison.
"You," Scott replied seriously, ignoring the second part of Stiles' statement.
Stiles' heart jumped. "Well, you know, Scott, you could've had me," he winked. "If only you were into me ten years ago."
Scott gave a confused smile. "You had a thing for me when we were six? How come you never told me?"
"I don't know," Stiles shrugged. "I was young. And stupid. I knew you didn't like me back and I thought it was just a phase. It didn't matter."
"And now the roles have kind of switched around, huh?" he said, smiling sadly.
"Not entirely," he admitted, looking into Scott's eyes. Sure, he liked Derek now, but Stiles was the kind of kid who could never really stop liking someone. He'd always have feelings for Scott, no matter how far away he'd try to bury them.
Scott was sure that he'd regret this in the morning, but he just had to do it. He just had to know what it felt like to feel Stiles' lips against his own. And this might be the only chance he'd ever get. So he decided to just go for it, finally closing the distance between their lips.
Stiles' eyes went wide with shock. He couldn't believe that Scott had actually just done that. Instinctively he parted his lips a bit and found himself surprised to be kissing back. Scott had nice lips. Very soft and beautifully curved in all the right places. This wasn't okay. They were in Scott's girlfriend's house.
Scott, however, couldn't care less about that fact. He loved the feeling of Stiles' lips as they brushed back against his own, still in disbelief that his best friend was actually kissing him back. But he couldn't allow himself to go too far with this right now. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop if he did. So he pulled away from the kiss, taking half a step back in order to put some distance between them.
"I'm sorry," he began awkwardly, not really sure what to say. "I don't know what came over me."
Stiles was glad when Scott pulled away, but also a little disappointed. "It's okay," he told him. "It's totally fine." He inhaled through his nose and straightened his back. "Alright, what should I carry?"
"Uh..." Scott stuttered, awkwardly looking around the room. "I guess you could grab my laptop bag? I'm almost done packing, so I'll meet you outside in a few."
"Sounds good." Stiles grabbed the bag and left the room, hurrying to his car.
"Stiles?" Allison called as he left Scott's room, having just descended the stairs herself. "Where are you going with Scott's laptop?"
"Uh, to my car." He remembered that Scott hadn't informed her about the whole going back home thing yet, so he decided to just tell her himself. "He's moving back home, I'm helping him with his things."
Allison furrowed her brow in confusion. "He's leaving? Why?"
"His mom wants him back home."
Allison seemed a little disappointed. "Oh."
She made her way past Stiles and headed into the guest bedroom to find Scott zipping up his suitcase. "So you're leaving, huh?"
He looked up to find his girlfriend frowning in the doorway. He made his way over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I have to. Apparently my mom threatened to kick Derek out if I'm not home by tonight."
Allison pressed her lips to Scott's, kissing him gently. "I'll miss you."
"Hey, don't worry. We'll still see each other every day at school," he told her comfortingly, pressing his nose against hers. "And I'll come visit. It'll be like I never even left."
He let her go a few seconds later, grabbing his suitcase before heading out the door. He stopped to give his girlfriend one last kiss when he reached the front door, making her smile. "Tell your dad thanks you for letting me stay here."
"I will," she replied, placing another quick peck on Scott's lips.
Scott smiled at her before making his way to Stiles' Jeep, throwing his suitcase on the back seat before getting in.
"I'm surprised she wasn't dying to get away from you," Stiles laughed.
"Ha," Scott said mockingly as he put on his seat belt. But his expression suddenly turned serious as he remembered their kiss. "Wait, should I tell Allison what happened?"
"What? If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, then no!" No one needed to know about what happened, especially not Scott's girlfriend.
The older teen fell silent for a while, his face still serious. "But what if I want it to happen again?"
"Are you saying you'd break up with Allison? To-," he paused and hesitated, almost as if saying the word was difficult for him. "Kiss me again?"
Scott didn't say anything at first; he just kept his eyes on the dashboard. "Maybe."
"I'm not sure how she'd feel about that. I'm not sure how your mom would feel about that. Hell, I'm not even sure how you'd feel about that in the long run. You love Allison." It sounded as if he were trying to convince Scott to change his mind.
"How would you feel about that?" Scott asked his best friend as he turned to face him, making sure to emphasize the word. He wanted to make it clear that no one else's opinion mattered right now.
"I-I," Stiles was completely put on the spot. He needed time to think this through; he couldn't answer such a serious question straight away. "I don't know. I don't even know if we could make anything work!" He sighed. "I'd need time to think about it."
"Well, how much time?" Scott asked, frowning a little.
"I don't know," Stiles said, his voice low. "A while?"
"You know what, never mind," Scott said, turning away from Stiles. "I'm being seriously stupid right now. You have Derek, and I have Allison. I can't let the jealousy of losing my best friend ruin everything."
"The jealousy of losing your best friend? Scott, listen to me, you're never going to lose me, okay? It won't happen! I would never let that happen." He paused, making sure to look directly into Scott's eyes so he knew that his message was going through. "That's why it'd be safer if I just stay with Derek and you stay with Allison. If anything happened between you and me… Well, it could ruin our friendship if it didn't end well."
"Don't you see, Stiles? You being with Derek is exactly the problem! It's exactly why I'm going to lose you!" Scott said, his voice growing louder as he started getting angry at the whole situation. He took a deep breath, calming himself down. "You'll end up spending all your time with him, and forget all about your used-to-be best friend. And I'll be the pathetic loser pining away in my room, wondering what I ever did to deserve this. And I won't be able to hate you, since I love you too fucking much, so I'll end up projecting all of my hate on Derek."
Stiles leaned over and grabbed the front of Scott's shirt, pulling him closer and smacking his lips into his face. It seemed like a good way to shut him up, and maybe even relieve some tension. Plus he'd already done it once today, so one more time wouldn't matter. "Don't you remember, Derek and I aren't together anymore. Because of you. Don't you see?" He pulled him in for another hard kiss. "You'll always be number one, bros before hoes." He chuckled slightly as he realized he'd just called Derek a hoe.
Scott reeled from the kiss. It was definitely the last thing he'd expected. He just looked back at his best friend for a while before finally opening his mouth to speak.
"Wait," he began, sounding confused. "Did you do that because you actually wanted to, or because it was the only way you could think of to shut me up?"
Stiles couldn't help but roll his eyes. He wished Scott would just stop making this so hard on him. He kissed him again, this time a lot slower and softer. "Don't I always want to shut you up?" he smiled. "But I guess it was a little bit of both."
Scott smiled, staring back into Stiles' eyes. He reconnected their lips, continuing where they had just left off. He smiled into the kiss as he felt Stiles kissing him back, instinctively running a hand through his hair before pulling him even closer than he already was.
Just then, there was a knock at the car window. Scott jerked away in shock as he turned to see Allison standing there, tears running down her face as she held his phone out in front of her.
"You forgot this," she told him as he opened the car door, stepping outside.
"Allison," he began, trying to find the words to explain. "That was not what it looked like."
"Yeah, I think it was," she told him, turning around and walking back inside before locking the door behind her.
"Shit," Scott said as he fell back in the passenger side of Stiles' Jeep, banging his head against the headrest. "What am I supposed to do now?"
Stiles fell back against his headrest as well, sighing deeply. Now he had yet another ruined relationship to add to his repertoire. Life really was out to get him today. "Scott," he mumbled, turning his head to the side. "I'm so sorry."
"Hey, it's not your fault," he replied comfortingly. "It's mine. I'm the one who kept on nagging you about the kiss. This is all on me."
"I keep fucking things up. I've been part of absolutely everything that went wrong today."
"Stiles," Scott said firmly, looking at his best friend. "This isn't your fault."
"Everything is my fault!" he said loudly, half-shouting at his best friend. "I almost lost Derek his home, I just cost you your girlfriend, and your mom probably hates me now."
"Hey," Scott said, his voice calm and reassuring as he placed a hand on Stiles' shoulder. "I would've lost my girlfriend anyway. It wouldn't have been fair to her if I continued our relationship, knowing that I was in love with you."
Stiles tried to smile, but he still felt bad. He did love Scott, but he couldn't just stop loving Derek because his best friend was interested in him now. "Do you regret introducing me to Derek?" he asked, the older teen popping back into his mind.
Scott didn't say anything for a while, pondering the question. "Honestly... I do," he said finally, his eyes cast downwards. "I guess this whole mess is all my fault, huh? If I hadn't introduced you to Derek, none of this would even have happened. I'd still be confused about my feelings for you, but then I just would've ended up subconsciously repressing them like I always have. I never would've had to move out of the house because of my petty little jealousy tantrum, so my mom wouldn't be threatening to put Derek out on the curb. And I never would've broken Allison's heart. So you see, everything is my fault. Not yours. I caused all of this."
Stiles looked at his best friend for a while before offering him a smile. "How about we go fifty-fifty?"
Scott smiled back at him, extending his hand towards the younger teen. "Deal."
He thought about sealing it with a quick kiss as well, but decided against it. Even though he really wanted to feel Stiles' lips against his own again, it had already caused too much trouble for one day. "Well, I guess we should probably get going," he suggested, not wanting things to get awkward again.
"Sounds good," Stiles concurred, starting the drive back to Scott's house.
They pulled into Scott's driveway a few minutes later. Scott grabbed his stuff from the back of Stiles' Jeep and made his way inside, wondering if Derek was home. He checked the kitchen and the living room before making his way upstairs, dropping his stuff off in his room before making his way over to Derek's. The door was closed, which definitely wasn't a good sign. Derek only closed his door when he was really upset.
"I think maybe you should talk to him," Scott said as he turned towards Stiles. "Seeing me would probably just upset him even more right now."
"You honestly want me taking to him?" Stiles had to make sure that that was what Scott wanted.
Scott nodded. "He only closes his door if he's like really upset. And you're the only one he'll listen to right now."
"Fine," Stiles said. He knocked twice before calling: "Derek?"
"Just... try not to kiss him again," Scott whispered before retreating back to his room.
Derek didn't answer at first, prompting some more knocks from Stiles. "Go away," he said grumpily, lying outstretched on his bed.
"Derek, come on..." Stiles mumbled. "Just give me one minute. That's all I ask."
"Fine," he mumbled, finally getting up to open the door. "You've got exactly sixty seconds."
"Alright, this'll be fast. Scott's home now, I got him to come back. All is good, you're safe from being a homeless kid on the streets." He spoke quickly, making sure his minute left time for Derek to speak as well.
Derek didn't respond at first. He just looked at the younger teen, his eyes filled with sadness. "Please just tell me that the only reason you made out with my brother was to get him back here," he said finally, a tiny flicker of hope appearing on his morbid features. "And don't even try to lie to me about it, I can smell him all over you."
"Smell him on me?" Stiles asked a little creeped out. "What? I mean we hugged, but…"
"It's not..." Derek began, but stopped in his tracks. He'd forgotten that Stiles didn't know anything about his supernatural abilities yet. "I just know, okay. You two did a lot more than hug."
"You can't say that for sure, Derek. And this isn't what I came to talk about. Back to my minute. Melissa knows Scott's home now, so you're safe."
Derek decided to just drop the subject, deciding that it was better for Stiles not to know. "Thanks," Derek said, sitting back down on his bed. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."
Stiles furrowed his brow in confusion. "Whatever," he said offended, marching out the door before slamming it behind him.
"What happened?" Scott asked as Stiles came walking into his bedroom.
"He's being a jackass," Stiles grumbled. "He didn't even say thanks!"
"Maybe he just needs time?" Scott suggested, still feeling bad that he was technically the reason that they broke up.
"Whatever," Stiles mumbled, giving up. "This whole thing is just one big shitty mess."
"I know," Scott sighed, falling back against his chair. "It's just all so messed up." He looked up at Stiles, smiling as he saw his face. "But at least I still have you."
"You'll always have me," he grinned back. "You know what, you don't deserve to live with a shitty Derek. I'll be right back." He got up and walked to Derek's door again, pounding hard twice with his fist.
"I thought I told you to leave," Derek said as he pulled the door open, looking annoyed.
"I thought I decided to ignore you." His brows were narrowed and he held a firm face, standing his ground although Derek looked like the type who could take him out in an instant. "Can I come in?"
Derek looked a little taken aback by Stiles' sudden burst of authoritarianism. He took a step back and let the boy in, knowing that he'd probably kick the door down if he shut it in his face. He expectantly raised an eyebrow as he folded his arms across his chest, waiting for the younger boy to speak.
"Look, let's drop all the shit," he started. "Upon your request, I agreed to break up with you, I got Scott back home and now everything should be fine and dandy. You can't be mad at Scott, he didn't do anything."
"I'm not mad at Scott," Derek said dejectedly, looking a little sad now. "The only person I'm mad at is myself."
"Wha- what? Yourself?" Stiles asked, sounding confused.
"I caused all of this," Derek began, sounding hopeless. "I caused everything to fall apart. And all because I fell in love with my brother's best friend."
Stiles' head felt like exploding. He was stressed. Everything was going wrong and everyone felt like it was their own fault. They should all just make up, forget the world and go to bed. "I really don't think any of it is your fault, Derek. If anything, we'd have to share the blame, because I think I fell in love with you, too."
Derek looked up at Stiles then, and as soon as their eyes met, he just couldn't help himself from pressing his lips against the younger teen's. The kiss only lasted for a brief moment, with Derek pulling away almost as fast as he went in.
"I'm sorry," he said awkwardly, knowing that he'd just made things even more complicated than they already were.
"No, no, it's okay. You're fine." Stiles felt like he had a whore's lips. He just wanted to go home before he started kissing even more people. Maybe he'd find a random stranger to snog on his way home as well.
"You should probably go," Derek suggested, still feeling the urge to pull Stiles back into his embrace and make out with him until the sun came up.
"Yeah," he mumbled, a sad gleam appearing in his eyes. "I guess I should." He looked back into Derek's eyes one last time.
"Stiles," Derek began, trying to formulate the rest of the sentence in his mind. He stared back into the younger boy's eyes for a while before finally speaking again. "I'm sorry."
"Don't sweat it," he grinned. It was forced, but hopefully it was believable. "Everything will be back to normal tomorrow. Scott's home, you're still his brother, I'm single. It's all back to how it was." He walked out the door and shut it behind him.
He peeked his head into Scott's room on his way down the hall. "Everything's fine. I'm going to head home, alright?"
"Uh, okay," Scott replied, caught a little off-guard. "I'll walk you out."
He stood up from his seat, following his best friend down the stairs and out the front door. There was an awkward silence when they finally reached Stiles' Jeep, neither of them really knowing how to say goodbye.
"Well, I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow?" Scott offered, smiling his goofy smile.
Stiles placed a hand on Scott's shoulder. "Of course you will!" He smiled and got into his car.
Scott watched as his best friend drove off, heading back inside afterwards. He considered talking to his brother as he made his way upstairs, but finally decided against it and collapsed on his own bed instead. He took hold of the pillow that Stiles had lain on, inhaling his best friend's scent before finally dozing off into a peaceful slumber.
Stiles' dad noticed his glum state and had tried talking to his son. Stiles promised him that everything was fine and that he only had a headache and wanted to go take a nap. He hoped his dad bought it. Events of the day flashed through his mind as he lay in bed, but he just wanted them all to go away.
Scott ended up sleeping through the entire night, finally waking up at around 2AM the next morning, still hugging his pillow. He let out a yawn as he searched for his phone, secretly hoping that Stiles had left him a message. But his inbox was empty. He sighed dejectedly as he fell back against his pillows, letting his mind wander back to the events of the previous day. He thought about how jealous he was when he found out that Stiles and Derek were hooking up. About how that triggered his latent feelings for his best friend. About how good it felt to finally feel his lips against his own. And about how he was even willing to leave his girlfriend for him. But it never quite came to that, with Allison dumping him pre-emptively and all. He sighed at the thoughts of Allison that had filled his mind all of a sudden, accompanied by the guilt he felt for their breakup. He definitely owed her an apology.
His mind trailed back to Stiles, and he wondered what his best friend was doing right now. Was he asleep? Was he dreaming about him? Or was he dreaming about Derek? He felt himself get angry at that last thought. He was still extremely jealous. He tried to push his thoughts and feelings to the back of his mind, where they belonged, and finally fell asleep once more.
Stiles had trouble falling asleep, but after a few hours of rolling around aimlessly it finally came to him. He woke up at around 3 the next morning to find his cheekbones wet and sticky, as if he'd fallen asleep with tears on his face. He couldn't remember crying, though. He pulled his shirt over his head and used it to wipe away the sticky mess on his face, lingering for a while when he found a spot that smelled like Scott. The smell calmed him, even though it just brought back memories of the big-ass screw-up that was yesterday. He just wanted to sleep again and not wake up for about a week. He bunched his shirt up into a ball under his head and used it as a pillow, crashing back down onto his bed. He pressed his nose to it again, and found a spot that smelled like Derek. He sighed, not bothering to move his shirt or his nose as he drifted off into a deep slumber.
