Great, just fucking great. Stiles closed his eyes and let his head fall back for a second before he opened his eyes again to face Scott and Theo.
"That's not ..." Scott started. "I can explain ..." Seeking help he looked at Stiles and then back at Theo who was still gaping at the spot where Derek had been just a second ago.
"I'll handle this," Stiles took the lead. "Theo, I can explain," he repeated Scott's words but unlike with Scott, Theo was looking at him now as if he actually believed that Stiles could explain this.
"I thought he was a werewolf," Theo brought out.
"You told him? Stiles!"
"Scott, let me handle this, okay?" With one of his crutches, he poked Scott in the leg to get him going.
"Theo?" With a jerk of his head Stiles invited Theo to come in but for a long moment, he feared that the other man didn't trust him enough to be in the same room as him. But in the end, Scott was outside and Theo was standing just inside, his back to the now closed door.
"You didn't say that werewolves can do that." Theo made a vague gesture which reminded Stiles of the poof thing Erica had come up with.
"They can't." Stiles slumped down in one of the chairs and offered the other one to Theo.
"So Derek is not a werewolf?" Reluctantly Theo sat down.
"Derek is complicated." Stiles let out a sigh. "Peter is a werewolf, Scott and the others as well. Scott is our alpha." The last part was technically not true any longer but Stiles did not want to go into that right now. Even knowing full well that Scott was still outside and listening to every word Stiles was saying. This might give him false hope but fuck if Stiles cared.
"Your alpha?" Of course, Theo picked up at that, he was a smart guy.
"I might have twisted the truth a little," Stiles admitted. "I am part of a werewolf pack and Derek is the outsider they don't approve of."
"But you're not a werewolf." Theo tried to fit in the new information. "And Derek is. At least that's what you said."
"Not everybody in a pack has to be a wolf," Stiles explained. His hands were twitching and he reached for a pen that had been left on the table. Twisting it between his fingers he felt more ready to explain this to Theo. "I wasn't lying about that. Derek is a werewolf and I am not. It's just that my pack doesn't like Derek. You heard Scott, he wants me to come back."
"Okay." Theo nodded to himself. "But what's with the ..." He made the exploding gesture again. "Where is Derek now?"
"At the moment?" Stiles gave him a sad smile. "He doesn't exist."
Theo just sat there in stunned silence. He opened his mouth a few times but there were no words coming out.
"You know that I can work magic, well, that's what Derek is." Stiles didn't know how to explain this to somebody who knew even less about shades than Scott but he gave it a try. He didn't give Theo all the details but enough to get the picture. That Derek was something that was not supposed to be alive but somehow he was.
"Scott can't understand it," Stiles finished his little speech. "He just sees him as a shade and not as a person." He kind of hoped that Scott was still listening, maybe this helped to get it into his thick skull.
"I never noticed something about him." Theo sat back in his chair, this was a lot to take in.
"You did, you and Edith both," Stiles reminded him. "You noticed that he was different."
Theo thought about it, maybe going over the last days in his head.
"But he's not like that anymore," he finally said.
"He's learning."
"Wow." Theo made and for a long moment, he just sat there. "What are you going to do now? I mean with him and ... them?" He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder.
"Derek is almost real already, I want to bring him the last step across," Stiles revealed his plan. At least the basic idea of his plan, he didn't want Scott to know the details. Scott would put him in the trunk and bring him home right now if he knew that Stiles was not only considering becoming a werewolf, he was more than willing to take the bite.
Over the years there had been moments when Scott had asked but even before Stiles had known about his magic and that he might lose it if he became a werewolf, he had said no. He had given Scott the permission to turn him if there was no other choice but he had made it clear that he would rather not become a werewolf. And now he would do it just for the small chance that it would bring Derek across. Scott wouldn't understand that. It would just feed into his idea that Stiles had gone insane, that he had found an unhealthy coping mechanism and that he needed help.
"But Scott is against it?" Theo guessed.
"Scott doesn't know Derek, he can't see him as more than a shade." Stiles let out a sigh. "He thinks that I'm too attached to my own creation to realize that it's fake."
Theo didn't say anything to that, he probably had no idea what to say to a statement like this, and they sat there in silence for a long moment.
"I'm sorry I lied to you," Stiles said, the pen still twisting between his fingers.
"You simplified it." Theo gave him an out.
"That's one way to put it."
"Can you bring him back?"
"Sure." Stiles closed his eyes and reached into the shady place. By now it came naturally to him and he didn't really have to focus. He did, however, take a moment to visualize Derek in something else than what he'd worn before. Black jeans and a Henley in a dark red, it had been one of the only colors Stiles had been able to talk him into. When he opened his eyes again, Derek was standing in the middle of the room.
"Holy ..." Theo flinched back at his sudden appearance. "Derek?"
"Yes?" Derek asked with a searching glance at Stiles.
"I told Theo about you," Stiles explained. "He knows."
Derek took it with a nod like he took all of Stiles' decisions. One more reason to go separate ways for a while. But first, they had to actually make Derek real.
"Can I?" Theo asked, already half-way out of his chair. "I'm sorry but ..." He stepped around Derek, looking at him from every angle. Derek was clearly uncomfortable with the situation but before Stiles could tell Theo to stop looking at Derek like he was a freak, Theo stepped back with another mumbled sorry.
Derek was watching Theo with a wary eye but he relaxed when Theo stepped back.
"I can't believe it." Theo covered his mouth with his hand, clearly not comprehending what he was seeing just yet.
"Where's Scott?" Derek asked with a tilt of his head.
"I kicked him out to explain your disappearing stunt to Theo here." Stiles twisted in his chair and put one arm on the back to have a real look at Derek. "Is he still outside?"
"No." Derek got a distant look on his face. "But there are three people not far away."
Scott and the other two, Stiles guessed. Where Peter was he didn't know but knowing him, he was not far but out of sight to not get involved.
"Can you hear what they are saying?"
"They are leaving now," Derek said and then that look left his face, the others were probably out of earshot by now.
"You can hear what's going on outside?" Theo was at the window, he could probably see Scott and the others leaving.
"Werewolves have good ears," Stiles told him and he forced himself to not think about the sensory overload he would be facing as a newly turned werewolf. Among other things. He remembered all too well how he had taught Scott control. But back then they had no idea what they were dealing with. The others had it easier, Peter had been there to help them adjust. If everything went according to plan he would be there to help Stiles as well. And of course, Derek would be there. Having his alpha around would help.
"We don't want to cause trouble," Stiles said because he felt that that needed emphasizing. "And we would get out of your hair in no time but we kind of need that tree." He didn't need to elaborate, everybody in this town knew about the tree, at least on some level. "But if you want as gone, we'll leave."
Theo gave him a considering look before his gaze wandered over to Derek who was still standing in the middle of the room.
"Edith would kill me if I kicked you out," Theo said but he didn't sound as if he was actually considering kicking them out. "Besides, she sent me over to tell you and Derek to come over for dinner tonight. And to bring Peter."
Stiles noticed that the others were not invited but he hoped that they were all gone by then anyway.
"Looking forward to it," Stiles accepted the invitation and judging by the look on Derek's face he was looking forward to it as well. He was a sucker for Edith's home cooked food, a fact that wasn't lost on Edith and she always made sure to make something she knew Derek would like. Which was basically everything. So far she hadn't brought anything on the table Derek didn't like. And he always took seconds.
"I should get going, then." Theo stretched. "Take care, boys."
"Thanks, you know, for everything," Stiles hurried to say before he left.
"And in case Scott keeps giving you trouble, I can always give Johnny a call," Theo reminded them and then he was gone.
"I like him," Derek said and finally moved from the spot he had appeared in. Stiles couldn't say why but it had been bugging him that Derek hadn't moved. It felt too much like a fall-back into the early days where Derek had just been standing around until Stiles gave him an order to do something.
Now he came over and took the second chair.
"What happened with Scott after I was gone?"
"Nothing really." That was still something they had to take care of. "Guess I have to talk to him later." Stiles was not looking forward to it. He would rather pack his things and just leave but they needed to stay here so it was Scott who had to leave. Not an easy task.
"Are you hungry?" Stiles remembered the breakfast Scott had brought him. "We can share the coffee but I'm not hungry, you can have it if you want."
Derek got the box out of the bag to find out what was in there while Stiles reached for the cup of coffee. He needed some caffeine.
There were pancakes in the box. Scott had most likely asked for Stiles' usual and Stiles would bet money on Jane offering something for Derek as well. And Scott had said no. Figured.
Stiles pushed the cup over to Derek to let him have some as well. He wasn't eating either, pancakes were one of the few things Derek wasn't particularly fond of.
"What are we going to do now?" Derek asked but before Stiles could come up with an answer, his phone started to ring.
"My dad." Stiles saw the name on the display and under his breath, he cussed out Scott for playing dirty. But when he answered, he didn't let that show in his voice. "Hey, dad."
"Hey," his dad greeted him. "Haven't heard from you in a while."
Which wasn't unusual. Okay, maybe Stiles had missed their weekly call once or twice but that was not unusual either. As long as he stayed in regular contact with Scott his father knew that he was fine. And yeah, Stiles had missed some of those calls as well.
"Sorry, there's a lot going on right now." Which wasn't even a lie.
"Yeah, Scott told me," his father said and even over the phone Stiles could tell that he was getting more comfortable wherever he was sitting.
"What else did he tell you?" Stiles dared to ask with a glance at Derek.
"That you're not doing so well," came the honest answer. There had been a time when they hadn't been honest with each other. When Stiles had been lying to him about what he was up to and his dad hadn't told him about the empty bottles he was hiding. They were both better with that now.
"I'm fine," Stiles said mostly out of reflex. Then he took a deep breath. He might be losing Scott but he was not going to lose his dad. "Something happened. Well, more like a someone."
