Word: Hokum
...
"I'm not quite sure what to say to this, Stiles. The content is definitely..."
"Unique?" Stiles offered, giving his English professor a wry grin.
"Well, it certainly is that, but... I'm also concerned about the graphic themes you have written. I understand that it is a work of fantasy, but your main character, Scout, definitely seems to get into situations that end with a lot of bloodshed. Is that much truly necessary? And the violence that happens to your main character's friends seems to be over the top at times."
"Yeah, you're telling me," Stiles muttered under his breath.
"That being said, the story is very intriguing, and I'm looking forward to seeing the romantic side of the story develop further. The two minor characters you have here, Stan and Dennis, have a very unique relationship. It's a plot worth considering working on further for your final assignment."
"We-They're not... It's not a romantic relationship!"
"Oh. I'm sorry, I simply assumed that with all of the long gazes and locking eyes, the emotional development with both of their characters to provide support to each other... It seemed a likely outcome for them."
Stiles went red and didn't reply.
"Well, I just wanted to talk with you about trying to lessen the amount of physical violence that occurs in your story," the professor said, sighing. "Just think about it, and we'll discuss it when you're due to submit your next draft, all right?"
Stiles nodded, grabbed the assignment from his professor, and promptly left.
Romantic side of the story. Pah! There was no romantic side! There was annoyance, and sure, Derek looked good without a shirt, but that didn't mean there was romance! Pure and utter hokum, Stiles thought to himself, stuffing his essay in his bag harshly and leaving. It was obviously a stupid idea to major in Creative Writing.
He stopped short on seeing Derek in the college parking lot, leaning up against the Jeep like he was meant to be there. (Some part of Stiles' brain immediately latched on to the idea and started writing the next part of his story: Dennis picking Stan up after he'd finished work, cool and collected around everyone else, but when they were alone, Dennis would smile at Stan like he meant the world to him, and ... there was no romantic side in the story! In fact, he had a feeling that Dennis was going to die an untimely and painful death, Stiles thought viciously.)
"What are you doing here, Derek?" Stiles asked.
"The others said you had a meeting with your English professor; I thought I'd drop by to see how you were doing," Derek said, shrugging slightly.
"Why would you do that? Why do you even care?"
Derek seemed surprised at Stiles' snapped response, eyes widening as his eyebrows raised. "Of course I care, Stiles. You're pack."
Stiles didn't want to believe that there was hesitation before Derek said pack, and even if there was, it didn't mean a thing.
"Yep. That's me: pack. Pack and nothing else. I'm going now, unless you plan on keeping me here longer?" Stiles asked, purposefully looking at his door behind Derek's back.
"Oh, sure. Sorry," Derek said, stepping aside quickly. "Have a good night. It's a full moon, so stay inside, okay?"
"I know it's a full moon; just like I've always known for the past year of full moons. What the hell's going on with you, Derek?"
"N-nothing. Just... I don't want you getting hurt," he admitted, ears pink.
"Then stop doing stuff like this," Stiles growled, getting in his Jeep and slamming the door shut.
"Wait, what? Stiles?" Derek asked.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Stiles ignored Derek, ignored his perfect and confused face, and put his Jeep in reverse, tearing out of the parking lot without looking back.
He totally blamed his professor for this. There was no romance, not even if he wanted there to be, and that's the way it would always be.
Stiles made it home in a record fifteen minutes (amazingly, he didn't get pulled over for speeding), and he shouldn't have been surprised, but when he opened the Jeep door, Derek was standing there at his front door. He still looked confused, and he wasn't even winded (the jerk). Stiles seriously contemplated just leaving again, but he had the feeling that Derek would just follow him. He glowered and pushed his way past Derek, wishing that he was like a vampire and needed permission to enter his house. Despite the door that Stiles didn't bother closing, Derek still hung back on the front porch, looking as much like a puppy as Stiles had ever seen him.
"Hurry up before the neighbours start talking," Stiles muttered, heading up to his bedroom without looking back.
Derek stepped inside and followed Stiles immediately, his expression softening as he slowly started to realise what Stiles had meant. He closed the bedroom door behind him, watching Stiles as he pulled his shirt off and changed into an old t-shirt with faded writing. Stiles pretended not to notice his gaze and sat at his desk.
"Well? You followed me home, what do you want?"
You, Dennis would tell Stan. Only you...
"I'm not sure, actually. I think I want to kiss you."
"What?" Stiles asked, unsure if he'd heard Derek correctly or his subconscious had suddenly started taking over the real world.
"Can I kiss you, Stiles?" Derek asked softly, moving forward until their knees were touching.
Stiles licked his lips and nodded. Derek lifted him in the next heartbeat, mouth sliding against his, and it was even more than Stiles had ever thought it could be.
Maybe his professor was right and there was a need to further develop the romantic side of the story. He would definitely try to give Stan and Dennis the ending they deserved, Stiles thought to himself, pulling Derek close for another heated kiss.
...
End of word challenge.
Thanks for reading!
