Derek was looking for a place to sit on, at the quad, since it was a nice day out. Unfortunately it seemed that the rest of the student population had the same thought. The students had music playing from their laptops, there were others playing with a hacky sac, some reading, and some just taking in the sun. There was a nice stress free quality to it all. He spotted a semi empty table where a guy in a dark beanie and thick-rimmed glasses sat.

When Derek put down his belongings, the guy looked up in surprise before a smile broke out across his face, a mischievous glint in his eyes accompanying said smile. Derek's breath caught. After what felt like minutes but were merely seconds, the guy hastily took off his glasses. "Hey Sourpuss, want to enjoy the day too? Make yourself comfortable at my table. Mi table es su table."

Derek rolled his eyes. He then began taking out his study materials. Since Derek didn't bother to answer, Stiles shrugged then turned back to his class reader. They sat in silence all of three minutes, before Stiles was grumbling and talking to himself; his fingers dancing this way and that across the page. There was a highlighter in his hand, which he used his mouth to pop the cap off. Derek stared at Stiles until he looked up.

Stiles grimaced, "yeah, I usually can't sit still. It should have tipped you off when I was sitting on this bench alone, while many others gladly worked on the grass." Derek's eyebrows further squished together, before he went back to ignoring Stiles.

Derek was used to working with a lot of background noise. His family was large. When the whole family was in the house, chaos wasn't an adequate enough word to describe how chaotic it got. Of course after his mother, father, and younger sibling's death, there hadn't been enough noise to fill the silence. It was the reason why he and his sister had packed their bags and headed to New York for their undergrad experience. There they found a city loud at all times, it helped drown out some of their pain. It helped drown out Derek's guilt too. If Derek hadn't dated Kate, a woman too old for him, and then broken up with her, she wouldn't have convinced herself that Derek's parent's were at fault and then cut Derek's parent's break line. They, he, didn't have plans on returning. Ultimately it was their Uncle Peter who had asked them to return, telling them that their family missed them and the house didn't quite feel the same without someone living in it. Kate was also gone; she had killed herself. It was why Derek was fulfilling his graduate school in California.

It wasn't until the sun was setting, laptop battery dead, and his eyes hurting that Derek decided it was time to call it a day. He looked over at Stiles, who was munching on a sandwich, and drinking from a coffee cup through a straw. Who even drank hot coffee with a straw? On top of Derek's laptop was a croissant sandwich. He was oddly touched by the gesture.

"Uh, thanks."

Stiles looked up, "oh yeah it was getting late and I thought maybe you were hungry, but I didn't want to break your concentration mojo groove thang you had going. I didn't know what type of sandwich you like, or if you even like meat, but you didn't get that big without eating some meat, right? So I got you a croissant sandwich, because who doesn't like a croissant? And then make it into a sandwich, I mean that's just genius, but if you don't like croissants that's cool too. I won't make you eat anything you wouldn't like…"
Derek held up a hand and tried to keep back his laughter, if only not to make Stiles feel bad. If he didn't know it was physically impossible, he'd think Stiles said that all in one breath.

"This is fine. Thanks." He let his smirk show. "I thought your brother was the good twin."

"Har har har. The man's got joke's. Dave's just the twin that gets to date everyone." He realizes how pathetic and jealous that sounds, so he lets his gaze wander, not wanting to see pity or annoyance on Derek's face. "Speaking of dates, would you maybe want to go Alpha's? I mean like not like a date date, but like a date with friends. An outing, on a Friday night, at a place where we'll probably have fun. Where we might need to grab something to eat afterwards in a large group. Not a two person, but like a multiple person thing. A multiple person thing, where most people will be paired up, but you don't have to be paired up with me." Stiles is flustered. Derek hadn't said anything since he started talking, not to interrupt him to say 'yes' or 'we'll see' or the popular response, laughter. Derek is just sitting there looking at him, with this expression between pity and taken aback. If Stiles weren't so scared of the response he'd make fun of Derek for it. "Dave will be there. I mean, you like him right? My brother? I could probably score you a dance with him."

At the sound of Dave's name, Derek seems to get hopeful, at least Stiles hopes he's reading Derek right. Derek's eyebrows are slighting rising making his eyes look doe like.

Derek had been thinking of ways to let Stiles down without being insensitive. No matter how much of an inconsiderate bastard he could be at times, it didn't mean that he didn't know how it felt to be rejected. Relief washed over him when he mentioned Dave, then elation at the thought that spending the night with Dave. "Am I that obvious?"

Stiles forced a smile on, while disappointment settled at the pit of his stomach. Stiles wasn't surprised, but it still hurt. Instead, Stiles forced out a laugh. "Nah, the dopey smile you get when you look at him has everyone fooled. Your secret is safe with me. Can't say I blame you, everyone falls for Dave." Stiles smile becomes almost brittle as Derek doesn't negate the comment, or change the subject. "Anyway before I forget, give me your cell number so that I can tell you what time we'll be meeting up on Friday night." After getting Derek's number, Stiles grabs his things, excusing himself by saying he has a study group he needs to get to. When he gets far enough from Derek, he stops walking looks skywards and lets out a long sigh, telling himself that this isn't the first time nor the last time that someone will choose Dave over himself. He then starts to make his way to his Jeep at a faster pace. He hadn't really been lying when he said he had a meeting, he had to meet up with Scott, and there might be some studying involved, maybe.

OoOoOoO

"You did what?"

"You heard! He was able to stand me while I was studying. Movement and all! So I bought him a sandwich then proceeded to ask him out. Then before he could say 'no' I lured him in with promises of my brother."

Scott had been lying down on Stiles bed while Stiles was seated on his chair back side forwards, swiveling left to right then right to left.

From the bed Scott moans, "Aw man, you bought him a sandwich?"

Stiles throws a dumbfounded expression Scott's way, even if he can't see it. "Really that's what you got out of the story?"

Scott sat up. "That's how you always start. Remember that when you're at CostCo trying to buy Derek a giant flat screen tv."

Stiles buries his head on the back support of the desk chair. "That was once and I took it back!"

Scott laughed "Can you imagine what he'd look like if you got him a tv?"

"Oh man! His eyebrows would probably crawl off his face" He answers mirthfully." Stiles could always count on Scott to make him feel better. "That's why you're my best bro man, make me remember the important things, like I can't make a bigger fool of myself than I already have." Scott beams at the compliment "So, how are things going with Allison?" At the mention of his date Scott's smile widens, if he had a tail it would be wagging enough to shake his bottom. Stiles can't help the 'aw' that slips out.

Scott goes to explain in detail how things are going with the beautiful Allison, mooning over her the whole time. Stiles is more than happy to focus on someone else's happiness than to focus on his own feelings, or how he is going to get Dave to notice Derek. Life.