When Stiles drove up the driveway of house he wasn't surprised when he saw that the lights weren't on. His dad usually came back at around 10, and it was still a bit from then. So he made his way inside, placing the containers of food in the refrigerator. He thought about leaving them on the counter but he didn't want the food to spoil in case his dad had to pull an all-nighter.

He stalked the cabinets for a snack, stuck between a strawberry or chocolate granola bar. He eventually decided on the strawberry and made his way up to his room.

Laying there on his bed, eating his granola bar, he thought about the events that unfolded today. He still wasn't 100% sure that it was all real. He was waiting to wake up any second, still being the lonely dork that ate lunch under the bleachers without Derek Hale. Not getting tutored in chemistry by him or eating dinner with the boy's family.

Stiles then remembered Derek's last words. "Drive safely."

So stupid, he thought. Why did Derek say that? What does he care about me driving safely?

He continued eating his granola bar, his brain working in overdrive. Thankfully a familiar sounding engine outside got his attention. His dad.

The brunette wanted to get up, go downstairs and tell his dad that he just had dinner with the family of the boy he'd been crushing on since 3rd grade.

Except that he couldn't. You see, his dad had no idea that Stiles was gay and Stiles wasn't really sure if he was ready to let him know. He had no idea what his dad's thoughts on the LGBTQ+ community were; it had never been a conversation piece. What if it went bad? He couldn't lose another parent, he was his last person and Stiles'd be dammed if he let anything come in between them. So he didn't talk about his sexuality.

Not long after he heard footsteps approach his room. The door opened slowly, his dad appearing behind it. "Hey, not sleeping yet?" Noah, his dad, inquired.

"Nah," Stiles replied, exhaling loudly through his nose, resting his head on his hands. "How was work?"

"Eh, you know," his father voiced. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

Stiles simply hummed.

"How was your day?"

Stiles pondered for a few seconds on how to answer that. He figured he should just be honest. "It was okay. I was at the Hale's house. I have a project for school with Derek Hale, then his mom invited me to dinner so I stayed. They were really nice."

Noah stared at his son for a bit. "You were at the Hale's house? For dinner?" He sounded suspiciously doubtful.

"Yes, dad," Stiles answered. Why was that hard to believe? "His mom even gave me some leftovers for you. I put them in the fridge, so help yourself."

The older man still looked completely confused. "Uh... Okay... Well, you should go to sleep. Night," was all he said before leaving.

Stiles sighed and kept staring at the ceiling. It was quite an interesting ceiling, he had to admit.

5 hours earlier

Derek had honest to God no idea what he was thinking when he invited Stiles over to his house. He never invited anyone to his house. Not that he had anyone to invite. He was pretty much a loner. Not that he had anything against that, no he enjoyed spending time alone. Nobody could bother him, tell him what to do; it was just himself and he liked it that way.

Which is why he didn't know what otherworldly demon had possessed him to invite Stiles. At least he could monitor him while they work on the project. Derek had amazing grades in all his classes, and he wasn't going to let Stiles Stilinski ruin them.

He needed those amazing grades, if he wanted to become a lawyer, like his mother. He had thought an awful lot about what he wanted to be when he grew up. A doctor? No, too much blood. An actor? Not enough self-esteem. Maybe a musician? Well, if he had any musical talent, which he didn't. There were so many options, but becoming a lawyer just felt right to him. He knew what it looked like, not just cause of television shows, but cause his mother was one and she was a damn good one, too. She was well respected in her field of work, quite known amongst her coworkers. Derek was always with her in the courtroom, ever since he was 6. He found the work so fascinating and amazing; he found his mother fascinating and amazing.

You see, his mother had raised Derek and Cora by herself. Their father had left when Derek was 5, Cora 3, and Laura 9. That had left a foul image of the man in Derek's mind. Who walks out on their wife and 3 children? So Talia had to step up and become both parents, all while being an excellent lawyer.

So yes, Derek wanted to become a lawyer; a criminal defense attorney, like his mother.

A knock was heard on his door, followed by Laura entering his room. She looked like she wanted to say something snarky, but didn't once she saw him staring at the ceiling. "What's the matter with you?"

Derek sighed. He loved Laura, but he had zero interest in talking to her about... Stiles.

But, Laura being herself, she persisted. "Earth to Derek, anyone home?" she asked as she sat down on his bed. "Come on, stop being such a sourwolf."

Derek glared at her. "Don't call me that," he said.

Laura snorted. "It's cute, and you know it." She threw herself on the empty spot next to her brother, even if it wasn't the biggest bed. "Tell me." Her voice was gentler.

Her brother groaned and turned to face the wall. He gave it a few seconds, thinking of the right words. "I invited someone over. For school stuff."

That instantly got her attention. "Really? You? You invited someone over to our house?" She was finding this all very hard to believe.

Derek bit down on his lip, chewing on it for a bit. "It's Stiles..."

Laura sat up, her eyes wide. "Stiles? As in Stiles Stilinski?!"

"How many people named Stiles' do you know of?" asked Derek, rolling his eyes.

"I'm just... Surprised... Shocked... Confused-"

"Okay, stop talking."

Laura scoffed, looking at her brother for a while, not saying anything. She finally spoke up, "I just can't believe you invited over the boy you've been crushing on since 3rd grade."

She couldn't see it, but Derek was blushing madly. What Laura said was true, Derek had been crushing on Stiles since the 3rd grade, ever since he saw him trip and bruise his knee, he felt a protective instinct surge through his body. Obviously he hadn't realized that in the moment, how could he, he was so young. But the older he got the more time he spent thinking about his feelings for the boy. He couldn't explain them for the life of him.

But feeling something and acting upon it are two very different things. Just cause he felt things for Stiles didn't mean he could act on them. Derek was pretty sure that Stiles was straight, and even if he weren't, why would he want to be with someone like Derek? Sure, he had great academics, but what else? He knew he wasn't very social. He knew how he came across; grumpy and broody. But he couldn't help it, it was who he was as a person. He didn't like his appearance; his bunny teeth for once, or his bushy eyebrows. He also wasn't a huge fan of his ears. There were so many things that Derek disliked about himself, even though his mom always told him that he was perfect. Of course she did, she was his mother, it was her job to make Derek feel loved and wanted, and he knew that. So he never expressed his feelings to Stiles.

But then they get paired up for a school project. Apparently God watched too many Lifetime teen movies, cause it was the biggest cliché in the history of mankind, according to Derek's words. And that stupid project meant he had to spend time with Stiles, actually spend time with him and talk to him and discuss ideas... It made him extremely nervous, but at the same time it gave him a warm and fuzzy feeling in his stomach. Derek would have loved to get to know more about Stiles; which tv shows were his favorite, did he sleep with his window open or closed, what were his plans for college, what his favorite drink is... All those things and more. Derek wanted to know them all. He sometimes thought that it was sort of creepy, but he couldn't help himself.

"Neither can I," Derek finally said. He looked at his sister, as if she could give him all the answers he needed to deal with the situation.

Laura simply smiled at him. She was the only one in their family that knew of Derek's crush. He told her a few years ago, which was also his way of coming out. He told her he liked boys and not girls. She asked him if there was a specific boy he liked. He said 'Stiles'. Laura questioned her brother's taste in guys, because who falls for someone named Stiles?

Derek hadn't told their mom or Cora about Stiles, just that he liked boys. Cora was 10, so she didn't really fully understand what he meant. Talia accepted it very well. She hugged her son for what felt like a century, telling him that she loved him no matter what and that she was glad he told her.

Of course, when Stiles arrived, Laura apparently made it her mission to embarrass Derek. He was busy picking a shirt when he heard a car approach the house, and his older sister sprinted past his door. He followed as soon as he could, but he was too late. Laura was outside talking to Stiles, and God knows what she said to him.

"Laura! Get away from him! Now!" Derek barked.

Laura just cackled and extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Stiles, I'm Laura, Derek's big sister."

"No," Derek said as he walked in between them. "You do not say another word to him. Mom said go help her with dinner."

Laura winked at Stiles and started walking back into the house. "See you later, Stiles!"

The door closed and Derek felt relieved. He just hoped Laura hadn't said anything idiotic to Stiles.

"So, uh, you have a sister," Stiles commented.

The Hale boy looked at Stiles, "Two, actually," he responded. Derek wanted to ask what Laura said to him, but a voice told him to let it go, so he did. "Come on, let's get started on the project."

He guided Stiles inside. "My room's upstairs," Derek said, already halfway up the stairs when his mom's voice came from the other room.

"Derek, how rude of you! Are you not going to introduce your guest?" Talia teased as she appeared from the kitchen.

Derek groaned and walked back down the stairs. His mom would probably embarrass him even more, and he was not up for that. He figured he should keep it short. "Stiles, this is my mom. Mom, this is Stiles Stilinski. The end."

Talia let out a small laugh. She extended her hand for Stiles to take, "My name is Talia Hale. It's nice to meet you, Stiles."

"It's nice to meet you too, ma'am," Stiles responded with a smile, shaking Talia's hand. Derek took extra notice of the smile, trying to embed it in his memory; it was such a nice sight to see.

"Oh, please," she chuckled. "Call me Talia, please."

Stiles simply nodded.

Derek had no idea why but he grabbed Stiles by the shoulder and started dragging him up the stairs. "We have work to do."

Stiles looked like he stepped into a different dimension when they entered Derek's room.

"What's wrong with you?" Derek asked in a nonchalant manner. He went and sat down on his bed, which was in the right corner of the room.

"I'm… Just shocked," Stiles answered.

The other teen raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well," the brunette started, "for starters, you have a Spiderman poster hanging above your bed. And a plush wolf on your dresser."

Derek could feel his cheeks heat up. So he did what he always did when he was uncomfortable; he glared. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that! I love Spiderman! And wolves are super cool!" Stiles stammered.

The dark-haired boy simply sighed and pulled out some books from the backpack next to his bed. He spread them in front of himself on the bed, hoping to get distracted by the work. He then looked at Stiles, as if he should have already figured out what to do.

Stiles gulped and set down his own backpack. "Where do you want me to sit?" he asked, trying not sound too nervous.

Derek's desk was one the other side of the room, so that was a no, and he wasn't going to let Stiles sit on the floor. So that left one option."Bed," Derek responded, already looking for something in one of the books, praying Stiles wouldn't notice his faint blush.

This is hell, Derek thought. He had the boy of his dreams next to him on his bed, but he couldn't do anything. They had to get through this project, if nothing else, and if he tells Stiles about his feelings and the boy rejects him, he might even stop talking to Derek. He was not going to risk his grade over some stupid crush, even if it was hard.

It was a known fact that life hated Derek, cause his mother invited Stiles to stay for dinner.

He didn't really speak a lot during the course of the dinner, only giving short answers to his mom's questions. But he did listen to everything. He heard when Stiles told them how Derek was good at explaining chemistry to him. That made him feel good. He was glad he could help Stiles.

He also didn't miss Stiles' change of disposition. He had no idea what caused it but the boy looked a bit sad. Derek really wanted to know why, but he didn't feel like it was his place to ask.

So he walked to the front door with him, right behind him. They were waiting for Talia to bring some leftovers, giving them a minute for themselves. Derek really wanted to ask what was wrong, but had the chance stolen when his mom came back.

"Here you go," Talia chimed as she entered from the kitchen, holding 3 plastic containers. "I added a little extra chicken for your father, I hope he isn't a vegetarian," she laughed.

"No," Stiles chortled. "That's the last thing he is. Thank you. For everything."

Talia smiled warmly. "My pleasure. Any friend of Derek's is always welcome at our house."

Stiles subtly nodded. "Well, I, uh, have to go now. Thanks, again. Good night," he politely said, looking at both the Hales.

"Drive safely," was all Derek said before he ran up to his room.

Present

Derek was trying to do his English homework, not really getting anymore. His foot kept fidgeting, his mind not resting up. He had no idea why he told Stiles to drive safely. What kind of a moron says that? He could have just said 'good night', or anything else. He couldn't thing logically when it came to the Stilinski boy, and it low-key freaked him out. What if he says something dumber the next time? It was like all his conscious thinking flew out the window when he was next to him.

Deciding to forgo his homework, Derek hopped on the internet in need of answers. 8 tabs later the only answer they all had in common was 'love'. The Hale boy scoffed. He was not in love with Stiles Stilinski. He barely knew him. It was impossible. Sure, he liked the boy, but not loved. So he continued his research, trying to find out what to do when in those situations. He didn't achieve much success, most websites giving him half-assed answers.

He decided to call it quits; it was getting late, and he had things to do tomorrow.

This is basically chapter 2 but from Derek's POV, cause I wanted to include his thoughts as well.