I just wanted to give the biggest and most amazing thank you to MidnightMoonWarrior who's my beta reader. She's so amazing and she did awesome things to my story. You should seriously go check her out.
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or any of the characters.
"We should pick Stiles up." Erica commented, applying a final fresh coat of pink lipstick before smacking her plush lips together. Awaiting his inevitable resistance to her efforts, she closed the vanity mirror and turned to Derek. In return, he glanced at her for a moment before going back; not wanting to take his eyes off the road for too long, but not before giving her his best condescending scowl.
"No." Not wanting to spend a second more with the hyperactive kid than what was necessary, his reply was quick; though, he understood why she had suddenly come up with the idea. On the sidewalk, shoulders hunched while staring glumly at the ground, was Stiles. Derek frowned, tightening his hands on the steering wheel, knowing full well Erica wasn't going to let Stiles walk to school, not with the sadness radiating off of the kid.
For a moment, Derek seriously considered running the kid over. It was a good plan, as it would solve the whole having to fix the jeep deal and would get rid of the insistent talking; a win/win in his mind. However, due to the fact that there was not alcohol inhibiting him, his rational brain was working full force and reminded him that the legal implications would be worse than the supposed benefits he saw. He did not need more stress in his life and possible jail time certainly fell into that category.
He'd already had enough trouble trying to get rid of the headache caused from the few hours he had spent with the kid yesterday and he certainly did not need another one. That being said, he already knew where the situation was going; despite his eyes being firmly fixed on the road, he could tell that Erica was rolling her eyes, a sign that she was annoyed, but not about to give up. Tempted to roll his own eyes, Derek seriously questioned why he drove Erica to school in the first place. If she had not been in the car, then he would not have to be in this situation of picking Stiles up.
"You destroyed his car, you owe him this." Erica spoke as though it was more of a command than a friendly suggestion, insisting that he care about the scraggly loudmouth. He let out a long sigh, wanting to rebut her by telling her that fixing the car should be enough, but knowing her, she'd probably come back with another stupid reason. Then he would have to engage in a conversation that he was likely to lose, no matter how pessimistic a view it might be; instead, he sighed.
Slowing the car down, thankfully lucky that he was the only person on the relatively quiet road; Derek drove side by side with Stiles. It took a moment for the walker to notice the car following him, more than likely being too engrossed in his music for the outside world. He glanced to the side, and noticed the Camaro, before performing an amusing version of a double take. His mouth gaped open slightly in surprise, before he regained his composure.
"What, want to rub in the fact that I have to walk to school?" Stiles accused with narrowed eyes and a small huff of frustration. "You're too late for that. I'm already far too aware of the fact that I am lacking a car." Slight pouting by this point, the speaker made hand gestures the entire time to unnecessarily enunciate his point.
"Get in the car." Derek ordered, ignoring nearly everything Stiles had just said in accordance to his plan to avoid a headache. He'd decided just to tune out everything the kid said the second he'd started speaking. "If you don't, I'm driving away." The information came swiftly from his mouth when he noticed that Stiles looked as though he was about to object to the previous order.
Stiles quickly scrambled into the backseat, just as Erica dug her bony elbow into Derek's side, silently demanding for him to be nicer to the kid. Derek huffed, batting away her arm, while refusing to take his eyes off the road and more importantly, apologize to Stiles. Besides, from what little of the conversation he had heard, Stiles was falsely accusing him of something; in his mind, Stiles should be the one apologizing, not him. Yet he didn't see her jabbing the younger boy,Erica was just picking favourites as she tended to do.
As soon as the Camaro was in motion, driving down Stiles's street towards the school, so did the ramblings. Derek, though thoroughly annoyed, couldn't help but be slightly amazed at how easily the kid fell into a routine of endless ramblings. There were only so many combinations of the English language and surely Stiles would run out of things to say at some point; Actually, Derek was pretty such that at some point, Stiles would just start making noises in lieu of actual words.
Erica slipped flawlessly into the conversation with Stiles; well, it was more of her nodding and smiling in the right places, occasionally adding her opinion to show that she was actually listening. Then again, she was actually trying. Derek on the other hand, didn't even bother listening to anything either said, as he was focusing his attention on not throwing himself out of the car. It seemed like a better idea than questioning why he was driving Erica, and now Stiles, to school when he could use this time for himself, not sharing it with others that he really didn't enjoy the company of.
Finally, Beacon Hill High School appeared; a place that Derek was grateful he knew he could escape from after graduation. After parking, Erica slipped from the car, showing her thanks for the ride to school with a simple wave of the hand. Stiles however, stayed in the car for a moment longer fiddling with the seatbelt even though he knew perfectly well how to undo it.
"Thank you for the ride." Stiles grinned, his hand hesitantly placed on the door handled, as though if he was wondering if he should say more. Being Stiles, he did, of course. "You didn't have to pick me up or anything, but thanks. That was really nice of you. I was wrong about you; you're not a total jerkeven if you did smash my car up."
With that, Stiles slipped from the car and Derek couldn't help but roll his eyes, not really used to anyone thanking him for anything so not really knowing how else to react. Derek waited until Stiles and Erica were out of sight before he exited the car, realising he should probably get started on buying the repairs for Stiles' car after school.