Note: Massive thanks to my amazing beta reader, MidnightMoonWarrior. No, seriously, she's great! You should really go check her out.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf or any of the characters.
Stiles wasn't even sure why Erica had asked him to sit with her. All she did was concentrate on her immaculate nails and pick at her chicken salad, let alone do something crazy, like pay any sort of attention to him. He also wasn't sure why she was here with him, instead of with Derek, Isaac, or Boyd, the people she normally sat with. Not that he knew exactly who she sat with; it wasn't like he spent most of his lunch staring at their table or anything. His eyes occasionally flickered towards Erica's face, as if the answers on how to start a conversation with her were there, but mostly they'd stay fixed on the little scratches on the table.
"Why did Derek smash my car in?" Stiles questioned, after the silence between them had become far too much for him to handle. Plus, the question had been niggling at the back of his mind since he'd received that note placed upon his wrecked car. Erica gave a drawn out sigh, as if talking was the most excruciating things she'd ever had to do. She knew this was going to happen, that she'd have to talk eventually, when she invited Stiles to sit with her. The boy barely got through five minutes without talking, so being surprised would have been foolish of her.
"Didn't I explain that on the note?" Erica replied with a bored tone as she lifted an eyebrow at him. Even though she was a usually talkative person, being left by all her friends had put her in a bad mood, one only made worse because she had been forced to invite Stiles to sit with her so she didn't appear completely alone.
With Stiles met her eyes with a blank look, she dropped her hand to the table to show she'd lost interest in her nails and was going to focus on Stiles. Something Stiles was thankful for because he really did want to engage in conversation. "He mistook your jeep for his ex's." She explained simply, giving no reason for further explanation, though Stiles still asked for it.
"His ex drove a jeep?" Stiles asked, shuffling on his seat slightly to become more comfortable. Well, as comfortable you could get on those cheap chairs that their school seemed to be obsessed with. He'd only seen a few people in Beacon Hills with the same jeep as him, probably because his jeep was an old make and was falling apart. It had been that way even before Derek had gotten his hands on it, but as far as he knew, none of the other owners had dated Derek. Although, Derek didn't seem to be the one to flaunt his relationships so he maybe could have.
"No, she drove a Scion FR-S with red rims and standard." Erica snorted as she shook her head at him, as if the idea of her driving a jeep was ludicrous. Despite completely despising Kate, something that was cemented when she had the nerve to cheat on Derek, she had to at least admire her taste in cars. Erica dropped her fork in her plate, done with picking all the chicken out and not wanting to eat the salad. Mentioning Kate had put her off her food especially since it brought back memories of Derek looking so broken because of her. "Derek was drunk. He wasn't exactly thinking straight. He probably would have done the same to anyone's car, yours was just closest."
"I feel special." Stiles deadpanned, earning a small laugh from Erica that was more of an amused huff than anything. "So, why did you ask me to sit with you?" Stiles raised a brow at her. Maybe if Scott was with him he wouldn't have gone to sit with Erica but he'd decided he wanted to spend some time with Allison. And by 'some time' he, of course, meant as much time as he possible could.
"Derek's still angry at me for asking him to pick you up so he's being broody elsewhere today, Isaac isn't at school today and won't pick up his phone and Boyd is...somewhere. I think he didn't want to have to pick sides between me and Derek, I guess." Erica explained as she tried to not look too glum at the fact everyone had abandoned her. Well, it could be worse, she supposed. He could have declined the offer, which of would have hurt even more; he was annoying, but he was still better than nothing, if only slightly.
Stiles realised he should probably feel bitter about being a last resort but, honestly, it wasn't as if the two were friends so he didn't care that much. He was just happy it took his mind of the fact Scott had chosen to go with Allison instead of him. "Does he brood a lot?" Stiles questioned, not that he really cared. It was more to make conversation as he hated awkward silences and, for him, nearly every silence seemed to be awkward.
"Ever since I met him." Erica shrugged, not really looking very bothered with having to put up with him. Actually, talking about him was the only time she didn't look completely annoyed or fed up with everything. Stiles was about to ask the why, if he broods so much, does Erica choose to be friends with him because Erica didn't seem like the type of person to put up with whining people for long. But then he, vaguely, recalled what Erica was like before meeting Derek. He remember the girl that used to cover herself up completely as if trying to hide from the world, the girl that everyone laughed at when she had fits, and he guessed that Derek practically saved her from all that.
He'd heard many rumours about Derek but Stiles guessed he wasn't that bad. He was pretty grumpy, didn't talk much and his poor jeep was now trashed but he did help Erica when she needed it the most and save him from having to take the bus.