"So you'll be back, right?" Scott asked Stiles as he watched his friend tug on a plaid shirt over his tee. "And I'm covering for you only until five, so if you're out all night, you're screwed. I have work at seven."

"Chill, Scott," Stiles said as he grabbed his wallet, shoving it in his pocket. "I'll be out like, an hour. I mean, I'm tired already, I don't really get why he made it two in the morning. It's so damn late. We're teenagers, not preteens. We don't have the energy for this crap. Did you get that Red Bull I asked for?"

"Oh yeah," Scott reached into his backpack and then tossed the can over to Stiles. "I got two, you want both?"

"No, one should be good. Last time I did three my heart almost stopped, so let's leave it at just one tonight." He cracked it, sipping. "So, I'm thinking back door. It slides, no creaking. My dad won't hear it." Stiles paced towards the door, stopping suddenly. "...aw, shit. What time is it?"

"Uh, I don't know. Lemme check," His friend dug his phone out of his bag, and then looked at it. "...um, two twelve."

Stiles started chugging the Red Bull, then threw it towards Scott, who nimbly caught it. "See you, dude," He said as he made his way quickly out the door. Once he quietly shut the door behind him, he glanced at his dad's bedroom door. Even in the darkness of the unlit hallway, he knew it was open.

He mouthed 'damnit', and then looked down. He quickly unbuckled his pants and dropped them on the floor. Then he reached down and grabbed his wallet and phone from his jeans, and shoved them in his boxers. Once he was sure they were secure, he walked down the hallway past his dad's door.

"Stiles," He heard his dad's voice, sounding a bit hoarse from being awakened from his sleep. "Where are you going?"

"Get a glass of milk and watch some tunes." Stiles said casually, motioning towards the steps. "Um, why?"

"You're not sneaking out, are you?" Sheriff inquired, his tone serious.

"No, dad. No. I mean, look, I don't even have any pants on." He motioned at his bottom half. "Unless I want to go out and get arrested for public indecency, I don't think I'm going out."

"Good." His dad said, and then said, "Make sure to try and sleep. It's a vacation week but you don't want to get off your sleeping schedule."

"Yeah, I know dad. Night." He replied, patting the doorway. He had walked towards the top of the steps when he heard his dad's voice again.

"Stiles?" He clenched his fists in frustration, mouthing 'why me' before he padded back to the doorway.

"Yeah, dad?"

"Make sure to put the milk back in the fridge when you're done with it. I don't want it to spoil."

"Yeah, I'll make sure to put it back. Night." He walked down the steps, finally letting out a sigh as he hit the bottom of the staircase. "Freedom," He said under his breath, and then ambled towards the back door in the kitchen. He slipped out, and then got out his wallet and his phone from his underpants. Texting Scott, he put "Hey, can you toss my pants down? And get the ones I left in the hall and put them under my bed." He sent it, and then looked up towards the window. He waited a good minute before he heard the window panel slowly opening, and then a pair of pants hit him in the face. With a frown, he picked them up off the ground and then texted, "Thank you for the pants to the face. See you soon."

He hit send, and then heard, "Hey." He nearly jumped out of his own skin as he whipped around, gripping his pants, wallet and phone in his arms.

There stood Derek, donning a red shirt, same old leather jacket, and unlike Stiles, a pair of pants actually on his body.

Stiles dropped his phone and wallet on the grass, then tugged on his jeans. "I had, difficulties. Dad. Yeah." He said in a rushed tone, pulling up the jeans and fastening them fast. He bent down to retrieve the articles off the lawn, and then motioned for the gate. "You, yeah. Let's go."

"I parked down the street." Derek commented, seemingly not phased by the fact Stiles came outside wearing his tighty whities. "So your dad didn't hear the engine kick in when we left."

"Yeah, cool. Let's go." Stiles tried getting ahead of Derek, almost jogging to get away from the other. He got to the car, opened the door and sat in the passenger's side, waiting for Derek to sit in the driver's seat. It wasn't long before the other joined him, glancing at him with a concerned look as he buckled himself in.

"You okay?" Derek asked, genuinely showing interest in Stiles' well being.

Stiles waved his hand at Derek, frowning as he pulled the seat belt over his chest and buckled himself in as well. "Yeah, fine. It's...I mean, you're good looking. For a guy. But I just...I'm not sure I'm into it, you know? I'm on the fence. I like girls. Kinda pictured little house, raising a family, white picket fence. The whole American nuclear family thing." He admitted, looking at the other to gauge his reaction. When Derek shrugged, he knew the other understood what he was trying to get across. He didn't look angry at all.

"I figured. If it makes you feel any better, I don't usually like guys. I actually hated you at first," He said as he started the car, pulling out onto the road. "In fact, I think if I didn't have Luna, I probably would have continued to hate you. You're kind of annoying."

Stiles' mouth gaped, looking appalled at Derek's honesty. Sure, he had admitted something to Derek, but at least it wasn't hurtful. "Hey."

"No, really," Derek said as he turned a corner, glancing at Stiles with a serious look. "You're a little bitch."

"Hey!"

"But I saw how you acted with Luna. And I don't know. It's been awhile since I actually saw interactions that...pure. With anyone. It reminded me of my wife." He frowned, looking at the road with a gaze Stiles could only assume was sadness. "It's rare to find people who actually give a crap about others. Especially when they're strangers."

Stiles didn't say anything at first as he thought about what Derek said. He looked out of the window, watching the trees pass by. "You know, before I knew anything about your family's...um, condition. Hereditary abnormality, whatever you want to call it," Stiles began slowly, still looking out the window. "I kept dreaming about your wife. I mean, they weren't sexual dreams or anything, so don't flip out. But dreams, and Luna was there, and she talked to me. It was a really weird dream, I remember it like it was super clear. Almost like I was actually talking to her. And I usually don't remember my dreams, you know? It was strange."

"...like you were communicating with the dead?"

Stiles looked over at Derek, squinting. "...maybe? I don't know what that's like. Aren't dead people supposed to be dead?"

"Yeah. If you believe that." Derek said as he looked at the road, glancing at the speed limit sign before he sped up a bit over the speed limit. "You probably already figured, but Beacon Hills is a hot spot for strange things. Sometimes the dead don't stay dead. Sometimes they're still hanging around. Especially when they have unfinished business, like being a mother."

"So you're telling me Paige is a ghost? And she just so happens to think this kid in high school might be a good replacement for her?" Stiles said in disbelief, not certain how they moved to 'ghosts' from dating.

"I'm telling you that Paige is still around, yeah. And maybe you're not as normal as you think. I think you've got something going on with you. A connection to the other side, I don't know. Makes you more open to the supernatural."

"Like a medium." Stiles interjected, but Derek shook his head.

"No, like a truck stop." He corrected the other, and Stiles rolled his eyes.

"Are you saying ghosts come to me because they want to sleep and pee on bushes around me? I'm lost here."

"No, Stiles, you really miss the point a lot don't you. Just stop and think about it. Why did you notice the doll on the floor before we first met? Because you saw it? Maybe. Because you sensed it beneath your chair, like something was off? And why did you pick me and Luna out of the whole room to go to? It's like you have these moments where you're aware you're you, but you're also aware there's things around you that others aren't aware of. Like a fish is attracted to water, you're attracted to the supernatural. And vice versa. There's actually a word for it, give me a few minutes to think about it. My family always deals with these weird cases, I know a lot."

"Yeah? I'm a case?" Stiles frowned, looking out the window. "Pretty sure I noticed the doll because it was the most pitiful thing I've ever witnessed. Looked like Luna murdered it when it wasn't looking, and she was dragging it around just to show people what she could do. Like a little baby threat."

Derek was quiet for awhile, which inspired Stiles to ask, "...sooooo where are we going? We're in the woods again."

"It's somewhere special. Nothing is open this late anyways," Derek turned down what looked like a really bad dirt road. Maybe there really wasn't a road here at all - it really did look like Derek was driving, literally, through the woods now. A tree trunk barely scraped past the side mirror of the car, making Stiles extremely nervous.

"I mean, I'm sure I could sneak into a bar. We don't always have to do something like..." He caught Derek looking at him with a perked eyebrow, and he finished hurriedly, "...weird."

"It's not going to be weird, I swear," Derek insisted, and stopped the car. "We're here. Come on." He leaned over, and Stiles thought he was going to start making out with him so he put his hand on Derek's face instinctively. Derek leaned back, giving Stiles a dirty look. "...what was that for?"

"You weren't leaning over to kiss me? I mean, did you take me to a make out spot? When I said I had self respect, I meant, taking it slow. Like not make out the first time we go on a date. I'm not a hussy."

"Stiles, I have a flashlight in the glove department, I was going to get it out so you can see where we're going." He leaned over and popped the drawer open, and then grabbed the black flashlight and put it against Stiles' chest. Stiles took it, a dumb expression on his face.

"Sorry," He apologized in a mumble, watching as the other got out of the car. He followed, flicking on the flashlight and trailed after Derek in the darkness.

He didn't actually need it for very long - because soon they were looking over a sea of lights from the town of Beacon Hills. It was actually extremely pretty. Since they were so far out, the stars were still shining and the city was still lit up - almost like the stars were a reflection of the cities' bed of lights. "Wow." He said as he clicked the flashlight off, staring at the city. Derek walked over to a large rock, and sat down on it. He patted the other side of it casually.

Stiles ambled over, sitting down as he looked back up at the town. For being so late, he could tell people were still out and about.

"So this is impressive," He said finally, and looked over at Derek. "But I mean, the impressive lasts for a few minutes. What else are we doing?"

"I thought we could talk about what you saw at the bank," Derek said out loud, and Stiles immediately felt a feeling of intense fear wash over him. Just the memory of that bloodbath was enough to ruin the moment.

"I think we really could...wait on that." Stiles assured Derek, but the other shook his head.

"Stiles, what you saw was extremely gory. I don't want you to develop PTSD from it. Look, I should have been forward with you before, and shown you what happens when we changed...it's like a transformation into a human hybrid. My mom and my grandma, they're full wolf. You saw that. You seemed okay with it. But at the bank you totally shut down after what you saw. I think talking about it probably would get it off your chest."

Stiles was quiet as he let Derek stare at him, waiting for an answer. When he didn't get one, Derek frowned and looked at the town too.

"What we have is considered a curse and a gift. The gift is being able to do things that humans can't. The curse- I don't want you to be afraid of me when I'm my true self."

He felt the bad feeling creep up in his chest again, like a ball of darkness squeezing his heart. But at the same time, it had changed - he was feeling that fear, and now also remorse. Derek wasn't a bad guy. Even if he was a dick sometimes, he wasn't bad. In fact, he had done a lot of good, including raising his daughter as a single father. He had strength besides his physical strength that Stiles secretly admired. And now he couldn't quite make himself admit to Derek that he was scared of him, not because of who he was, but what he could do. And the sad thing about it was Derek had revealed he already knew, which meant he faced this before. No wonder he seemed to have few friends. Maybe all his friends outside his family didn't actually know everything about him.

"Derek," Stiles said, but stopped. He looked at Derek, noticing the other was looking straight ahead now. "Look, I...it's not...I'm just not used to it. I'm sure I'll get over it. You're cool. Really. I mean, you do a lot of cool things..."

"You are horrible at pep talks," Derek observed, and Stiles couldn't help but grin at the response.

"Hey, I'm trying to come out in the open about my feelings, okay? Sure, I'm not graceful with words when they're from the heart. I'm trying. Just...tell me," He leaned over, waiting for Derek's eyes to meet his again. "How'd Paige react?"

Derek looked away when Stiles asked the question, looking at his hands. Stiles immediately noticed the tension rise between them.

"Paige knew a year after we were dating. We still got married. She was...accepting. Immediately. She was unique that way, you know? So accepting, so quickly. Everyone loved Paige. She was smart." He frowned. "I...the circumstances around her death, I don't want to talk about them."

"I...I didn't ask, I just wondered how she took the whole man wolf thing. I mean, seems like something that would be interesting to find out." He squinted as he stared at the stars. "Like, I just picture someone coming up to you with a cake on a full moon and you're pissed there's coconut on it and you wolf out and throw it on the ground. Like in that one music video." He motions like he's throwing something on the ground, lips pursed. "Bam."

"You are a strange, strange person." Derek mused out loud, watching Stiles. "Strange."

"Hey, I'm so strange because I'm normal. You know it, I know it." He objected openly, shoving Derek playfully. When the other didn't move even an inch, like he was a solid rock, he frowned. "...damn, you're like a statue."

"Thanks." Derek said, shoving Stiles. The other fell off the rock. "You're kind of like a bobo doll."

Stiles glared up from the dusty ground, and then stood to his feet. "Asshole." He sat down on the rock again, looking out over the beautiful scene. The chirping of the crickets was almost like a lullaby as they sat taking in the sight. "You know, right now...it would be a good time to make out. I'm not telling you to, but this spot. It's like the best make out spot. I'm actually surprised I've never been here before. ...wait, no, I'm not surprised." He frowned, turning to look at Derek. As he turned, Derek's lips caught him by surprise. It was a quick peck on the lips, and Stiles blinked when it was over.

"Um." He said, and Derek laughed.

"What?"

"Just...really? That was it?" He said, dumbfounded. "I mean, thanks for wearing chapstick, your lips are great. But really, that short? My lips are cold."

"Stiles, I'm not making out with you the first date. You told me no," Derek said, looking away. Stiles felt a little cheated, but he was kind of relieved too, because the pressure was suddenly lifted. "Do you shave?"

"Yeah, daily." Stiles responded casually. "Why?"

"Because your skin is really soft. I mean, possibly even softer than a woman's."

"Douche."

"No, I'm serious! I'm jealous!"

"It's my aftershave, okay? I have really good aftershave." He frowned, hunching over on the rock. "I'm not a woman. But I admit, I like putting lotion on my face once in awhile. It feels better. You should try. Your face is like a lumberjack's."

"Hey, you like my face," Derek said with a smile, nudging Stiles lightly. This time he didn't want to shove the other off the rock. Stiles shrugged.

"It's okay."

"So when do you have to be back? Because we could swing by Taco Bell and get some food."

"Ah, yes. You know, there's probably a line. Lots of teens on break with munchies," Stiles joked, standing and glancing at his phone. "Wow, it's already two fifty? Crap. I have to be back for sure by five, but knowing my dad, he's probably going to realize I'm gone by four. So let's go get some tacos."

"Sure. Let's go," Derek hopped off the rock, then strode over to the vehicle. As they climbed in, he looked at Stiles. "You sure you don't have any questions about the whole bank incident?"

Stiles shook his head, even though inside he felt like screaming a list of questions so long that he was sure it'd be eleven in the morning before he'd finish. "No, I'm good. If I have questions, I'll tell you, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Thanks," Derek said as he backed out, turning the car around. "By the way, the party is this weekend. You're going to have to find a way to sneak out during the day."

"Great," Stiles muttered, staring at the road. "Dad's going to so ground me until I'm eighty."