Stiles lay on his bed, unmoving, staring at the ceiling above him. Sleep had become exceedingly difficult lately, especially when he could hear his father pacing back and forth drunkenly downstairs. Even with the lock on his door, he didn't feel completely safe.

He turned his head slightly to the left and glanced at his clock.

6:14 AM.

"Two hours of sleep," he mumbled to himself. He rubbed his eyes, thinking back to the nightmare that had him waking up in a sheen of sweat and a hot mess in his pants. What confused him wasn't the wet dream itself, but who was in it: Theo Raeken.

Pushing the idea out of his head, he grabbed a bottle of water from his room and the Tylenol from the medicine cabinet downstairs for his father who was passed out on the couch. He'd definitely be waking up with a hangover, and despite all the problems that his drinking was causing, Stiles would always care for his father.

Just like previous days, he found the kitchen empty of anything nutritious, unless you considered whisky a vegetable or an empty Cocoa Puff box edible. The refrigerator was in a similar condition, offering only some water and spoiled milk that REALLY had to go.

"Day three of the water-for-breakfast-diet," he grunted to himself.

"Hey, Stiles," Theo started as Stiles pulled into his space, the windows of his Jeep rolled down. Actually, it wasn't exactly Stiles' designated spot, officially, but everyone sort of got the idea. Stay away unless you want your tires slashed.

"Theo, I am soooo surprised to see you here this fine morning," he exclaimed. Behind his sarcastic facade, Stiles had a warm feeling in his chest from someone going out of their way to talk to him. He also couldn't help but let his eyes wander over Theo's athletic body, comparing last night's dream to the real thing, and blushing when Theo noticed.

"I'm not here to bother you," Theo smiled. "I just wanted to walk you to class."

Despite the voice in the back of his head telling him no, that it was a trick, Stiles nodded and let Theo open his door for him and close it when he was out.

"What a gentleman," he laughed, although he didn't know why he was suddenly so nervous around Theo.

At first talking was awkward, really awkward, but Theo found some common ground between them. He asked about lacrosse, saying that he might want to join the team, and then he asked about his dad's heart condition. Apparently his aunt suffered from a similar ailment and Theo admired the way Stiles cooked healthy meals for his father. Despite his father being a touchy subject, Stiles found himself enjoying talking with Theo.

He liked the way that the corner of Theo's mouth would twitch up into a smile, showing off his dimples. He liked the way that Theo gave him his full attention, and he liked the way Theo's ass looked from behind. Really liked it. A lot.

"Also, I was talking to-" Theo started before Stiles' ringtone interrupted their conversation. "You need to get that?"

"No I-" Stiles replied before he was cut off by another call. "Hold on."

He dug his phone out of his pocket, dreading to see his father's name on the screen but was relieved to see that Scott had called him twice and left him a text.

"Anyone special?" Theo asked jokingly.

"Just Scott," he replied absentmindedly, skimming the text. "The pack is going to a movie tonight at eight. You coming?"

"Uh," Theo started. He pulled out his phone, checking for a notification. "Looks like I wasn't invited."

"You can be my plus one," Stiles said, instantly regretting the way he worded it. "Not in a date way of course."

"I don't think it's a coincidence that everyone was invited besides me," Theo said just as the bell rang.

"Come on, we need to move," Stiles said. He started walking fast towards their biology room. Just outside the door he made up his mind about something and turned around to Theo. "Can you pick me up at seven? I need a ride and want to get there early."

Stiles told himself that the only reason he invited Theo was that his jeep had been having a little trouble starting up lately so he needed a ride, and also that he felt bad that Theo was going to be left out. Really though, he just wanted to be around Theo again. When Theo wasn't asking about how he had gotten hurt, Stiles actually craved his attention.

They walked into movie theatre together talking about the new Ninja-Turtles movie. As they approached the ticket booth, Stiles could feel Scott staring daggers at him.

"Hey Stiles," Scott said tensely. "Hey Theo,"

"He's my plus-one," Stiles said, regretting his word choice, again, and putting on a his goofiest smile. He didn't realize that Scott would be so uncomfortable. "Well me and Theo are gonna go get our tickets. Meet you in there?"

Stiles really enjoyed the movie. Not just because it was a classic black-and-white thriller, one of his favorite genres, but because he got to spend time with the pack. And Theo.

Throughout the movie, he discreetly stole side glances at Theo, admiring his jawline and the way he smirked at the funny parts in the movie.

After the movie was significantly more awkward. Lydia and Kira seemed to keep Stiles at arm's length and Scott just smiled, not knowing what to say.

"So do you need a ride home?" Scott asked.

"No, Theo's my ride," Stiles replied. "See you in school tomorrow?"

"Yea," Scott said. "Yea. See you tomorrow,"

Stiles got the feeling that he wouldn't see Scott tomorrow.

"So that was awkward," Theo said as he pulled up to Stiles' house. "I shouldn't have come."

"Scott's been giving me the cold shoulder lately," he murmured as he opened the car door. "It was nice to have someone I could actually talk to there."

Stiles was about to close the door when Theo said, "Wait."

"What's up?"

"I don't know if I've been getting the right signals from you or if I'm, like, moving too fast but…" Theo started, scratching the back of his neck. "There's a charity dance at the school tomorrow, and I was just wondering if you wanted to go—I know it's short notice and it might not be your thing, or maybe you don't want to…."

"Uhhhh…" Stiles said with an obvious blush. "Sure. Like, if it's for charity…."

"Ok, cool," Theo said. "Totally. For charity."

"Yeah," Stiles said. "Charity is good."

He grinned at Theo as he closed the door behind him. He had a certain spring to his step that he hadn't felt in a long time as he walked into his house. The first thing he noticed was the strong smell of alcohol, and then his father. The sheriff's cheeks were red and he had an angry flame in his eye.

"Where have you been all night?" he demanded.

"I told you, I went to the movies with Scott." He could feel his heart thundering in his chest. This was what he was afraid of.

"Then who was that? Who was that outside, Stiles?"

"That was Theo —he gave me a ride to…."

"Don't lie to me!" his dad yelled. Stiles could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rising.

Stiles turned, heading to the stairs. He couldn't deal with his father like this. Something bad was going to happen. He wanted to call Theo, ask if he could sleep over for the night.

"Don't fucking walk away from me!" the sheriff yelled. He grabbed Stiles by the shoulder and slammed him against the wall. His head hit hard and he immediately felt lightheaded and saw black spots. His father wouldn't let go, wouldn't stop screaming in his face, hurting his shoulder with his grip.

"Where were you, Stiles!" His felt his dad's firm grasp move from his shoulder to his throat.

"I went to the movies with my boyfriend!" he choked out, hoping to surprise his dad. It was sort of a lie—Stiles didn't know if anything would ever happen between him and Theo, but he had to say something to get his father off of him.

It worked. The sheriff removed his hand and gave him a disgruntled look. He was quiet now - in shock - and didn't make any move to stop Stiles when he scurried up the stairs and into his room.

Stiles locked his door and then put his back against it and slowly slid down until he was sitting on the floor sobbing and shaking. He caressed his bruised neck, feeling the soft tissue under his fingers. He didn't know how he would hide this.

After double-checking that the door was locked, he crawled over to his bed and let his sheets engulf him, staining them with his tears and screaming into his pillow.