Somehow, meeting up with Scott turned into bowling and seeing just how badly they still sucked. Except for the whole part where Scott had some werewolf super-skills and lessons from Allison which apparently had turned him from a clumsy gutter-ball to a striking genius. Stiles shook his head as he took his turn to bowl. He was perfectly average -the half a dozen birthday parties that took place here during his childhood had led him to be a reasonable player. Lydia would always dominate though -although it could be interesting to see her bowling up against a talented werewolf.

"Why aren't you mad at me?" Scott had asked as soon as Stiles had walked into his house. "You should be mad at me."

"Well I'm not," he replied exasperatedly. "Why exactly do you think I should be?"

Long ago, Stiles had accepted that Scott meant the best -he really did. It wasn't like he had abandoned Stiles to drown or left him in Gerard's care intentionally. Scott hadn't known. The whole kissing Lydia thing was entirely out of his werewolf-y control and Stiles had accepted this. That Scott was relatively helpless and that he wasn't bad intending, and at the end of the day, Scott was still his best friend. They'd known each other for years and none of this was new to Stiles. Scott had been there when he lost his mother and Stiles had been there for Scott when his parents divorced.

"You almost died! Like, three times, because of me!"

"I'm still alive," Stiles said softly. "Besides you were busy trying to protect your mom and the whole school…"

Scott threw his usual pout at him, looking beyond apologetic. "I'm sorry."

"What brought this up anyways?" Stiles asked casually, watching Scott closely. "Did Derek say something to you?"

Scott's desperation to deny that it was Derek gave it away. But, Stiles could deal with his werewolf busybody later, after he spent some time with his best friend. And truthfully, it had been ages since he last went bowling. Stiles was pretty glad to see that despite Scott's new powers, he still was not the world's best at bowling and Stiles kept their scores tied up with only a little bit of a struggle. Laughing, Scott sent him off for some food while he went to go and pay for another game.

When the guy at the counter came to serve him, Stiles was struck speechless.

"Can I help you?" he asked, his eyes lingering on Stiles' before checking him out.

"Uh y-yeah. Just an order of curly fries and nachos and two cokes."

The guy smiled, turning away, he made the two drinks and set them on the counter before going further into the back. He returned shortly after with the nachos. "It'll be a minute for the fries," he explained, smiling at Stiles once more.

Stiles looked over his shoulder, spotting Scott easily standing at the counter and handing over another twelve dollars for a new game between the two of them. From the corner of his eye, he observed the cashier. He was relatively tall and about the same age, with a swarthy complexion. He could just make out the name on his tag, and shifting slightly he was able to make out K and the Y.

"So, is he your boyfriend?"

"What?!" Stiles whirled to look back at the server. "Scott?" he looked back at his goofball friend before shaking. "Nooooo, noooo, he's a friend." Stiles laughed uncomfortably. "Even if he was gay or-or bi or interested, I wouldn't date him. He's like my brother…"

"Well that's good," he said amiably, grinning brightly. "It means I have a chance, doesn't it?"

Stiles stared at him in surprise. Was this… an elaborate prank? Or a dream? It could be a dream. Maybe when he thought he woke up this morning, he never really did. He could still be asleep… Except the werewolf part was still happening so maybe it wasn't a dream. If it was, it was certainly dragging on for quite a while with way too much detail. Like KY's smile. He had a really nice smile. Wow. Someone was taking an unprecedented interest in him. Possibly.

"I-I'm single," Stiles stuttered out.

"Great!" he said enthusiastically, turning to face Stiles and he could finally see the whole of his name tag. Kyle. "Do you want to go see a movie or something?"

"U-uh sure? When?"

"How about tomorrow at six? We can see Skyfall?"

"Sure!"

Kyle grinned, "I'm Kyle, by the way, but you could probably tell from the nametag. He dug in his pocket, pulling out his cell he handed it over to Stiles. "Can I get your number?"

Stiles tapped his name and number into the other's phone, smiling at him. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad. Kyle seemed like a really nice guy, holding up the conversation as he went to the back and grabbed the nachos and curly fries. He passed them over to Stiles with a warm smile, his fingers brushing over Stiles. Reluctantly, Stiles carried their drinks and food back to the table where Scott was already seated, watching Stiles with something close to concern written over his face.

"What?" he asked, as he sat down.

Scott picked up his cardboard tray, tugging the nachos closer. "That was…?"

"Kyle. He asked me out. We're going to see Skyfall."

"And he just… asked you out?"

"Isn't that usually how it works?"

"Well, yeah I just… Derek's not going to be happy."

Obviously Derek had some feelings for him but… There was no harm in one date. Derek hadn't even taken him on a date before.

"If he was interested, he could have made a move."

"You know it's more complicated with Derek…"

"Why are you defending him, exactly?"

"I kind of spend a lot of time with the pack and if Derek's antsy, they're antsy."

Stiles paused. "You won't say anything, will you?"

"No! Of course not!" Scott grinned. "I'm really happy for you Stiles. At least… Kyle's close to your age... It'll just be a little rocky when our schools clash in lacrosse…"

"He's on the team?!"

"Yeah, he's the captain for Davis High or something. Jackson talks about him all the time."

"Wow. Didn't see that coming." Stiles glanced back over at Kyle, smiling at the other guy. Stiles turned back, "So long as Derek doesn't know he'll be okay. Wait. He'll be able to smell him, won't he…?"

"And if he knows he'll probably send Isaac and Erica out to rip his throat out…"

"No he wouldn't," Stiles rationalized. "He doesn't care that much about me. And besides, Kyle seems like a good guy and if we're not compatible or he's not that good, well I can sort that out on my own."

When they had finished eating and Scott had had enough of watching Stiles and Kyle trade sneaky glances, they finally got up to leave. Stiles was going out after Scott, on the way to his jeep when he suddenly found himself cornered by Peter. Literally, one second there had been no one in the parking lot and only two or three vehicles there when Peter sprang up in front of him. And then he kept moving, and despite Stiles' best attempts, Derek's uncle was able to separate him from Scott easily.

"What's this I've been hearing?" he inquired pleasantly. "You were caught in bed with Derek?" There was a far too kind expression on his face, and the look in his eyes had Stiles' hair standing on end.

"I wasn't aware that you were all that interested in your nephew's bed."

Peter rolled his eyes. "It's good for him, really. And how was it for you? You look like you're in one piece -that's always important." He laughed, teeth flashing in the dark of the night.

Stiles felt his face bloom crimson. "I-I-I that's, really, it was -it was - perfectly fine!" he replied, flabbergasted.

"Just fine?" Peter asked, sounding nearly offended. "No stars? Well I guess my nephew hasn't been half as busy as he ought to have been."

"Whoa, no it was - why are we talking about this?" Stiles demanded, grasping onto this topic desperately. His sex life was so far off topic that no one should be going anywhere near it. Nosy werewolves. And where was Scott? He backed up, putting some more space between him and Peter.

"Because I'm a concerned uncle."

"Uncles don't need to know that much!"

"Well I heard about it already," he laughed. "Derek had you in the palm of his hand, didn't he?"

Up until that moment that the pack had totally crashed their… sexy time. "What do you want?" he asked, moving further away.

Peter followed unconcernedly. "I want to make sure you'll look after my nephew properly. He's hopeless at it himself."

"He can continue being hopeless himself," Stiles growled, setting to make his way back to the jeep. Where was Scott anyways?

"What do you mean?" Peter asked, following along beside him.

"I have a date - like a real one, with a nice guy. Who asked me to a date without having physically harmed me or humping me in my sleep."

Stiles bit down on his lip when that last part escaped, glancing at Peter worriedly. The older man started laughing. And Stiles used that chance to escape, ducking out to his jeep where Scott was waiting for him. Best friend forever, Stiles rolled his eyes good-naturedly as he got in. Scott had at least been facing them, looking unsure over whether he wanted to get involved or not. But judging by the awkward expression he had, Stiles was relatively sure he wished he didn't have werewolf hearing as he drove back to Scott's place.

Derek was in the middle of his exercises when Peter strode into his apartment, the distinct odor of smug superiority swirling around the older man. Derek sat up from his fifteenth crunch, eyeing his uncle suspiciously. Peter being smug was never a good thing.

"Oh Derek, you'll never believe the gossip."

Derek didn't waste time, scowling at Peter unimpressed.

"Stiles got himself a date. And my, the boy is ever so gorgeous."

Derek blinked, turning to look at Peter slowly. "He's... going on a date?"

"Oh yes, he certainly is," Peter laughed. "And it isn't with you or even someone Stiles actually knows. Some guy who works at the bowling alley."

Derek frowned, his hands curling into fists. "Well. Good for him."

"They're going to the movies. To watch James Bond, everyone's wet dream," he laughed.

"Just yours Peter," Derek quipped, scowling at his feet.

"Oh pssh, this new Bond has got nothing on Sean Connery."

"I don't want to know."

"Stiles is apparently quite the catch. Did you know he can cook? And clean. Wow, dream boy, huh?"

Derek shot Peter a cold glare. "Shut. Up."

Peter laughed harder. "You have some competition nephew. Good luck, my blessings to you both." With a cackle he walked back out of the apartment.

Derek counted to six before he punched the wall. His fist went through the plaster easily, crumbling around him. With a growl he pulled his hand back, glaring at the wall. If Stiles wanted to date, he was more than welcome to. Actually, all the better to him for following his desires. With a younger, handsome man who he barely knew. If whoever Stiles was dating did anything -anything -untoward to the boy, he would be strung up by his ankles and murdered violently. The Sheriff would never have to worry about finding the body. Derek could take care of that.

If anything, he was happy for the teen.

He had no reason to be anything else. He made a fist again. Definitely happy for Stiles. He needed a healthy relationship in his life -one with another emotionally available man or woman. Unlike both himself and Lydia.

It was going to go well for Stiles. Stiles would be happy and in a few more months, he had the stranger would break up. And things would be normal. Absolutely normal.

And Derek would be happy for him in the meantime. He had no reason to be jealous or angry. Stiles was moving on, just as he was supposed to. This way Stiles wouldn't get hurt. No emotional or psychological scars -god forbid, no physical ones from a werewolf lashing out in a rage -he would be happy and healthy. And if he wasn't, Derek was going to be there to deal with things.

Sorry for the late update! I had exams and a classmate of mine passed away and my friend is moving and it's hectic at the moment. Also I'm back to school for a three/four week intensive course.

Also, I kind of hate this chapter... Next chapter will be more Derek POV though.

Magic Howl, next chapter you will be quite pleased with, I think. As soon I get there :)

Puckurt, so happy to hear from you again :D I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Everyone, so glad to have heard from you. Thank you for all the feedback. :)

Please be patient, it's hectic, I'm so sorry for the late update DX I'll try and get what I can done.

Also, for anyone who is really dedicated and wants to know when I'm updating and all you can follow me on Twitter. Kinthinia. I tend to post about what's going on to hinder my progress and when I'm writing. Sometimes I post little teasers or ideas. Often while writing I post questions related to the chapter as I write about it XD. Have a happy weekend, everyone.