"Scott, I'm not going anywhere. I have to finish a piece for next month's whatever charity something... Ugh..." Stiles said as he drops down on the couch with his phone cradled between his shoulder and ear.
But duuuuuuude, you have to come. Isaac will be there and I need my wingman. Scott whines from the other side of the phone, which got Stiles smiling because he knows that his best friend doesn't really need a wingman anymore.
"Scotty, you don't need a wingman. You have Lydia and Danny with you there," he pauses for a bit to untie his shoes, "Isaac thinks you're hot and will probably stick next to you all night."
Really? You really think so? Okay then, but just so you know, Erica and Boyd will also be there... So, it'll probably mean that You-Know-Who will be there. His best friend said, but before Stiles could answer, Scott already hung up.
"You-Know-Who? What the fuck is that guy talking about?" He said to himself as he stared at his phone.
A couple of minutes later, his phone dings.
From: Scotty
You-Know-Who means Derek Hale, brah. Ttyl! Gonna njoy dis party wit my man. XD
Stiles couldn't help himself from rolling his eyes.
To: Scotty
Ugh... Still not going to that party. Say hi to Derek for me. Btw, don't drink and drive, please.
He doesn't a reply after. He completely ignores his phone and proceeds to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
**
"Hey, guys.." Derek approaches Scott and Isaac at the bar in Lydia's house.
"Hey, dude. You with Erica and Boyd?" Scott greets back with a wide grin.
"Hi, Derek. Want some?" Isaac offers a bottle of beer to Derek, which he accepts.
Derek glanced from left to right but couldn't seem to find the one person he's lookin for.
"He's not here. He has a piece that needs his attention tonight." Scott supplies, and Isaac smiles at him.
"I'm... you too? I guess, I dressed up for nothing, huh?" Derek sputtered around with his words, taking a swig and places it on the table, "I'll see you guys next time. I'm off."
Scott and Isaac exchanged glances and the two knew where Derek will be headin off to.
**
Stiles finished half of his piece after two hours. He was staring at the orange and yellows of the sunset, and half of the blues and whites of the ocean.
He decided to stand up for a bit and stretch his legs. He fished out his phone from his pocket but there was no text from Scott nor his Dad, just a few notifications of tagged photos from the party.
His trail of thoughts suddenly cuts short when the doorbell rang. He wiped away the excess paint from his hands and headed towards the door.
When he opened the door, Derek was standing there with two paper bags full of food from the smell of it and a slightly embarrassed smile on the man's face.
"Hey."
**
Derek doesn't even know what he's doing here in front of Stiles' apartment, with two bags of food as well.
He contemplated on ringing the doorbell but seemed adamant on not doing anything except for just standing there like an idiot holding two paper bags of food.
He left the party one hour ago and decided that if he wanted to see Stiles, he better have a reason for doing so... and now he's here. So, now what?
Erica already texted him, sayin that he was an ass for bailing on them but also sent a good luck text after. Boyd texted him a smiley face and nothing more.
So, after a few minutes of arguing with himself, he finally rings the doorbell.
When the door opened, he sees Stiles standing in front of him with a surprised look on his face, a white shirt splattered with different colors of paint, well-worn jeans and no socks. His brown eyes trying to decipher the look on Derek's face.
"Hey." Derek said.
**
"Hey." Derek said.
Stiles cocks his head slightly to side, imitating the famous Scott-is-a-confused-puppy look and he's doing it so perfectly.
"W-what are you doing here? I thought you were at the party." Stiles managed to spill out.
"Oh... I... uh, it wasn't really scene. And Scott told me that you were finishing a piece for the next charity at your university next month... so, yeah... here." Derek sputtered as he hands Stiles the paperbags.
Stiles couldn't help but smile and said, "Would you like to come in?" He opens the door wide to let Derek know that it was alright to come in.
So, they ate, watched a movie or two and fell asleep next to each other on the couch. Stiles forgot about his piece and shared a rare moment with Derek.
**
A few days later, Derek gets a call from Stiles.
Derek's phone rings and he was just about to go to bed. It was fucking 2AM and he has to go to work at 8.
He glances at his phone as Stiles' name flashing on his screen. He contemplates on whether to answer the goddamn phone or just let it go straight to voice mail, but alas! He gives in.
"There better be a good reason why you're calling me at this hour, Stilinski!" He growls at the mouthpiece.
DEREK!
Stiles' voice seemed alarmed and scared. Derek automatically stands up, ready to grab his jeans and leather jacket.
"What's wrong? Did something happen? Stiles!" He asks, cradling his phone on his shoulder as he changes his flannel pants into jeans.
Oh my gosh! Th-there's this guy... He's been following me since I got back from Jackson's party... P-please... Oh my god! He's by the door... What do I do, Derek? Stiles blurts out, his voice is really panicky and he swears he just heard the teen's breath go ragged.
Derek immediately grabs his keys and leather jacket, then heads out of his loft to his Camaro that was parked outside.
"Stiles, don't hang up, okay? I'm on my way." He reassures Stiles, starting the engine as he puts the phone on speaker and puts it on the cradle.
O-okay... Fuck! Derek, I'm so scared. What if he breaks in? He's still standing by the door.
"Stiles, calm down! Talk about something else. Uh... Did you finish your piece?" Derek suddenly changes the subject so that Stiles would calm down.
Okaaay... N-no, not yet. We still have until next week to finish... Stiles whispers, Please tell me that you're almost here...
"Almost... I'm about to park. I'm hanging up. I'll call you if it's safe, okay?" Derek stops in front of Stiles' apartment building, he grabs his badge and his gun from the compartment then rushes inside.
When he was about to reach Stiles' floor, he draws his gun and surveys the area. He takes a quick glance then sees a guy about Stiles' height, holding a camera and he was like waiting for something.
Then, Derek takes a deep breath and charges in, "Police! Stay where you are!" He shouts.
The guy flinches and raises his hands in surrender, "I live here!" He tells Derek.
"On the ground, now!" Derek orders him before stepping forward once more, "Hands on your head!"
He grabs the guy's wrist with his left hand then fishes out flex cuffs from his leather jacket.
"I live here! I just... I forgot the key to my apartment!" The guy tells him.
He ignores it then proceeds to call Boyd.
He finds out that the guy's name was Matt Daelher and he found pictures of Stiles in his camera. Apparently, Matt has been obsessing over Stiles since he moved to the apartment. The guy was living across the street from Stiles' building.
A couple of minutes later, two police officers came and took Matt but he kept on insisting that he lived there.
When the Matt was finally taken away, Derek calls Stiles and the door slowly opens.
Stiles was standing by the door with a sad and worried look on his face. Panic was still visible and he looked like he was about to burst into tears but he didn't.
"Hey, you okay?" Derek asks warily.
Stiles nods, he just nods and the tears came rushing down his face. But that's when Derek pushed away all of his principles and went in to comfort him.
He wrapped his arms around Stiles' body and lets him sob.
"I... I was so scared... I thought he was never going away." Stiles mumbles from Derek's neck.
"I'm here now. I'll protect you, okay?" Derek said, his hand drawing circles on Stiles' back.
Derek spends the night there just because.
**
The incident got to Stiles' dad, the Chief of Police, John Stilinski.
He was very grateful to Derek and even invited him over to have dinner with them thex next weekend, which he accepted.
Somehow, their relationship grew from that point on.
They would hang out on Derek's off days. Derek would come over to check on him whenever he's neck-deep in projects and school work. Stiles would bring him food for lunch or if he was doing double hours. They fell into an easy routine.
They texted each other during breaks, sometimes called each other at ass o'clock in the evening just to check on each other.
Until...
"I saw Stiles yesterday." Erica tells him out of the blue, a serious look splattered on his face.
"That's good, Erica. What does that have to do with me?" Derek nodded but his eyes were still on computer screen, looking at Avengers and Batman collectibles for Stiles' birthday.
Erica slams her palm on his desk, which caused Derek to look up and away from the screen.
"What is your problem, woman?" He asked in an irratated tone of voice.
"Stiles was with a girl yesterday at the diner where you two usually go during Friday afternoons. When I approached them to say hi and ask if they were on a date, he said, YES! So, yes, it does have everythin to do with you." Erica said and then walks away from him.
Stiles was on a date?
**