Chapter Text
It most certainly was not a thing. Things had titles and names and real live explanations, and this was none of that. It wasn’t anything. It certainly wasn’t worth bringing up with Scott, despite the fact that Stiles was sure he should.
How did he though? What explanation did he have for the part where four nights out of every week he spent sleeping next to Derek? It wasn’t like anything even happened. Sometimes Stiles didn’t even notice the shift in the mattress until he stirred in his sleep enough to feel hot breath against the back of his neck. Sometimes he woke up just to see Derek’s back to him, space between them, as if they were merely occupying the same space and the bed wasn’t nearly as small as it was. Other times he woke up with an arm as a pillow and another wrapped around his waist. There were even a few times where he was sure that Derek had been there, but he’d come after Stiles had fallen asleep and left before he woke up and outside of a feeling of being cold there was no real proof that the Alpha had been there.
What could Stiles even say? He slept on sheets that reeked of Derek, no matter how often he changed them, and he showered religiously, even if he was headed to morning practice, trying to mask the smell of Derek with soap so Scott wouldn’t ask questions. And as far as Stiles was aware, Scott remained blissfully ignorant.
The rest of the pack wasn’t though and Stiles couldn’t help but notice the way Boyd stopped giving him dirty looks, the way Isaac made faces that were almost friendly in his direction and even Jackson, Jackson of all people, kept watching him like he knew what secret Stiles was carrying around. Apparently Derek didn’t care if he smelled like Stiles as much as Stiles worried.
“Mr. Stilinski?”
Stiles’ head jerked up to stare at his Physics teacher, realizing that nope, he hadn’t actually been paying attention at all. Scott was staring at him, confused as to why he’d been spacing out and Jackson was hiding a laugh behind one hand. “Uh yeah?”
“Newton’s first law. You were going to explain it to the class.”
Stiles looked down at his book, which was definitely opened to the wrong page, and let out a relieved sigh that he actually knew this one already. And people made fun of him for reading Wikipedia in his free time. “Two bodies in motion will stay in motion unless something stops them?”
This time Jackson couldn’t hide the laugh and the snicker snaked out before he bit the palm of his hand to silence it. Stiles shot him a dirty look, but he wasn’t really the only one who was trying not to laugh.
“Let’s stick to one body in motion, that stays either still or in motion unless acted upon by an outside force,” the teacher said instead, giving Stiles a weird look. “Two brings in a load of other implications.”
That got another snicker of laughter from Jackson and Stiles took the opportunity to throw his pen at him. “Mr. Whittmore, don’t encourage him, and Mr. Stilinski, do try and stay with the class.”
Scott gave Stiles a look, fully aware that he was missing something, but Stiles just shook his head. Great. Now he had inside jokes with Jackson. Of course the jokes might not count if they were at his expense.
“What is with you?” Scott asked once they were free of the class and Jackson playfully pushed Stiles into the lockers when he passed. “It was like you were daydreaming in there.”
It was also like Scott had hit the nail on the head with that one, because he had been, lost in the memory of waking up with Derek’s head on his chest that morning. That the wolf had actually lingered a minute or two after the alarm went off before leaving without a word. That had felt like something, but really it was probably nothing. “Well I was kinda. You know, I ran into Lydia today and was going over every stupid thing I said and reminding myself why I have no chance there.” Which was a completely believable lie, minus the part where Stiles hadn’t thought about Lydia in two weeks. No, lately his mind was bogged down with a certain other person who just seemed to act like this whole sharing a bed thing was completely normal. For now, Scott didn’t know that and that was enough.
“Oh. Well that makes sense. Maybe you should find a new object of affection.” Scott was trying to help and Stiles really just wanted to punch his friend. It was like he didn’t quite get it.
“Yeah maybe. We’ll see. Probably not.”
Or definitely so. The kind of so that as they pushed the doors open to the school he was looking for the black Camaro that was definitely not parked outside the school next to his Jeep.
“Isn’t that Derek’s car?” Scott asked making a face as Stiles glanced up, sure he’d been imaging it. Definitely sure he’d been imagining it. And yet there it was, black and sleek, parked next to the Jeep with Derek leaning against the hood.
“Is it?” Stiles asked and earned himself a great look from Scott as he shook his head and rolled his eyes before starting towards the car.
Stiles waited a moment then trailed on after him, tugging at his backpack strap, not sure what to say to the older man. What did they say? He’d seen him almost daily for the past few weeks, but they never said anything. All communication was done in either looks or grunts or a gentle shove of arms and legs. How was that anything to go on whatsoever? “What are you doing here?” Scott was asking as Stiles got close enough to hear.
“Looking for you,” Derek said only offering the most fleeting of glances in Stiles’ direction as if the boy wasn’t there and they hadn’t woken up within inches of one another just this morning. While before he wouldn’t have thought anything of it, now that lack of being noticed hurt like hell. Like being punched in the gut hurt. What he was just nothing now?
“Yeah and you couldn’t have gone to his house or his work or whatever you just had to lurk outside the high school like some grade-a super creep?” Stiles heard himself say, and realized after the fact it was mostly just to get Derek’s attention, to force him to look at him. Calling the same guy who shared his bed a creep was a guarantee to make sure he decided to rethink that behavior, so that was probably pretty stupid and made him look beyond childish.
“And to give me a ride home,” a sing-songy voice said behind him and Stiles stilled himself against the inevitable Erica touch which grazed across his lower back. “And here I thought you would have been okay with that.” The last part was low, just around Stiles’ ear, but they were dealing with werewolves. Scott and Derek both heard it and at least Scott reacted with a wide-eyed glance. Derek mostly just continued to ignore everything, especially Stiles.
Stiles shouldn’t have been surprised that Erica’s head found its way on to his shoulder. “Trouble in paradise hmm?”
“Shut up,” Stiles answered, though what else could he say? Yes. Things were apparently awful when he thought they were fine. Thought they were better than fine but he was oh so wrong. It was nothing, not a thing, not even a something.
“No worries Batman. You’ll always have me,” she promised and leaned in to kiss his cheek before bouncing around to the passenger side of the Camaro. That kiss should have given him fits, but instead he just wanted to punch something again. He was turning into some sort of rage monster. Must be some sort of painful side effect of befriending werewolves.
Derek offered him yet another fleeting glance as he finished up talking to Scott and got in the car. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Maybe he’d dreamed all of it from weeks ago to now. And if he was dreaming it, he had the most vivid of dreams and a very weird and twisted mind. And now he really liked this guy, like really liked this guy and he apparently did not even care.