#c; Alpha Derek

[hedwig221b]

I gotta ask now since I’m not seeing it in the rec list, do you have any good recommendations for jock Derek stories?

I do 💕

Cut to the Bone by standinginanicedress

“Not that it’s any of your god damn business, but my name is Stiles. Do you need something?” The alpha grins. All teeth, shiny white, straight as an arrow. He’s got this sculpted perfection to him that Stiles is sure has worked on all the omegas he’s ever encountered before, but Stiles stands his ground and narrows his eyes. “A date.” Stiles looks him up and down, slowly, from the black shoes on his feet, to his uniform khakis and blazer littered with pins, to his face. He frowns, makes a face, and says, “pass.”

Pong Me, Bro by LadyDrace

Stiles doesn't date jocks, because it seems like all they do is prance around making a spectacle of themselves to impress whoever they're trying to hook up with. It's pathetic, and Stiles isn't into it. Which is probably why it somehow completely escapes his notice that one particular jock is determined to catch his eye.

You Look Like Bad News (i gotta have you) by standinginanicedress

Option A : violently tell Derek that they are under no circumstances ever to hook up again because it was stupid and dumb. Option B : tell Scott the truth, stand back and watch as Scott kills Derek with his bare hands so Stiles doesn't even have to face the music. Not an option at all, actually. Expunge this from the record. The real Option B : calmly explain to Derek that the situation is too fucked up and hey, maybe if Derek and Scott ever shake hands and make up, he and Stiles can hook up again because, man…it was great. Option C : forget everything, charge headfirst into danger like fuckin' Bravehart and have sex with Derek all over again. Option D : bury himself alive and wait for the worms to eat him.

soluble by HalfFizzbin

Derek comes back after summer break all hot, beardy and brace-less. Stiles honestly has no idea what everyone's freaking out about.

When the Rose Blooms by DevilishBittersweet

The first time Derek saw him was at a football game. There he was, cheering loudly for number 12, leaning over the bar in front of the bleachers. His nose was bright red due to the cold night air. His messy hair was half covered by a loose beanie. His skin was almost translucent under the large stadium lights. Derek’s acute sight could pick up the small moles that covered his face. Derek could hear his heart beat thrumming loudly in his chest out of excitement. He saw his friends around him. But Derek had his eyes set only on him.

Sandbox Love is Forever by Dexterous_Sinistrous

Being at different colleges, miles apart, meant that they’d likely be too busy for each other. An unstoppable force tearing them apart. But he could hold on for now. “Okay,” Stiles shakily answered, clearing his throat before continuing, “I’ll go with you after the game.” The corners of Derek’s lips started to turn up into a small but hopeful smile. It was different from the smile Derek did for football. It was always more personal—genuine—when he looked at Stiles.

A Thousand Fiery Suns of Angst - Just Press Play by apocryphal

All Stiles wants from life is to learn to control his magic, keep his grades up, and not die horribly while saving Beacon Hills from supernatural threats. It's all going pretty well until Derek Hale, werewolf extraordinaire, has to go and ask him on a date. That asshole.

Made Your Mark on Me (A Golden Tattoo) by writteninthewolfstar

Beacon Hills High and Lycan Heights High are well-known enemies. Derek Hale, Lycan Heights' star quarter-back, is well-known for being aggressive and arrogant. Imagine Stiles surprise when he discovers that Derek Hale is actually his soul-mate.

loving him is red by allhalethekings

"Who’s that?” Stiles asks, eyes not leaving the table. “Who?” Scott asks, following Stiles’s line of sight. “Him? That’s Derek Hale. And you better forget about him. He doesn’t date."

erroneous manoeuvres by slippingfromreality

"Hey, Stilinski!” Stiles clenches his teeth. “What do you want, Hale?” he shouts back, not bothering to turn around. The smug smirk that’s most likely waiting for him is already seared into his mind from overexposure. “A date!” the answer comes, still as loud, and most of the bystanders giggle or snort in Stiles’ direction. Stiles rolls his eyes. This is the third time this week. He’d complain that Hale’s jokes are getting pretty stale, but he’d probably be milking this situation for all that it’s worth, too, if their roles were reversed. “Wrong aisle,” he grouses back, “try the bakery section. I hear they have fresh tarts.” Or, in which Stiles grievously misjudged his bullying situation.

If I should stumble, catch my fall by Gorgeousgreymatter

Well, friendship is canceled. That's all Stiles can think when he walks into the locker room and finds it empty, with Scott's dumb werewolf ass completely AWOL despite the text message he'd received assuring him otherwise. Which wouldn't be that bad, if not for the fact that now Stiles is face to face with a very wet, very naked Derek Hale.

Kingdom By The Sea by kilaem

Lydia grabs his arm and pulls him down in the seat next to her. “When the hell did you find time to bag a guy like Hale?” “We’re friends,” Stiles feels his face heat up, and then the team are running out and Derek sees him and smiles. His blush gets worse. “Oh really?” “Our moms were friends, okay? We’ve been in diapers together.” “I thought you two hated each other.”

Game On by stilinskisparkles

Derek first sees him from across the quad four days into fall semester. He’s sitting on one of the long benches, a marker pen in his mouth, grinning at something the kid lounging on the bench beside him is saying. When he laughs properly he pulls the pen out and throws his head back, his neck a long, lean line Derek is entranced by. He flicks the page in his book and highlights something, tossing the cap up in the air and catching it with his teeth.

[masterlist link]

[sharksandsquirrelsandsnakes-ohmy]

I have recently realized that when I write about adult Stiles, he sounds a lot Deadpool and/or Dean Winchester...

Here are my favorite examples (most of which are from a draft I'm working on):

~~~~~~~~~

Stiles twisted the knife, making a face when he felt the bloody, torn flesh rub against his finger. The guy let Stiles go, shoving him into a stack of crates.

Stiles gasped in lungs full of air. “What,” he asked heavily, “not into fingering? Why didn’t you say pineapple?” Stiles huffed a laugh.

~~~~~~~~~

“You’re not helping my reputation by showing up in uniform,” Derek said in a tone Stiles knew to be his approximation of a joke.

“Being friends with a cop who happens to also be the sheriff’s son is hurting business,” Stiles asked with a smirk, leaning on the hood of his car. “I didn’t know you kept that clientele, Der. I mean, I’m all for ACAB, especially when the Feds come poking around but…”

Derek shook his head, standing in front of Stiles. “You really shouldn’t say that while in uniform,” he said, trying not to smile. “I meant because of my history with the department.”

~~~~~~~~~

Derek walked into the loft, completely covered in dirt, and slammed a similarly mud crusted backpack on the counter. “We have a problem,” he growled.

Stiles didn’t even bother to look at him, pulling his chicken nuggets out of the oven. “Of course we have a problem! When don't we have a problem? There's always a problem.”

~~~~~~~~~

“Corinne,” Stiles said as some form of greeting.

“Hello Stiles,” she said in that evil tone of voice. Classic villain, kind of cartoony to be honest.

~~~~~~~~~

Derek: Does everyone understand the plan?

Cora: Uh, ya, but I have one quick question. So, you've explained plans A and B but, since plan A never works and plan B usually goes to shit, what are plans C through, I don’t know, F?

Stiles: I'm so glad you asked. Plan C is when I yell 'pizza's here' which is your sign to hit the deck so Allison and Chris can shoot anyone standing. Plan D is Lydia going full banshee scream on their asses. Plan E is some spontaneous magic by yours truly and Plan F is to just mountain ash trap everyone in and hopes for the best.

Derek: There’s plans A through F?

~~~~~~~~~

Stiles: And Plan G but that involves some coffins, a nice plot at the cemetery, and a very heartfelt rendition of the Independence Day speech from Coach Finstock.

Scott: I didn’t even know there was a plan…

Stiles heard the person behind him inhale deeply. “McCall,” the guy growled, sounding more animal than human.

“Stilinski actually,” Stiles corrected, “but thanks for the smell check, wolfy. Glad to know eau de alpha is still strong.”

~~~~~~~~~

Stiles: I hate you.

Peter: You can hate me if you want.

Stiles: Good because I do.

~~~~~~~~~

The werewolf wrapped an arm around Stiles's throat, shoving a gun against his temple.

“Kinky,” Stiles rasped, finding it hard to breath.

~~~~~~~~~

Stiles walked, led by the gun at his back and the new addition of a hand on his neck.

“Ya know, this is kind of nostalgic,” Stiles remarked, feeling the sharp pain of claws against his neck. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Might get a reaction you aren’t expecting.”

~~~~~~~~~

Stiles was shoved onto the floor. It was disgusting even for a warehouse. There was blood splatter and mud on the floor. Which was also nostalgic in a sad, fucked-up kinda way. Like, who gets nostalgia from high school because of a crime scene?

~~~~~~~~~

Stiles grabbed his knife and pulled it out of the guy. The werewolf was shaking, not dead yet. "Enjoy Hell," Stiles patted his cheek roughly. He was crouching in the open to retrieve the knife. You’d think he’d know better by now.

~~~~~~~~~

Blood had utterly ruined Stiles’s suit. He was hardly able to apply pressure to the wound. He was bleeding out. Again. He wasn’t getting that deposit back. He tried to pull his eyes open but he was tired. So tired. If the gang didn’t hurry, he’d be on the fast track to a dirt nap and he wasn’t sure he could stay still that long.

[jade-bright]

Got really into Spy x Family recently...my mind's been working.

Hear is my take on Sterek Spy x Family au:

Option A: Spy Stiles x Assassin Derek

"Stiles Jankowski", code name: Void, the FBI's (or some other organization's) best spy/agent, always gets his missions done and has never been caught. Man of many faces/disguises, a silent and deadly enemy to his assigned targets (for the purpose of being able to disguise him scent and hide his heartbeat, Stiles is at least a little magic in all of these). Stiles has lots of experience with dealing with the supernatural, like were's, darach's and many others . Nothing and no one has ever gotten the jump on him, until…

Derek Hale, code name: The Wolf, a born werewolf that later became trained as an assassin in order to take care of his little sister after their family died. If any of his targets were ever found, they'd be found with claw marks and more often than not, their throats ripped out, but...his victims are never found. Derek was never interested in romantic relationships, but Cora keeps telling him to "get a life," and he does, when he suddenly crosses paths with Stiles...

Option B: Assassin Stiles x Spy Derek

Derek Hale, code name: Alpha, born wolf whose whole family was murdered and then later on he became a spy. Because of his training and werewolf abilities, Derek's the best spy the organization has got. He's always able to find and get the jump on his targets once he's locked in on their scent/heartbeat, it's game over for them. The same reason, no one's able to get the jump on him, until there's one person he doesn't immediately catch a scent or heartbeat...

Mieczyslaw Stiles Stilinski, code name: Little Red, took up the career path of an assassin as a way to inadvertently help his Sheriff father with the bad guys that get away. In his training, he learned how to hide his scent and heartbeat in case any of his targets were shifters, and sometimes he forgets to turn off his "ilusion." Despite how much his boss nags at him, to quit "playing with his food" he's never gotten caught, scratched and bruised sure, but it's worth it in order to cause his victims a little mischief. Everyone in his life is bothering him about finding someone, and he firmly believes he'll never find someone. That is until he runs into one Derek Hale, who promptly asks him to marry him...

Option C: My thoughts - Spy Stiles w/Yor's personality x Assassin Derek w/Loid's personality

If you watched the anime, you might agree with me. Yor's personality as a civilian fits Stiles', meanwhile Loid's fits Derek more. However, in their jobs, I think Stiles would be better suited for what Loid does for his job as a spy, especially with how it seems his spy identity as "Twilight" is kinda treated the same way as how some fics I've read treat "Void" as being another identity Stiles can take. It's hard to try to think of how Derek works better as an assassin rather than a spy, seeing as, in either job, he'd be offing people, but also, the acrobatics, feats of incredible strengths AND reflexes that Yor does as a civilian and assassin are definitely things I could see Derek doing, probably because that's how he was in the show.

Now I have like basic ideas for how Eli would be included in any of these options, in terms of how Sterek come across him and go into choosing him. But, remembering the "OG" purpose of Anya having been adopted, (infiltrating the school to get closer to a target), that's where my brain hasn't worked much ideas and plot for him. But if yall want to know how I think Eli is introduced in any of the options, let me know.

[biggukuma]

A fanfiction or a series (my god, a series about this) in which Eli explains (in the voiceover for the series?) just how weird his family is.

Starting with Eli's many aunts and uncles, 3/4 of whom share no blood ties with him. ( Yes, the puppy pack is part of the Hale pack. Yes, Alec was Eli's babysitter. )

( Erica and Boyd would have twins about the same age as Eli. Why would that be? I have no idea. )

( For those who love Scott/Isaac/Allison, they would have 4 children. Yes, exactly, so that 3 of them would come from duos and the last one would come into the world thanks to the magic and presence of 3 DNAs. )

(The whole pack would not live in the huge mansion that is the Stilinski-Hale mansion. Thiam and Morey would have their own place. Sheriff would have refused to move in. )

Then his cousins, of all ages, each more unusual and annoying than the last. With whom he shares the same grimaces when they learn that most of their parents have gone out with each other.

( - Sweet Home Alabama-

- Shut up! )

His dziadzia, who had never been angry with him for ruining his wallpaper (he had every reason to be. They were horrible drawings-) and who had taught him to lie to his tata while making him promise never to lie, understood, you little rascal, when they went to get the greasiest order in the whole fast-food restaurant. And his babcia and his abuela and his abuelo and his tias and his tios and his primos and his primas he knew only in grave form.

Finally, his dads, who look like they hate each other half the time or would kill someone if it made the other half smile. His two dads who have criminal records but brunch with the station cops once a month. His two dads who are both biologically men and who have biologically managed to have a child together.

(Eli politely asks anyone who jokes about him being his parents' little shit to fuck off. His dads told him his tata had a C-section, okay ?!)

A fanfic or series in which we discover the famous Hale Pack that has risen from the ashes and is so feared and respected. Where we discover how Eli feels so alienated from the pack he loves and cherishes, so alienated from his family. How Eli feels he's not cut out to be the next Alpha of the pack. How certain Eli is that he'll never be anything like his incredible, powerful, famous dads, no matter how many times he's told he's the spitting image of Stiles or has Derek's eyes and sourwolf face.

Eli sees himself as the boring kid in this extraordinary family, the boring offspring of a rich heir to a famous werewolf pack, a bad boy with a tragic past in his youth, a DILF today with his dad's super skills, a fair and fierce true Alpha (alive and not DEAD) and an FBI agent as sarcastic as he is intelligent, a supernatural detective in his spare time, a fearsome spark, emissary and Alpha mate. Like the good old cliché of the character with no friends but his cousins and an overpowering entourage, so beloved and popular and so much more remarkable and interesting script-wise than he is.

(Perhaps Eli never could and never will be able to shift? Perhaps being human is in part the source of his fear.)

And being the good old cliché that he is, he apparently becomes interesting when he gets superpowers. (Stiles is not at all happy that the Nemeton has chosen him to be its guardian. In fact, no one in his family seems happy. Great.)

[neurodivergent-fox-demon]

Episode 5:

Stiles laughed, licking honey from his figures. ‘Your mother’s? Not much is known about the Hale pack. “

Derek sighed, shrugging. “ My mother wanted to keep us out of the press, and I’ve kept that same philosophy. She came over from Greece with barely a c note to her name. And she built this Greek food empire while raising three kids.” He chuckled softly. “I hoped to take her place one day, but then the fire happened. According to the note, the Beacon Hills Mafia wanted a cut from one of our restaurants and mom refused.”

Stiles chewed his lip and nodded. “I just don’t understand-“

”Hey Stiles.” A man walked into the dining room and grinned. “Fancy seeing you here. We just got back from your casino. It was a blast.”

Stiles gasped softly. “Jackson, you and Ethan got a seat here?”

Derek raised his brow. “Casino? What? Are you in the Mafia?”

Stiles choked, shaking his head. “ No, Jackson said Latino. I recommended this Tex mex place, and I guess they went there tonight.” He glared at his friend. “Isn’t that right?” He growled out.

“Ah, yes.” Jackson nodded. “My husband and I went there to eat tonight. We came here to grab a few drinks and to say hello to the chef. He’s a long time friend.”

Derek smiled. “Oh, you know Isaac? Please tell him that your next meal is on me. I’m Derek Hale and this is my restaurant.”

Jackson grinned. “Oh, it’s good to meet you, Mr. Hale. This place was where I took my husband for our first date.”

Stiles laughed. “We have that in common Jax. This is my new husband. We got married this afternoon. Seeing that you’re here, I would like to meet with you tomorrow to set up an account for him and to hire a private investigator.”

Jackson nodded. “Of course, boss.” He pulled out his phone making a few notes. “Why a private investigator, If I may ask?”

Stiles nodded, looking over at Derek. “My father was the sheriff in charge of the Hale fire. Derek said it was the Beacon Hills Mafia, but Dad found not mafia ties. I want you to get to the bottom of this.”

Derek licked his lips. “You don’t have to do that, Stiles. A private investigator is expensive. Where would a mechanic get that kind of money?”

Stiles shrugged. “My Nona left me a lot of money. I really don’t have much to spend it on.”

Jackson bowed his head. “Sure thing boss.” He chewed his lip. “Congratulations on your marriage. Come by the office tomorrow.”

Stiles grinned at him. “Give Ethan a hug for me, and put the drinks under my tab tonight.”

“Thanks boss.” He chuckled as Stiles handed him a black Amex card. “You’re too generous.”

Derek frowned watching the exchange until Jackson walked away. “Why does he keep calling you boss? And what’s with the black card?”

Stiles shrugged. “That is just how Jackson is. He’s my accountant so he calls me boss. The black card is just my cash app.”

Derek nodded. “Okay…” He jumped a bit as his phone rang. “One second, I need to take this. It’s Cora.”

Stiles nodded. “I need to use the restroom anyway. I’ll give you some privacy.” He got up and ran to the back of the dining area.

Derek sighed, opening the phone. “What is it, Cora? I’m still with Stiles.”

Cora sobbed softly. “You need to get home now. Peter is throwing all of yours and Eli’s possessions out of the house. He said he wont have a fag living in his home.”

Derek growled. “That is the pack house. As Alpha it belongs to me.”

Cora choked back a sob. “Yeah, but he showed me the deed. The house is in his name.”

Derek cursed and nodded. “Okay. Make sure Eli has a bag and I’ll find us a hotel for the night. I’ll find the three of us somewhere to live tomorrow.”

“Just hurry, Derek. I’m scared.” Cora sighed, wiping her eyes, “And Eli is crying. He doesn’t understand.”

Derek nodded. “It’ll be okay, Cora. Just pack him and yourself a bag.”

“Thank you. Derek. You always take care of us.”

“You’re my family.” He sighed, hanging up the phone as Stiles returned. “I have to go. Peter has decided to kick us out of the house. I needed to find me, Cora, and Eli a place to sleep tonight.”

Stiles tilted his head. “Who’s Eli?”

”My nephew, and Laura’s son. He is only 5 years old. I can’t believe that Peter is doing this to him.” Derek pocketed his phone and stood, running his hand through his hair. “I’m really sorry to cut the night short, but they are my family.”

“Hey, it’s no problem, Derek. Hey, I have an extra bedroom. Cora and Eli can sleep there, if that is alright with you and you can room with me.” Stiles Chewed his lip. “Go get them and I’ll go get my jeep, I can fit a lot in there.”

Derek raised a brow at him. “Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out. A five year old is a lot to have around.”

Stiles chuckled. “Hey, I love kids. It’s no problem, and I bet my dad would love to watch him while we work tomorrow. After all, you’re my husband. Oh, shit…my dad is going to flip when he hears I got married without him.”

Derek laughed, guiding him outside. “He’ll be okay with knowing that I’m a man?”

Stiles waved him off. “He knows I’m bisexual. He caught me making out with Matt Daehler sophomore year of high school.”

Derek nodded. “Do you need a ride to your jeep?”

“Nah.” Stiles shook his head. “I’ll call my friend Scott. Go get your nephew and sister.” He handed him a card with his number on it. “Send me your address and I’ll be there with boxes.”

Derek let out a long breath. “I promise it’ll only be a couple days.”

“You can stay as long as you want.” He kissed his cheek. “See you soon.” He turned and dialed Scott’s number.

“Hey boss. How may I be of service?” Scott grinned as he answered.

Stiles watched Derek drive away and let out a sigh. “So… I got married. I need you to pick me up at the Hale’s Michelin star restaurant. Bring boxes. My husband and his family are moving into my house.”

Scott gasped. “You got married? Have you told John? Oh he’s going to kill you.” He chuckled. “Scratch that. My mom is going to kill you when she finds out.”

Stiles groaned, leaning against the wall. “I will tell them tomorrow. This is kind of urgent. Derek’s uncle has thrown him and his family out. Do me another favor. Call Aiden and see what you can learn about Peter Hale.”

“Sure thing boss.” Scott barked into the phone. “I’ll be there with bells on. Anything else?”

Stiles nodded. “pick up a race car bed, small enough for a five year old. Oh, and make sure all my guns are locked in the safe. I don’t want the kid getting hurt.”

“Gotcha, boss. See you soon.” Scott made a salute as he hung up the phone.

To be continued…

(Episode 1) (Episode 4)(Episode 6)

@be-my-incubus

[christinesficrecs]

Hell beautiful person! I’m looking for Sterek Fics set in High School where Stiles and Derek are the same age! Always a happy sterek ending, all fluff, angst is okay to as long as they are together at the end. No cheating please! Thank you so much!

High School fics are so fun!! 😍

The Lawn Ranger by Snowjob | 47.8K | Mature

In which Derek is an adolescent werewolf with a penchant for chocolate bunnies, and instead of the dream summer of lazing around the house playing video games and nibbling on his hoarded supply of easter candy his mother makes him get a job.

In which Stiles is a showoff jock with a broken arm and an embarrassing crush who can no longer push the lawn mower around the yard.

When You’re Close I Feel the Sparks by  Leslie_Knope | 39.6K

The guy is hot as hell, sure—leather jacket and glasses, Jesus, be still Stiles’ poor, bisexual, beating heart—but more importantly, it must really suck being new on the first day of senior year.

“We’re adopting him,” he decides, tugging Scott and Kira by the elbow in that direction. “Let’s go.”

Strut on a Line, its Discord and Rhyme by xiaq | 61.8K

“Carry me,” Stiles says.

“No.”

“But I’m injured.”

“You have a rash,” Derek says. “On your arm. Your feet work just fine.”

“Please?”

“No. You weigh almost as much as I do. And you ate a pound of chicken at lunch.”

Kingdom By The Sea by kilaem | 4K

Lydia grabs his arm and pulls him down in the seat next to her. “When the hell did you find time to bag a guy like Hale?”

“We’re friends,” Stiles feels his face heat up, and then the team are running out and Derek sees him and smiles. His blush gets worse.

“Oh really?”

“Our moms were friends, okay? We’ve been in diapers together.”

“I thought you two hated each other.”

What Good Are Rules (If You Can’t Break Them) by wishingonalightningbolt | 9.5K | Explicit

In which Derek and Stiles engage in no-strings-attached sex. It works out about as well as you might imagine.

Option C) Some Bad Guys are Werewolves, but Not All Werewolves are Bad Guys by  calrissian18 | 9K

Derek Hale—the Incredible Meat that Thinks—needs a math tutor. Stiles Stilinski needs something that will look better on his college applications than ‘passable D&D Dungeon Master.’

It’s a match made in heaven. Er, right?

Let Me Be Yours by EvanesDust, isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) | 30.3K

What if Stiles did end up believing one day and he got a soulmark and it... wasn’t Derek’s? What if it was a completely different design? Derek would hate the other person on principle because they would’ve gotten what he wanted.

Hadn’t he earned Stiles? He’d been there for him for years, and they were both such good friends, and had stuck by one another regardless of their differences. He was sitting in a fucking movie theatre to watch a movie he wasn’t at all interested in instead of playing ultimate frisbee with Boyd and some other friends, for fuck’s sake. He loved ultimate frisbee! Much more than superhero movies!

But not more than Stiles.

He couldn’t possibly love anything more than Stiles.

i wanna dance with somebody (who loves me) by bleepobleep | 10.5K

Derek gets in an accident and loses a few years of his memory; suddenly everything is different— he’s not a freshman loser anymore, but a popular senior, captain of the basketball team, a shoo-in for prom king, too, and he should have everything he’s ever wanted— except he doesn’t seem to be friends with Stiles anymore.

John Hughes Did Not Direct My Life by nascentgalaxies | 48.6K | Explicit

Stiles and Derek are childhood friends who drifted apart. When Stiles joins the lacrosse team against his will, the universe (with a little help from Laura and Lydia) chooses to push them back together.

Chocolate & Pomegranates by Dexterous_Sinistrous | 9.6K

Derek has been an Omega for what feels like centuries. He is constantly hounded by Alphas and Betas who can't control their hormones. He's thankful for Laura defending his honor, but there is one person he's always dreamed of giving himself to.

Too bad Derek is certain Stiles doesn't know he exists.

It’s Always Been You, Dumbass by stilinskisparkles | 11K

“Alright, cool, we should go,” Stiles says breezily, dusting off his hands as he stands.

“We should?”

“Yeah!”

“But… Do you even care about photography?”

“Not as much as I should,” Stiles plants both his hands on the table, bracketing Derek in, “You’ll have to correct my miscreant ways.”

This Might Be Irony by thepsychicclam | 38.3K | Mature

Stiles and Derek have been close friends since the Hale siblings moved in next door after their parents’ death. But Derek’s in the popular group, he’s a star baseball player, and he dates popular Pep Squad captain Jennifer Blake. Stiles doesn’t have any of that, just his skateboard and a hopeless crush on Derek (oh yeah, and his Vote Lydia Martin Prom Queen button). As prom and the baseball state championship grow closer, Stiles and Derek start rekindling their friendship.

And it all begins with two white boards.

A Cunning Plan by yodasyoyo | 32.7K

Stiles has a plan to get Lydia Martin to notice him. Derek is not impressed.

But Then What… by Stoney | 24.3K | Explicit

Senior year is almost over, and all Stiles needs to do is keep his head down to survive. A teacher calls in a favor, leaving him stuck tutoring Derek Hale, one of the most popular jocks in school and a member of a group of douchecanoes who have bullied Stiles for years. He’s someone Stiles totally hates. Totally. Like, doesn’t like him even a little bit. DEFINITELY isn’t attracted to him.

Except that is a total lie. Fuck his life, seriously.

[takaraphoenix]

Stiles Summer Stories 2024!

So I have decided to dedicated my @writersmonth to Stiles. But there is so much I want to write about him and the Hale Pack that it's hard to put it in order and decide, so I am open to suggestions!

Pick a prompt duo from the list that's not crossed out yet and make me a Stiles-centric suggestion:

romantically only: Sterek, Steter, or both in a "Stiles has two hands" sense

platonically, especially anything Hale Pack (Derek, Peter, Isaac, Erica, Boyd, Cora, Jackson, I'm throwing Lydia and Danny in there too, and depending on canon divergence also Allison and Scott. Also the sheriff), either the whole pack or any individual dynamic

general Stiles concepts like Pack Mom Stiles, human Alpha Stiles, Spark Stiles, post-nogitsune angst, whatever else you can think of

a combination of any of these

destiny | creek; "Camping & Bonding, Part 1", Sterek Hale Pack fluff

running | penthouse; "Small But Good", Steter post s2 finale h/c

laughter | car; "Camping & Bonding, Part 2", Sterek Hale Pack fluff

fairy | stage; "A Midsummer Night's Mischief"; Sterek fluff

choice | movie set; "Movie Madness"; Sterek jealous!Derek

flame | forest; "Camping & Bonding, Part 3", Sterek Hale Pack fluff

passion | tattoo parlor; "London Calling", post-series Sterek

dawn | castle; "Castle of Glass"; Sterek post pool scene

clock | museum; "Tutoring and Teasing"; Steter single-dad Peter + Malia's tutor Stiles

season | school; "Camping & Bonding, Part 4", Sterek Hale Pack fluff

snow | flower shop; "The Tate Sisters", Stetopher with married Petopher meeting Stiles through their daughters

birds | library; "The Birds and the Wolves", Steter

dark | bakery; "What Kept Me Going", post-Nogitsune h/c Stetopher

lonely | college; "Missing Pack", Stiles-Jackson-Danny

glow | lake; "Camping & Bonding, Part 5", Sterek Hale Pack fluff

ache | ship; "What Lydia Wants (She Gets)", Jackstydia on a cruise

red | kitchen; "My Kitchen, My Rules", Sterek human Alpha Stiles

bell | attic; "Warning Bells", Steter BDSM smut

chess | park; "How Chris and Peter Got a Kitten", Stetopher + Stiles cursed into a kitten

stone | train; "What Lydia Wants (Lydia Gets) II", Jackstydia BDSM smut sequel

wish | hospital; "A Brighter Future", Steter hurt/comfort + Sterica bromance

beast | motel; "Away Game", Stackson 'there is only one bed' during an away lacrosse game

lost | basement; "What Happens in the Basement", Sterek kidnapping

petal | theater; "Twelve Truths (and a Lie)", Stetopher + Stiles being forced by the Seelie Queen to bare twelve truths in front of the pack

faith | bar; "A Selfish Gift", Sterek + a salmon ladder

fur | farm; "Home at the Hale Farm", Stetopher post-Nogitsune h/c

lightning | office; "Guns and Gags", Stetopher + gun shop owner Chris/sex shop owner Peter

sketch | plane; "Sugar for the Secretary", Stetopher sugar daddies Petopher post-series

sense | bus; "Colds and Comfort", Stetopher sick!Stiles getting taken care of

mischief | mountain; "Shot Through the Heart", Stetopher + Chris being really into Stiles being a good shot

double | beach; "Murder Triad", Nogitsune/Steter

[sterek-ao3feed]

Personal Furnace

Read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/63788242

by Flyingthrulife

“Uh-“ Derek took a quick look down at Stiles before looking over at Isaac then back at Erica, at a loss. Was Stiles okay? The Alpha quickly marked his page before setting the book down on the side table behind his head. He put the back of his hand against the boys forehead, trying to gauge if he had a fear. Derek wouldn’t doubt it considering how many hours Stiles had spent staring at his computer screen and having to be reminded to eat, sleep, and (a couple times) use the restroom. “He’s a bit cold?” He ended up saying after some silence.

Erica and Isaac both snorted. “He’s always cold. Doesn’t help when we keep the a/c running at like 60 and below.” Isaac commented, looking back down at his notebook and writing a couple sentences.

-

Or: Stiles wakes up cold (like usual) and goes to find a heat source to curl around. He didn’t think it would be Derek.

Words: 1620, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski, Erica Reyes, Isaac Lahey

Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Additional Tags: Cuddling & Snuggling, warmth, Worried Derek Hale, stiles is always cold, Derek Hale is a furnace, Pre-Relationship, Comfort No Hurt, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Literal Sleeping Together, Isaac Lahey & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Erica Reyes & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, author is going to bed, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63788242

[carleighalpha]

Little Wolf Pt 2

Summary: {Y/N} is taken by Peter as time isn't on his side.

Rating: M

Words: 2k

Imagine: Angst, Smut, Fluff.

Warning: Canon Death. Breeding Kink ;)

{Y/N} sat in her room playing with a lock of her {H/C} hair. Derek hasn't come back since he came to tell her that he had a plan to get rid of the Alpha.  That was about 5 days ago. Stiles still hasn't told her he knows, but she will let him decide when. He was at the school formal.

" I really need to get out more." {Y/N} groaned as she picked up her car keys and went down the stairs. As she walks out the door, she feels like someone is watching her. Night had fallen about two hours ago. She grabbed a leather jacket over her {F/C} tank top and {S/F/C} shorts. while {F/C} sneakers covered her feet. The next thing that {Y/N} knew was getting hit in the face.

" What the!" She screamed as she saw those glowing red eyes.

" Hello {Y/N}. I've heard so much about you." He growled before hitting her face once again as blood spewed out of the wound. Her vision dimmed as she felt like she was getting picked up.

" What are you doing to me?" {Y/N} growled as she was put in the back of a car.

" Using you to draw out my nephew and Scott." He growled at her. This was the Alpha!

" You going to kill me like everyone else? Cause I have better things to do than be your bait!" {Y/N} yelled before she was hit in the back of the head. Darkness found itself within her mind. The pain was bad but bearable. {Y/N} awoke to being pulled out of the car. Peter carried her to a room and looked at her with a grin.

" Just great." She groaned as Peter smirked at her.

" After I kill the Argent's, I'm going to bite you and watch as you kill everyone you love." Peter said as {Y/N} saw his fangs. Her heart raced as she felt fear coming to her.

" Now stay here and don't move." He told her before running out the front door.  {Y/N} heard the growling, snarling, and pain coming from the other room before she heard glass shatter. She ran out to see Peter in his wolf state holding up Scott. She ran off the porch and hid behind a tree. {Y/N} saw Stiles and Jackson pull up with canisters. He threw one at the Alpha as it stared at Scott, who had kicked him off.

" Oh, damn!" Stiles' voice was full of fear as {Y/N} watched Scott scramble for the archery bow.

" Allison!" He screamed as he threw it to her. {Y/N} clung to the tree as the cut on her cheek bled more. She sees in horror as the Alpha is set on fire. Her screams as he trudged away grew loud before they stopped. A familiar face came to her.

" Are you alright?" Derek asked as he looked at her all over and saw her cheek.

" I'll take care of this, {Y/N/N}." He said as he pressed a reassuring kiss on her cheek.

" Thank you for saving me." {Y/N} whispered as he got up and went over to his uncle.

" Wait! You said the cure comes from the one who bit you. Derek, if you do this, I'm dead. Her father, her family-- what am I supposed to do?" Scott screamed out to Derek. All he could think was that his uncle killed his sister, and killed so many others, but worse kidnapped his girl. He raised up a clawed hand while Scott begged again for him to stop. It was too late as Derek had slashed Peter's neck wide open. He got up and smirked.

"  I'm the Alpha now." Derek growled as his eyes gleamed a robust red declaring himself the new Alpha. He turned his attention to {Y/N},  who got up slightly shaking. He walked over and held her.

" Thank god you are safe." He whispered into her ear as tears had welded in her eyes.

" Don't disappear on me ever again or I'll kill you." {Y/N} cried out as he held her tight.

" I promise." He said as he pulled away and then gave her a hot and steamy kiss. They pulled away as {Y/N} heard Stiles' gasp out.

" You knew!" He yelled out.

" Yup, since I was 16." She replied as he groaned.

" I wish you had told me." He said as {Y/N} shook her head. She slightly stumbled from all the adrenaline running out of her body.

" I think your sister needs to rest." Derek said as he picked up {Y/N}. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He walked away with her in his arms not caring that Argent had seen the two interacting.

" I missed you." {Y/N} says as Derek keeps carrying her through the woods towards her house.

" I can't let my girl get hurt now can I?" He asked with a smirk. {Y/N} smirked and kissed his cheek.

" Your girl huh?" She asked as they arrived at the house. He set her down as he saw her keys on the ground. He picked them up and gave them to her.

" If you wouldn't mind?" He asked as {Y/N} smiled and pulled him into a deep kiss that felt nuclear in her heart. She pulled away as lust filled her pupils. Derek couldn't help but want to protect her more. That kiss gave him his answer.

" Now let's get you a hot shower. I'll be joining you." She says as she takes his hand in hers. As they go inside, Derek can smell her emotions as they go into her room. Small bits of fears, but he can also smell longing, happiness, and lust. As Derek locked her door, he can hear the shower turn on. He smiles and remove his clothes. 

" Join me." {Y/N} called as he walked into the bathroom. He saw her silhouette behind the curtain and slipped inside. He missed this, bit more importantly, he missed her. As {Y/N} scrubs the Hale clean, he couldn't help but feel her smooth skin as she got every crevice. He found himself scrubbing her clean and carefully cleaned the claw mark his uncle left. As they stept out of the shower, Derek couldn't help but dry her off first before himself.

" You always know how to comfort someone." {Y/N} said with a grin as she put her hair up. She took his hand and lead him to the bed, where Derek began to kiss her slightly rough as he laid her down.

" No need to rush." {Y/N} says as Derek began to kiss her neck.

" We have all the time we need." She whispered as he slowed down. Moving his hands to the bottom hem of her top before sitting up so he could take it off. {Y/N} removed her bra as Derek laid her back on her bed and engulfed his lips around her nub and played with the other between his fingers.

" Oh fuck!" {Y/N} gasped as the sensations all over drew her nuts. Derek let go of her now swollen nub before messing with the other one as his free hand began to go to her shorts to pop the button out of its holding. 

" Gods help me." She gasped as Derek let her other nub go.

" They can't save you from the pleasure I'm sending you." He growled as his eyes gleamed with that robust red. He kissed down her stomach before getting her shorts and {F/C} panties off. He hauled for a moment as thoughts ran through his mind. He growled as her scent was driving him up a wall.

" You smell divine. Mind if I have a taste?" Derek asked as {Y/N} blushed. He's never acted like this before, like a starving animal.

" Go ahead." She grinned as he parted her legs and began to lick with such fury, it almost felt like a sin to feel so good. {Y/N} gripped his hair as he held her thighs apart so it wouldn't interfere with what he was craving. It was her, all of her. He wanted her all for himself!

" Derek! Fuck!" {Y/N}'s cries of pleasure rang in his ears like an echo as she proceeded to cum all over his tongue and he couldn't help but lap up every drop she had to offer. It was his ambrosia. Her taste was all he can think about, the drive to make her his grew ever more. 

" Just as I thought. You taste like pure heaven, {Y/N/N}." Derek growled before coming up and aligning his cock at her entrance.

" Don't make me wait." Her words gave Derek all the more encouragement.

" I want all of you." He growled before plunging deep into her greedy pussy. Her moans and screamed dying out as Derek kissed her. Swallowing every drop of her voice.

" I need to fill you full." He groaned as he settled into her heat. {Y/N} never knew this was something he wanted. He just became an Alpha. He wanted that? Of all things? With her?

" I need to see you full." His voice was heavy with his wolf. It was a primal desire coming off of him.

" I trust you." {Y/N} told him. The key words hit him like a bag of bricks. Derek proceeded to hover over her and began to restless pound into her. {Y/N} moaned out in exctasy as the rhythm, the heat, the desire hit her all at once.

" You feel so good around my cock." He growled as he dug his nails into her hips to raise them for a better angle. {Y/N} bit her lip as the heat of the friction was making her Gspot scream in exctasy.

" You feel so tight, God how!" Derek groaned in her ear as he pressed deeper. {Y/N} gasped as she could feel every vein in his shaft hitting her spot and it was pure heaven.

" I feel it!" {Y/N} cried as it was getting to much for her as Derek kept pounding inside, the heat and friction of it all was making the coil inside tighten to an almost unbearable amount of pleasure. He was edging her to oblivion.

" I'm ready." {Y/N} cried as Derek then smirked and rubbed her clit quickly. The sensation and heat made her fall over the edge as Derek growled out. He was holding her tight against him as his own orgasm found its way. They had climaxed together and as the motion of his shaft worked her, it sent her spasming. Derek growled as her wall tightened around him like a vice. It was pleasure and pain as she shook underneath him. He collapsed on her while he remained inside.

" Gods that felt ecstatic." {Y/N} gasped tiredly as Derek pulled out of her and laid next to her. She slowly crawled over to him and laid her head on his chest as she was still reeling from the past few hours.

" Did you mean what you said?" {Y/N} asked as Derek went to catch his breath. He thought for a moment and nodded.

" I did. I'm not going back on it. Meeting you in the woods. It felt right." He said as he played with a {H/C} lock of her hair. He rubbed her shoulder with reassurance. 

" Now that you are a big strong Alpha. How about you show me what you can really do." {Y/N} said with a lustful glint in her eye. Derek felt his body respond and he made good on what she asked.

[voidfxndoms]

Something Blue (Part 2) // Sterek

Derek is getting married and Stiles, as his best man, decides to bring in an old bridal tradition.

Warnings: swearing, a lot of built-up feelings that don't come out in the best of ways.

W/C: 2,487

A/N: Here come all the feels :)) (oh, and Derek is just slightly dumb)

Read part one here

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ:

The two werewolves followed in shock as the situation quickly escalated. "How can you marry someone and not put effort into it?! Look at the state of this thing!". He held the loose tie up. "It's a completely different and incompatible color, stained and- look here" he nearly shoved it into Derek's face, "It's coming unstitched! How can you do something like that to Braeden?! How can you think of no one but yourself?!" The room was silent, the only sound being the heavy breathing of a now completely disheveled Stiles. But the tension in that silence was dense. So thick, Scott's calling came muffled to his friend's ears. "Stiles?" Scott hesitated for a moment. He took a shy step forward, but Derek extended his arm, stopping him before he could do or say anything else.

"Scott," he said, turning his head just enough to see him. "Can you give us a second?" The young alpha nodded quietly, before making his way out of the room. Stiles was still frozen in place, avoiding Derek's gaze. "This isn't about Braeden or style, is it?" Derek took one slow step closer to Stiles. "Of course it is. Who else would it be about?" Stiles blurted out. "Stiles. Look at me." Derek's voice was calm and tender. It wasn't the voice of somebody angry. It was the voice of someone worried. When Stiles finally held his gaze his eyes were red, the tears now evident. "You know I don't have to listen to your heartbeat to know when you're lying to me."; the corner of Derek's mouth turned up into a smile. He never smiled at Stiles. Well, rarely. The only times he did that was to calm him down, to let him know that everything was okay. Except for this time nothing was gonna be okay, and Stiles knew that. "I'm missing something blue. Why don't we finish your ritual, hm?" Derek asked, his hand on Stiles's shoulder as soft as his voice when he spoke.

Stile's mouth suddenly went dry. With hesitation, he rummaged through the pocket of his pants, before pulling something small out of it. "Something blue, of course.", Derek whispered, looking at the dangling keys. "Stiles, why do you want to give me your Jeep?" "So you and Braeden have more space for groceries, suitcases, babies-" Derek's look was enough to stop the amber-eyed from continuing. "Why do you really want me to have your Jeep, Stiles? You'd never give that thing to anybody." Stiles opened his mouth to come up with some stupid excuse, but that's when he realized there were no words in any vocabulary behind which he could hide. And he didn't want to. The whole point of this charade was for him to confess his feelings to Derek. And so he did. "Because I'm scared you will forget me." Derek chuckled, shaking his head. "We both know that is impossible." "No, it isn't." "Stiles. There is no way I'm forgetting you. You're my anchor, my safe person, the one who keeps me sane when everything else around me screams for me to give in and let the wolf take over." Derek briefly paused and a glint of hope made its way through Stiles's eyes. Maybe there was a chance. And then Derek spoke again. "You're the closest thing to family I have." For a second, everything around Stiles went black. He didn't hear a single word Derek spoke after that sentence. He was sure that if the werewolf had focused his hearing, he would have been able to hear the sound of Stile's heart shattering. "That's not what I meant" was the only thing Stiles managed to get out. "What did you mean, then?" "God, how are you this clueless?". Stiles stepped away. His eyes were resentful and sad, but his face was somehow unreadable. "I don't… I don't understand." "Of course you don't, you idiot! I love you!" Stiles screamed, tears brimming his eyes. The room fell silent, Stiles's gaze piercing through Derek. After what felt like a lifetime, Derek's eyebrows furrowed, his eyes staying on the young man in front of him. "What do you mean you love me?". The question came out quiet, almost shy. "I mean I love you. I have loved you since the first time I laid my eyes on you that afternoon in the preserve. And I hate you for that. I hated you then and I hate you now. I hate you because there is no waking moment where I'm not thinking about you, and there is no dream of mine you don't hunt at night. I hate how good your aftershave smells, how perfect your hair is. I hate how warm your laughter makes me feel. I hate how whenever you hug me I wish we could stay like that forever, how destabilizing the sight of your body is. I hate everything you do to me. And you don't even realize it. You don't understand I would go to the ends of the Earth for you." Derek's puzzled expression did not falter. If anything, his eyebrows furrowed even deeper, if that was possible. "Okay.", Stiles scrubbed a hand across his face in frustration. "Maybe this will clear things out for you." He took a couple of long strides, enough to close the distance between him and Derek, before crashing his lips on his. Being caught off guard, the werewolf didn't react immediately. But then his brain started working again, his reactions to the kiss changing as the information was being processed.

Stiles loved him. He loved him in a way nobody else had ever loved him before. Derek deepened the kiss, flattered. His heart was brimming with affection for the clumsy young man who had irreparably made his way into the wolf's heart. But that was all it was. Affection. Not the romantic love Stiles had just poured all over him. And that's when he pushed him away, taking a step back to put even more distance between himself and Stiles. "I- I can't do this." It was now Stiles's turn to look puzzled. "Why did you kiss me back, then?" "It-it was a mistake. I let my emotions get the best of me and reacted without thinking." "Oh, so you're saying you love me too, but can't do this? Why, is it because of Braeden?" "Yes… No. I don't know.", Derek sighed exasperated, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look. Me marrying Braeden has nothing to do with you. I love her. And I love you too, just…" it pained Derek too much to finish the sentence. "… Just not in the same way as I love you." Stiles finished it for him. Derek's gaze fell, knowing this would probably be the breaking point for Stiles. And, just as likely, for their relationship. He wasn't as clueless as Stiles made him out to be. He had noticed the glances Stiles would steal at him, how he would use all possible excuses to touch him, how he was always there for him, always available, always prioritizing him. Derek wasn't clueless. He had just been living in denial the entire time. Because he was scared to lose Stiles, too. Truth be told, he was terrified. Stiles's hand came to rest on Derek's shoulder. When he looked up, he saw a faint smile on Stile's face. His eyes were still filled with sadness, but Derek knew what he was doing. Stiles was putting him first. Stiles always put Derek first. He pulled Stiles into a tight hug. "I'm sorry.", he whispered. "Don't be.", Stiles replied. "I can finally stop waiting for you. Now, what do you say we get you married, huh?"

[strangerstilinski]

𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐕𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐈 ✶ Teen Wolf Rewrite

Stiles Stilinksi/Original Female Character

TW | S2

chapter one

summary; as if the last month and a half hadn't been stressful enough — now there were a few more werewolves, a kanima, and a seriously disturbed old man added into the mix. but amber, stiles, and scott could totally handle this. it would be fine. everything was great.

word count; 17,160

chapter notes; lydia takes an ill-advised field trip from the hospital. a newly alpha-ed up derek begins recruiting for his pack. stiles and amber try to get used to their recent upgrade to ‘more-than-friends’.

masterlist

c h a p t e r   o n e

omega

"Do we really need to do this right now?" Amber asked impatiently, "I want to go-"

Stiles gave her a sharp look.

"If you'd rather I drop you off at your house so your brother can patch you up.." Stiles began slowly, "Y'know, then you can tell him all about rescuing Derek from werewolf hunters, and how an Alpha got you with one of his claws just a few hours before he was violently murdered.. Which you were also witness to," He was still looking up at her from his place on the floor between her knees, "And while you're explaining all that, Scott and I can go to the hospital to check on Lydia without you-"

"Okay, okay." She settled quickly, "Just, hurry up. Please."

She watched his determined focus return to the task at hand as he wrapped a band-aid tightly around the deep cut on her freshly cleaned middle finger.

"How did you even get this one?" He questioned as he finished applying the covering.

"Trying to get the latch undone on one of Derek's ankle cuffs," She explained, "My hand slipped and it just kind of-"

Stiles looked up at her with a frown, "You've had your tetanus shot, right?"

She snorted in amusement at his concern, "Yes, Stiles. I'm up to date on all my shots." She told him with a shake of her head, "Now, are we done? Can we go?"

As she pulled her hand out of his grip and moved to stand, she looked down at her outfit with a small frown and pinched the fabric of Stiles' borrowed sweatpants between her fingers.

To avoid being subjected to a full interrogation in regards to her dirty, bruised, and bloody condition following the events of the evening, when Jackson had dropped them off at her house, she'd slipped inside only to grab her car keys from the hook just inside the front door and Stiles and Amber had driven her vehicle back to the blessedly empty Stilinski house.

They'd both gotten cleaned up and Stiles had given her a pair of sweats and a tshirt to wear until they could sneak back into her house to get some of her own clothes. Only now, with the intention of going out into public, she found herself feeling self-conscious in the borrowed items.

"I look kind of ridiculous." She muttered quietly as she looked down at her baggy outfit.

Stiles had already stood and begun making his way to the bedroom door, but turned back at her with an exasperated shake of his head, "Hey, you were more than welcome to put your dress back on after your shower." Stiles reminded her.

She turned her head to look over at the dirt and blood covered heap of fabric in the corner of the room and frowned.

"Would you like to go back to your house?" He asked with a sigh after a moment.

"No," She said quickly, "Sorry. I'll stop complaining."

Stiles took a step back into the room and reached up to slide his hands underneath the hem of her borrowed tshirt. He rested them lightly over her bare hips, his fingers pressing into her skin as he dragged her a step closer.

"For the record, I don't think you look ridiculous." He said softly.

"No?" She licked her lips and took an anxious breath at the familiar yet completely unfamiliar warmth of his body so close to hers.

His thumbs rubbed featherlight up and down over her abdomen, and her stomach tightened at the gentleness of the touch. Stiles shook his head in response but didn't verbalize an answer as he looked down at her body. Her own gaze flicked over his face in a slow trail and when her eyes caught the way his lips parted distractedly as he breathed, she was spurred on.

"You-" She licked her lips again and took another nervous breath, "You like it? Me.. In your clothes?"

He nodded quickly and his eyes snapped up to meet hers while he continued to bob his head up and down.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and raised up onto her toes to bring their lips together. His hands tightened over her hips as he returned the kiss and she allowed him to press slow, deep kisses against her mouth for a long minute before she pulled away. She leaned forward to press their cheeks together as she lifted her mouth to rest over the shell of his ear.

"Just wait 'til you see me out of them." She whispered softly, hoping that the words came out sounding more confident than she felt. She took a step back just as Stiles let out a quiet noise of distress and she grinned triumphantly, "Alright. We better get going! Still have to pick up Scott and he's probably been waiting a while already."

"No-" He whined quietly, stumbling after her in a daze and grabbing ahold of her hand as she exited the room and started down the hallway, "Why would you do that to me? That wasn't nice-"

She rolled her eyes and tightened her grip on his hand as they made their way down the stairs toward the front door.

"If I wasn't being nice, I would've pointed out that your wardrobe is severely lacking in underwear in my size-" She told him innocently, "Also, bras."

"Believe me, I noticed the absence of a bra on your body." He muttered quietly as he grabbed her car keys from the bowl by the door, "The underwear, though.. I definitely could've done without that reminder, because now, quite frankly, there's no way in hell I'm gonna be able to think about anything else. So, thanks for that. Scott can smell arousal, y'know."

That gave her pause. She turned to face him as they stepped outside and gave him a disbelieving look.

"I'm sorry-? He can do what?" She questioned.

Stiles grinned, looking pleasantly surprised at her obliviousness as they walked to the tiny yellow car. He dropped her keys into her hand and watched her settle behind the wheel, his arm propped up on the driver's side door.

"Oh? Did you not know that?" He asked in poorly disguised glee.

Her grip on her car keys tightened as she looked up at him, trying to determine whether or not he was telling the truth, "You're seriously telling me he can- That he can smell it when I-"

Her mind raced as she thought about all of the times in the last month and a half she'd been sandwiched between her two best friends with her thoughts solely focused on Stiles. All of the moments she'd been glued to Scott's side while thinking about Stiles' hands, and kissing him, and touching him, and him touching her-

She squeaked in distress, "Has he been able to do this the whole time?"

Stiles shrugged, "I think he only really picked up on it around the last full moon," His eyes flicked over her excitedly, "Why? You been aroused a lot?"

"I mean.. Yeah." She told him plainly, eyes wide.

His arm slipped from the doorframe and he stumbled in surprise at her blatant honesty. He blinked at her for a moment with a slack jaw before shaking his head and moving to close the door.

He looked down into the car with a grimace of understanding, "Right, well, can't keep him waiting."

Amber pouted, still feeling nauseatingly embarrassed as she leaned forward to turn the key in the ignition and start her car with a pitiful sigh.

It was totally fine. Scott was her best friend. It was totally not weird that he could sense it whenever she was turned on. Not weird at all.

Definitely not.

Except it really, really was.

Amber stayed back to talk to Lydia's doctor while Scott and Stiles headed in the direction of her hospital room. Her stomach was in knots during the duration of the conversation, but she felt overall relief as she listened to the doctor explain that Lydia was going to be okay.

The woman assured her that Lydia's body had stabilized over the last several hours and that now it was simply a waiting game. The redhead would wake up whenever her body felt well enough.

With a shaky sigh as her stress alleviated slightly, Amber made her way over to the closed door of Lydia's hospital room. She pushed it open and Scott and Stiles both flinched from where they were standing beside Lydia's bed, turning to face the door in alarm.

"Oh, it's just you," Stiles breathed out in relief, motioning for her to come into the room faster, "Hurry up and close the door-"

She frowned but did as she was told, both boys wincing again as the door creaked shut loudly and prompting her to frown in apology before walking over to stand in between them.

"Why did I need to close the door?" She asked quietly.

"Because we need to check the bite-" Scott explained, "See how it's healing."

He reached out, beginning to pull the blankets down, but as his fingers brushed against the fabric of Lydia's hospital gown, Amber smacked his hand away and took a protective step closer to the unconscious girl in the bed. The boys both frowned at her in confusion and she glared between them darkly.

"If anyone is about to touch the unconscious girl without her permission and violate her nearly naked body, it is not going to be one of you." She berated quietly, smacking Scott's hand away again from where it was still resting on the bedside, "Thank you." She huffed.

She took a steadying breath and reached her own hand out, trembling fingers pulling the gown to the side just enough to reveal the large bandage covering the skin on Lydia's hip. She gently peeled back the covering to reveal the bloody wound beneath and looked at Scott worriedly.

"What does this mean?" She whispered anxiously.

"Is it completely healed?" Stiles questioned, his gaze still locked on the far wall after having averted his eyes when Amber lifted the fabric of Lydia's hospital gown.

"No." Scott told him, "Not at all."

Stiles finally turned his attention back to the girl in the hospital bed and he dropped a hand over Amber's shoulder as he leaned closer to peer down at the bloody bite in the flesh of Lydia's hip.

"I- I don't get it," Amber said quietly, her thumb dropping down to trace softly over the unmarred skin beside the wound, "The doctor said she'd be fine."

"But.. The bite's not healing like it did with me." Scott stated.

"Right.." She prompted, "So, what does that mean?"

"It means.. She's not a werewolf."

She looked back up at Scott nervously and Stiles' grip on her shoulder tightened comfortingly.

"Then what the hell is she?" Stiles asked in a whisper.

"Maybe.. Maybe werewolf or death aren't the only two options after being bitten, y'know?" Amber suggested quietly, "I mean, maybe some people are like.. Immune-?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Scott shrugged, still frowning in confusion, "I-I'm gonna go meet Allison before it gets too late." He told them before moving toward the door.

"You don't need a ride?" Stiles asked.

"I'm good." Scott assured, cracking the door open just enough to slip through before closing it behind himself.

Amber gently laid the bandage back down over the bite, re-securing it with delicate fingers before covering Lydia back up again and tucking the blanket in around her. She looked up at the redhead's beautiful sleeping face and swallowed guiltily.

"This-" She let out a shaky breath in realization, "Is all my fault."

"Hey, no, what?" Stiles protested softly, he spun her around to face him and frowned at her, "This isn't your fault," He told her firmly, "Why would you say that?"

Her lip quivered and she felt her eyes prickle with heat as they welled with tears, "Because it is," She said, "I told her to go find Jackson and I let her go alone. I- I should've gone with her and-" A small sob cut her off when she took her next breath, "And Scott had already told me he thought he'd seen Peter." She disclosed, eyes filling with more tears when she saw the look of surprise on Stiles' face, "He told me he saw Peter and I didn't believe him. I told him he was being paranoid and- And then I told Lydia to go off and look for Jackson and I-"

Another choked sob cut off her words and Stiles wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in as the first of her tears fell. He directed her to burrow her face into the curve of his neck and she went easily, reaching up to fist her hands into his shirt as she did so.

"None of this is your fault," He told her, mouth pressed into her still slightly shower-damp hair as he spoke softly into her ear, "You're wrong, okay? It's not your fault."

His arms tightened around her shoulders and the firmness of his grip settled just a little bit of the tightness in her chest.

Mrs. Martin had approved Amber as an overnight guest for her daughter and Amber spent the next forty-some hours at the hospital. Whenever Lydia's mother was away, Amber was glued to Lydia's bedside, alternating between holding her friend's hand while napping with her head pillowed on the edge of the mattress, and turning the television to the docuseries on the Discovery Channel that she knew her friend secretly loved.

Lydia finally woke on Saturday afternoon, confused and groggy, only a few hours after Amber's brother had visited to drop off a bag of things from their house to last her through the weekend.

By Sunday evening, Amber had taken up residence in an armchair on the far side of the hospital room, reading through a new crime-thriller as she kept her bed-bound friend company. Amber was still lounging in the comfort of Stiles' oversized sweats, grateful for the clean underwear bra that her brother had dropped off for her.

Lydia dozed off and on throughout the afternoon and while Mr. Martin had been hovering somewhat awkwardly at the doorway for several hours, Amber had remained in the room all day at Lydia's insistence. The brunette spent the evening reading through her crime novel and sticking tiny post-it notes inside, using different colored tabs in the pages as new clues and possible leads cropped up in the story.

She was two-thirds of the way through her book when Lydia finally stirred after several hours of fitful rest. The redhead sat up in her hospital bed slowly, immediately garnering the undivided attention of both her father and Amber.

"What?" Lydia snapped in annoyance at their sudden scrutiny.

"D'you need any help getting to the bathroom?" Amber asked gently.

"No." Lydia said quickly, "And I'm going to take a shower, if that's all right with the two of you."

Amber closed her book with a frown and watched Lydia's father take another nervous step toward his daughter as she threw her legs over the side of the bed and went to stand.

"You want help getting into the shower?" He asked.

"Maybe," Lydia started with a withering glare, "-If I was still four and taking bubble baths."

Amber snorted quietly despite herself, holding her hands up in surrender as she walked over to the door to the hallway, "I'll wait out in the hall."

"I'll be outside too," Mr. Martin assured his daughter, "Where it's slightly less sarcastic." He finished quietly as they stepped out of the room and left Lydia to her own devices.

When Amber stepped out into the hallway, she spotted Stiles sleeping sprawled across a row of the uncomfortable waiting chairs, and she found herself smiling softly at the sight of him.

"How long has he been here?" She asked quietly when she spotted Scott's mom in her scrubs at the nursing station just outside of the room.

"Since this afternoon," Ms. McCall revealed, "He said he brought you some lunch. I told him you'd already eaten but he just.. Didn't leave."

Amber's heart warmed and she watched Stiles murmur something quietly under his breath in his sleep, his mouth hanging open cutely where it was pillowed against the back of his arm. She approached with slow steps and squatted down in front of him, reaching out to cup his cheek softly.

"Stiles.." She spoke quietly in an attempt to wake him, rubbing her thumb lightly over the dark mole decorating his left cheek.

"Mm," Stiles hummed quietly, eyes still closed, "'S good."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she tilted her head in amusement as she watched at the sleeping boy in front of her. His body shifted slightly as he readjusted over the row of chairs and she swept her thumb over his cheek again softly.

"Stiles, c'mon." She spoke gently.

"Feels good," He murmured into the back of his arm as his eyebrows furrowed softly. His leg twitched, kicking out into the chair at the end of the row and he groaned quietly in the back of his throat, "Ngh, Amber.. Like that."

She blinked and her thumb paused its movements as the dots connected in her mind slowly, her stomach fluttering wildly at the realization that Stiles was having an erotic dream. About her.

Before the boy could say anything truly vulgar, she leaned in somewhat nervously, covering his parted lips with her own and sliding her fingers back behind his ear. It only took a moment before his lips began to press back against hers, his head lifting up off of his arm slightly as he leaned up and tried instinctively to chase her mouth.

She sat back, still squatting down in front of him and smiled softly as he finally blinked his eyes open to look at her in befuddlement.

"Hey, sleepyhead." She said quietly, looking between his dream-dazed brown eyes.

"Hey," He responded in a sleepy grumble, "Was having a dream 'bout you."

She grinned, "So I heard."

Her comment seemed to startle him into alertness and he shot up startlingly fast, no longer looking remotely sleepy. She leaned back when his arms flailed in his attempt to sit upright and she laughed at him quietly as she dodged his waving limbs.

"Heard what?" Stiles asked as he settled finally into the chair, trying his best to look casual, "Did- Did I say anything?"

She rose to her knees and looked up at him with a small smile, "No. Nothing really." She fibbed easily.

He seemed to relax at the simple lie and she shook her head at him fondly as he sighed in relief. His gaze dropped down momentarily to the low neckline of her tank top before he took a slow breath, reaching down to grab her hand as he stood from his seat. She frowned in confusion as he began to drag her down the hallway but she went easily, trailing a step behind him and making a small noise of confusion.

"C'mon, I'm gonna get you something from the vending machine. You haven't eaten since before I got here, and that was at one-" He explained over his shoulder.

They stopped in front of the snack dispenser around the corner and her eyes flicked over the options for a moment, her hand still trapped in his. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Stiles dug around in the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a few quarters. Once the coins were cupped in his hand, he looked over at her in anticipation.

She turned her head slightly and was caught by surprise under his expectant stare, "What?" She asked slowly.

"D'you know what you want?" He lifted his hand and hovered just over the coin slot, fingers ready to drop the quarters into the small opening.

Her gaze drifted back to look behind the glass once again and she gnawed on her bottom lip indecisively, "Hmm, J." She told him finally, finger tapping against the glass to point to the item with the corresponding letter.

Stiles dropped the quarters into the slot and each one landed with a loud clink inside of the machine.

"You want the Reese's?" He verified before daring to press anything, his finger hovering over the buttons in wait.

She nodded her assent and he pressed his finger over the letter J on the keypad, the arm holding on to the candy spinning backwards slowly but stopping before the item could fall down from the shelf.

Stiles made a small noise of distress and slammed his finger against the button on the keypad again a few times in frustration. When nothing happened, he slapped the glass with an annoyed frown and released her hand with a huff, reaching out to put his arms on either side of the machine and jostling it as he threw his body weight against the glass. He groaned in exertion and continued to shake the machine angrily.

Amber laughed at him quietly as she watched on in amusement, "Stiles, it's no big deal," She reached out to rest a hand over his shoulder blade, "It did this to one of the nurses yesterday. We just need to-"

Before she could finish, the machine tipped toward them precariously. In a quick motion, Stiles reached out to grip her biceps and he crowded her back out of the way with, his chest against hers, just as the vending machine fell forward and hit the ground where they'd been standing a moment before with a loud crash.

"Stiles!" She scolded in a whisper, her eyes wide in surprise. Her pulled gaze from the fallen machine behind him to his face, his chest still pressed flush to hers, "Why did you-"

"I- Sorry! I just-" He stammered, "It- It wouldn't give you your candy."

"Well, that was very sweet of you.. But now there definitely won't be any candy." She reached up to pat his cheek consolingly.

"Sure there will," He told her, stepping back and attempting to stick his fingertips beneath the machine as he squatted down beside it, "Help me get it back up."

"Stiles, that thing is at least five-hundred pounds," She said incredulously, "There's no way-"

A piercing scream rang out through the hospital unit and drowned out her voice. Her head snapped up, looking down the hallway and stomach turning with a cold sense of dread as she realized she recognized the scream.

"Lydia!" She yelled, her legs already carrying her down the hallway.

"What the hell was that?" She heard Ms. McCall ask loudly as Amber ran past her.

She ran around the corner and pushed through Lydia's empty hospital room until she skidded to a stop in the middle of the bathroom. She looked at the small, painfully deserted room as Lydia's dad and Ms. McCall came to crowd in the doorway behind her.

Amber felt sick as Ms. McCall reached around her to turn the running water off in the empty shower. Lydia was nowhere to be seen. Her discarded hospital gown was still lying on the bench beside the shower and the window along the wall had been pushed wide open to let in a cool breeze from outside.

"Where's Lydia?" Amber asked the room at large, heart pounding violently in her chest.

The adults both seemed to be a mix of confused and alarmed, looking between one another slowly, but neither knew how to answer the question.

Lydia was gone.

Amber took a shaky breath and spun around frantically, bumping into Stiles where he had been standing directly behind her as she did so. He was quick to wrap his arms around her shoulders pull her into a hug, whispering into her ear so that no one around them would overhear his words.

"It's gonna be okay. We'll call Scott and he can track her before she gets too far, alright?" He said softly. Amber nodded against the side of his face, "Okay." He repeated again, brushing his lips across her cheekbone in an barely there kiss before releasing her.

After a few minutes of hushed conversation and phone calls to the appropriate authorities, the adults in the room slowly trailed out into the hallway to meet the police and try to figure out a plan of action.

As soon as the bathroom was empty, Stiles rushed to grab a clean garbage bag from underneath the sink and stuffed Lydia's dirty hospital gown inside.

"What-" Amber started quietly.

"Scott can use it to get her scent." He explained, rolling up the trash bag and stuffing it into the waistband of his jeans beneath the back of his sweatshirt.

Amber pulled her phone out of the pocket of the sweats she was wearing to send Scott a frantic text message as she allowed Stiles to guide her slowly out into the hallway. She could already hear Sheriff Stilinski's voice as he spoke with Ms. McCall and Mr. Martin, another uniformed deputy trailing only a step behind the group.

Stiles urged Amber to walk closer so that they could listen in on what was being said.

"Alright," Sheriff Stilinski said, turning to face the deputy, "Let's get an APB out on a sixteen year old redhead. Any other descriptors?" He asked, turning toward Lydia's dad.

Amber pushed forward into the throng of adults aggressively, "She's five-foot three, has green eyes, wears a size seven to a seven and a half shoe — depending on the type, she's fair skinned, and her hair actually isn't red, it's strawberry blonde-" She listed off quickly, lifting a finger to count as she listed off each descriptor.

"Is that so?" The Sheriff asked her, looking between her and where Stiles was standing behind her slowly, the man's eyes flicking between them with a slightly aggravated look. He reached around Amber's shoulder to grab a hold of his son with a hand at the back of the boy's neck, leading him a couple of steps away as Amber trailed close behind. "Why is it that you somehow manage to be present for everything that goes wrong in this town, huh? What the hell are you still doing here?" The Sheriff asked his son in a hushed whisper.

Stiles looked at him with wide eyes, flicking his gaze to Amber over his dad's shoulder as she came to stand beside them, "Um. I was providing moral support?" He said quietly, sounding unsure.

Amber stepped up behind Stiles and placed her hand at the small of his back, pressing against the garbage bag tucked into his waistband to ensure it wouldn't slip during the conversation.

"How about you provide your ass back home, where you should be." The Sheriff suggested quietly, attention flicking over to Amber for a brief second, "And take Amber home while you're at it."

"I- I can do that too." Stiles agreed quickly.

"Yeah." The Sheriff said slowly, releasing his son and keeping his eyes on them determinedly.

Amber readjusted Stiles' hoodie over his back and led him back down the hallway where they could grab her duffle bag from Lydia's hospital room. When she got to the bag, she unzipped it quickly, stuffing her abandoned book and sticky notes into the bottom before reaching into the back of Stiles' jeans to grab the garbage bag. He made a small noise of surprise but didn't fight her as she pulled out the gown-filled plastic bag and stuffed it into her duffel.

As she zipped the bag closed, her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out to skim over the new message from Scott.

"Scott's here," She relayed quickly as they headed down the hallway toward the elevators, "He heard her scream. Said he was already on his way here when I texted."

Stiles let out a breath and reached up to grab a hold of her shoulder as the elevator brought them back down to the main floor. Her stomach was turning with anxious worry and when the elevator doors slid open, Stiles' hand slipped from her shoulder when she didn't immediately move to step out with him.

He paused just one step across the threshold of the elevator and did a slow spin, turning to face her when he realized she was no longer beside him.

"Hey, what-"

"Stiles. I'm freaking out." She admitted quietly.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the elevator to stand in front of him. He frowned as his eyes scanned the panic on her face, reaching up to brush her hair back out of her face gently.

"Look, d'you trust Scott?" He prompted.

"I mean.. I love him. But-" She started honestly.

Stiles rolled his eyes lightly, "Do you trust him?" He repeated firmly.

"Yeah." She said finally in a small voice.

"Alright. Then trust that he'll be able to find her, 'kay?" He reassured gently.

She nodded and took a determined breath, "Okay."

Without another word, Stiles gripped her hand in his and rushed out of the building in the direction of where he'd parked his Jeep that afternoon. Scott was already sitting in the passenger seat, so Amber crawled in from the driver's side and settled beside him as Stiles climbed in after her.

She unzipped her duffel bag and pulled out Lydia's hospital gown, handing it over to Scott quickly as she tossed her bag uncaringly into the backseat.

Scott examined the fabric in his hand, flipping it over slowly between his fingers, "This is the one she was just wearing?" He verified.

"Obviously." She confirmed quietly, looking at her friend with wide eyes as she waited for him to do something with the bundle of cloth.

Scott looked up at her with a small frown, lifting a hand to squeeze her shoulder, "I'm not gonna let anything happen to her," He promised, "Not again."

She swallowed and nodded, taking a shaky breath.

"Just shove the thing in your face and let's find her." Stiles said impatiently, going to start the car, "Ho- Wow-!" He exclaimed when the headlights clicked on as the engine turned over, the glow illuminating Allison standing directly in front of the car.

"Jesus." Amber whispered in surprise, her own heart beating quick in her chest as Allison rushed over to the passenger side of the Jeep.

"What are you doing?" Scott asked out the open window, "Someone's going to see us-" He worried, knowing that he and Allison were very much no longer allowed to be seen together, given her family's profession of choice.

"I don't care." Allison told him, "She is my best friend and we need to find her before they do-"

"I'm sorry-" Amber cut in quickly, "They who?"

"I can find her before the cops can." Scott said to Allison, ignoring his best friends interruption.

"How about before my father does?" Allison questioned.

"What?!" Amber squeaked nervously.

"He knows?" Stiles asked from behind her.

"Yeah," Allison confirmed, "I just saw him and three other guys leave my house in two SUVs."

Scott turned his head to look between Stiles and Amber, "A search party-" He supplied nervously.

"It's more like a hunting party." Allison corrected.

Scott turned back to the girl outside of the vehicle and his hand fumbled on the door handle, "Get in."

Amber frowned as Allison climbed into the car past Scott and tumbled into the mess in the backseat. Amber took a slow breath, not thrilled about having Allison sitting directly behind her unsuspecting back, but fighting the nervous feeling of distrust in her gut for the sake of Lydia's safety.

She crossed her arms over her stomach and pinched the corner of Stiles' outer-layered sweatshirt tightly between her fingers to settle her anxiety as they pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road.

"Alright," Stiles started as he sped down the main road in town and headed west at Scott's command, "But if she's turning, would they actually kill her?"

"I don't know," Allison said, leaning forward in her seat and putting her face over Amber's shoulder beside Scott, "They won't tell me anything."

Amber turned in her seat to squint at Allison in the dark car skeptically.

"Okay.." Allison backtracked when she caught the other girl's gaze, "All they say is, 'We'll talk after Kate's funeral. When the others get here.'"

"What others?" Amber asked quickly.

"I don't know. They won't tell me that either." Allison replied.

"Okay, your family's got some serious communication issues to work on." Stiles observed.

Amber turned in her seat to look over at where Scott had his head stuck out the window to search for Lydia's scent, "Scott! Are we going the right way?" She asked loudly.

His head tilted as he took a breath into his nose through the breeze outside of the moving vehicle, "Take the next right!" He called back.

They were already coming up on the turn as he spoke and Stiles reached out automatically to brace his arm over Amber's chest as they veered sharply onto a road that would lead them out toward the preserve.

Scott directed them to take several turns over the next ten minutes as they headed down the winding roads out into the more wooded area of town. When he finally directed them to take a left onto a familiar long gravel driveway, Amber frowned in confusion.

"How the hell would Lydia have gotten all the way out here so quickly?" She asked as Scott pulled his head back into the vehicle.

Scott shrugged, "The roads out here aren't as direct. If she ran through the woods it wouldn't have taken her long."

Stiles parked the Jeep around the final turn of the drive and they all slowly climbed out of the car before making their way to the edge of the treeline surrounding what was left of the large burned house.

After no more than a minute, Amber huffed quietly as she shivered, her exhale releasing a foggy cloud into the air. She reached up in an attempt to rub some warmth into her bare arms as they walked and Stiles seemed to catch sight of her movement, quickly beginning to strip off one of the two zip-up hoodies he had layered over his tshirt.

"Here, sorry," He apologized quickly, draping one of the sweatshirts around her shoulders as he readjusted the other over his torso, "I should've given you this before-"

"Thank you." She told him softly as she stuck her arms through the sleeves.

Once she had the sweatshirt pulled on over her tank top, she pinched his chin between her thumb and forefinger and leaned in to press a small appreciative kiss to his lips.

"Hold- Wh- When did this-" Scott looked between his best friends with wide eyes, "When did you guys-?"

Amber leaned back and frowned, "I- Friday.. At formal-"

"There's no way I didn't mention that." Stiles told Scott.

Scott shook his head, "You definitely did not mention that." He disagreed, looking between them again, "I mean, it's great! I'm happy for you guys-"

"Scott this is.. Really sweet but can we please focus on looking for Lydia?" Amber interrupted, playing with the sleeves hanging down over the palms of her hands.

Allison stepped up beside her and laughed awkwardly, "Thank god. I didn't want to interrupt but-"

"Okay, alright." Scott agreed, "C'mon."

They began to move through the trees again and Amber frowned in thought as her gaze trailed over to the Hale house beside them. Stiles followed her eyeline and seemed to catch on to her confused train of thought.

"Lydia came here?" He asked, looking over his shoulder toward Scott, "You're sure?"

"Yeah," Scott shrugged, looking around slowly, "This is where the scent leads."

"Alright," Stiles said, "But has Lydia ever been here?" He asked, both he and Scott turning to Amber in anticipation of her response.

She shook her head, "No, I never brought her here." She let her own gaze drift over to Allison skeptically and the other girl's eyes widened.

"She didn't come here with me either," Allison defended, "Maybe she came here on instinct.. Like she was looking for Derek."

"You mean looking for an Alpha." Scott clarified.

"I- Wolves need a pack, right?" Allison asked.

"Not all of them." Scott said after a moment of hesitation.

"But would she have been drawn to an Alpha?" Allison questioned, "Is it an instinct to be part of a pack?"

"Yeah, we're-" Scott paused, "We're stronger in packs."

Allison nodded, "Like strength in numbers."

Scott shook his head, looking between Allison and Amber for a moment before he spoke, "No. Like- Like literally. Stronger, faster, better in every way-"

Amber huffed in annoyance at the amount of information Scott was willingly imparting on the other girl and she turned to step away from the conversation. She spotted Stiles standing a few yards away, brushing leaves around on the ground where he was squatted down, his head tilted as he examined something.

"What is it?" She asked quietly, settling a hand on his back as she squatted down beside him.

"Woah, it's- Hold on," He said softly before raising his voice to call out to the two still behind them, "Hey! Look at this. Y'see this?" He pinched a dark piece of wire strung out along the ground between his fingers lightly.

Amber reached out to softly run her fingers over it as well as she examined the thick strand of garotte wire that ran just a few inches above the forest floor. She heard footsteps come up behind them as someone followed to see what they were looking at and she turned her head to find Allison squatting down beside her.

"I think it's a tripwire." Stiles explained to the girls quietly, pulling up on the wire with his index finger.

There was a quiet noise in the leaves behind them and Amber turned to find Scott hanging upside down by his ankle.

"Stiles." She whispered, nudging his shoulder with her hand.

"Hm?" He hummed distractedly, still looking down at the wire in his hands.

"Stiles." Scott said from behind them, his louder than Amber's had been.

"Yeah, buddy?" Stiles asked, finally turning around to look behind them, "-Oh."

"Next time you see a tripwire," Scott started, his momentum carrying him back and forth through the air like a pendulum, "Don't trip it."

Amber immediately went to see if she could help Scott, reaching out to stay him and stop him from swinging back and forth quite so much.

"Noted." Stiles told Scott from behind her.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Scott said frantically, reaching his hands out from where they had been dangling over his head to grab Amber's waist and shove her a step away.

"Wha-" She started before he cut her off.

"Someone's coming." Scott whispered aggressively, looking between his three friends, "Hide!" They all looked around the dark treeline curiously for a moment and Scott huffed, "Go!"

Amber was tugged backwards by Stiles' hand wrapped around her shoulder as he urgently pulled her and Allison back down the slope a few hundred feet. They ducked down close to the ground, peering around the cover of a tree as a group of four figures approached Scott slowly.

One of them squatted down to eye-level with the dangling boy and Amber frowned, entirely unsurprised when she heard Allison's dad's voice.

"Scott." He greeted simply.

"Mr. Argent." Scott greeted back weakly.

"How are you doing?" Chris Argent asked slowly.

Scott shrugged awkwardly from his upside down position, still swinging back and forth through the air slightly.

"Good, y'know. Just hangin' out." Scott joked, looking up at his trapped ankle, "This one of yours?" He questioned, "It's uh, good. Nice design. Very constricting-"

"What are you doing out here, Scott?" Allison's dad asked, unamused.

"Looking for my friend." Scott told him seriously.

"Ah, that's right," Mr. Argent sighed, "Lydia's in your group now, isn't she? A part of your clique? Is that the word you'd use? Or is there another way you'd put it?" He prompted slowly, "Part of your pack?"

"Actually, clique sounds about right to me." Scott answered.

Mr. Argent hummed, "I hope so. Because I know she's a friend of Allison's, and one special circumstance, such as yourself.. One I can handle." He said, "Not two."

There was a silent pause and Amber reached out to nudge her pinky against Stiles' nervously. She let out a small breath when he silently hooked his own finger around hers and locked them together.

"Scott, do you know what a hemicorporectomy is?" Chris Argent asked.

"I have a feeling I don't want to." Scott answered honestly.

"A medical term for amputating somebody at the waist-" The man explained, "Cutting them in half."

Amber's stomach tightened and she let out a shaky breath at the reminder of Laura Hale. Stiles' finger tightened around hers as if he could somehow feel her sudden anxiety and she locked her jaw to keep it from trembling.

"It takes a tremendous amount of strength to cut through tissue and bone like that-" Mr. Argent continued slowly.

She felt like she was going to be sick, the image of the gaping wound at Laura's hips flashing in her mind as clearly as the day she'd stumbled across it on the trail in the woods. She could vividly remember the long smooth cut in the flesh, the lack of hesitation where the blade had torn through her cleanly. She remembered the way she'd so easily been able to see all of the bones and muscles where the lower half of the body had been sliced open.

She was distracted by the memory, her blood pounding so loudly in her ears that she didn't even notice when the group of men left. She was pulled to her feet by Stiles' hands in hers and she blinked as her eyes finally refocused to find him standing in front of her.

"Y'okay?" He asked her quietly.

She nodded slowly, pulling in a deep breath through her nose, "Yeah," She said finally, "Sorry. I- I'm fine."

As she came back to herself, she tugged on his hand and jogged back up to where Scott was still caught in the trap. Stiles released her hand and he and Allison moved over to where he'd tripped the wire in the first place.

"Help me with this." Allison told him as they worked at where the trap was hooked up to a tree trunk.

Amber reached up to pull uselessly at the thick wire around Scott's ankle but he bent at the waist, leaning up, claws sprouting from his fingertips. He sliced them through the wire under her fingers easily and fell down to the ground, landing smoothly on his feet beside her.

"I think I got it." Scott announced with a goofy grin.

She rolled her eyes and reached up to punch him in the shoulder, "Show off." She scoffed.

Scott grinned wider and shrugged at her, reaching up to grab her shoulder and push her back in the direction of their friends.

"How long can we look for Lydia until we, like, desperately need to go home and get to bed for school tomorrow?" Amber asked the group at large.

Scott shrugged, "Maybe eleven?"

"Eleven?" Allison repeated in disbelief, "If I'm not home by nine, my parents will ground me for life."

"Nine?" Amber repeated this time, pulling out her phone to check the time anxiously, "Are you kidding? It's already almost eight!"

Stiles' arm dropped around Amber's shoulders and he pulled her into his side as they walked, "So, we'll look for another hour. My dad has the whole Sheriff's department looking for her, alright?"

She sighed, burrowing further into the warmth of Stiles' torso. A heavy feeling of worry settled deeper into her gut as she realized that if she was cold in sweats and a hoodie, then she couldn't even imagine how Lydia must be feeling.

They needed to find her.

On Monday night, Amber was typing up a search party sign-up sheet to distribute to the teachers at school the following day. She was desperate to find Lydia, but evidently four teenagers and the entire Sheriff's Department just wasn't enough bodies to cover the sheer amount of densely wooded territory that Beacon Hills was home to.

She was shutting down her laptop and stuffing it into her backpack when she noticed a dark figure in the corner of her eye.

"Jesus fucking Christ-" She whispered, flinching and knocking a cup full of pencils and highlighters to the ground with a small crash, "Derek!"

The older werewolf was sitting on the edge of her bed casually, flipping through the book that she'd been reading over the weekend at the hospital. His gaze lifted from the book when he heard her exclamation and he raised his eyebrows with an unimpressed look.

She huffed and bent down to pick up the spilled writing utensils, shoving them back into their cup aggressively, "You need a freaking bell or something." She muttered quietly under her breath as she got to her feet again and placed the cup back onto her desk.

"Or you need better hearing." Derek suggested, "I've been here for five minutes."

"You've-" She spun around to face him and scrunched her face up in irritation, "You could've said something, then. Instead of just lingering around quietly and waiting to give me a heart attack."

"You're not in a very good mood." He observed, closing the book in his hands and setting it back on the nightstand where Amber knew she'd initially left it.

"No. I'm not." She snapped quietly, turning back to her desk to finish putting her school books into her bag. "In case you forgot, I was present for, not one, but two murders a couple of days ago, one of my best friends was bitten by a werewolf and is now missing, and I've had an overall shitty weekend. I'm so very sorry if my mood isn't up to your standards."

"Okay.." Derek said slowly, "Well, I have a proposition for you-"

"Yeah? Well, I have a proposition for you too," She interrupted, spinning back around to face him, "How about you go back in time and not murder the only chance Scott had at being human again. How about that?"

Derek looked taken aback at her hostility, "What?"

"You said yourself that Peter was the only way Scott could be cured," Amber explained, huffing in frustration, "And you still went ahead and ruined it! You- you ripped your own uncle's throat out! I mean, sure, he was a total nut job but-" She took a shaky breath as the image of Derek's bloody clawed hand re-emerged in her mind.

"There is no cure." Derek said simply.

"Yeah, I know!" She snapped, "Because you killed-"

"No," He interrupted sounding wholly exasperated, "There was never a cure, Amber. There's nothing that can reverse the effects of the bite. Ever."

"But-" She faltered, eyebrows furrowing, "But you told Scott-"

Derek sighed a long suffering sigh, "I know what I told Scott. But he was being an idiot and I needed him to focus in order to help me find the Alpha," He explained, "I told him what he wanted to hear. That there was a way to fix everything and that the Alpha was the answer."

"You.. You lied?" She said slowly.

Derek reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose and sighed again, "Yes. I lied."

"There's no cure.. And there never was?" She asked, feeling like she needed clarification one last time.

"There never was." He confirmed.

She moved across the room slowly and sat down on her bed a few feet away from him as the information processed. Derek allowed her to sit silently for a long minute before he stood and crossed the room, moving over to the space in front of the desk that she'd only just vacated. He leaned back against the surface and crossed his arms over his chest, frowning in thought.

"Wasn't there something you wanted to say before?" She realized, watching his behavior with a confused frown.

"I was going to get right into it but now I feel like I should explain things a little first." He said quietly.

"Explaining is good." She nodded slowly, urging him to continue.

He sighed and pinched his face in a tight frown, "All werewolves are drawn with the instinct to be a part of a pack," He started, watching her closely to be sure she was following, "But the instinct is different for Alphas. Stronger."

"That's why Peter bit Scott that night in the woods." She deduced.

Derek nodded, "Even out of his mind, he knew he needed a Beta to take up a pack bond with. Needed it in order to lessen some of that instinct- To make it bearable."

"And now.." She started slowly, "Now that you're the Alpha, you're feeling that instinct?"

"Yes."

She nodded, pulling her legs up underneath herself on the mattress and toying with her fingers in her lap as she thought, "What does it feel like?" She asked curiously, "The instinct to build a pack."

"It feels like shit." He said simply, "It's like- It's like a hollow feeling of loneliness. I felt it, when Laura died.. When I was a Beta and on my own for the first time, but-"

"But?" Amber prompted after a second of silence.

"But it's a hundred times worse as an Alpha," He explained, "Borderline painful. Just, this stabbing longing in your gut for something you don't have."

"But don't you have a Beta?" She asked, "I mean, Scott's a part of your pack now, right?"

Derek shook his head, "I'd feel it if he was. Scott doesn't want to be a part of my pack."

She frowned and Derek continued.

"-But I thought maybe you might."

"That I might what?" She questioned in confusion.

"Want to be a part of my pack." He finished, uncrossing his arms and placing his hands back to rest on the desk on either side of him.

"Like-" She blinked in shock, "Like, as a werewolf?"

"Yes. As a werewolf."

"I don't want to be a werewolf." She said quickly.

Derek frowned like he was truly perplexed, "You don't?"

"No!" She told him, "Wh- Why would I want to become a werewolf? Are you joking?"

"Why wouldn't you?" He prompted, "I mean, you'll be as strong as Scott. You'll be able to hear, see, and smell better. You'll be able to protect yourself-"

"While also attacking my best friends?" She finished incredulously, "No way."

Derek shook his head, "I'd help you control that. We could wait until after Wednesday and then we'd have a whole month before the next full moon-"

"No." She said again, "I- I don't want to be a werewolf."

His shoulders seemed to slump a fraction when he realized her decision had been made, "Fine."

She rose from the bed and approached him with a frown, "I'm sorry, Derek."

"It's fine." He told her again.

"We- We can figure something else out, though. I mean, I could help you find someone and then by the next full moon-"

"I already have someone else." He told her.

"I- You what?" She asked, looking up at him in alarm.

"I'm going to do it tomorrow." He said easily, "I watched him over the weekend to make sure he was the right choice for the pack. I'm going to talk to him tonight so he has some time to think about it and then tomorrow I'm going to give him the bite."

"Wh- He? He who?" She prodded, "And.. You're going to bite him a day before the full moon? Have you actually lost your mind?"

"I wasn't initially planning on doing it so soon, but circumstances-"

"Circumstances?" She repeated in disbelief, "What kind of circumstances could possibly justify turning someone into a werewolf with only twenty-four hours to prepare before the full moon?"

"The kid needs to be able to defend himself or there's a pretty good chance his piece of shit dad's gonna kill him." Derek explained after a moment of hesitation.

"'Kid'?" She questioned after he finished, "How old qualifies as 'kid'?"

"He's sixteen." Derek said, "Goes to your school. Isaac Lahey."

"Isaac Lahey?" She repeated slowly, her eyes drifting to the wall behind the werewolf as she pictured the outrageously tall boy on the lacrosse team.

"Yes."

Her eyes snapped back to Derek with a glare, "And how exactly are you planning on stopping Isaac from attacking and killing someone at school if he gets a little angry? Huh?"

"Isaac doesn't get angry." He said simply.

"Wh- Everybody gets angry." She argued.

"Not Isaac." Derek replied, "Kid's too scared to get angry."

"Scared of what?" She asked quietly.

"His dad. Himself. Everyone and everything around him." Derek listed off easily.

Amber shook her head and took a small step back, "His dad's that bad?" She asked softly, "You really aren't sure if Isaac will be dead in the next couple of days.. Because of his dad?"

Derek nodded.

"Okay.." She sighed, shaking her hands out at her sides, "Okay, we can figure this out-"

"We don't need to figure anything out," He interrupted, "You don't want to be a part of the pack and I don't need your help."

"You don't need my-?" She stammered, "Wh- Of course you need my help."

Derek's eyes narrowed, "I don't need any help controlling my pack. Especially not from a sixteen year old little girl."

"I- You came to me." She pointed out.

There was a moment of silence before he responded, "Yeah. Clearly that was a mistake."

He turned to leave and she followed after him in distress, "Wh- Derek don't be like that-"

"You want to stay human. That's fine." He told her without looking back, "But if you stay human, then stay out of things."

She opened her mouth to respond but he was already gone.

Amber got to the school on Tuesday morning early with the intent of getting the fliers printed out and distributed between the teachers before the start of first period at eight o'clock. She was surprised when she climbed out of her car at six forty-five to see Stiles and Scott tumbling out of the Jeep and heading toward the building already.

"Hey!" She called out, jogging to catch up with them as they walked up the path to the school, "Guys, wait up!"

Scott and Stiles both turned to her in confusion.

"What are you doing here so early?" Stiles asked curiously.

"I'm printing out the fliers for the search party tonight and then I was gonna work on my World History project in the Library until English." She explained, shivering when the breeze blew across her bare legs beneath the thick woven fabric of her sweater dress, "Do you guys have a morning practice or something?"

They both nodded.

"Every day this week." Scott told her.

She looked over at Stiles and watched him readjust his backpack over his shoulder awkwardly.

Amber's posture slumped as she regarded him, "Uh, what- What were you guys talking about?"

"Lydia." Scott supplied easily, flinching when Stiles elbowed him in the side aggressively.

"Why?" She asked quickly, "What happened now?"

Stiles shook his head with a sigh, "We think she raided a casket at the graveyard at like three o'clock this morning."

"'Raided a casket'?" She repeated, "What does that mean? What would she want from a dead person?"

"Apparently their liver." Stiles supplied.

"What?" Amber squeaked in surprise. "What would she do with a liver?"

"Eat it." Scott said with a disgusted wince.

"I never said she ate it. I just said that's what was missing." Stiles disagreed, wrapping an arm around Amber's shoulders over her backpack straps as he started walking toward the school building again, "And y'know what? Even if she did, so what? It's the most nutritious part of the body."

Amber gagged at the thought.

"I never ate anyone's liver." Scott pointed out.

Amber scoffed, "Yeah, because when it comes to werewolves, you're a real model of self-control." She said sarcastically.

"Actually, wait." Stiles stopped walking suddenly, his arm tightening around Amber's shoulder as he looked over at Scott, "Hold on. You're the test case for this," Stiles told Scott, "So, we should be going over what happened to you."

"What d'you mean?" Scott asked in confusion.

"I mean, like, what was going through your mind when you were turning, y'know? What were you drawn to?" Stiles asked.

Scott shrugged, "Allison."

Amber rolled her eyes with a deep sigh as she let her head fall back to rest over Stiles' arm, reaching up to fist her hand in the soft material of the heavy brown flannel he was wearing.

"God. Nothing else?" She asked Scott, "Seriously?"

Scott shrugged at his best friends, "Nothing else mattered. But- No. That's good though, right?" He asked, looking between them slowly, "'Cause the night that Lydia was bit, she was with the two of you."

Stiles sighed, his fingers gripping Amber's shoulder tight, "Yeah, but.. She was looking for Jackson."

They all frowned in thought and after a few moments, Amber reached up to pull Stiles' arm from around her back.

"Alright. We'll talk more about this later," She told them both, "But I need to go print off a bunch of sign-up sheets and you guys need to go get changed for practice."

Scott nodded and took a step toward the side entrance near the locker rooms, pausing in confusion and looking back at them when Stiles didn't immediately follow behind him.

"I'll be right there." Stiles promised, making a face at Scott over Amber's shoulder that she couldn't decipher the meaning of.

"Alright, dude." Scott agreed with a quiet laugh, "See you in there."

"What was that about?" Amber asked as she turned her head to watch Scott walk inside alone.

Her gaze drifted back over to Stiles and he had his lips pulled together nervously, his hand gripping the strap of his backpack tight, "I, uh, I wanted to say goodbye. Y'know, privately."

"Goodbye?" She chuckled, "I'm gonna see you in like an hour in English. I sit right in front of you, remember? Just like I have all year.. And, what-? Privately?"

"Nevermind."

Stiles huffed in annoyance and his gaze dropped to the sidewalk under their feet for a moment before he took a step to follow after Scott.

"Ohh.. Oh!" She realized suddenly, reaching out to grab his arm, "No, no! Wait, I'm sorry. You meant like-" She swallowed, continuing more quietly, "Like, a romantic goodbye?"

He shrugged, "Yeah."

She smiled at how cute he was, standing in front of her, looking adorably nervous. She bit down on her lower lip in an attempt to hide how ridiculously giddy she felt at having his thoughts focussed on her romantically.

"Okay." She told him softly.

"Okay?" He repeated.

"Okay. I'd like my romantic goodbye, now." She grinned.

"Oh, I- Okay." He said nervously, looking at the other students loitering around them for a moment before his eyes went back to her.

He took a small step closer, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear as he leaned in painfully slow and she lifted onto her toes, gripping the loose lapels of his flannel between her fingers as she met his lips halfway.

She got lost in the feeling of his mouth on hers after a moment and when he parted his lips slightly on one of his slow, soft, repetitive kisses, she tugged at his flannel and unconsciously licked her tongue into the small opening of his mouth to quickly brush against his.

His hand spread out over the side of her face and he guided her to tilt her head so that his own tongue could follow on the next deeper kiss. Her fingers tightened further around the thick fabric of his overshirt, head hazy and unable to focus on anything except the points of contact between them.

She reeled back, flinching in surprise, as someone wolf-whistled at them from a few feet away.

"Oops." Stiles said quietly, a small smile on his lips as he dropped his hand down over the top of her shoulder.

"You should go get changed for practice." She told him breathlessly, eyes still focussed on the soft shine their kiss had left over his lips.

"Yeah." He agreed, making no move to put any distance between them, continuing to look at her with a goofy grin on his face.

"I think that'll require going to the locker room and y'know.. Getting changed." She prompted gently.

He sighed dramatically in feigned annoyance, "Yeah, okay-" He pressed his lips to her cheekbone in a quick kiss and dashed off toward the school's side entrance.

Amber stood in place for a few seconds, stunned. She lifted her fingers to brush delicately over the place where his mouth had left a clumsy kiss over her cheek, biting down on her lip to contain her smile. She laughed quietly to herself before shaking her head and walking down the path toward the main entrance of the building.

Once she was inside, she headed into the Library to print off several copies of the sign-up fliers she'd drafted the night before.

With a large stack of the fliers printed and ready, she pulled out a notebook and settled into one of the tables to jot down bits and pieces of information she needed to finish her project for World History. She worked on her assignment for just under an hour before she hurriedly put away the books she'd been using and packed her things back up, dashing out of the Library with the stack of sign-up sheets in her hands.

She rushed around to all of the classrooms to get a copy on each teacher's desk before taking off in the direction of the boy's locker room, hoping to catch Coach Finstock before he let the boys shower and get changed for classes.

She was nearly there when she spotted the back of Isaac Lahey's tall frame, still wearing his jersey from their morning practice and carrying his lacrosse bag over his shoulder, clearly the last one to come back inside from the field.

"Isaac!" She called, running up behind him.

The boy flinched at the volume of her voice and turned to face her in surprise. She frowned when her gaze caught on the dark purpling bruise over his left eye and her steps faltered momentarily before she regained her focus.

"Hi, Isaac." She greeted with what she hoped was a reassuring smile, fighting the urge to look at his injured eye.

"Um, hi." He said slowly, looking around as if he was unsure why she was speaking to him.

"What's up?" She asked casually.

"Uh," He slowed his steps to match her shorter stride and readjusted his bag over his shoulder, "I'm heading to the locker room. Lacrosse team had a morning practice."

"Yeah, me too!" She told him. Isaac looked at her in confusion and she continued, "I mean, not 'me too' like I had morning practice too. I'm just heading to the locker room. Gotta give this flier to Finstock." She supplied, waving the paper in her hands in show.

"Okay." He said slowly.

"I, um, I also wanted to talk to you." She said carefully.

"What about?" Isaac asked in confusion.

"I, um-" She paused, "I know Derek. Derek Hale."

Isaac's eyes widened and he looked around them quickly before his eyes drifted over her in scrutiny, "Are- Are you-?"

"No," She told him quickly, "But I know that Derek offered to-"

"I, uh, I should get in there. Gotta get changed or I'll end up being late for first period." Isaac interrupted, pushing the locker room door open and slipping inside before she could respond.

She looked at the empty space where he'd been standing a moment before and sighed before cautiously going through the door after him. She made her way through the changing room toward Coach Finstock's office at the back, where she handed him the flier as she explained the plan she'd gone over with the principal and Stiles' dad the day before.

He yanked the paper from her hands and stepped out of his office, "I have an announcement!" He yelled, pulling the attention of the teenage boys around him, "Gather 'round! Quicker!"

Coach nodded for her to step up beside him as the team slowly made their way to huddle in the area in front of his office. The teacher held his hand up to block her eyes for a moment and she blinked in surprise at the fingers in front of her face.

"Danny, put a shirt on." Coach berated quickly before dropping his hand, "Let's go! Gather 'round." He repeated, waiting until the boys in front of him gave him their full attention urging Amber to speak.

"Um, right." She said awkwardly, looking around at the lacrosse team, "So, the police are asking for help on a missing child advisory.. It's a, um, a sick girl roaming around.. It's my friend Lydia-"

"She's totally naked." Coach Finstock interrupted.

There was a small round of chuckles among the team members and someone at the back of the group whistled. Amber glared as she looked over the group of boys in front of her, meeting Stiles' gaze where he was giving her a reassuring smile as Coach continued.

"Now, it's supposed to get down to forty degrees tonight. I don't know about you, but the last time it was that cold and I was running around naked, I lost a testicle to exposure." He paused, seemingly lost in thought, and Amber frowned and reached up to give their teacher an awkward pat on his shoulder. He shook his head and the action seemed to refocus him quickly, "Now, I don't want the same thing happening to some innocent girl. So, police are organizing search parties for tonight."

He held up the flier in his hand and made a show of taping it to the outside of his office door.

"You sign up-" He told the group, "And you get an automatic 'A' in my classes."

The team cheered excitedly and rushed toward the sign up sheet, pushed past Amber and Coach Finstock as they hurried to write their names on the piece of paper.

She moved through the crowd of boys to look for Stiles and Scott and found them at the back of the room talking quietly. She brushed her hand over the back of Stiles' practice jersey as she stepped up beside them.

"What's up?" She asked curiously.

"We're gonna ask for Jackson's help finding Lydia," Scott told her quietly, peering behind himself at where Jackson was standing a few feet away, "If she's drawn to him, then maybe-"

"Jackson!" Amber called immediately, stepping around Scott and heading toward the other boy as her best friends both made quiet noises of dissent behind her. Jackson scowled at her as she approached and she continued toward him with a sharp look, "You're going to help us find Lydia." She told him.

"That- That's not exactly how we were planning on proposing the idea-" Stiles said quietly, stepping up behind her and resting a hand on her shoulder.

Jackson looked between the three of them with an unimpressed frown, "If Lydia wants to take a naked hike in the woods, why should I care?"

"Because a normal human being with feelings would be worried about her." She said sharply.

"-Also, because we have a pretty good idea that she might be-" Scott paused, looking around them cautiously before finishing in a quiet voice, "Y'know.. Turning."

"Turning?" Jackson repeated blankly.

"Yeah, turning." Scott replied slowly.

Jackson looked between the three of them again in confusion, "Into-?"

"A unicorn." Stiles snapped sarcastically after a moment of silence, "What do you think, dumbass?"

"Well, I think if Lydia's turning, she's not the one who's gonna need help." Jackson told them.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Amber asked, annoyed with his vagueness.

Jackson sighed, "You've got it all backwards. When I was with Lydia, you should've seen the scratch marks she left on me." He said with a smug grin, "What do you think she's gonna do with a set of real claws?" He laughed at the stunned look on their faces quietly and pushed past them.

Amber to a step to follow after him, angry at the derogatory comment within the implication, but Scott and Stiles both pulled her back with hands on her arms. She turned to face her best friends with a dark look still clouding her features.

"Y'know, for the record, he's completely full of shit because I know for a fact he isn't even that good in bed-" She revealed quietly. Stiles and Scott both looked at her in shock and she shook her head, "Not- Gross, not like that. Just- Girls talk about those things, so y'know-"

"They do?" Scott and Stiles both asked, sounding equal parts nervous.

"Yeah?" She told them in confusion.

"Girls.. They talk to each other about, like-" Scott stammered with wide eyes, "Whether it was good, or- Or average, or terrible, or whatever?"

She shrugged, "Yeah.. Do guys not do that?"

They both shook their heads and Scott spoke in a hushed voice, "It's more just like, 'hey, dude, I had sex', y'know? It's.. We don't really go into detail."

"Huh." Amber said as she processed the information. Her mind flashed with the in depth analyses Lydia had given her over the last seven months of her and Jackson's different sexual encounters, "Yeah.. Girls definitely go into detail."

"That's.. Terrifying." Stiles stated.

Scott nodded in agreement and they settled into a small lapse of silence as all three of them processed the new information they'd been given.

When third period rolled around, Amber entered the Chemistry classroom and moved toward the empty space beside Stiles, leaning down to press an enthusiastic kiss to the back of his head as she passed by. She dropped her books down on the table and settled onto the stool beside the window, turning her head to look at the boy beside her.

Stiles had a barely-there flush on his cheeks and he was already looking over at her with a dopey grin, his left cheek dimpling cutely.

"Hi." She greeted quietly.

"Hey." He replied.

"You guys are disgusting." Scott's voice announced from the table in front of them.

They both flinched in surprise and turned their heads to look at Scott.

Amber recovered quickly and leaned onto her elbows on the table, "Thanks." She grinned at Scott.

He shook his head with a small smile, "It wasn't a compliment."

She pulled out a pencil and her smile faded into a frown as Mr. Harris stood from his desk at the front of the room with a stack of papers just as the final bell rang out in the hallway.

"Alright." Mr. Harris said loudly, dropping small stacks of paper onto the tables at the front of the room, "You're going to do a pop quiz on chapters seven and eight so that I can monitor just how little you all are truly retaining." He told the class, looking around the room with a blank stare as everyone groaned quietly, "Once you have a quiz, you may begin."

Amber frowned as the papers were passed back slowly. Scott turned around to drop the quizzes on her and Stiles' table and he gave them a wide-eyed look of panic at the surprise assessment.

"You've got this, Scott." She whispered reassuringly, tapping her pencil eraser rhythmically on the tabletop as she lied.

He nodded at her with a quiet sigh and turned back around.

When she reached over to grab a paper from the stack, her gaze caught Stiles' and he raised his eyebrows in reference to the admittedly unrealistic comment of reassurance she'd made to Scott. She pouted at him with a small shrug before pointedly turning her attention to the quiz on the table in front of her.

She was halfway through the questions on the paper when Stiles leaned forward onto his elbows over the table to whisper between her and Scott.

"Alright, it's causing me severe mental anguish to say this, but.. I think Jackson's right." He told them quietly, his mind evidently on Lydia instead of Chemistry.

"I know." Scott responded in a hushed voice, angling his head back toward them slightly as he spoke.

"What if the next body part she steals is from someone who's still alive?" Stiles whispered again.

Amber's stomach clenched painfully at the thought, but it faded quick when Mr. Harris' sharp voice filled the quiet room and made her flinch in surprise.

"This is a pop quiz, Mr. Stilinski." Their teacher said, glaring toward the back of the room over the brim of his small glasses, "If I hear your voice again, I might be tempted to give you detention for the rest of your high school career."

"Can you do that?" Stiles questioned immediately with wide eyes.

Amber reached out under the table to wrap her hand around his knee that was jutting toward her, squeezing in a silent plea for him to keep quiet.

"There it is again. Your voice-" Mr. Harris said with an irritated scowl, "Triggering the only impulse I've ever had to strike a student.. Repeatedly. And violently."

Amber bit down painfully on her lip in an effort to remain silent as Stiles' jaw dropped in disbelief beside her.

"I'll see you at three for detention." Mr. Harris stated, eyes drifting over to where Amber's face was pinched in frustration beside Stiles, "You too, Miss Callisto?"

She shook her head as she continued to bite down on her lower lip and Mr. Harris nodded in support of her decision to remain silent before he turned his attention back down to something on the desk in front of him.

She huffed a quiet breath of frustration through her nose and squeezed Stiles' knee reassuringly one final time before returning to her quiz.

"Dude.. Your nose." She heard Danny whisper from behind them after only a few seconds had passed, "You okay?"

She turned her head curiously to peer back toward Danny's table, watching as Jackson lifted a hand up to his face to cover what appeared to be a bad bloody nose. The boy pushed up from his chair quickly and rushed from the classroom and Amber watched him go with a small frown before shaking her head and turning her attention back to her quiz yet again.

At the end of the school day, Amber stood at her locker, clumsily stuffing her books into the backpack she had clenched between her knees as she hurriedly tried to collect her things. The sooner she got out into the woods to look for Lydia, the sooner she could actually find her friend.

And she wanted to find Lydia.. Like, yesterday.

"Here, let me help-" A voice said from just behind the door of her locker.

Her eyes snapped up in surprise and she watched the boy who had a locker three doors down from hers approach her. They'd never spoken, but he was on the lacrosse team and currently had his hand held out in an offering to take her bag. She hesitated in surprise for a moment and he gave her a friendly smile, raising his eyebrows in question as he reached toward her bag cautiously.

"Oh," She jumped, pulling the bag from between her legs and handing it over, "Thanks, Matt."

"No problem," He smiled, "You looked like you were struggling."

She laughed quietly and pulled a few notebooks she needed from her locker, "I was, actually. It's a lot easier when I'm wearing jeans and I can just squat down or prop my bag up on my knee or whatever."

He held her backpack open for her when she turned to tuck the notebooks inside and she heard him take a small nervous breath, "That.. That's a really nice dress." He complimented quietly, nodding his head in a gesture to her outfit.

"Oh," She blinked in surprise as she closed her locker, "I- Thanks." Her eyes caught on the large expensive looking wide-lens camera hanging around his neck as she turned and zipped her bag closed, "That's a nice camera. Are you a photographer for the paper, or yearbook, or something?"

Matt shook his head, relinquishing the bag to her as he responded, "Nah, I just take pictures for pleasure. It's more of a hobby than anything else."

"Oh, that's cool. Are you any good?" She commented conversationally, "Or- Is that a really annoying question?" She laughed, pulling her backpack straps over her shoulders.

Matt looked pleased, his posture seeming to straighten up a little at her curiosity, "Yeah, I think I'm alright." He smiled, "Maybe- Maybe I could show you some of my stuff sometime?"

"Yeah, sure. Sounds cool." She agreed, taking a small step to the side and pointing down the hallway, "I actually really need to get going, but- It was nice talking to you."

"Oh, yeah," Matt grinned, "You too."

She gave him another small smile before she moved toward the front entrance of the school. She needed to find Lydia before something terrible inevitably happened.

Amber hiked through the woods for nearly three and a half hours with absolutely no sign of Lydia. By nightfall, the temperature had already dropped significantly and she huffed out a foggy breath into the air as she finally clicked on her flashlight.

As the evening grew colder, she found herself feeling like an idiot for wearing a dress, even if it was a thick knit sweater that normally left her feeling a touch too warm, because while her torso was a comfortable temperature, her bare legs were covered in goosebumps.

She continued hiking in the dark for another thirty minutes before she heard a twig snap quietly in the distance. Her heart stuttered in her chest nervously and she took a shaky breath before making the decision to call out for her friend.

"Lydia?" She asked cautiously, continuing through the trees and shining her flashlight out into the darkness.

The beam of light caught on something pale white behind a tree and she took a few more quick steps forward to get a better look. The glow from the flashlight illuminated Lydia's naked body and Amber stumbled, scraping her knee roughly on the bark of the tree as she hurriedly ran toward her friend.

"Lydia!" Amber cried out in relief, watching the redhead take a small step over a rock with her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

Amber dropped her flashlight to the ground as she stepped in front of her friend and reached up to grip Lydia's arms. Amber looked into her friend's empty distant gaze and she tightened her hands around the other girl's cold arms.

"Lydia?" She asked softly, reaching up gently to move a knotted lock of her strawberry blonde hair out of her face, "You're okay. I'm gonna get you home, okay, Lyds?"

Lydia's eyes locked on hers for a second and the redhead nodded distractedly.

"Okay." Amber said softly in relief. Her hand on Lydia's arm tightened over her icy skin and Amber's heart stuttered anxiously, "Okay, we- We'll need to warm you up slowly, right?" She asked quietly, not really expecting an answer.

She quickly dropped her hands from Lydia to pull off her dress, stripping down to her underwear without a second thought. Amber righted the thick knitted material now in her hands and slowly reached up to tug the fabric down over Lydia's head, untangling her friends arms slowly from where they were hugging her own chest to help guide her hands through the thick sleeves.

Lydia's body shivered at the sudden warmth enveloping her and Amber rubbed her hands up and down Lydia's arms worriedly.

"Is that a little better?" Amber asked quickly, "A little warmer?"

Lydia nodded minutely again and Amber looked down at her friend's bare feet nervously. Without hesitation, she pulled off her socks and sneakers, kneeling down in the dirt to help Lydia slide them both onto her freezing feet.

After she was done, Amber retrieved her abandoned flashlight from the ground and stood back up. She looked Lydia over and nodded to herself once she determined that she'd done the best she could until they made it out of the preserve.

She held out her hand toward her friend and Lydia looked at with a hollow gaze it for a few slow seconds before lacing their fingers together. Amber tightened her grip around Lydia's cold hand and pulled on her arm gently to lead her back toward the path she'd been following earlier.

As they walked, Amber's whole body erupted into goosebumps, dressed now in only the thin dark lace of her bra and underwear. She led Lydia as quickly as she could manage while still being careful not to rush her fragile-looking friend.

"Lydia, you have no idea how glad I am that you're okay," Amber admitted quietly as they walked, "We've been looking for you for days, you know. I was so worried that-" Her words cut off just before she could bring up the hunters who were also searching for her, "Just- I was really worried about you."

Lydia remained silent again but her fingers tightened a fraction around Amber's hand and that was as good of a response as anything she could've verbalized.

Amber's teeth were beginning to chatter and her toes were going numb as the cold earth seeped into her feet with every step. The numbness in her toes began to make it confusingly difficult to watch her step over twigs, and rocks, and tree roots when she couldn't even feel them beneath her.

They were only halfway down toward the trail entrance when she caught sight of flashing emergency lights through the trees and she made a quick decision to pull Lydia off of the path to head in that direction instead.

As they got closer, she could make out the different colors flashing of both an ambulance and a police vehicle. She reached out to move a large branch that was obstructing their path to the road. She clicked off her flashlight as she pulled the branch to the side, releasing Lydia's hand and urging her to go ahead of her through the narrow treeline.

"Lydia?" A voice said quietly as the redhead exited the woods and stepped out into the open, "Lydia!"

It was only when she heard his shout that Amber realized it was Stiles' voice. She stepped out from behind Lydia and continued to urge her friend forward. Her gaze lifted up to find Stiles and his dad standing a few yards away, staring at the two girls in astonishment.

Amber shivered violently and Lydia seemed to catch sight of it in the corner of her eye. The redhead blinked as she seemed to finally come back to herself and looked at the two Stilinski's with an unimpressed frown.

"Well?" Lydia asked, holding an arm out to gesture toward her friend's nearly naked body, "Is anyone gonna to get her a coat?"

Amber laughed quietly at her friend's typical snark but it came out as more of a trembling gasp as her body shuddered from the cold. Her eyes found Stiles but he was seemingly focused on her distinct lack of clothing, staring with his mouth open in awe.

He wasn't able to meet her gaze, struck dumb as his eyes drank in every blissful inch of bare skin on her shivering body. The only remaining thought in his head was dedicated to memorizing each and every curve adorning her nearly naked body. Until this very moment, the sight was one that he'd only ever been graced with in swimsuits — that, while perfect and incredible and had worked as fuel for many of Stiles' late night fantasies — couldn't possibly hold a candle to the thin lace weakly attempting to conceal her goosebump-ridden skin now.

His eyes found the unlined cups of her bra, the painfully hard buds poking through the material in the cold air and practically begging to break free, the dark lace pulled tight over the curves of her breasts.

He's nearly high with the static in his brain, blood rapidly rushing south and rendering him mildly dizzy as he reached up to grab ahold of the Sheriff's uniform jacket, pulling distractedly at the shoulder as he tugged the material down his dad's back without tearing his hungry eyes from what might very well be the most important thing he'd ever set sight on.

He yanked at the coat while stepping toward the two girls, head spinning and managing to trip over his own feet, hands slipping from the fabric when he fell and was forced to try to catch himself before he could hit the ground.

"Jesus." Sheriff Stilinski muttered, shaking his head at his son and stepping around the fallen boy to approach the girls, "Yep, here y'go." He said, pulling his coat off the rest of the way and draping it around Amber's shoulders.

She gasped a shaky breath at the warmth inside of the heavy jacket and couldn't help but shiver again.

The Sheriff's gaze drifted over the other deputies surrounding them and his eyes narrowed at the way they were blatantly staring. He turned back toward Amber and stepped in front of her protectively, instructing her to slide her arms through the sleeves and then tugging the coat closed around her. He zipped it up to the girl's neck before he stepped back and allowed his son to approach.

The Sheriff led Lydia away toward the ambulance that was already present while Stiles stumbled to stand in front of Amber.

"I found her." She stated obviously, shivering again.

Stiles nodded, eyes dropping to the long expanse of her bare legs beneath his dad's jacket before he dragged his gaze back up to her face.

"Did- did you just check me out?" She laughed quietly, "Because it wasn't subtle, like, at all."

"I- you're in your underwear." He observed, licking his lips nervously.

"Lydia was in the nude." She countered easily, "It was a pretty easy decision."

"Right." He nodded, blinking at her distractedly like he wasn't really seeing her.

"You're still just picturing me in my underwear?" She questioned slowly.

"Yeah." He told her honestly.

She shook her head with a fond smile, stepping forward to wrap her arms around his neck. She burrowed her cold nose into the warmth of his neck and sighed contentedly against his skin.

"I can't feel my toes." She admitted in a muffled voice against the collar of his flannel.

He reached up to rest his hands on her back, "Where's your car?"

"At the bottom of the trail on route 5." She told him as the tip of her nose began to warm back to a normal temperature.

"I'll give you a ride." He told her immediately, rubbing one of his hands up and down her spine as if he were trying to rub some warmth into her body.

She nodded against his neck before pulling back slightly in his arms. Her eyes flicked slowly over his face and she was pleasantly surprised when he tilted his head to press his lips against her cold mouth.

When he pulled back, she sighed happily as her eyes fluttered open again, "Lemme just go say goodbye to Lydia real quick."

Stiles agreed and jogged down the road to where he'd hidden his own vehicle when he and Scott had snuck onto the scene earlier.

She turned to the other side of the street and stepped around the side of the ambulance, her gaze locked on Sheriff Stilinski standing beside his patrol car. He waved her over and she followed his command easily, stepping past the ambulance and walking toward where Lydia was sitting in the open door of the police vehicle.

A paramedic was shining a small penlight into the redhead's eyes as he checked the dilation of her pupils, he apparently approved of whatever he saw because he tucked the light away and stepped back from the vehicle. The man nodded his head and said something quietly to the Sheriff as Amber stepped into space he'd vacated at the side of the car.

"Hey, Lyds." She said softly, squatting down in front of her friend, "You okay?"

Lydia huffed and pulled at the hem of her borrowed sweater, "You don't need to speak to me like I'm a child."

"Sorry." She apologized quickly, "I didn't mean to. I just.. I was really worried about you."

"I'm fine now." Lydia told her simply, still looking down at her own lap.

Amber reached up to tuck a strand of tangled strawberry blonde hair behind her ear, "You don't have to say that to try to appease me." She told her, "I want you to be okay, but if you're not, that's alright, y'know?"

Lydia sighed and locked her eyes with Amber's determinedly, "I'm fine."

She frowned but nodded, "Okay.. I just, I came over to tell you Stiles is driving me back to where I left my car down the road."

"Okay." Lydia shrugged, "You don't need my permission to run off with your boytoy."

"Gross. My boytoy?" Amber laughed quietly.

Lydia cracked a smile and rolled her eyes, "Yep."

Amber shook her head, "Okay, well.. D'you mind if I swing by to see you after school tomorrow?"

Lydia frowned in confusion, "I'll be at school tomorrow." She stated.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Amber questioned worriedly.

"What did I say about speaking to me like I'm a child?" Lydia huffed quietly in annoyance.

"I- Sorry, I just- That seems so soon after.. Everything."

"I am going to school tomorrow." Lydia repeated sternly.

"Alright." Amber sighed, rising to stand, "Then I'll see you tomorrow. Do- Do you maybe want a ride in the morning?"

Lydia pulled her lips back in thought, "Sure, that would be nice."

Amber nodded before leaning into the car to wrap her arms tightly around Lydia's shoulders, pressing her mouth against the mess of her hair in a soft kiss, "I'm so glad you're okay." She repeated softly one final time.

When she leaned back out of the doorway, her throat felt stupidly tight with affection and relief but she managed to give Lydia a pained smile anyway.

Lydia returned her smile softly when she saw the influx of emotion on her friend's face, "See you tomorrow."

Amber nodded, focusing intently on not sniffling before she spoke, "See you." She said quickly before turning to rush over toward Stiles.

When the Jeep pulled up along the road, Amber climbed into the passenger side quickly, immediately pulling her legs up to her chest inside of the heavy jacket she was wearing.

"I've literally never been this cold." She muttered as she reached to buckle her seat belt around her legs awkwardly.

"Yeah, that can happen if you're hiking through the woods naked when it's thirty-eight degrees outside." Stiles told her, glancing over at her worriedly as he drove down the road.

"Right, yeah. That makes sense." She laughed, bending to blow a puff of warm breath into the opening of the jacket around her chest.

"I- Is your brother home tonight?" He asked after a moment.

She looked across the dark car at him as her brows furrowed, "No.. Why?" She asked skeptically.

"I just- I don't really want to leave you alone." He admitted softly.

"I'm cold, Stiles. I'm not concussed." She laughed quietly. There were a few short seconds of silence before she continued, "I really wanna use my own shower, but if you- I mean, you don't need to try and convince me. If you wanna stay the night, you can."

Stiles let out what looked like a relieved breath and she laughed quietly again as he turned into the small dirt turnoff where her little yellow Pacer was parked.

"Did you think I wouldn't let you sleep over?" She questioned curiously.

He shrugged, "I mean- I don't know. Maybe."

She frowned, "We sleep over at each other's houses all the time."

"I didn't know if maybe it would be, I don't know- Different.. Now." He admitted quietly.

Her frown deepened, "I- D'you think it should?" She asked, "Should it be different now that we're-"

"No." Stiles said quickly, "I mean, I don't want it to be different. Well, I want it to be different, what with the kissing and- Y'know. But I don't want the other stuff to be different."

She sighed in relief, "Good. I- Same." She agreed, "Because, I mean, no matter what, you and Scott will always be my best friends in the world."

"Same." He repeated easily.

"Okay." She nodded, straightening her legs back out from beneath the jacket and unbuckling her seatbelt. "So, I'll meet you at my place then? D'you just need to run home to get your stuff?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Lacrosse practice at seven again." He reminded her, "But I shouldn't be long, maybe fifteen minutes."

"Okay, cool." She smiled, "I'll see you then."

She turned to reach for the door handle but Stiles leaned across the vehicle and turned her face back toward him gently with a hand on her cheek. She made a quiet noise of surprise but before she could really question his intentions, his mouth was pressed softly against hers.

He leaned back quickly and nodded his head toward the door behind her with a small smile, permitting her to leave now that he'd given her a kiss goodbye.

"See you." Stiles finally responded softly.

Her stomach erupted with butterflies and she bit down on a smile as she pulled on the door handle that was still under her hand.

When she climbed into the shower ten minutes later, Amber had to actively fight against the instinct to climb in underneath a spray of scalding hot water. Instead, she turned the water to a sad lukewarm temperature that still managed to feel blessedly warm when it ran over her frozen skin.

She cleaned her hair and body while the water slowly raised her body temperature and only after she'd scrubbed away any remnants of the forest and shaved her legs, did she finally let herself crank the temperature up.

The spray of water began to steam around her and the heat caused her body to erupt into pleasant goosebumps from the shock of it. She tipped her head back under the spray, letting the hot stream of water run down over her face as she blew out a relieved breath.

There was a sudden, loud knocking at the bathroom door and she flinched with a gasp, knocking her elbow painfully against the tiled shower wall as she heard Stiles' voice from the hallway.

"Hey, I'm here." He called out through the closed door.

She spit out a small bit of water that had gotten into her mouth and reached to shut off the water, "Okay, sorry! I'll be out in a minute!"

Stiles gave her his assent before presumably leaving to head toward the bedroom while she climbed out of the shower and pulled on a pair of pajama shorts and a short-cropped tshirt.

When she stepped into her bedroom, Stiles was already changed into sweats, laying on his stomach on the bed and doing homework. She moved to her own backpack to pull out her phone, her Algebra II notebook, and calculator before flopping down onto the mattress beside him.

"What're you working on?" She asked curiously, leaning close and peering over his shoulder to look at the page in front of him, instantly recognizing the Chemistry problems that she'd already finished in class that morning.

"Chem." He supplied distractedly as his pencil moved across the paper.

She flipped open her own notebook and finished up the math problems her AP class had been assigned, gnawing absentmindedly on her lower lip as she worked. It took her about thirty minutes to finish her assignment and she flipped her notebook closed once she was done, turning her head to look at Stiles and finding his gaze already focused on her.

A small smile pulled at her lips, "Wh-"

He leaned in and cut off her words with a kiss.

The way his lips pressed against hers was more firm and intentional than the last several quick kisses they'd shared. She found herself leaning in enthusiastically as his mouth moved against hers, her arms readjusting to support herself on the mattress as she chased his lips and pushed further into his space.

They were awkwardly meeting halfway while sprawled on their stomachs and Stiles moved up onto his knees without breaking the kiss, leaning over her until she rolled onto her back. He repositioned himself to kneel between her spread thighs and she dropped back onto the mattress beside her abandoned notebook.

As soon as they settled into the more comfortable position, she reached up to cup the side of his face, thumb rubbing along the smooth skin of his cheek. He tilted his head on the next open-mouthed kiss and his tongue slipped into the space between her lips to brush against hers smoothly.

Time moved in a blur. They kissed languidly for a long stint of time, tongues meeting sensually with each slow drag of their lips. Stiles hovered above her, his arms pressed into the mattress on either side of her with a palpable gap of space between their bodies.

She wanted to tug him down until he was pressed against her, but she worried that she wouldn't be able to make herself slow down once they'd made it that far. She felt painfully aware that the two of them had never even been on an official date and as much as she desperately wanted to go further with him, she wanted to do other things first.

There was a slight lightheadedness creeping into her brain from the length of time they'd been kissing without pause and she separated their mouths to pull in a much needed deep breath.

When she looked up at him, his eyes were fluttering open to meet hers and he leaned forward just enough to brush his nose tenderly against her own. Her thumb stroked over his cheek again and she looked between the warm brown pools of his eyes as she continued to catch her breath.

"We should probably go to sleep." She murmured quietly, the pull in her gut contrasting sharply with her words.

He nodded in response, his nose caressing hers again softly as he did so, "Okay."

"I don't want to," She told him honestly, "But we definitely should."

He nodded in agreement again and leaned down to press one more lingering kiss to her lips before rolling off of her all at once. She sat up on her elbows and watched him collect his books from the opposite side of the bed and stuff them into his backpack.

Her eyes caught on the unmistakable tent in the crotch of his sweatpants and she swallowed painfully, averting her eyes and collecting her own school supplies to put away.

Once she was finished, she pulled the blankets down the bed and crawled underneath, looking up at Stiles expectantly as she waited for him to climb in after her.

He moved across the room to flick off the light before he finally followed suit and slid under the blankets, settling onto his side on the mattress next to her.

She laid down beside him and situated herself in a position mirroring his own before scooting backwards to press her back against his front. He made a small noise of surprise and she let out a nervous breath.

"Sorry. Is this okay?" She asked quietly, "Like, cuddling or whatever?"

"Yeah," He said quickly, dropping his hand over her waist and tightening his arm to pull her back against him more firmly, "Yeah, cuddling's good."

She sighed in relief and tangled her fingers with his where they were resting over her stomach, her eyes drifting shut. A few minutes passed in silence and she was just on the brink of sleep when Stiles squirmed uncomfortably behind her. He let out a quiet huff of frustration and wiggled gently, readjusting his body while trying not to jostle her too much in the process.

"Stiles?" She asked sleepily, "You good?"

"Yeah." He froze in his movements, "Sorry."

She tipped her head back and tried to peer up at him in the dark, "Are you uncomfortable?" She asked obviously.

"No." He denied quickly, "Well, kind of- But it's not-"

She rolled over underneath his arm and propped herself up onto her elbow, squinting at him in the dark.

"How would you be comfortable laying?" She asked quietly after a moment.

"I'm not sure," He admitted, "I mean, I've never really-"

"No, that's not what I meant." She interrupted softly, "I mean, if we weren't touching at all, if you weren't worried about the snuggling part, what position would you be the most comfortable sleeping in? Right now?"

He was silent for a few seconds as he thought about her question, "Uh, maybe.. Maybe on my back?"

"So, lay on your back."

He shuffled around in the dark and flopped onto his back, holding himself stiffly in position.

She snorted, "Yeah you look very comfortable."

Stiles huffed in frustration, "Well, I don't- I don't know. I just, I don't know what to do with my arm if you're here. Do I- Does it go underneath you? Or, it'll fall asleep, right? And I can't imagine it would be comfortable for you-"

"Stiles. You're thinking about this way too hard, okay?" She laughed quietly, "Pretend I'm not here. Just move around until you're comfortable."

She heard him let out another quiet sigh and he shifted around again underneath the blankets, bending his arm at the elbow to reach one hand up underneath his pillow. He wiggled around for a few seconds before the movement ceased.

"Okay," He said determinedly, "I'm comfortable."

"Okay," She repeated softly, "I'm gonna lay down too, but if it's not comfortable anymore, just tell me."

"Okay." He promised quietly.

She grabbed her pillow and moved it into the small space under his armpit to position it over his bent elbow. She scooted down the mattress slightly and rested her head on the pillow over his arm, stretching her own arm across his stomach and rolling onto her side. Her leg came up to drape over his thighs and she burrowed her face into his shoulder as she tightened her limbs around him slightly.

When he remained silent for a short stretch of time, she looked up at the side of his jaw again in the dark.

"Is this okay?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah." He admitted, turning his head to the side on his pillow and pressing his chin into the top of her hair, "Yeah, this is nice."

"Okay. Good." She laughed quietly and snuggled into his side, her thumb tracing along his ribs softly through his shirt, "Now, go to sleep."

"'Kay."

[hedwig221b]

Have you ever read “You would kill for this, just a little bit, you would” by alice9?

(https://archiveofourown.org/works/51306448) it’s an absolute favourite of mine and I wonder whether you know any fics similar to it?

Also recommended by @avabean24 ❤

It's been 84 years, and I didn't really get what recs you wanted, bc this wonderful fic has so many tropes. I focused on secret relationship, so here we go, I guess?

You would kill for this, just a little bit, you would by alice9

The Hales didn’t like him. He didn’t like them either. And for fifteen years he made it a point to have as little interaction with them as possible. It comes as a shock then, when Derek Hale turns up at his door one night, screaming baby in his arms, asking for help.

Operation Girl Scout Cookies by katsu_kiri

After a minute Derek looks back up, his lips puckering in thought, “so…we just…see each other in secret. Then in November after local elections we can see each other for real?” “We are seeing each other for real! It’s just us who know about it for the first few months,” Stiles corrects. “Okay.” Stiles holds his breath, eyes widening, “okay as in okay let’s secretly date?” “Yes,” Derek adds his tone a little less bitter as if he is just now warming up to the idea. “Awsome! Holy shit, dude we’re mates,” Stiles beams. Or the one where both Talia and John are running for mayor of Beacon Hills and their sons end up being mates. Enter a secret relationship, a dash of smut, and a way too involved Laura Hale.

Made Your Mark on Me (A Golden Tattoo) by writteninthewolfstar

Beacon Hills High and Lycan Heights High are well-known enemies. Derek Hale, Lycan Heights' star quarter-back, is well-known for being aggressive and arrogant. Imagine Stiles surprise when he discovers that Derek Hale is actually his soul-mate.

Pry Him From My Cold Dead Fingers by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella)

"So they’re coming for our Emissary because they lost theirs?” Derek asked, somewhat angrily. “It would appear. The McCall-Hale Pack’s reputation precedes itself.” “Don’t worry,” Scott said, “we won’t let them touch you.” Deaton turned to him, offering a private smile before inclining his head slightly. “Very comforting, Scott, thank you. But,” he looked between them, “I’m not the Emissary they’re coming after.” Derek frowned and shared a look with Scott, who looked as confused as he did. “What do you mean?” Scott asked. “What other Emissary is there?”

Operation Get Derek Laid by Kikileduc

There's pining, misunderstandings, confusion, a little jealousy… Stiles and Derek have a nice thing, no one knows, yet. The issue is, the pack wants their alpha to get lucky at the werewolf seminar, and well Stiles thinks Derek wants that too…

Mismatched Match by LadyDrace

Getting to date hot senior jock Derek Hale should be cause for shouting from the rooftops, frankly, but life is a little more complicated than that. Until it isn't.

You Look Like Bad News (i gotta have you) by standinginanicedress

Option A : violently tell Derek that they are under no circumstances ever to hook up again because it was stupid and dumb. Option B : tell Scott the truth, stand back and watch as Scott kills Derek with his bare hands so Stiles doesn't even have to face the music. Not an option at all, actually. Expunge this from the record. The real Option B : calmly explain to Derek that the situation is too fucked up and hey, maybe if Derek and Scott ever shake hands and make up, he and Stiles can hook up again because, man…it was great. Option C : forget everything, charge headfirst into danger like fuckin' Bravehart and have sex with Derek all over again. Option D : bury himself alive and wait for the worms to eat him.

Until Sunrise

"You told me I would have time,” Derek said, simmering with anger. “You promised to leave the choice to me.” “The court is starting to talk,” said Peter. “We do not have a stellar reputation as it is, and your ventures into the world of simple pleasures do not go unnoticed. You do not care, of course. But you are, pardon me, too loud for it to remain discreet.” “You think if I were to have a wife, I would stop fucking?” Peter cringed his nose. “No. It would make you a proper, civilized man. You are getting too old, nephew.” “Fine. But I’ll choose.” “No,” Peter smiled. “I shall choose.” Derek opened his mouth to argue, but Peter did not let him. “We both know you will continue to fuck whomever you want. None of us will be able to stop you. Let me have a pick of a proper spouse to placate the court. That’s all I ask.”

[masterlist link]

[ao3feed-peterstiles]

To Those Who Believe

Read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/55551553 by Baby_Sweetpea “Stiles where are you?” The gruff voice came through the phone, rushed and stressed. He could hear Scott and Allison grumbling in the background, trying to tell Chris that Stiles was probably at home in bed now. Did they not even get slightly worried after Stiles’s messages? When he didn’t respond? And why was Chris calling him, when did Chris even get into town? “Stiles?” He shook himself realising he hadn’t responded, and nearly choked on air trying to speak. But Fuck, he was so cold. “C-cold-“ He managed to get out, “D-diner-“ “Shit!” He heard Chris snap, and distantly, “You left him at the Diner? I expected better from you lot.” ———————- In which the Pack goes to scare off a coven of witches and leave Stiles behind. They don’t believe him when he says he’s cursed, leaving Chris to come up with a plan. He can only hope Peter will have answers that could help them save Stiles. (Stiles is around 20-ish+, everyone has grown up except Scott MCcall) Words: 3187, Chapters: 1/4, Language: English Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: M/M, Multi Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Peter Hale, Derek Hale, Malia Tate, Chris Argent, Allison Argent, Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Sheriff Stilinski (Teen Wolf), Kira Yukimura, Isaac Lahey, Vernon Boyd, Erica Reyes, Liam Dunbar, Melissa McCall, Lydia Martin Relationships: Chris Argent/Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Chris Argent/Peter Hale, Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Chris Argent/Stiles Stilinski, Allison Argent/Scott McCall Additional Tags: Angst, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt Stiles Stilinski, Emotionally Hurt Stiles Stilinski, Hurt/Comfort, Bad Friend Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Oblivious Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Bad Pack Alpha Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Bad Pack Alpha Derek Hale, Good Pack Alpha Peter Hale, Established Chris Argent/Peter Hale, Good Chris Argent, Protective Chris Argent, Dom Chris Argent, Good Peter Hale, Protective Peter Hale, Sassy Peter Hale, Dom Peter Hale, BDSM Switch Peter Hale, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Post-Nogitsune Stiles Stilinski, Post-Nogitsune Arc (Teen Wolf), Allison Argent Lives, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Curses, Polyamory, Getting Together, Pre-Relationship, Established Relationship, Threesome - M/M/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Rare Pairings, Stiles and Malia never dated, cottagecore life for the trio, Pack Dynamics, Happy Ending, Scott McCall Bashing (Teen Wolf), Scott McCall Being an Idiot (Teen Wolf), Author Is Sleep Deprived, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Author Regrets Everything, Author Swears Like a Sailor, Mild Gore, Minor Character Death, Blood and Injury Read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/55551553

[sterekchub]

What if, alfas get moobs? That's it, that's my idea.

I'm here for it! Scott getting bitten and starting to panic that sure- he looks a lot more fit and has those supernaturally-toned abs, but suddenly he's got a solid C-cup jiggling up and down as he runs. Derek with his black shirts stretched TIGHT across a flabby chest. Doesn't hurt that with Alpha powers comes a huge boost in appetite.... And naturally when Scott asks for the solution- the only thing he's told is either get used to it...or get eating. Nothing like a solid chunky gut to even out those moobs....

[ravewulf]

"Derek Hale has never won a fight-"

GET!!! FUCKED!!!!

Anyone who says Derek would lose a fight to Scott or anyone in his pack raises my goddamn blood pressure.

Derek has lost fights, yes. But he's lost them to A) a seven-foot Alpha wolfman while he's an Omega, B) a supposedly-mythical creature with paralytic venom that can take dozens of bullets without dropping, and C) a rival Alpha who has absorbed the power of an entire pack. I'm not counting what happened with Void bc Derek wasn't trying to fight him, just subdue/restrain him. He's a born werewolf who's been taught how to use his abilities his entire life by his extended werewolf family. Scott was a goddamn asthmatic benchwarmer as a human and has never gotten any training (because he refused to accept it) as a werewolf. The one time Derek and Scott got in an actual fight, Derek beat his ass up, down, and sideways.

Take off Scott's plot armor, he isn't winning a damn thing, especially with his no-kill punch-pulling.

Some of his "losses" were him acting as a distraction/punching bag and purposefully sacrificing himself so other people could get away to safety (he does this quite a few times in seasons 1 - 3A). He still handily beats Scott in a fight every time they face off, so what does that say about their relative strength and skill?

But, more importantly, Derek has won significant fights that are often overlooked - sometimes through strategy rather than pure strength alone.

Season 1 finale is obvious. In the season 2 finale he, Peter, and Lydia played their parts in bringing Jackson back to himself (Scott had no role in it other than betraying them to Gerard but I'll restrain myself from going on that rant again).

More impressive is season 3A onward.

Scott pushed through Jennifer's barrier, which was flashy, but then failed to do anything useful other than that.

Derek was the one who outsmarted her, tricking her into using up her power to heal Deucalion's eyesight. Not only did this severely weaken her so that Deucalion had an opening to attempt to kill her (Peter finished the job later) but it also meant Deucalion was in their debt and ended the conflict with what was left of the alpha pack.

In 3B when the twins were attempting to bail, he recognized Stiles' chessboard plan and followed it perfectly, manipulating the twins (pawns) into following him (king). The speech he gave to them about Scott was BS, the descriptions fitting himself better than Scott, but it was what they wanted to hear and they followed him as the leader of a pack of former alphas against the nogitsune.

Then we get to season 4 which is full of all sorts of baddassery. He fought off a berserker when he'd been de-aged to his 16-year-old self while Scott was getting his ass handed to him (again). He rallied a peaceful Buddhist werewolf pack to fight back against the dead pool assassins. When he came back as a wolf, he bowled Kate over and showed she no longer had any hold over him then proceeded to destroy a berserker with his bare hands.

We don't get much from season 6B, but what we do get is telling. The hunters are afraid of him and speak of him as if he were a legend.

Scott narrates the show as if he were the hero, as everyone is the hero of their own story, but Derek is the one more widely known in their world.

[shinigamimailjeevas]

So I have seen a lot of 5B/6A rewrites done, but I have had a few ideas sitting in a folder for almost two years now... should I even bother with them?

Fic (A): is (supposed) to be shorter, more comical. 5B accidental fake-dating.

"Jfc Liam! You are literally sleeping with the enemy and now you're trying to convince me he's Good?" Stiles voice reaches an impressive--if also painful-octave towards the end, and if Liam wasn't rubbing his ears whilst also scurrying to offer a retort that nets him a favorable response, he would laugh. 

It dawns on him, much slower than it should, that Stiles has actually given him the answer. "Yes. I- we are sleeping together. That's how I know he's not lying when he says he wants to help us. You can't manage your heart rate during sex. He couldn't lie." Of course they have engaged in no such activities and Liam has no idea if what he spouts about is true, but he only needs Stiles to believe it. Scott probably can't confirm or deny it, and with Derek and Peter out of the picture currently there really is no one qualified enough to disprove him. Theo, the unhelpful bastard, snorts softly from behind him. Thankfully too low for Stiles to hear but it makes Liam want to mule kick him. He's debating on trying when Stiles stops his anxious, rightfully furious fidgeting to bore his crazy eyes into Liam's. He forces himself not to squirm. 

"Say I believe this insanity," Liam nearly collapses with relief and it is only by Theo's hand carefully touching the small of his back that prevents it, surprises him so fully he goes rigid. "Say that I think for one second you haven't been corrupted right along with him, Why? Why would he suddenly decide to help."

Liam nearly snarly in frustration. "I told you-"

"Because no one else has ever given me a chance and meant it." Theo says quietly. For once, Liam actually believes he's telling the truth. "I can't let them hurt Liam. Or Scott. Or even you, Stiles." 

Stiles groans, tipping forward to shove his head into awaiting hands. His next string of words are so muffled that Liam can barely make them out but for the ending "Okay. We are calling Scott."

Liam grins.

.

Theo pushes him against the closet wall the second Stiles is out of the room, phone pressed to his ear as he tries to cajole Scott and the others into a meeting without expressly telling them why. Arm braced across Liam's collarbone he bares his teeth and flashes golden eyes. "We are sleeping together. That's the best you could come up with?" 

Liam shoves at the slightly older and taller teen, growling when he barely manages to budge him. "I didn't see you trying to dig yourself out of that hole. Do you even want to be saved? Because I'm not seeing it." The pressure at his chest goes slack and Liam uses the chance to flip them, slam the chimera into the wall. He has to look up to catch his gaze, which has hardened. "We are in this together now. I want my pack safe and you want out from under the Dread Doctors' boots. So put your damn manipulation skills to work and help me convince them you give a shit about something other than yourself." 

"You're hot when you're angry." 

Liam sighs. "That's a start I guess." 

-------

Fic (B): is a bit more involved and a lot darker. 

Blood drips from his extended claws back into the body beneath him. Chest still heaving with exertion, still stuffed full of too much Rage, he barely has any time for hysteria to creep in as his actions—and the consequences—make themselves known. Scott's eyes flutter one last time before stilling, frozen half open as alpha red flickers and fades from his eyes. Thump thu-

What had he done? Breaths coming quicker, he shoves himself up and away, stumbling backwards in horror. He feels it as he flares his eyes, that extra boost of power only alphas contain. He tips his head back and Roars—pain, grief, and disbelief warring for dominance in the cry. The sound cuts off with a choked gurgle and searing agony. Ten points of sharp, dagger like pain explode through his back. With a swift sideways motion his spine is severed and his legs give out, dropping him to the library floor in a heap, blood spilling rapidly outwards around him. 

"Well, looks like the beta with anger issues pulled through. I wasn't sure if you could do it in all honesty. Bravo." Stood above him is Theo, grin wide and mocking as he slowly claps his hands. "Now, I think I will take what's mine." Confusion barely has time to settle before Theo strikes. A clawed hand pushes into Liam and the last thing he sees as his vision wavers, grays out around the edges and goes dark- is the sinister, if a bit apologetic, twist of Theo's lips...

Liam wakes to the smell of cooking meat. His brain feels scrambled. Left hand twitching and along with it, the realization comes that he can't currently move. Why? As more senses come online and more feeling returns to his limbs he is still confused. What happened? How is he alive?

.

"Don't... Just don't do this to the others. Please." Head hung low, and knelt before the new alpha, Liam begs quietly. The chuckle surprises him. "Oh, Liam. Liam. Liam." A hand drops to his head, scratches lightly at his scalp, enough that he feels like a damn dog. "The others were never on my radar. Just you." Liam snaps his gaze to the older teen, wide eyed and hunted. "I never imagined the bond with alphas and betas could be so strong. And your anger burns bright and hot at all times. I wonder," Theo grabs a fistful of his hair and sharply yanks Liam's head back. "If Scott ever felt this way. Ever wanted to pin you down, strip you naked and claim you..." Theo leans into his space, breathes warmly across his lips, and Liam swallows. 

"Get undressed."

Liam hesitates. 

“Do it, and maybe the others will get a nice hot meal today.” The smirk thrown his way makes Liam's stomach roll, nausea and anger and utter despair- he strips off his shirt first, under the alphas ever watchful gaze.

-----

Fic (C) The final one (if we are ignoring the Thiamott time-travel one I originally had and just... haven't gotten to) is where Theo comes out of the skinwalker prison a little different. Dirt fills his mouth with earthy clods that choke his lungs when he gasps, hands and claws gripping the edge of a hole he's had to dig out of. Wildly he looks around. Confused, anxious. Where was Tara? Blue eyes. That exact shade he will never not recognize, so he barrels into Liam Dunbar, Scott's angry little beta and pins him to the nearest wall with the intention of demanding to know where is his sister. All that comes out is a snarl through parted lips. Nausea crawls up his esophagus and settles heavy in his mouth. Trying to speak floods his mouth with saliva until he is pushing away from the confused beta, to hunch over and empty his stomach. Vaguely he hears a disgusted sound, a pair of voices and feels a hesitant hand at his back. The weight is enough to sweep what little control Theo had of his body away from him, sending the chimera to his knees. The pain of his shins hitting concrete is real, so very real. More real than whatever pain he felt with the endless sessions with his sister and her hand plunging into his chest. He came back wrong. Or maybe right. It hurts to even think of speaking. So Theo doesn't.