Imagine Me & You
Title: Imagine Me & You
Summary: AU. In which Peter, Laura and Kate are all alive. Derek and Kate are getting married, Stiles works at the floral shop arranging the flowers for the wedding. Everything is not as it seems.
Warnings: Language, Mentions of Stiles/Original Character(s)
Rating Mature (might be more or less in future chapters, depends)
Chapters: 2/?
Notes: No beta, so mistakes are mine. Also this is loosely based off of the movie Imagine Me & You, very loosely might I add. A major warning (that doesn't appear in the first few chapters, but later ones) will be cheating. So if it's not your thing, don't read.
PS. AO3
Also, I took about a week to update this next chapter only because I was away, so I hope to update it more frequently. Nothing worse than having to wait! :(
--
Chapter 1|
For the rest of the week Stiles decides to focus on work, though how much effort did it really take to arrange flowers? But really, he’d do anything to forget about his little rendezvous with his hand and thoughts of Derek filtering through his mind. In trying to forget about Derek his mind needed to focus on something, anything else and unfortunately that just happened to be Robert.
Stiles liked to think of himself as semi-sane human being but when it came to Facebook and stalking? Well he wouldn’t be all that surprised if his dad handed him with his very own shiny arrest warrant for the amount of time he spent on Robert’s Facebook page, refreshing trying to see if he’d added any new photos or updated his status. He used to know Robert’s password just as he knew Stiles’ because they didn’t have anything to hide, and he was seriously contemplating hacking into Robert’s account or emails to see what he was doing, or more importantly who he was doing.
Thankfully Stiles came back to the land of the sane and he nixed that idea in the bud right away, because no way was he sinking to that level. That’s some stupidly ingenious idea Lydia would have come up with in high school if she thought Jackson were doing anything she didn’t approve of, but even Lydia had grown up from her high school days.
Stiles sighed and closed off Robert’s page and logged off completely on Facebook so as not to be tempted and decided to go have a date with his TV and TiVo, because he had a backlog of Merlin to watch. To be quite honest, Stiles figured day dreaming about Colin Morgan and Bradley James was a hell of a lot more acceptable than Derek. He’ll just have to live out his wank bank fantasies about famous people, and not people he’s going to have to see eye-to-eye on a semi-regular basis.
From: Kate
“Talked to Steve he’s free Sat night for double date!”
Stiles cursed whatever Deity today decided to fuck with him, because he was pretty adamant from the day that he hit puberty that the Gods were out to get him. He must have done something wrong in a past life, or he was just biding his time waiting to win the lottery. He considered making up an excuse that he was too busy, he started seeing someone or that he fell down the stairs and was currently in a full body cast but then a thought occurred to him.
He was physically trying to stop himself from letting his thoughts drift to Derek and his general sexiness, so why not go on a date and find someone new to fixate on. Yeah, that was a downright good idea because why shouldn’t Stiles have a little love in his life? If Robert was getting tagged in photos with a bunch of sexy English boys in their stupidly tight trousers and polo shirts and Derek was fucking straight and engaged to a woman than why shouldn’t Stiles be happy with someone else?
In reality, Stiles just wanted an excuse to see Derek again and this was the only way he was going to.
So much for self-restraint, Stiles.
To: Kate
“Sounds good, tell me the time and place! (:”
From Kate:
“Yay! Jimmy Dean’s 8:00!”
--
“I heard the meeting with Kate Argent and Derek Hale went well Stiles” Mrs Hollis said from behind the counter as she was petting her pet cat, Fang that she often brought into the store when she was in. Stiles thought the name was really quite fitting; Fang was a black cat with glowing yellow eyes that didn’t take to Stiles too well often baring his teeth at Stiles whenever he got too close.
“Yeah settled a real problem there, Kate wanted oranges, pinks and white. Would have been a disaster, can’t be giving you a bad name can we?” Stiles countered as he was sweeping up the dead petals that have fallen off of some of the flowers.
“Some people just don’t have taste do they?” Mrs Hollis sighed “That Kate is a piece of work I’ve heard” Mrs Hollis gossiped, her eyes lighting up.
“Oh? Haven’t heard much about her” Stiles shrugged as he propped up the broom on the counter, because who was Stiles to miss out on a little gossip. And being an old lady with no husband and no children Mrs Hollis knew everything about everyone in Beacon Hills, from way back in the past up to everyone who lived there now. She sure wasn’t afraid to ever speak her mind either and surprisingly enough she got away with what she said, even as she said it to people’s faces. Probably because she was an old lady and who’s going to mess with an old lady? That’s like taking candy from a baby while simultaneously pushing kids out of the way to get the latest Harry Potter books (Stiles totally had never done that in the past).
“Just you stay away from her, Stiles. It’s a good thing that Allison isn’t close to her family anymore; otherwise I’d have a few choice words for your friend Scott.”
Stiles couldn’t hold back a laugh at that because as nice as old Mrs Hollis was and as much as her concern was sweet especially when directed at Stiles, he really couldn’t see what could be wrong with Kate, other than the fact that she was one lucky bitch for landing a man like Derek Hale.
“Don’t you worry Tilly, not my first time at the rodeo dealing with strong-minded women.”
“Ahh yes, Lydia Martin, curious one she is too” Mrs Hollis retorted as she got up heading back to her restricted room where she kept most of her personal plants she didn’t have on sale.
--
Friday night after Stiles’ rather long and extremely boring shift he decided to head to the grocery store to pick up a few bits to cook dinner for his father. Especially since tomorrow night he had a hot blind date and didn’t want his father having a bag of chips and a can of beer for dinner, because no matter what Dave Stilinski said chips was not an acceptable meal.
He was in the toiletry aisle picking up some razors for his father when he heard two girls gossiping one aisle over, and really he wasn’t eavesdropping he kind of just overheard.
“What about that hot guy back in New York?” the first girl asked.
“Oh honey he was only a little fling while I was biding my time. He’s history now that I’ve landed Derek.”
Stiles who had been making his way to pick up the items left on his list froze immediately in place as another customer rammed right into Stiles cursing, what kind of idiot just stops in the middle of an aisle like that!
Derek? As in Hale? It can’t be! Stiles thought.
“I can’t believe you even got him to finally propose!”
“Believe me it took a lot of work, I was beginning to think I was going to have devise my second plan.”
“What changed his mind then?” the mysterious woman asked.
“Don’t know. Don’t care either; I’ll be a Hale one of the most prominent families in Beacon Hills.” Kate responded as her and her mysterious friend rounded the corner ending up in the same aisle as Stiles who was still standing in the aisle with a dumbstruck look on his face.
He quickly picked up the closest item to him and started reading the label to try and give the impression that he hadn’t actually heard anything. Turns out he picked up ladies shaving gel and tried to look as if he was really interested in the instructions, because you know every man needs ladies shaving gel for a smooth gentle shave.
“Oh Stiles!” Kate called with a wide grin on her face “Getting ready for your hot date?”
“Kate! Hey! What are you doing here?” Stiles asked in what he hoped was a surprised face at seeing Kate in the store, and that he hadn’t actually heard anything.
“Just picking up some food. This is Charlotte one of my good friends” Kate said gesturing to the mysterious woman Stiles heard talking moments ago.
“Hey.” Stiles nodded in Charlotte’s general direction “Well gotta pick up the rest of my shopping, see you tomorrow!” Stiles declared as he started pushing the shopping cart past these two crazy women trying to high-tail it the hell out of there.
He picked up the rest of the food in a hurry just throwing things into the cart as he went not even paying attention to what he actually picked up before he was packing the car with his groceries and heading home.
--
His Saturday shift was pretty uneventful as he sat there counting down the minutes until his shift was over and he could go home and cook dinner for his father then get ready for this blind date. The blind date that he was seriously having doubts about now.
When he got home and started cooking some rice and chicken for his father with a nice side of veggies he was certain he’d replayed the conversation he’d heard Kate having with this Charlotte character, and there was no way he hadn’t heard that Kate had been seeing someone else while she was in New York. But was she seeing this other guy when she was with Derek, or was this before? Was she serious about wanting to marry Derek for his family name and presumably his money as well?
He ended up fretting over the conversation so much, replaying it multiple times that he ended up slightly burning his dad’s chicken, the ends charred black. He quickly pulled it out of the oven dropping it onto the counter trying to cut off the charred crust to reveal a somewhat edible piece of chicken for his father to eat. Thankfully only the outer edges were burned so he was able to salvage the rest of the chicken, dishing the rice and veggies onto the plate and placing it into the microwave to keep warm until his dad got home.
Stiles ran upstairs to jump in the shower and finish getting ready for his hot date, seriously considering about cancelling because going on a first date was bad enough. But going on a blind date? Even worse. Add on to that the fact that it was a double date, with someone he was seriously starting to dislike and a man that he was beyond sexually attracted to. It was bound to be a whole bag of awkwardness. Thank god he was legal and could down a few beers.
At about five to eight Stiles was pulling into the Jimmy Dean’s parking lot, a restaurant he’d never been to the next town over. He pulled down his shirt, fixing it into place, running his clammy hands down his jeans before heading inside where he was greeted by a hostess in roller skates. He glanced around and realised that it had seemed he’d been transported back the 50’s. There was the typical black and white tiled linoleum, with the sheet metal counters with bar stools made of red vinyl, every booth had their own jukebox where you could place your quarters, pick your song and it’d be added to the queue of music to be played over the surround sound speakers. He even spotted a milkshake machine behind the bar! He was pretty sure he was in Grease; he wouldn’t be surprised if he saw Sandy and Danny on their own little date off in the corner with the rest of the T-Birds and Pink Ladies nearby.
“At the counter or booth?” the hostess asked beaming at Stiles, she was a lady probably in her late 40’s with a little too much pink lipstick on, some even on her teeth. He was surprised she could even rollerblade still.
“Uh I’m just meeting someone, thanks” Stiles responded as he looked around to see if Kate and Derek and his blind date Steve were here yet. He spotted Kate and Derek sitting at a booth in the far corner, Kate standing up and waving him over.
At the sight of Kate the insides of his stomach curled, having to sit across from her for the rest of the night knowing what he knew about her. He seriously contemplated telling Derek, talking to him when she wasn’t around, but how the hell was he going to do that? Say hey I think your fiancée is cheating on you, or at least was. But I’m not positive it was just a little supermarket gossip! On the other hand he thought maybe he shouldn’t get involved, it wasn’t his place was it? He didn’t get involved in Constance and Arthur’s marital troubles when he knew for a fact Arthur was cheating, he just shut his mouth, made the floral arrangements and delivered them like there was nothing wrong in the world.
On the other hand (he was an octopus with the amount of hands he was thinking about) Stiles didn’t really know Constance and Arthur, like he knew Derek and Kate so maybe getting involved in their problems was acceptable?
All of this went over in Stiles’ mind the length it took him to get to the booth where Kate and Derek were sitting, as soon as he saw Derek though he visibly relaxed. He could have sworn he saw Derek’s lips curve up at the sides a little, in what was assumed to be a hidden smile. Just seeing that made Stiles forget about any lingering problems he had about Kate and her skank ways, he was just happy to see Derek.
“Hey Stiles! You look nice” Kate winked as Stiles scooted into the booth, sitting directly across from Kate “Steve’s not here yet he should be here soon though”
“Hey Kate, Derek. Thanks.”
Derek just nodded his head hey as the same hostess from when Stiles came in rolled up on her skates.
“Can I get you a drink sweetie?” the Hostess whose name tag read Betty asked.
“Yeah can I get a beer, Miller please” Stiles answered.
“Sure thing cutie. Got any ID on you?” Betty asked smiling revealing the pink lipstick still on her teeth.
He heard both Kate and Derek chuckle at that “Aww that’s so cute!” Kate cooed as Stiles’ pulled out his wallet from his back pocket to show Betty his ID. Stiles was used to it, even though he was 24 years old he still looked like a teenager, even if he had lost his baby fat from his teen days, his jaw more defined now.
“Thanks cutie. Can I get you guys another drink?” Betty asked, turning her attention to Derek and Kate, who both shook their heads no.
Betty soon came back with Stiles’ Miller beer and he quickly downed a few gulps before turning his attention to the jukebox sitting beside him, as he flipped through the different songs, trying to distract himself. He didn’t know what the hell to talk about, and he was fidgeting in his seat waiting for this Steve guy to show up, it would be just his luck if Steve decided to bail. Nothing like getting stood up while on a double date, so you seem even more pathetic being the third wheel.
“Hi hi hi! Sorry I’m late, but you know me always fashionably late!” someone shrieked making their way over to Stiles’ table. He looked up to see who he presumed was Steve and oh my god! Are you fucking serious?
Steve was dressed in a pair of dark fitted slacks and a tight fitted predominately purple floral shirt with hints of blues whites and pinks, his sleeves rolled up to the elbow. He had sandy blonde with hints of grey cropped hair and light blue eyes. Stiles guessed he had to be in his late thirties, pushing early forties. Oh god.
“Oooh you must be Stiles! Look at you, such fresh meat!” Steve flapped as he slid in the booth beside Stiles at the same time he winked at Kate.
“Umm yeah and you must be Steve…” Stiles sputtered face bright red “Kate hasn’t told me much about you, like at all.”
“She told me lots about you! And I must say her description hasn’t done you justice! Just look at you. Like a little doe-eyed fawn!” Steve squealed as he pinched Stiles’ cheek, or at least tried to but Stiles jerked away banging his back into the hard tiles lining the wall.
What the hell was Kate thinking? This guy was pushing 40 at least and so not Stiles’ type.
He looked to Kate to see if she was being serious or if this was some horrible joke, and there was a hidden camera somewhere, but she was just beaming seemingly pleased with herself, like this was the greatest idea ever. He then directed his gaze to Derek and he really shouldn’t have done that. He saw the hint of a smirk on Derek’s face, trying to suppress a laugh at the situation Stiles had gotten himself into.
“So tell me Bambi, what do you do for a living?” Steve asked directing his gaze to Stiles placing his hand on Stiles arm.
Stiles seriously considering pushing Steven out of this booth and onto his ass so he could make a run for it, this was so not what he had expected. He should have known better, really.
“I uhh work in a floral shop back in Beacon Hills for now. Just graduated from Berkley with a Masters’ in Folklore and Mythology” Stiles answered, taking a sip of his beer.
“Ooh Mythology? Like faeries and Zeus? You’ve got to love those Greek Gods!”
Derek choked back a laugh trying to hide it by taking a long sip of beer as he stared at Stiles, eyes bright with laughter. He was so finding this amusing, Stiles wanted to stab him in the eye with a fork, then Kate then Steve.
“I actually prefer the Roman Gods; Hercules just does it for me. Or Dionysus, I could use the gallons of wine right about now” Stiles lied sarcastically.
“Oh my! It’s like we’re soul mates” Steve laughed.
Yeah these Ancient Gods were really trying to fuck with Stiles all right.
After a few minutes Betty came back to take their orders, where Stiles made sure to order another beer because he was sure as hell going to need it to get through this night. He kind of wished he could be teleported to the Bermuda Triangle so he could disappear off of the face of this earth, he was pretty sure his dad would miss him, but he’d totally understand. There was no way Dave would want Steve to be his future son-in-law, so evaporating into the Bermuda Triangle seemed like the way to go.
Or you know a meteoroid could just blow up the diner or a black hole could swallow up Stiles. Hell he’d even be happy to see ET right about now.
Stiles was grateful when their meals came because it gave him an excuse to shove his mouth full of food so that he couldn’t speak. For once in his life Stiles’ was beyond content to not talk and let Steve and Kate do most of the talking.
Steve told him about his job as a construction manager, and Stiles nearly choked on his burger because he could hardly picture Steve doing any manual labour, he said as much to Steve.
“Oh Stiles! That’s why I hire people to do all the work; I just make sure they’re doing their job!” Steve replied wiping his mouth with his napkin “And of course I don’t mind looking at all those sweaty men working all day.”
“That’s a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen” Stiles retorted.
“So innocent!” Steve scoffed smacking Stiles lightly on the arm “There’s no harm in looking, is there?!” he answered in his sweetest smile that ended up looking more like a perv smile.
“Any person the victim of a peeping Tom looking into their windows at night would beg to differ” Stiles replied dryly.
Note to self, close my blinds tonight.
Okay so maybe Stiles wasn’t the best at faking being a good date but at this point he really couldn’t even be bothered to try and act pleasant, not when this man kept calling him fresh meat, a fawn and innocent. Who even says that? Unless you’re a pervert, no one.
By the time they’d finished their meals and the bill was brought Stiles went to reach for his wallet before Steve waved him off, grabbing Stiles bill and paying for it along with his meal.
“It’s on me” Steve said smiling as he handed his credit card to Betty.
“You didn’t have to, but thanks” Stiles replied putting his wallet back in his pocket.
Once the bills were paid and tips were left, the four left the restaurant as Kate and Derek said their goodbye’s before heading to their car. Stiles started making his way towards his car when Steve caught up with him, asking for his number saying he had a good time.
Stiles hesitated for a moment, trying to think of a good excuse of why he shouldn’t give Steve his number, when he realised that he’d paid for dinner when he really didn’t have to on a first date. Stiles shrugged and recited his number off for Steve as he entered the number in his phone.
Stiles had to admit that giving a number was a lot less harmless than a good night kiss, or sex.
--
He got home a little after 10 to find his dad on the couch watching the recaps of a baseball game, dozing off on his recliner.
“How was the date kid?” his dad asked.
“I’d have preferred to be subject to an enema dad” Stiles replied sighing as he flopped down on the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table.
“Way too much info” his dad replied running his hand over his face.
“He called me a fucking fawn dad! Who even does that?” Stiles complained.
His dad laughed turning down the volume on the TV.
“Well at least you’re getting back out there in the game you know” said his dad.
“Yeah? Like you are?” Stiles ridiculed getting up from the chair.
“I’m an old man Stiles; love is not in the cards for me.”
“Tell that to Mellissa why don’t you?” he said as he patted his dad on the shoulder before heading upstairs “Night dad.”
Stiles was just thankful he had tomorrow off because he planned to spend all day in bed wallowing in his own self-pity.
--
Stiles rolled out of bed Sunday morning around 11:30 thankful that he wasn’t the recipient of a hangover, he was only slightly groggy wiping away the gunk stuck to the inside of his eyes as he flipped on his computer, before making his way to the bathroom.
When Stiles got back he plopped down on the computer and turned on Skype to see if Scott had already come on so that could have their weekly chat. Stiles was A-Okay without Scott being nearby, he really was. It was just nice to see his face on Skype on a weekly-basis.
He saw that Scott was indeed on Skype and he smiled to himself as he called Scott, waiting for him to answer!
“Hey man!” Scott beamed as he answered Stiles’ call “Dude you look like hell did you just wake up?”
“Yeah it’s my one day off I do have a right to sleep in you know!” Stiles replied rolling his eyes.
“Did you take too much Adderall again?” Scott joked, because he’d seen Stiles pass out for a good few hours once before when he went a little heavy on the Adderall after a night of studying.
“Nah. Just arranging flowers is hard work man Miss Hollis is a perfectionist!”
Scott rolled his eyes “You need a new job. When you gonna visit me?” Scott asked with his best puppy dog eyes.
“Believe me I could use a break, I might take you up on that offer soon”
“Have you talked to Robert lately?” Scott asked timidly, as if Stiles was going to freak out on him like he’d spoken of Voldemort or something.
“Nope. Even went on a date last night, worst idea in the history of the world!” Stiles exclaimed.
“Worse than your idea of going into the forest at night and then getting lost?” Scott joked at the same time Allison came onto the screen.
“A date, with who?!” Allison asked, ready to talk about boys.
“Next time don’t lose your inhaler and then we wouldn’t have had to have gone back” Stiles emphasized because he was so not taking the blame for getting lost.
“And yes, it was actually a double date with your aunt and Derek” Stiles answered Allison.
“What?” Allison asked with a confused look on her face “Kate? How do you know her?”
“I’m helping with their floral arrangement” Stiles shrugged nonchalantly “She kind of pressured me into the date to be honest dude, you Argent’s get what you want.”
“Oh” Allison uttered quietly.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just haven’t talked to my family lately” she answered with a sad look on her face “Just, be careful. Kate likes to get herself into trouble” Allison warned.
“My father is the Sheriff” Stiles retorted, tipping back on his chair “I think I’m safe” he joked.
Allison still didn’t look too pleased, almost as if she were distressed that Stiles was spending time with her aunt but he had no idea why. Was it because Allison missed talking to her family, and just missed her aunt. Or was it because she knew more about Kate than Stiles did? Did he know about Kate and her cheating?
Stiles really wanted to ask, but Scott jumped back in the conversation getting jealous that Allison was hogging all their Stiles and Scott time, so he pushed his thoughts to the back of his head as he spent the next twenty minutes talking to Scott about the latest video games.
--
It was starting to get dark later that evening as Stiles and his dad were in front of the TV flipping through channels arguing what they would watch when Stiles’ phone went off.
From: Kate
“Heard you gave Steve your number ;) Anyway it’s Derek’s bday on Wed having some people over at my place you should come.”
To: Kate
“He paid for dinner only seemed fitting right? Not sure if he’s my type a little too… preppy for my taste. But sure I’ll be there Wednesday night.”
Preppy seemed like the right word to describe Steve, he couldn’t exactly tell Kate that he wasn’t interested in men who were that out there. He preferred a more manly man. Robert was hardly a manly man, he wasn’t exactly working at a lumber yard with broad muscles or anything, but he was at least more manly that Steve, and not a peeping tom.
Whatever, Stiles thought. Steve hadn’t texted him or called him all day, and he figured if he really did have a good time he’d have tried to contact Stiles, unless he was just trying to play it cool. Stiles figured he was safe from Steve contacting him again, and was now looking forward at getting the chance to see Derek again.
--
Later that night Stiles woke with a start from a bad dream when he realised “Holy shit I’m like Steve! I can’t have Derek but I’m getting excited just at the opportunity of getting to look at him! I’m a fucking peeping tom!”
Stiles really needed to sort himself out.
After Derek’s party.
TBC.
Chapter 3|
Summary: AU. In which Peter, Laura and Kate are all alive. Derek and Kate are getting married, Stiles works at the floral shop arranging the flowers for the wedding. Everything is not as it seems.
Warnings: Language, Mentions of Stiles/Original Character(s)
Rating Mature (might be more or less in future chapters, depends)
Chapters: 2/?
Notes: No beta, so mistakes are mine. Also this is loosely based off of the movie Imagine Me & You, very loosely might I add. A major warning (that doesn't appear in the first few chapters, but later ones) will be cheating. So if it's not your thing, don't read.
PS. AO3
Also, I took about a week to update this next chapter only because I was away, so I hope to update it more frequently. Nothing worse than having to wait! :(
--
Chapter 1|
For the rest of the week Stiles decides to focus on work, though how much effort did it really take to arrange flowers? But really, he’d do anything to forget about his little rendezvous with his hand and thoughts of Derek filtering through his mind. In trying to forget about Derek his mind needed to focus on something, anything else and unfortunately that just happened to be Robert.
Stiles liked to think of himself as semi-sane human being but when it came to Facebook and stalking? Well he wouldn’t be all that surprised if his dad handed him with his very own shiny arrest warrant for the amount of time he spent on Robert’s Facebook page, refreshing trying to see if he’d added any new photos or updated his status. He used to know Robert’s password just as he knew Stiles’ because they didn’t have anything to hide, and he was seriously contemplating hacking into Robert’s account or emails to see what he was doing, or more importantly who he was doing.
Thankfully Stiles came back to the land of the sane and he nixed that idea in the bud right away, because no way was he sinking to that level. That’s some stupidly ingenious idea Lydia would have come up with in high school if she thought Jackson were doing anything she didn’t approve of, but even Lydia had grown up from her high school days.
Stiles sighed and closed off Robert’s page and logged off completely on Facebook so as not to be tempted and decided to go have a date with his TV and TiVo, because he had a backlog of Merlin to watch. To be quite honest, Stiles figured day dreaming about Colin Morgan and Bradley James was a hell of a lot more acceptable than Derek. He’ll just have to live out his wank bank fantasies about famous people, and not people he’s going to have to see eye-to-eye on a semi-regular basis.
From: Kate
“Talked to Steve he’s free Sat night for double date!”
Stiles cursed whatever Deity today decided to fuck with him, because he was pretty adamant from the day that he hit puberty that the Gods were out to get him. He must have done something wrong in a past life, or he was just biding his time waiting to win the lottery. He considered making up an excuse that he was too busy, he started seeing someone or that he fell down the stairs and was currently in a full body cast but then a thought occurred to him.
He was physically trying to stop himself from letting his thoughts drift to Derek and his general sexiness, so why not go on a date and find someone new to fixate on. Yeah, that was a downright good idea because why shouldn’t Stiles have a little love in his life? If Robert was getting tagged in photos with a bunch of sexy English boys in their stupidly tight trousers and polo shirts and Derek was fucking straight and engaged to a woman than why shouldn’t Stiles be happy with someone else?
In reality, Stiles just wanted an excuse to see Derek again and this was the only way he was going to.
So much for self-restraint, Stiles.
To: Kate
“Sounds good, tell me the time and place! (:”
From Kate:
“Yay! Jimmy Dean’s 8:00!”
--
“I heard the meeting with Kate Argent and Derek Hale went well Stiles” Mrs Hollis said from behind the counter as she was petting her pet cat, Fang that she often brought into the store when she was in. Stiles thought the name was really quite fitting; Fang was a black cat with glowing yellow eyes that didn’t take to Stiles too well often baring his teeth at Stiles whenever he got too close.
“Yeah settled a real problem there, Kate wanted oranges, pinks and white. Would have been a disaster, can’t be giving you a bad name can we?” Stiles countered as he was sweeping up the dead petals that have fallen off of some of the flowers.
“Some people just don’t have taste do they?” Mrs Hollis sighed “That Kate is a piece of work I’ve heard” Mrs Hollis gossiped, her eyes lighting up.
“Oh? Haven’t heard much about her” Stiles shrugged as he propped up the broom on the counter, because who was Stiles to miss out on a little gossip. And being an old lady with no husband and no children Mrs Hollis knew everything about everyone in Beacon Hills, from way back in the past up to everyone who lived there now. She sure wasn’t afraid to ever speak her mind either and surprisingly enough she got away with what she said, even as she said it to people’s faces. Probably because she was an old lady and who’s going to mess with an old lady? That’s like taking candy from a baby while simultaneously pushing kids out of the way to get the latest Harry Potter books (Stiles totally had never done that in the past).
“Just you stay away from her, Stiles. It’s a good thing that Allison isn’t close to her family anymore; otherwise I’d have a few choice words for your friend Scott.”
Stiles couldn’t hold back a laugh at that because as nice as old Mrs Hollis was and as much as her concern was sweet especially when directed at Stiles, he really couldn’t see what could be wrong with Kate, other than the fact that she was one lucky bitch for landing a man like Derek Hale.
“Don’t you worry Tilly, not my first time at the rodeo dealing with strong-minded women.”
“Ahh yes, Lydia Martin, curious one she is too” Mrs Hollis retorted as she got up heading back to her restricted room where she kept most of her personal plants she didn’t have on sale.
--
Friday night after Stiles’ rather long and extremely boring shift he decided to head to the grocery store to pick up a few bits to cook dinner for his father. Especially since tomorrow night he had a hot blind date and didn’t want his father having a bag of chips and a can of beer for dinner, because no matter what Dave Stilinski said chips was not an acceptable meal.
He was in the toiletry aisle picking up some razors for his father when he heard two girls gossiping one aisle over, and really he wasn’t eavesdropping he kind of just overheard.
“What about that hot guy back in New York?” the first girl asked.
“Oh honey he was only a little fling while I was biding my time. He’s history now that I’ve landed Derek.”
Stiles who had been making his way to pick up the items left on his list froze immediately in place as another customer rammed right into Stiles cursing, what kind of idiot just stops in the middle of an aisle like that!
Derek? As in Hale? It can’t be! Stiles thought.
“I can’t believe you even got him to finally propose!”
“Believe me it took a lot of work, I was beginning to think I was going to have devise my second plan.”
“What changed his mind then?” the mysterious woman asked.
“Don’t know. Don’t care either; I’ll be a Hale one of the most prominent families in Beacon Hills.” Kate responded as her and her mysterious friend rounded the corner ending up in the same aisle as Stiles who was still standing in the aisle with a dumbstruck look on his face.
He quickly picked up the closest item to him and started reading the label to try and give the impression that he hadn’t actually heard anything. Turns out he picked up ladies shaving gel and tried to look as if he was really interested in the instructions, because you know every man needs ladies shaving gel for a smooth gentle shave.
“Oh Stiles!” Kate called with a wide grin on her face “Getting ready for your hot date?”
“Kate! Hey! What are you doing here?” Stiles asked in what he hoped was a surprised face at seeing Kate in the store, and that he hadn’t actually heard anything.
“Just picking up some food. This is Charlotte one of my good friends” Kate said gesturing to the mysterious woman Stiles heard talking moments ago.
“Hey.” Stiles nodded in Charlotte’s general direction “Well gotta pick up the rest of my shopping, see you tomorrow!” Stiles declared as he started pushing the shopping cart past these two crazy women trying to high-tail it the hell out of there.
He picked up the rest of the food in a hurry just throwing things into the cart as he went not even paying attention to what he actually picked up before he was packing the car with his groceries and heading home.
--
His Saturday shift was pretty uneventful as he sat there counting down the minutes until his shift was over and he could go home and cook dinner for his father then get ready for this blind date. The blind date that he was seriously having doubts about now.
When he got home and started cooking some rice and chicken for his father with a nice side of veggies he was certain he’d replayed the conversation he’d heard Kate having with this Charlotte character, and there was no way he hadn’t heard that Kate had been seeing someone else while she was in New York. But was she seeing this other guy when she was with Derek, or was this before? Was she serious about wanting to marry Derek for his family name and presumably his money as well?
He ended up fretting over the conversation so much, replaying it multiple times that he ended up slightly burning his dad’s chicken, the ends charred black. He quickly pulled it out of the oven dropping it onto the counter trying to cut off the charred crust to reveal a somewhat edible piece of chicken for his father to eat. Thankfully only the outer edges were burned so he was able to salvage the rest of the chicken, dishing the rice and veggies onto the plate and placing it into the microwave to keep warm until his dad got home.
Stiles ran upstairs to jump in the shower and finish getting ready for his hot date, seriously considering about cancelling because going on a first date was bad enough. But going on a blind date? Even worse. Add on to that the fact that it was a double date, with someone he was seriously starting to dislike and a man that he was beyond sexually attracted to. It was bound to be a whole bag of awkwardness. Thank god he was legal and could down a few beers.
At about five to eight Stiles was pulling into the Jimmy Dean’s parking lot, a restaurant he’d never been to the next town over. He pulled down his shirt, fixing it into place, running his clammy hands down his jeans before heading inside where he was greeted by a hostess in roller skates. He glanced around and realised that it had seemed he’d been transported back the 50’s. There was the typical black and white tiled linoleum, with the sheet metal counters with bar stools made of red vinyl, every booth had their own jukebox where you could place your quarters, pick your song and it’d be added to the queue of music to be played over the surround sound speakers. He even spotted a milkshake machine behind the bar! He was pretty sure he was in Grease; he wouldn’t be surprised if he saw Sandy and Danny on their own little date off in the corner with the rest of the T-Birds and Pink Ladies nearby.
“At the counter or booth?” the hostess asked beaming at Stiles, she was a lady probably in her late 40’s with a little too much pink lipstick on, some even on her teeth. He was surprised she could even rollerblade still.
“Uh I’m just meeting someone, thanks” Stiles responded as he looked around to see if Kate and Derek and his blind date Steve were here yet. He spotted Kate and Derek sitting at a booth in the far corner, Kate standing up and waving him over.
At the sight of Kate the insides of his stomach curled, having to sit across from her for the rest of the night knowing what he knew about her. He seriously contemplated telling Derek, talking to him when she wasn’t around, but how the hell was he going to do that? Say hey I think your fiancée is cheating on you, or at least was. But I’m not positive it was just a little supermarket gossip! On the other hand he thought maybe he shouldn’t get involved, it wasn’t his place was it? He didn’t get involved in Constance and Arthur’s marital troubles when he knew for a fact Arthur was cheating, he just shut his mouth, made the floral arrangements and delivered them like there was nothing wrong in the world.
On the other hand (he was an octopus with the amount of hands he was thinking about) Stiles didn’t really know Constance and Arthur, like he knew Derek and Kate so maybe getting involved in their problems was acceptable?
All of this went over in Stiles’ mind the length it took him to get to the booth where Kate and Derek were sitting, as soon as he saw Derek though he visibly relaxed. He could have sworn he saw Derek’s lips curve up at the sides a little, in what was assumed to be a hidden smile. Just seeing that made Stiles forget about any lingering problems he had about Kate and her skank ways, he was just happy to see Derek.
“Hey Stiles! You look nice” Kate winked as Stiles scooted into the booth, sitting directly across from Kate “Steve’s not here yet he should be here soon though”
“Hey Kate, Derek. Thanks.”
Derek just nodded his head hey as the same hostess from when Stiles came in rolled up on her skates.
“Can I get you a drink sweetie?” the Hostess whose name tag read Betty asked.
“Yeah can I get a beer, Miller please” Stiles answered.
“Sure thing cutie. Got any ID on you?” Betty asked smiling revealing the pink lipstick still on her teeth.
He heard both Kate and Derek chuckle at that “Aww that’s so cute!” Kate cooed as Stiles’ pulled out his wallet from his back pocket to show Betty his ID. Stiles was used to it, even though he was 24 years old he still looked like a teenager, even if he had lost his baby fat from his teen days, his jaw more defined now.
“Thanks cutie. Can I get you guys another drink?” Betty asked, turning her attention to Derek and Kate, who both shook their heads no.
Betty soon came back with Stiles’ Miller beer and he quickly downed a few gulps before turning his attention to the jukebox sitting beside him, as he flipped through the different songs, trying to distract himself. He didn’t know what the hell to talk about, and he was fidgeting in his seat waiting for this Steve guy to show up, it would be just his luck if Steve decided to bail. Nothing like getting stood up while on a double date, so you seem even more pathetic being the third wheel.
“Hi hi hi! Sorry I’m late, but you know me always fashionably late!” someone shrieked making their way over to Stiles’ table. He looked up to see who he presumed was Steve and oh my god! Are you fucking serious?
Steve was dressed in a pair of dark fitted slacks and a tight fitted predominately purple floral shirt with hints of blues whites and pinks, his sleeves rolled up to the elbow. He had sandy blonde with hints of grey cropped hair and light blue eyes. Stiles guessed he had to be in his late thirties, pushing early forties. Oh god.
“Oooh you must be Stiles! Look at you, such fresh meat!” Steve flapped as he slid in the booth beside Stiles at the same time he winked at Kate.
“Umm yeah and you must be Steve…” Stiles sputtered face bright red “Kate hasn’t told me much about you, like at all.”
“She told me lots about you! And I must say her description hasn’t done you justice! Just look at you. Like a little doe-eyed fawn!” Steve squealed as he pinched Stiles’ cheek, or at least tried to but Stiles jerked away banging his back into the hard tiles lining the wall.
What the hell was Kate thinking? This guy was pushing 40 at least and so not Stiles’ type.
He looked to Kate to see if she was being serious or if this was some horrible joke, and there was a hidden camera somewhere, but she was just beaming seemingly pleased with herself, like this was the greatest idea ever. He then directed his gaze to Derek and he really shouldn’t have done that. He saw the hint of a smirk on Derek’s face, trying to suppress a laugh at the situation Stiles had gotten himself into.
“So tell me Bambi, what do you do for a living?” Steve asked directing his gaze to Stiles placing his hand on Stiles arm.
Stiles seriously considering pushing Steven out of this booth and onto his ass so he could make a run for it, this was so not what he had expected. He should have known better, really.
“I uhh work in a floral shop back in Beacon Hills for now. Just graduated from Berkley with a Masters’ in Folklore and Mythology” Stiles answered, taking a sip of his beer.
“Ooh Mythology? Like faeries and Zeus? You’ve got to love those Greek Gods!”
Derek choked back a laugh trying to hide it by taking a long sip of beer as he stared at Stiles, eyes bright with laughter. He was so finding this amusing, Stiles wanted to stab him in the eye with a fork, then Kate then Steve.
“I actually prefer the Roman Gods; Hercules just does it for me. Or Dionysus, I could use the gallons of wine right about now” Stiles lied sarcastically.
“Oh my! It’s like we’re soul mates” Steve laughed.
Yeah these Ancient Gods were really trying to fuck with Stiles all right.
After a few minutes Betty came back to take their orders, where Stiles made sure to order another beer because he was sure as hell going to need it to get through this night. He kind of wished he could be teleported to the Bermuda Triangle so he could disappear off of the face of this earth, he was pretty sure his dad would miss him, but he’d totally understand. There was no way Dave would want Steve to be his future son-in-law, so evaporating into the Bermuda Triangle seemed like the way to go.
Or you know a meteoroid could just blow up the diner or a black hole could swallow up Stiles. Hell he’d even be happy to see ET right about now.
Stiles was grateful when their meals came because it gave him an excuse to shove his mouth full of food so that he couldn’t speak. For once in his life Stiles’ was beyond content to not talk and let Steve and Kate do most of the talking.
Steve told him about his job as a construction manager, and Stiles nearly choked on his burger because he could hardly picture Steve doing any manual labour, he said as much to Steve.
“Oh Stiles! That’s why I hire people to do all the work; I just make sure they’re doing their job!” Steve replied wiping his mouth with his napkin “And of course I don’t mind looking at all those sweaty men working all day.”
“That’s a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen” Stiles retorted.
“So innocent!” Steve scoffed smacking Stiles lightly on the arm “There’s no harm in looking, is there?!” he answered in his sweetest smile that ended up looking more like a perv smile.
“Any person the victim of a peeping Tom looking into their windows at night would beg to differ” Stiles replied dryly.
Note to self, close my blinds tonight.
Okay so maybe Stiles wasn’t the best at faking being a good date but at this point he really couldn’t even be bothered to try and act pleasant, not when this man kept calling him fresh meat, a fawn and innocent. Who even says that? Unless you’re a pervert, no one.
By the time they’d finished their meals and the bill was brought Stiles went to reach for his wallet before Steve waved him off, grabbing Stiles bill and paying for it along with his meal.
“It’s on me” Steve said smiling as he handed his credit card to Betty.
“You didn’t have to, but thanks” Stiles replied putting his wallet back in his pocket.
Once the bills were paid and tips were left, the four left the restaurant as Kate and Derek said their goodbye’s before heading to their car. Stiles started making his way towards his car when Steve caught up with him, asking for his number saying he had a good time.
Stiles hesitated for a moment, trying to think of a good excuse of why he shouldn’t give Steve his number, when he realised that he’d paid for dinner when he really didn’t have to on a first date. Stiles shrugged and recited his number off for Steve as he entered the number in his phone.
Stiles had to admit that giving a number was a lot less harmless than a good night kiss, or sex.
--
He got home a little after 10 to find his dad on the couch watching the recaps of a baseball game, dozing off on his recliner.
“How was the date kid?” his dad asked.
“I’d have preferred to be subject to an enema dad” Stiles replied sighing as he flopped down on the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table.
“Way too much info” his dad replied running his hand over his face.
“He called me a fucking fawn dad! Who even does that?” Stiles complained.
His dad laughed turning down the volume on the TV.
“Well at least you’re getting back out there in the game you know” said his dad.
“Yeah? Like you are?” Stiles ridiculed getting up from the chair.
“I’m an old man Stiles; love is not in the cards for me.”
“Tell that to Mellissa why don’t you?” he said as he patted his dad on the shoulder before heading upstairs “Night dad.”
Stiles was just thankful he had tomorrow off because he planned to spend all day in bed wallowing in his own self-pity.
--
Stiles rolled out of bed Sunday morning around 11:30 thankful that he wasn’t the recipient of a hangover, he was only slightly groggy wiping away the gunk stuck to the inside of his eyes as he flipped on his computer, before making his way to the bathroom.
When Stiles got back he plopped down on the computer and turned on Skype to see if Scott had already come on so that could have their weekly chat. Stiles was A-Okay without Scott being nearby, he really was. It was just nice to see his face on Skype on a weekly-basis.
He saw that Scott was indeed on Skype and he smiled to himself as he called Scott, waiting for him to answer!
“Hey man!” Scott beamed as he answered Stiles’ call “Dude you look like hell did you just wake up?”
“Yeah it’s my one day off I do have a right to sleep in you know!” Stiles replied rolling his eyes.
“Did you take too much Adderall again?” Scott joked, because he’d seen Stiles pass out for a good few hours once before when he went a little heavy on the Adderall after a night of studying.
“Nah. Just arranging flowers is hard work man Miss Hollis is a perfectionist!”
Scott rolled his eyes “You need a new job. When you gonna visit me?” Scott asked with his best puppy dog eyes.
“Believe me I could use a break, I might take you up on that offer soon”
“Have you talked to Robert lately?” Scott asked timidly, as if Stiles was going to freak out on him like he’d spoken of Voldemort or something.
“Nope. Even went on a date last night, worst idea in the history of the world!” Stiles exclaimed.
“Worse than your idea of going into the forest at night and then getting lost?” Scott joked at the same time Allison came onto the screen.
“A date, with who?!” Allison asked, ready to talk about boys.
“Next time don’t lose your inhaler and then we wouldn’t have had to have gone back” Stiles emphasized because he was so not taking the blame for getting lost.
“And yes, it was actually a double date with your aunt and Derek” Stiles answered Allison.
“What?” Allison asked with a confused look on her face “Kate? How do you know her?”
“I’m helping with their floral arrangement” Stiles shrugged nonchalantly “She kind of pressured me into the date to be honest dude, you Argent’s get what you want.”
“Oh” Allison uttered quietly.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just haven’t talked to my family lately” she answered with a sad look on her face “Just, be careful. Kate likes to get herself into trouble” Allison warned.
“My father is the Sheriff” Stiles retorted, tipping back on his chair “I think I’m safe” he joked.
Allison still didn’t look too pleased, almost as if she were distressed that Stiles was spending time with her aunt but he had no idea why. Was it because Allison missed talking to her family, and just missed her aunt. Or was it because she knew more about Kate than Stiles did? Did he know about Kate and her cheating?
Stiles really wanted to ask, but Scott jumped back in the conversation getting jealous that Allison was hogging all their Stiles and Scott time, so he pushed his thoughts to the back of his head as he spent the next twenty minutes talking to Scott about the latest video games.
--
It was starting to get dark later that evening as Stiles and his dad were in front of the TV flipping through channels arguing what they would watch when Stiles’ phone went off.
From: Kate
“Heard you gave Steve your number ;) Anyway it’s Derek’s bday on Wed having some people over at my place you should come.”
To: Kate
“He paid for dinner only seemed fitting right? Not sure if he’s my type a little too… preppy for my taste. But sure I’ll be there Wednesday night.”
Preppy seemed like the right word to describe Steve, he couldn’t exactly tell Kate that he wasn’t interested in men who were that out there. He preferred a more manly man. Robert was hardly a manly man, he wasn’t exactly working at a lumber yard with broad muscles or anything, but he was at least more manly that Steve, and not a peeping tom.
Whatever, Stiles thought. Steve hadn’t texted him or called him all day, and he figured if he really did have a good time he’d have tried to contact Stiles, unless he was just trying to play it cool. Stiles figured he was safe from Steve contacting him again, and was now looking forward at getting the chance to see Derek again.
--
Later that night Stiles woke with a start from a bad dream when he realised “Holy shit I’m like Steve! I can’t have Derek but I’m getting excited just at the opportunity of getting to look at him! I’m a fucking peeping tom!”
Stiles really needed to sort himself out.
After Derek’s party.
TBC.
Chapter 3|