Stiles Stilinski couldn't wait to be done with high school. Be done with the waiting in line for food at the cafeteria, be done with rusty old lockers, be done with self-loathing teachers that expressed their anger by giving their students tons of homework. Yes, he couldn't wait to be done with all of it. But there was one thing especially he couldn't wait for to be rid of; high school bullies. Jackson Whittemore and his posse, to be exact.

Jackson Whittemore was the epitome of spoiled white rich kids. He made sure everyone knew he drove a Porsche-that his dad paid for, like everything else.

You see for some reason Jackson decided to make Stiles his victim this year. He'd throw slushies at him in the hallways, fill his locker with foam, call him names, sometimes trip him. It never got more than that. It was plain high school bullying; we've all seen it, maybe even experienced it.

But that day was different. Jackson was clearly pissed off about something, and Stiles visibly swallowed the lump in his throat when he spotted him. He knew Jackson was going to take it out on him, and he had a feeling it wasn't going to just be a cherry slushie poured down his shirt.

Stiles made a quickly bee line to the boy's bathroom and locked himself in one of the stalls, praying Jackson hadn't spotted him too. He waited a few minutes to make sure the coast was clear. He took a deep breath and opened the door slowly, peaking his head outside. He sighed in relief when Jackson was nowhere to be seen; he was actually the only one in the bathroom.

Stiles went over to the sinks and splashed some cold water on his face. He could do this. It was just another high school day; another day of trying not to get his face pounded in by Jackson Whittemore.

Stiles was rearranging his things in his locker when the sound of a fist colliding with the neighboring locker startled him. He turned around and, of course, Jackson was there, smirking. "Hey, Stilinski. How's it hanging?" he asked, and Jackson's friend behind him snickered.

Stiles simply rolled his eyes and shut his locker. He started to walk away when Jackson shouted after him, "We've got gym later, Stilinski! Prepare yourself to get your ass kicked in dodgeball!"

A shiver ran down Stiles' spine. He hated gym for so many reasons; first of all, he wasn't very athletic, so gym in general was hell, but to make it worse Jackson always made fun of him and humiliated him every chance he got. And knowing they were playing dodgeball later just made Stiles, well, want to die.

Lunch finally came. Stiles walked over to the field; he never ate his lunch in the cafeteria. He preferred to eat it under the bleachers because nobody was there to bug him. He liked the solitaire of it.

But when Stiles arrived at his usual spot he realized somebody was already there. It was Derek Hale. Stiles wouldn't confess this to anyone but he had a crush on the boy since 3rd grade when he tripped and bruised his knee really bad. Derek was at his side in a second and helped him get up, even accompanying him to the nurse's office. Stiles thanked him quietly and Derek just nodded. That was literally their only interaction ever, but it was enough for Stiles to develop some sort of undying crush on Derek. Of course, he never acted on it. Up until 8th grade he had no idea he was gay, and even then he never tried anything; Derek was as straight as they came. If Stiles tried to confess his feelings for him Derek would probably punch him in the face, most likely not accompanying him to the nurse's office this time.

So Stiles quietly enjoyed Derek's existence from afar. Very far. He couldn't just blame the 3rd grade incident solely, though. Sure, it was what ignited his feelings for the boy, but Derek's general appearance didn't help him get over it. Derek Hale was beautiful, there was no other word to describe him. He had strong and sharp facial features, his eyes were the most beautiful mix of gray and green Stiles ever saw, and his whole dark-broody aura was lustful as well. Maybe not to many, but to Stiles it sure was.

Stiles' flaming crush aside though, why was Derek sitting under the bleachers? In Stiles' spot nonetheless, thank you very much. Stiles walked over to him and crossed his arms. 2 minutes probably went by and still nothing, not even a quick glance from Derek. He was reading something. European Mythologies, Stiles noted. Well, whatever his reason was to occupy Stiles' spot, it was rude and blatantly disrespectful. "Hey," Stiles said.

Nothing.

"Hey," he repeated, this time with more strength in his voice.

Nope. Still nothing.

"Derek!"

Derek visibly exhaled and closed the book. Won't he forget what page he was on?

"What?" Derek said, looking up at Stiles.

Ah, crap. This was a bad idea. He should just let Derek have his spot. Stiles didn't feel like having 2 people be after his life at school. "Um… You're in my spot." Curse Stiles' mouth.

Derek raised an eyebrow. He looked around them and then the ground he was sitting on. "Your spot?"

"Um… Yeah."

Derek's eyes narrowed and he re-opened his book. "Go away," was all he said and continued reading.

Stiles' mouth gaped open. Who the hell does he think he is?! I'll show him!

Stiles grabbed his backpack and threw it to the ground, angrily sitting a few meters away from Derek. The other boy didn't even as much as flinch. Fine. Whatever. I can still eat my lunch even if Derek fricking Hale is sitting 2 meters away from me, Stiles thought.

Stiles proceeded to take out his lunch from his bag and started eating in silence. Derek didn't seem to care that he wasn't alone anymore, unlike Stiles. This was his personal spot. The only place in the school where he could eat lunch in peace. Well, besides the bathroom but who would want to eat their lunch there?

So Stiles spent the next half an hour eating his lunch in quiet, next to Derek Hale. And after his anger boiled down, his anxiety kicked up. He was sitting next to his crush for crying out loud. Why did he do this? He should have gone somewhere else. Every now and then he would steal a glance of Derek. The boy never turned his gaze away from the book, just turning the page every few minutes, sometimes highlighting something with his marker.

5 minutes before the bell rang Derek closed his book and stashed it in his backpack. He grabbed his stuff, got up and walked away, ignoring Stiles completely. Not that Stiles cared. Really, he didn't.

After that Stiles began to see Derek sitting in his spot every day. The first week it was annoying, the second slightly irritating, the third Stiles didn't care anymore. It sort of became their thing, sitting under the bleachers together during lunch. Except Derek never talked to Stiles, or vice versa. And they never agreed to that officially, but Stiles liked to think they did. As much as he disliked having to share his spot, he kind of enjoyed it. Maybe because it was the boy he had a crush on since 3rd grade? Probably.

Lunch came again and Stiles angrily marched to their-uh, his spot. Derek was already there. Stiles threw his backpack on the ground and sat down next to it, looking at his chemistry test. 52%. His dad is going to kill him. Chemistry has always been his weak spot. All his other grades are good, but chemistry? A disaster. It just didn't make any sense to him. Sulfides, anions, hydrocarbons. Who made this stuff up?! It was driving him insane.

Mr. Harris was going to fail him, no doubt. It's the like the man was born to torture Stiles' life. He desperately needed to bring his grade up.

He thought about asking Derek for help. They were in the same chemistry class, and Stiles knows Derek got a 100% on the test. He was pretty sure Derek had a 100% in every class. Smart and good looking.

But of course, he couldn't. Derek would think of him as an idiot and probably just roll his eyes and ignore him. Stiles didn't need any more embarrassment in his life.

He was in the middle of eating his lunch when suddenly Derek spoke up. "You failed the test, didn't you?"

Stiles almost choked on his tuna sandwich. Did Derek Hale just speak to him? Stiles Stilinski? Willingly? "What's it to you?" Stiles responded.

Derek huffed and stuck his nose closer to his book. "Never mind…"

Stiles turned away and ate his lunch in silence, desperately trying to hide his red face. Derek just spoke to him. And he knew Stiles failed the test, which meant he was paying attention to him in class, at least to some degree. Oh God, Stiles could really use a cold shower…

Stiles was started awake by his alarm clock, groaning as he hit the snooze button, rolling from his back onto his stomach, staring at the wall. He really didn't want to get up, his bed was far too warm and welcoming. But seeing as he wanted at least a high school diploma he slowly got up, headed straight towards the bathroom where he freshened up a little, and then back into his room to change into some jeans and a hoodie.

He inwardly groaned when he realized he had chemistry 1st period. Way to start off the day on a good note.

Stiles was busy staring outside the window which is why he didn't hear Harris call his name. "Mr. Stilinski!" the man shouted, which finally caught Stiles' attention.

Harris sighed and rolled his eyes. "Now, that I have everyone's attention… I'm assigning you all projects, which will make up around 30% of your grade."

Of course he is.

"Oh, and you have to work in pairs."

Stiles let his head fall on the table, groaning. Apparently it was louder than he thought cause everyone looked at him. He just looked out the window.

Who was he going to pair up with? Nobody ever wants to work with him.

"And I'll be assigning the pairs," Harris said, looking at Lydia and Jackson, who both rolled their eyes.

While Harris was calling the pairs, Stiles was having a very quiet nervous breakdown. What if he got paired up with Jackson? Or Lydia? They'd both probably kill him. "Stilinski…"

Oh God, here it goes.

"…Hale."

What?

"What?" said Stiles out loud, his eyes widening. He immediately looked over to Derek, who looked at him back with a raised eyebrow.

Great… Just… great.

At the end of the class Stiles worked up the courage to walk up to Derek and talk to him. He was about to say something when Derek spoke up first, "We'll talk about it later," and left.

Stiles just stood there, until he realized what Derek meant. Later, as in later during lunch. Stiles did not blush at the realization, really he didn't.

The bell for lunch had rang and Stiles was hurriedly making his way towards the bleachers to meet Derek to go over their chemistry assignment. He couldn't believe he was actually paired up with Derek Hale. That meant he would get to hang out with him, at least to some extent. And since Derek is good at chemistry, and just about everything else, he could also bring his grade up. It was a real blessing in disguise.

"Stilinski!" was all Stiles heard before he suddenly felt a wet feeling all across his body. When he opened his eyes he saw Jackson laughing at his face, and everyone around him trying to hide their own laughter. He looked down at himself and realized he was drenched in a milkshake. "I got chocolate, really matches your eyes, huh, Stilinski?" Jackson laughed and walked away.

Stiles felt mortified. He quickly went into one of the boys' bathrooms and inspected the damage. It didn't take a genius to realize that the clothes were ruined. Still, Stiles wet some paper towels and tried to get the milkshake off of himself, but to no avail. "Damn it," he said but it was more of a whisper.

After 10 minutes of furious scrubbing Stiles gave up. It was no use. He was just wasting lunch time.

When Stiles sat down on the grass, the first thing Derek did was look at him and raise an eyebrow. "Don't…," Stiles muttered, cutting off whatever Derek was trying to say.

"I was just going to offer you my hoodie," Derek replied in a monotone voice.

Stiles's head snapped to him, eyes big. "W-What?"

"My hoodie," Derek stated, pointing to it on himself. He grabbed the hem of it and pulled it off, the shirt under it sliding up high across his stomach, revealing defined abs to Stiles, who, and he swears, did not feel his face heat up. "Here," the boy said, holding out his hoodie to Stiles.

"I…," he started, eyeing the piece of clothing suspiciously, "you can't be serious."

"Do I look like I'm not serious?" Derek asked.

"That's not fair, you always look serious," Stiles said without even thinking. "Um… Not that I look at you or anything."

"Just take it, you look like a mess."

Point taken. "I can't take your hoodie. You… You're gonna get cold."

"No, I won't. I know what I'm doing, so just take it already before I change my mind," Derek scowled.

Stiles swallowed the lump in his throat and took the hoodie from Derek, their fingers slightly brushing while doing so. Stiles could've sworn he felt a spark when he touched Derek's hand.

"Th-thanks…"

"No problem," Derek replied and opened his backpack. "Here, I made a plan for our assignment."

"A plan?" Stiles asked once he removed his own hoodie, and put on Derek's. He was trying really hard not to get intoxicated by the scent of it; Derek's scent. It smelled like sandalwood, cinnamon and slightly smoky.

"Yeah, like what each of us is supposed to do."

"Oh, okay."

They proceeded to eat their lunches. Well, Stiles at least. Derek just kept reading his book. Does he ever eat?

Stiles went over the plan, trying not to get his turkey sandwich all over it. I don't understand any of this…

"What's the matter?" Derek's voice snapped him out of his thinking.

The brunette boy put down his sandwich and sighed. "I mean… It's a good plan…"

"But?" Derek asked.

"Buuut... I'm really bad at chemistry, as you know, so I honestly have no idea what most of this stuff means," Stiles responded. He figured there was no point in pretending he knew anything about their material. Maybe Derek could help him out.

The other boy just sighed. "You know where I live, right?"

"Yes!" Stiles responded, perhaps a bit too quick. "I mean, uh, yeah I'm, um, familiar with the area I guess."

Derek looked at him weird before continuing, "If you need help with chemistry come to my place after 5. I know that even you can grasp the basics of high school level chemistry."

Stiles felt like he should have been offended a bit, but he really wasn't. His brain sort of stopped working after the 'come to my place' part.

"Uhhh… Are you sure?" he eventually managed to say.

"About what?"

"The coming to your place part, genius," Stiles responded, rolling his eyes.

Derek squinted his eyes, packed up his stuff and stood up. "Just be there at 5," was all he said before he walked away.

What the hell just happened? Stiles thought.

After his brain managed to process the evens that just occurred, he started freaking out. He was going to Derek Hale's place later that day. The guy he had a crush on since 3rd grade.

"Oh my God…" the boy groaned.

When Stiles got home the house was quiet. Not surprising, seeing as his dad had an afternoon shift. He wouldn't be home until 10 or so. Stiles was used to it by now. After his mom died Stiles' dad took the time off to be with this only son. Stiles was all he had left. Everyone at the station understood. It was nice, but the man had to get back to work eventually. So that meant that Stiles was usually alone for most of the day.

He checked the fridge and sighed because it held nothing that would substitute lunch. So, he made some cereal and started doing his homework. It was almost 4, and he had to be at Derek's in an hour. Probably not the best subject to think about when he's trying to concentrate on homework.

AN: Hello, I just wanted to say a few things. This is the first piece of work I've published in around 3, almost 4, years. I've grown a lot since my last work, learned new things that I feel I can apply to my future creations. I've actually had 3/4 of this chapter sitting on my computer since 2015, never quite being able to take it in a direction I liked. But recently I found some inspiration again, and I think I'm ready to finally really dwell into this story. The chapter titles and some minor details might change through the course of this, as like I said I only just got back into this story and I just know I'm going to find new things to add later on. Also Rating, Warnings and Characters will get added through the course of the story.

I hope you guys enjoy it, and I apologize for any errors but I'm only one man :)

Your comments and thoughts would be greatly appreciated!