Here it is! I'm sooo soooo soooo sorry guys! I promise you that this unexpected hiatus will not occur again! So so sorry! Please don' hate me. -runs away from angry mob of people-

I apologize, i really do but I hope you are happy with this. Though, I apologize for the cliffhanger at the end...hehehe.

No beta for this so ignore any errors and pretend they don't exist :P

Chapter 14: Dances Just Aren't Fun

The tie wasn't working. It was crooked and just plain wrong. Who the hell had decided that guys needed to wear ties to formal events anyway? Why couldn't they just wear jeans and call it a day? Stiles groaned in frustration as the tie won yet another battle. He tried once more before throwing the evil piece of material across his bedroom. Stiles flopped onto his bed, his head cradled between his hands. Why was he even going to the stupid formal? He didn't have the energy or heart to do, so why was he? Sure he had agreed to go with Jackson but that was just as friends meaning he had no actual obligation to go. Stiles sighed and shook his head; he knew he couldn't hide away from the world no matter how much he wanted to.

Stiles fought with the tie for another ten minutes before he finally got it right. An echoing knock from his bedroom startled Stiles and he turned to see his father leaning against the doorway, a gentle smile on his aging face. "You ready, son?"

Stiles nodded his head, hesitated, and shook his head. "No, almost." With those words, Stiles threw himself into what he called his closet and searched for his dress shoes. He ignored his father's laugh, choosing to roll his eyes instead.

"Stiles, you should have had all these things prepared already." The graying sheriff said from the doorway, leaning his weight against the doorframe. Stiles stuck a hand out and waved him off, causing his father to shake his head once more.

A smile stretched across Stiles' lips once the black, shiny shoes came to his line of sight. He jumped out of the closet, shoes in hand, and fisted pumped. "Success!" And for a brief moment, Stiles felt like his old self. The sheriff noticed the flare of his real son too but he sighed when it went just as quickly as it came.

"You can't be like this forever, son. You need to move on." Steven moved to sit next to his son on the bed.

Stiles faltered as he tied his shoes. Stiles wished he could move on, leave behind the sadness that ate away at his heart. He wanted to forget the pain that harbored in his body knowing that he couldn't be with his mate. But he didn't tell his father any of this, knowing he wouldn't understand. "I know," he replied simply, voice hollow.

"What about Jackson? He's a good kid."

Stiles nearly snorted at that. "Jackson's just a friend and I'm pretty he's as straight as they get." At that moment, luckily, the sound of knocking downstairs interrupted anything that Steven was going to say. A sigh of relief fell from Stiles' lips. "That's him."

Steven watched his son exit the cluttered bedroom and shook his head. As far as he knew, just friends didn't pick each other up or go together to a formal. His son had apparently inherited his denseness when it came to dating matters. He just wanted to see his son happy again. With a sigh, the sheriff looked up at the ceiling as he listened to Stiles and Jackson talk downstairs. "I wish you were here; you'd know what to do with this." Sorrow tinted the soft green eyes of the Sheriff when memories of his beloved wife filled his mind. With another sigh, he got up from the bed and walked downstairs. "Mr. Whittemore, I trust you'll bring him home at a decent time." He meant the comment to be taken as a joke but the seriousness that entered Jackson's eyes surprised him. How didn't his son see that Jackson could make him happy?

"Yes, sir. Don't worry about him, he'll be fine." Jackson reassured the sheriff, oblivious to the look of shock that invaded the faces of both Stilinski men.

Brushing off Jackson's words, Stiles grabbed the blonde's arm and tugged him toward the door. "Come on, we're going to be late." In reality, Stiles could care less but he figured that the sooner they got to the dance, the quicker he could come home.

Jackson nodded and gave a curt nod to Stiles' dad. Steven followed them out of the house. Stiles waved at his father once he settled in the Porsche. Out of nowhere, a bout of nausea raided his stomach. Stiles turned to look Jackson. Jackson smiled at him and Stiles shook away the strange nausea but something bad was going to happen tonight. He could feel it. He just didn't know what.

Scott fixed his suit, checking to make sure his tie was properly placed before raising a nervous hand to knock on the Argent door. His breath got trapped in his throat as he prayed that Chris wouldn't be the one to open the door.

"You look like a scared puppy." Allison joked when she opened the door and saw Scott's face scrunched up in a grimace, his eyes shut tightly.

Scott snapped his eyes open at her voice, rolling his eyes at her puppy comment. "You know dog jo-" his words caught in his throat as he scanned her appearance. Scott beamed at Allison, causing Allison to blush under his apprising gaze. "You look beautiful," Scott murmured, pulling her to him and kissing her lightly on her lips. Allison smiled against his lips.

"Thanks." Allison whispered and Scott nodded in response, leading her to the car. He opened the door for her and waited till she was comfortable before getting in the driver's seat.

When the car was on the road, Allison peeked over at him but didn't speak. Scott chuckled and shook his head; he had grown to know her and could easily tell that she wanted to say something. "What is it?" Scott asked her, grabbing her hand in an attempt to reassure her.

"Weren't you on academic probation?"

Scott grinned as he recalled how he managed to con his way into going to the dance, "I was but I managed to convince the principle to make me serve infinite detention in favor of going to the dance." The arrangement wasn't exactly appealing and frankly, it sucked, but Scott knew he needed to be present for the dance without the worry of having to stay hidden. "I need to be there for Stiles."

The weight of their plan sat heavily in Allison's mind. She knew how worried Scott was over Stiles and she could only hope that tonight went according to planned. She squeezed his hand. At a red light, Scott turned to look at her and their brown eyes met. A silent message was transferred between them and understanding was made.

The music blared loudly in the enclosed gym. Bodies moved and danced. Scott's ears hurt the minute he had parked outside and it only got worse when they entered the gym. Allison and Scott separated. Scott searched for Stiles while Allison searched for Lydia. She was essential to their plan.

The scene that unfolded when both Scott and Allison found their designated person would have been comical if they hadn't been worried about what would become of their plan.

A shriek came from Lydia right before her perfectly manicured hand slapped Stiles across the face, leaving a bright hand print on his pale cheek. Scott turned to look at Allison, his mouth gaping open. They composed themselves and went where their friends were. Allison pulled Lydia away and out of the gym while Scott stayed behind.

Scott glanced at Jackson briefly, confused as to why he was at the dance with Stiles but couldn't bring himself to really worry. "What was that about?"

Stiles opened his mouth to answer but Jackson's furious voice interrupted him. "Lydia came over screeching something about Stiles stealing me away and slapped him." Jackson's rolled his eyes. "She obviously doesn't get the concept of dumping."

Stiles rubbed his cheek and shrugged, "Well, she finally noticed me at least."

Scott shook his head and eyed Stiles, "you alright, bud?"

Stiles' face darkened considerably. He had managed to put on a facade of a somewhat happy state for the past ten minutes he had been at the dance with Jackson but with Scott asking him, all his depressed feelings came back. "I'm fine." He lied smoothly.

Scott frowned but didn't push him; he knew he wasn't on good terms with him yet and didn't want to push his luck. Scott nodded at Stiles and spared a glance to Jackson who was standing next to Stiles before turning and walking away towards Lydia and Allison.

Once Scott was out of the way, Stiles sighed and offered Jackson a small smile as he sat down in the table they occupied. Jackson sat down next to him, throwing an arm over Stiles' chair.

"Cheer up, it's a dance." Jackson tried to tell Stiles, a smile playing on his lips. When he saw that Stiles' facial expression didn't change, he sighed. He hated that Derek still had this much power over him. He wanted his chance with the brunette. "You need to move on, Stiles."

Stiles sighed and turned to look at him. "I don't need you to tell me that to. I thought you of all people understood that I can't. I love him despite everything that he's done." Stiles said harshly, glaring at Jackson.

Jackson's eyebrows shot up in shock before his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Whatever. I'm going to get us something to drink." With that being said, Jackson shot up from his chair and stormed to the refreshment table.

Stiles watched him walk away and groaned. He hadn't meant to be an ass to him. Slumping against the chair, he fixed his tie and closed his eyes. He wasn't sure how long he had his eyes shut when his phone buzzed on the nicely decorated table. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. No one who normally texted him would be sending a message now considering they were all at the dance. He picked up his phone and his breath hitched in his throat at the message that was on his screen.

Stiles…please. I'm sick of this. I need you.

Stiles couldn't breathe as he read over and over Derek's text message. He didn't notice that Jackson was hovering behind him and had read the text message. The blonde sighed, his heart clenching in a way that it never had done before. He swallowed back the lump in his throat and put on a brave face. If he wanted to win Stiles, he would have to up his game.

Jackson sat down in his chair next to Stiles and handed him his drink. "You want to dance?" he asked, his voice soaked with hope but Stiles remained oblivious to the tone, he was too focused on the text message.

"No…"he breathed, tearing his eyes away from the phone. "I…I need some fresh air. "He didn't wait to see Jackson's nod and got up from the chair, rushing out of the gym and left a depression Jackson behind.

Stiles' heart thumped in his chest, unsure of what the hell to do regarding the text message. When the cold rush of the night air hit him, he was able to breathe a little easier. His thoughts were too jumbled that he didn't even notice when a dark figure came up behind him. A scream got stuck in his throat as a piece of cloth covered his nose and mouth. Stiles' vision became blurry and he soon collapsed, Derek's name was the only thing ringing through his head.

So obviously, you guys know that I'm a bit rusty on my writing considering I haven't written much in months so I'm sorry if this is utterly horrible. (and I'm sure it is).

I have the order of my story updates set and here it is:

The Alpha and His Pack (will be changing this title)

Supernova

Hardships of an Eternal Love

Broken

I'm already half-way done with TAAHP but with school ending, I'm having finals and such so that will take up some time but once summer is here, it'll be a lot more free time.

Anyways, I'm going to posting updates/sneak peaks via my tumblr [ walking-the-world-alone (dot) tumblr (dot) com ] so feel free to check that out.

Review!