#baseball!derek

While all of that had been awesome, there was one thing that kept lingering in the back of my mind: Derek. I had managed to not think about him constantly over the holidays, which was a HUGE accomplishment, but as soon as I started packing my things to head back to school, it was like someone had opened the floodgates. What if I run into him? Literally...again. Or even worse: what if I bump into him, literally...again...and he completely ignores me? What if I see him first, should I wave or smile or call out or just pretend like I don’t see him at all? It was like the irrational part of my brain was in hyperdrive and the off switch was broken.

Irrationality did not make a great start to the new semester.

We were three days in and I was as paranoid as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I tried to make easy conversation with Stiles as we walked together between classes, tried to not scan every room that I walked into for his face, tried not to listen for his voice meshed into the background in the student center or dining halls or walking down the sidewalk. You’re acting like a crazy person, Y/N. He’s not hiding around the corner waiting to jump out at you! If only the rational part of my brain had current control over my mind….

“I was thinking Lord of the Rings this time, what do you think?” Stiles’ voice broke me out of my thoughts.

“Sorry, what?”

“Lord of the Rings. Movie weekend. Kicking off the semester,” he said, hands waving about. “Did you get any of that?”

“Uh…I got LOTR and that’s about it,” I admitted. “Sorry Stiles. I’ve had some…stuff…on my mind.” The look in my best friend’s eyes told me he most likely knew to what I was referring, but he decided to not push, something I was really grateful for.

“My room, this weekend. We’ll start off a new semester with a new set of movies! Are you free? I mean, I’m assuming you are so I expect you to be there, I’m just asking out of courtesy.” Giving him a playful elbow in the ribs, I smiled and agreed to attend, much to Stiles’ delight.

“I have a meeting with Professor Yukimura Friday after class, but I’ll come straight over after that.”

“Perfect! Alright, this is my stop,” he sighed as we approached a split in the sidewalk. “I will see you Friday night then. Also,” Stiles paused, moving to stand in front of me. His face got about as serious as his could before he spoke again, this time much softer. “I know the you-know-who stuff sucks, but it’ll get better with time. Okay? You know I’m here for you.” My cheeks heated up just the slightest, but I smiled at the brown-eyed boy in front of me.

“Thanks, Stiles. Really.”

“Anytime.” With that, he clapped his hand- his right hand- on my shoulder and gave a goofy grin. “Plus, I could give him a stern talking to at baseball practice once it starts up again next week. Take my trusty bat and pull him to the side…”

“Slow down there, killer,” I laughed. “No need for all that.”

“Just putting the offer out there,” he replied, beginning to walk backwards. “See you Friday!” And with that, he turned around and was off.

I know, Alli, you really like Stiles. I do, too.

*line break*

“I already have two papers and a chem lab assigned,” Scott groaned, plopping down next to me on the futon in their dorm room. “This is off to a great start.”

“Tell me about it,” I snorted. “I met with Yukimura today and he gave me the rundown of what all he’s teaching this semester and what he’ll need my help with and seriously, I’m not sure how I’m going to handle all that on top of my regular work load.”

“Y/N, you’re practically a genius. And history is your forte. I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Stiles said, the compliment making my cheeks warm. “Plus, can’t you like opt out if it becomes too much?”

“Yeah, that’s true. I’d just hate to stick him with everything.” Letting out a sigh, I tried to shake those stress-inducing thoughts from my head. “Anyway, it’ll probably be fine, just like you said. Come on, Stilinski let’s get this movie started!”

“I’m trying, I’m trying,” Stiles grumbled, frantically searching for something. Scott and I exchanged confused looks before he cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Uh Stiles…what the hell are you looking for?”

“Popcorn! We can’t have movie night without popcorn! I swear we had some leftover…” Slamming the drawer he had been digging through closed, Stiles ran a hand down his face in defeat, popping out one hip and propping his free hand on it. Quirking a brow at his distress, I jumped up from the futon and jammed my thumb toward the door.

“I’ll just go grab some from my dorm. I can be there and back in like twenty-ish minutes?”

“No, don’t worry about it,” Stiles muttered, shuffling toward his bed. “It’ll be late by the time you get back and you shouldn’t go alone, especially in the dark-“

“Well, how about you guys come with me and we just move the viewing party to my room?” I offered. “I just have to text Lydia and see if she’s okay with that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, totally.” Pulling out my phone, I shot her a quick message, receiving an almost instant reply of assent. “Alright, grab everything and let’s go!”

“You’re sure Lydia’s okay with this? It’s a long movie,” Scott asked.

“Oh definitely,” I assured him. “She’s secretly a huge LOTR fan. She’ll love it.” I paused and pursed my lips, thinking for a moment. “Don’t tell her I told you that.”

As we shuffled down the hallway of Stiles and Scott’s dorm, arms loaded with extra blankets and pillows, I chuckled at Stiles’ continuous rant of the mysterious popcorn disappearance. Scott and I exchanged knowing looks, silently agreeing that yes, our friend was ridiculous and had likely eaten the rest of the popcorn himself sometime during finals week as it was one of his go-to stress foods, but we didn’t have the heart to suggest that, instead just letting him ponder out loud. I was paying much more attention to Stiles’ words than anything else, not hearing the opening and closing of a room door as we rounded the corner.

Stiles stumbled, causing his blankets to shift in his arms and begin to unfold. Because I am the world’s greatest klutz, my foot- left foot-  found the corner of the blanket that now reached the floor, tugging it out of my best friend’s arms and resulting in my subsequent descent toward the ground. Landing with a thud, but thankfully on top of Scott’s pillow that I had been carrying, my eyes drifted along the dingy carpet to find the toes of sneakers that I recognized all too well.

“Y/N, are you alright?” Scott asked, concern in his voice as he knelt down to help free me from the blanket’s evil clutches. All the words to formulate a coherent response to his kind question had suddenly vacated my brain, however, because I was staring right into the exact pair of green eyes I had been dreading seeing. You have got. To be. Kidding me.

“Derek!” Stiles exclaimed, his face not hiding his surprise and mild panic well at all. “How uh- how was your…your break?” He was trying so very hard to act casual, bless his soul, but the boy could not help but to feed into the awkward tension already suffocating the hallway. Thankfully, Derek’s eyes shifted from mine to Stiles’ as he spoke, giving me the opportunity to scramble to my feet with Scott’s help. I could feel my cheeks burning bright red, just knowing that they could all hear my hammering heart. Act natural, Y/N. So you fell, no big deal! It’s fine. Totally. Fine.

“It was alright,” Derek answered, not offering much more than that. Aaaaand there’s that voice. That damn nice voice. Wait, no stop that! Stiles pursed his lips and nodded. The four of us just stood there in the middle of the hallway, the silence becoming more and more weird as time passed. Oh my god, somebody say something PLEASE! This is like the longest anyone has ever gone without speaking, ever.

“Are you ready for practice to start up next week?” Scott asked, his question breaking the silence and making me sigh internally with relief.

“Yeah, should be good.” Scott’s eyes squinted in curiosity at this second short response, but he didn’t push any further. I forced myself to fix my gaze back on the ground as I felt Derek turn back toward me, desperately not wanting to have to speak to him. Thankfully, Stiles came to the rescue.

“Well!” he announced, readjusting the load in his arms. “We should get moving. Don’t wanna…be out too late.” With that, his hand subtly found my back and nudged me forward, Scott in tow as we hustled out of the dorm. Once out in the crisp night air, I took a deep breath and let the freshness try to stamp out all that awkward tension.

“I know he doesn’t usually say much, but that was weird even for Derek,” Scott noted. Stiles and I agreed before quickly dropping the subject and heading in the direction of my building.

“Yeah, that’s bullshit, but nice try. If I had to guess, based off of your intense and somewhat creepy staring, it has something to do with Derek and that girl he’s been hanging around with for a couple weeks.”

“Stiles, can you just drop it?” I hiss, panic starting to set in as I saw Derek walking toward us, the mystery girl’s form retreating down the hall. He puts his hands up in surrender, a quiet sigh of relief leaving my mouth. Derek took his seat and greeted us, Scott rushing in a few moments later and grinning as he slid into his chair right as class started.

“Hey, Y/N,” Derek said, falling into step beside me as we exited the building. “Got a second?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” I asked, trying to push down the nerves twisting in my gut and put on a kind and curious smile.

“I, uh-” he paused, bringing a hand up to rub across the back of his neck. Oh no. That’s not a good sign. “I’m not gonna be able to do baseball lessons this week. I’m really sorry, it’s just-”

“Oh, it’s fine, Derek,” I replied quickly with a dismissive shake of my head. “Seriously. You don’t have to explain. It’ll give me more time to get some stuff together for our project anyway. And I have an exam in another class I should study for this weekend, so. It kinda works out.”

“You’re the best,” he sighed, smiling widely at me. I chuckled at that, glancing down at my shoes in an effort to hide the blush on my cheeks. “I gotta go, but catch you later?”

“Sure. See ya.” With a final wave, Derek turned left and headed down another sidewalk. I watched him go, disappointment settling into my chest. Don’t freak out, it isn’t like he’s your boyfriend cancelling a date or something. There’s always next week.

Except next week didn’t happen.

Neither did the week after that. And by the time that had passed, it was way too cold to be outside throwing a baseball around. Suddenly I was only really seeing Derek in our history class and when our project group met every now and then. Apparently he was keeping his grade up without my help now because the tutoring had come to a halt, too.

To say I was upset didn’t quite convey it...I was just plain sad. Here was this guy, this cute and nice guy that I had a lot of fun with, that made me laugh, that I had actually considered a friend despite our rocky start, and now it was like I just didn’t exist to him anymore. I suppose that’s what happens when he finds a girlfriend.

I just kept telling myself to look on the bright side: I still had Stiles and Scott. And Lydia, of course. So it wasn’t like I was completely alone, far from it actually. Maybe this is what I get for questioning Allison and the damn shoes so much. Way to go.

Time seemed to fly by and before I knew it, finals were just around the corner. Long hours of reading and studying lied ahead, as well as putting the finishing touches on our project for history. Stiles, Scott and I were settling in for another Star Wars marathon weekend as a farewell to relaxation and laziness, the calm before the storm as they say, Lydia even joining us this time. I curled my favorite blanket around my shoulders, finding a comfortable position as Stiles set up the first movie.

“Hey, why don’t you text Derek? I’m sure he’d like to come,” Scott suggested, nudging my arm with his elbow. My heart fell at those words, but I tried not to let it show. That was the last thing I wanted to have to do.

“Uh, can you?” I asked, trying to avoid any extra contact with that kid if at all possible. You’re being childish. But he started it! Oh my gosh, you’re arguing with yourself again, Y/N. “My phone is about to die.” It wasn’t technically a lie.

“Yeah, sure.” I let out a small sigh of relief when he seemed to have bought it, no question in his eyes. As much as I hated to admit it, I couldn’t even pay attention to the beginning of the movie because I was way too focused on waiting for Scott’s phone to ding with the signal of a new message. What if Derek did want to come and he showed up at my door? What if he sat next to me during the movies? Wouldn’t it be awkward? What if-

I was snapped out of my mental rant by a quiet tweeting noise, my heart rate speeding up as Scott picked up his phone and read the message.

“It’s Derek.” I tried my best look nonchalant, but judging by Scott’s bemused eyebrow raise, he knew better. My intense laser beam stare that had been trained on his phone probably didn’t help my pathetic attempt at a ruse. It felt like an eternity before he finally typed out some reply and then gave me that tiny sympathetic grin before speaking. “Says he’s got plans tonight, but maybe next time.” Of course he does. Wait...shouldn’t I be relieved? Get it together and stop being so confusing, emotions!

“His loss,” Stiles mumbled before shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth and earning a curious look from Lydia.

“Hey kiddo!” The deep voice flowing through the speaker of my phone brought a small smile to my lips.

“Hi, Uncle Chris.”

“How are you? Getting ready for finals yet?” he asked, the grin in his tone evident.

“Yeah, I have a lot of studying to do, but I’m getting a jump on it. I don’t think my exams will be too hard, but I suppose we’ll see. Don’t want to jinx anything.” He chuckled over the line, the sound making my heart ache with a tinge of homesickness.

“You’ll be fine. You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for. And you’re a good test taker.” I huffed in acknowledgement, but when I didn’t offer anything else, he must have sensed something was off. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, I guess. I just-” How do you tell your uncle that you’re heartbroken over a guy that didn’t even have your heart in the first place? “Just a bit overwhelmed. Really stressed.”

“You’ll get through it, Y/N, don’t worry so much. Hey, how about I come down and visit this weekend, huh? We can go out to a nice dinner, maybe catch a movie. You can fill me in on everything.”

“Uncle Chris, I was just home for Thanksgiving a couple weeks ago,” I chuckled. “You’re pretty much up to date.”

“Still. It’ll be good for you to take a study break. Let your brain relax,” he continued. I had to admit, the offer did sound rather nice. Maybe spending some quality time with my uncle would be good for me. And the offer of food was on the table, so really, who was I to say no?

“Alright, yeah. That sounds like fun.”

“Great. I’ll be down Saturday afternoon.”

“Sounds good. See you then.” Ending the call, I let out a sigh as I fell back against my pillows. Staring at my notebooks scattered around me, I knew I should be studying, but the mere thought of it made my head hurt. I think my bed is really calling my name. Just a quick nap and then I’ll get back to it…

With that, I crawled under my covers and curled into a tiny ball, tuning out the world and my problems. At least for now.

“Do you have anymore finals today, Y/N?” Scott asked as I walked out of the classroom, he and Stiles straightening from where they were leaning on the wall waiting. I stuffed the papers that Professor Yukimura had given me into my backpack before offering a small smile.

“Nope. Just one more tomorrow and then I’m done.”

“And of course, since she’s a freakin’ genius, she’ll ace it and finish out the semester with a perfect GPA,” Stiles said, throwing his arm around my shoulders as we walked and making me laugh.

“Whatever, Stilinski. You’re just kissing up to me because I saved your history grade,” I joked. He only shrugged, not denying or confirming anything. We had just turned in our final project, all our hard work and research over the last several weeks coming to a glorious end.

Professor Yukimura had wanted to give me some information on the position I had decided to take with him next semester, so the guys had waited outside while I spoke with him. Derek, on the other hand, had left without so much as a goodbye wave. Probably in a rush to go meet his girlfriend.

“What about you guys? More exams?” Glancing between the two, I saw two very different expressions and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I’m done!” Scott answered, a huge grin splitting his crooked face. “Which means that I get to go back to my room and finish packing before driving home tonight for break.”

“Well, you lucky dog! Stiles, judging by your face…”

“I have two more and a paper I still have to write,” he grumbled, earning a sympathetic pout from me. I leaned into his side for a moment, playfully nudging his ribs.

“You’ll be fine, don’t worry. And once it’s over, just think about how much sleep you can catch up on over break!”

“Sleep? What’s that?”

“Is that everything, kiddo?” Uncle Chris asked, scanning the room one more time. Pursing my lips, I did the same, not wanting to forget anything. Mentally going down the list in my head, I sighed and nodded my head.

“I think so.”

“Did you already tell your friends goodbye?”

“Yeah,” I replied, trying my best to ignore the ping in my chest. Lydia had left yesterday, hugging me tightly. Even though we were from the same town, we wouldn’t see each other over break because her family was going on vacation this Christmas. Stiles, Scott and I grabbed dinner together before Scott left the day before last and Stiles had stopped over to avoid studying by talking to me while I packed last night.

But Derek hadn’t said goodbye.

The last time I saw him was when he walked out of the classroom after we turned in our project. The last time we actually really talked, though, was...well, long before then. Pushing down the bitterness, I forced a smile and nodded, signalling that I was ready to go.

“Alright, let’s load up the SUV then!” Uncle Chris announced, turning to head for the door and carrying a couple of my bags. My brows shot up when he kicked something, sticking out from underneath my bed, and almost tripped. Bending down, he picked the offending object up and faced me, a questioning look on his face. “You need this?”

It was the old worn-out glove that Derek had given me for baseball lessons. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I shook my head.

“Nope.”

And I was ready to leave it there, but something courageous and maybe a little rebellious told me to do something else, something I would probably never even think of doing it it weren’t for the little voice in the back of my mind nagging at me.

“Actually...can we make one stop? I forgot I owe someone something.”

I was pretty sure that if I held this glove any tighter, my nails would puncture the leather. Taking a deep breath for what felt like the millionth time, I nodded my head and marched down the hallway toward Derek’s door. My heart was slamming against my ribcage, threatening to break free at any moment. Just get it over with, come on.

Now standing in front of his door, I gnawed on my bottom lip. Was I seriously about to do this? I didn’t even know what I was going to say to him. ‘Hey, I know you’ve been ignoring me and that I haven’t really made any effort to talk to you either, but here’s the glove you gave me. Thought I should return it since you dropped our baseball lessons. Have a great break, Merry Christmas!’ Yeah, like that would go over well.

Looking down at the ground as if it would give me some much-needed courage, I realized that I was tapping the toe of my right shoe against the floor absentmindedly, and sighed. I blame you for whatever...this...turns out as, Allison.

“Alright, you can do this,” I told myself quietly, firmly planting my right foot to stop its incessant nagging, I stepped up and raised my hand to knock on the door. That’s when I heard it. The distinct sound of a girl laughing, Derek’s deep chuckle accompanying it. All my resolve crumbled into the pit of my stomach. Turning to leave in defeat and silently berating myself for thinking this was a good idea, I nearly smacked right into someone.

“Whoa, hey. You alright?” a sweet voice asked. I looked up into the face of the woman I almost plowed over, eyes wide in embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry,” I told her. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“It’s okay,” she chuckled. Her eyes flicked towards Derek’s door then landed back on me, her small smile growing wider. “Are you a friend of Derek’s?”

“Oh, um- I-” Shit.. “No. Well, kind of. I tutored him. That’s, ah...that’s about it, I suppose.” Deep breath, Y/N. As long you remember to breathe, you’ll be fine. Alright, good. No, not that deep. Don’t be weird. Breathe like a normal human. “Are you-”

“I’m Laura, Derek’s older sister. Do you wanna come in? We’re just getting him packed up for break.” This is it, this is your out! Take it, take it now!

“Actually,” I started. “I’m kind of in a hurry. My uncle is waiting outside for me. Could you- could you maybe give this to him for me?” I held out the glove, biting my lip nervously and hoping against hope that she would agree. Thankfully, she did. “Thanks, I really appreciate it.” With that, I started to walk around her, wanting nothing more than to get the hell out of there, but I stopped short. “Can you tell him...well, actually. Just don’t tell him anything.”

Before she could respond, I spun on my heel and made my way to the nearest exit, choosing to ignore which foot I led with. I couldn’t handle all this fate crap anymore.

Sorry, Alli. Not now. And no, I don’t actually blame you.

What good was knowing what fate wanted when it was the one thing it was keeping you from? Putting one foot in front of the other is the only that could change fate. No matter what foot I was on, carrying on with my own two feet would be enough.

It had to be.

I would make it be.

Tears fell from my eyes despite my small laugh, mingling with the warm water of the shower.

The memories played on, and I gave up resisting.

All the college brochures sat between the two of us on the bed, practically a giant elephant between us.

Allison must have read my mind, she was always good with that. “It’ll be okay,” she said, reaching across the infernal pamphlets and placing her hand over mine, squeezing gently.

“I don't know what I would do without you,” I began, having to clear tears from my throat before they affected my voice any more than they had. “What if we get into different schools?”

“I’m just a phone call away.”

I snorted, making her laugh. She knew how much I hated talking on the phone. “What?” Her eyes had grown mischievous, and I didn't like it.

Reaching for the boxes of shoes, she handed mine to me, hesitating before switching them and handing me hers. Darting over to her desk, she grabbed two black sharpies, handing one to me before sitting back down.

“Sign your initials on the label in the tongues. That way, we’ll always be with each other. And when in doubt, look down and see if your first step is with your left or your right. Left, don't do it. Right, it’s fate’s way of saying that I agree, and you are starting out on the right foot.” She laughed softly at her pun, initialing the inside of my sneakers.

Laughing, I did the same. “Allison, there’s no such thing as fate. You know that.”

She tossed her head from side to side, as if weighing my words. “No, I’m not sure if I do. I know there’s no such things as monsters, like werewolves and stuff.” She handed me my own shoe box back, and I handed hers to her. “But fate…. I don't know, I just think we all play such small roles in the big picture, there has to be some mastermind behind it all.”

“Well, when you find the mastermind, remind them that I want to lodge a formal complaint about the fourth grade.”

Allison laughed, a deep, belly laugh, clutching her stomach with one hand, and my forearm with the other. Her head was thrown back, and her smile was the closest thing to sunshine a person could stare at - so brilliant and radiant, it made you feel warm just to see it, her laugh like a song from a bird in a tree.

“Will do, will do,” she said, coming down from her high in fits of giggles. “We have a new code now.”

“What, you mean ‘Don't touch a boy unless you want cooties’ isn't good enough anymore?”

Both of us were sent into a fit of giggles. “We were five, so no. It’s time we update it.”

“To what?”

She glanced at the brochures one more time before looking down at the box of shoes in her hands. “‘Close to the heart, never apart.’”

“So essentially, ‘When in doubt, look to the shoe, and know it means I’m probably thinking of you, too.’?” I couldn't help but laugh at the glare shot my way. “Sorry. Too long. I know.”

“‘If you don't know what to do, let the shoes guide you.’ There. That's it. No more suggestions!”

I stared at my own box of converse. “God, you make them sound like a lucky charm or something.”

“Well, they are. Because I am always right and you should always listen to every word I say, so having me with you always is like…. A good luck magnet. I will summon good things to you through the shoes.”

“Stop talking like a Jedi and look through these brochures with me.”

Right foot, remember Allison? I chuckled darkly to myself, the water starting to run cold. Nothing this semester has been a ‘right foot’ situation.

It was almost as if she were on the bench outside of my shower stall. I could hear her voice, what I knew her response would have been. “Boy, you always were blind without me, Y/N. Think again. I’m always on your side.”

If only you were still by my side, that would be better.

That deep, long, hard laugh was the picture that always popped into my head when her name was brought up.

Sure, I had plenty of great ones, but that was my favorite.

Mainly because it was the farthest from the last time I ever saw her. Her face expressionless, painted and pale, her dark hair surrounding her against the soft, plush white liner of the coffin.

She looked every bit like Snow White, with her lips painted red and her skin so fair, almost blending in with the white surrounding her, were it not for her hair making a sharp contrast between the two.

I smiled through tears as I pictured what she would say were she there. “Why did you let them bury me in that dress? My ghost shall forever be floral now. Gee, thanks.”

After Chris showed up and Derek left, he went down the right hallway, meaning he would have had to make a giant circle back around to the front doors.

That first ball I hit went to his left, but…. My right.

He had been lying to my right as we watched the clouds earlier in the day.

Allison?

I could hear how she used to chuckle when I said her name that way. “Yes?”

Why Derek Hale? Of all people. Derek. Freaking. Hale.

“I’d tell you, but you told me you don't believe in fate, remember?”

And you just disagreed with me.

“Well, considering I am just in your head, I can answer however you want, but you know what I would say.”

I know.

I turned the water off, taking a heaving breath as I let the thought seep into my skin like the remaining drops of water.

“It’ll be okay.”

On the way to meet Stiles, everything I did, I paid attention to whether it was on my right or my left.

Taco stand? On the left. Passing by the mystery meat I saw come out in a few stray tacos made me agree it was a bad idea.

My turns to get where I needed were all right turns. I even passed by Derek, oddly, on the other side of the street.

To my right.

As I stepped into the crosswalk.

On my right foot.

Okay, I get it, Allison.

Passing by a sorority table on my right made me bite back a laugh until I was well out of earshot. Now you're just trying to be funny, Alli. Since when do I even own anything that brightly colored pink?

I bumped shoulders with Scott midway through another crosswalk.

Can you guess?

On the right.

And I couldn't help but smile.

You would have loved him, Allison.

When I entered the dining hall, I quickly swept my card and made my way inside, spotting Stiles standing over by the pizza and burgers station, fidgeting with his hands. I walked his direction, forcing a smile onto my face.

“Hey.”

“Dude!” he said, slight annoyance in his tone. “They’re almost out of deluxe! What took you so long to get here?” I rolled my eyes, bumping his chest with my shoulder as I moved to grab a plate and jump in line behind him.

“The hot water felt good,” I told him, shrugging my shoulders. We moved down the line, picking up our favorite kinds of pizza on the way. I paused to glare at him when my eyes landed on the almost-full pan of deluxe. “Stiles, there’s plenty of it left!” He flailed a hand in my face to brush the comment off. Oh, he’s lucky I like him.

We finished piling food up on our plates before walking to find a table. Plopping down, I kinked a brow as Stiles started shoveling pizza into his mouth. He noticed me staring and paused, brown eyes wide and mouth stuffed with food.

“What?” he managed, voice muffled. I let out a small snort and shook my head, picking up one of the slices on my plate and taking a small bite. Once Stiles had swallowed around the massive lump of pizza, he brought up my baseball lessons. “So tell me what happened!”

I recounted the story of my day with Derek, leaving out the parts where my stomach filled with butterflies at the sound of his laugh and the sparkle of his green eyes. When I got to the part where the baseball assaulted his groin, Stiles lost it, palm slapping on the table as he threw his head back and laughed. I couldn’t help chuckling along, his amusement infectious. I don’t know how the hell he didn’t choke on his pizza, but somehow he managed to get through. Both of our faces were red by the time we calmed down, tears shining at the corners of Stiles’ eyes.

“Oh my god, that’s great! I can’t believe-” obnoxious laughter, “-you found a damn bunny...in the clouds after he caught you staring at his crotch!”

“Shut up!” I told him, giggling and kicking him lightly under the table.

With my right foot.

I sobered up a bit after that thought, memories of earlier flooding my mind. Stiles finally came down from his high after a few more minutes, the atmosphere shifting in a bit of a more serious direction.

Noticing the change quickly, Stiles knit his eyebrows together for only a second before a light bulb went off behind his eyes. Reaching out his hand to rest on my forearm, I stared down as his thumb idly moved back and forth calmly, comfortingly on my right forearm.

Geez, Allison. Radio silence all year and then POW! I get it, okay? I’ll start listening.  

“I don't know what it is, and you don't have to tell me, but I know that look,” Stiles’ voice pulled me back up to his eyes, and I saw an unspoken understanding, deeper than words could tell, and still as kind as the first day of school when he said he liked my shoes before I even knew his name.

Wow. I really need to pay more attention.

“Whatever it is, you still got me. I’m only a phone call away.”

Stop laughing, Alli.

“Well, in that case, looks like I started off on the right foot making friends back at the beginning of this semester.”

Stiles laughed, softly, patting my arm before retracting his hand and taking another large bite of pizza. “Yeah. Definitely. I knew from the moment I saw those shoes we were stuck with one another.”