Things We Never Saw Coming

Jealous

Sunday, 3am

“So who was the guy?”

Stiles glanced at Derek from the passenger’s seat. “What?”

“The guy you were talking to at the bar. The one who gave you his number. Who was he?”

“He was a guy from high school,” Stiles said. “And why does it matter that he gave me his number? It’s not like I’m going to call him or anything. Why do you want to know about him, though? How do you know about him—you were at the door all night.”

Derek shrugged, tightening his grip on the wheel of his sleek sports car. “I’m just curious, that’s all,” he said, but Stiles had him in his trap now. A triumphant smile slid across Stiles’ face.

“Derek Hale, are you… jealous?” he asked with a fiendish grin.

“I was just curious,” Derek informed him tartly, turning the corner with a little more aggression than was actually needed. He glanced at Stiles, who was grinning from ear to ear. “Stop looking at me like that.”

Yeah, because that’ll stop me. Stiles’ grin widened. “Oh, you’re no fun,” he said, ruffling Derek’s hair playfully. He couldn’t be sure in the dark, but Derek looked like he was blushing. “Come on, I was only teasing. I think I’m allowed to tease you a little bit, since I’m pretending to be your boyfriend to keep Erica off your case.”

Derek grunted as he wheeled the car onto Stiles’ road. He parked in front of Stiles apartment building without another word, staring at the dashboard with both hands clutched to the wheel. Stiles felt a wave of guilt sweep over him. “Hey, I didn’t mean it,” he said. “Look, I’m sorry for teasing you.”

Derek took his hands off the wheel and placed them in his lap. He seemed unable to decide what to do with himself—he looked trapped. He looked at Stiles and opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He finally closed it and looked away. “Night, Stiles.”

Stiles touched Derek’s shoulder cautiously. “Are we okay?”

Derek’s gaze shot up to Stiles’ face, then down to the hand resting on his shoulder and back. He repeated the action several times, as if he was trying to save it in his memory, before finally allowing himself a rare smile. “Yeah, we’re fine,” he said. “Good night, Stiles.”

“Night, Derek.” Stiles didn’t move for a moment as he and Derek stared at each other. Something passed between them like electricity, and it didn’t matter that it was late and they both needed to get some sleep before going back to work again. Stiles could’ve remained frozen in the car staring at Derek until the sun came up, but the distant sound of a car alarm going off broke the spell. Embarrassed, Stiles scrambled out of Derek’s car and onto the sidewalk, closing the door behind him. He heard the gentle purr of the engine as Derek turned the keys in the ignition, and spun around just in time to see Derek’s car turn the corner. He rubbed a hand over his tired eyes and sighed. “I’m in trouble.”