Topeka

I taste blood every time I think of summer

If that's true, I'm in for quite a treat

'Cause I'm beggin' for a mid-Missouri winter

Waitin' desperately to get out of town

No, you can't hold a good man down

--

Stiles doesn't want to go to camp, but his dad hasn't had good quality alone time in well over two years, so Stiles has held his complaints inside and waves with a large, bright smile when he's being dropped off. As soon as his father's car is out of sight his shoulders slump down and the oh-so-convincing smile quickly slips off of his face. He turns around and crosses his arms over his chest, eyeing a cabin that has a wooden plaque with the words "MAIN OFFICE" carved into it nailed above the door. Stiles huffs and grabs his bag, admitting himself to Camp Spray (or Camp Gay as he preffers to call it), the living hell at which he'll be staying for nine whole weeks.

--

One week in, and Stiles is already head-over-heals in love with one of the camp counselors.  Derek Hale is a senior in high school, two years ahead of Stiles, and has the whole Tall, Dark, and Handsome thing down to a T. Well, except for the smiling and laughing bits... the smiling and laughing bits that only come out when he's talking to either a) Laura, his little sister, or b) Stiles. Neither option goes unnoticed by Stiles.

--

The first time Stiles and Derek spend the night together. Stiles wakes up at 2 AM in his bunk by Derek shaking him and whispering excitedly, "Stiles, Stiles, you just have to see it! It's so beautiful!" Stiles doesn't want to disappoint the hot, hot, hot Derek Hale, so he grabs his sweatshirt, shoves his feet into his sneakers, and follows Derek onto the hill behind the cabins.

"What is it?" Stiles yawns as Derek sits on the grass and pulls him down beside him. Derek lays back and Stiles follows suite.

"Just... look." Derek breathes as he points at the sky.

"Oh." Stiles gasps. The stars are more clear than they ever have been back home and there isn't a cloud in the sky.

They spend the night outside on the hill. Derek tells Stiles the stories behind all of the constellations he can find and when he runs out of that, Stiles tells him the stories he made up after his mom died. When he starts to shiver, Derek pulls him close and hugs him tightly. They don't go back to their own cabins until the sun starts to rise; Derek walks Stiles to his cabin and just before he leaves he has this look in his eyes like he wants to say something, but instead he smiles and punches Stiles playfully in the shoulder. "Get some sleep."

--

The next morning in the breakfast line Stiles sleepily and unknowingly bumps into Derek's back, which causes him to turn around with an annoyed look on his face. Stiles looks up at him, completely mortified and convinced that last night was just a fluke, but when his face melts into a grin and he chidingly says, "Trouble sleeping last night?" Stiles knows that they're cool. Maybe even friends. He raises his eyebrows and shoots back, "Least I look hell of a lot better than you. Are those bags designer?" Derek laughs and Stiles jots it down in his mental notebook.

--

They start spending time on the hill every night. They stop talking about the things around them and the stories in their heads and start talking about themselves. Stiles learns that Derek and Laura are the only family each one has and Derek learns about Stiles's mother's struggle with cancer and her death. They learn about each others dreams and aspirations, their fears and secrets, their ticks and pet peeves.

One night, Stiles opens his mouth at an extremely vulnerable moment and blurts out, "I'm gay."

"Oh." is Derek's only reply, and they don't speak again for the rest of the night. In fact, they don't talk for an entire week.

Stiles begins to think that it's over, Derek is never going to talk to him ever again and it's all his fault. He fucked up. But then, during the fifth week of camp, when he can't sleep and he's staring at the bunk above him while thinking about Derek and listening to his cabin-mates breathing in their sleep, Derek comes back. Stiles hears the door creak open and thinks he's going dreaming, but Derek's warm hand touches his shoulder and his familiar voice whispers, "Come with me."

Stiles puts on the appropriate gear and follows Derek to the hill, where they sit in silence for half an hour Stiles Time (AKA five minutes real time).

"Stiles, I," Derek begins, but quickly stops. He opens his mouth again before frowning and burrying his head in his hands.

"Hey, it's fine, I get it, I freaked you out, I shouldn't have told you." Stiles says mournfully as the realization that this is the best-friend-break-up conversation hits him.

"Stiles, shut up.  You stupid fucking... ugh."

And then Derek's hand is behind Stiles's head and he's kissing him he's fucking kissing him fucking finally. Stiles kisses back and it all just feels so good and he can't believe this is happening. Derek pulls away quickly and has the quiltiest I'm-your-camp-counselor-I-could-get-in-so-much-trouble-for-this look on his face, but it immediately breaks off when he sees the grin of pure happiness on Stiles's face. Stiles feels stupid, but he can't help it, the smile just won't budge. Derek laughs and pulls Stiles close to him to kiss him again.

--

For the next four weeks, they go outside every night and spend time together. They don't call themselves anything, they're not an "item" and they are definitely not "dating" (despite the whispers from several other campers). In the day-time Stiles goes to whatever activity Derek is helping with, even though rock-climbing, pottery, and racing aren't exactly his forte; but spending time with Derek makes them feel like the most amazing things he's ever done, especially that one time when Stiles wins a race and Derek pulls him into the woods for a victory make out session.

The third week of August is the last week of Camp Spray (Camp Gay), and they don't talk about it. Stiles can feel how, on the last night they spend on the hill, Derek's smile is a brutal attempt to keep himself from crying. They kiss more slowly than usual and Stiles whispers under his breath, "I love you," between a long and a short kiss, but he isn't sure if Derek hears him.

The next day, when everyone is getting picked up by their parents to go back to normal society, Derek kisses him behind the cabin with the "MAIN OFFICE" plaque that Stiles had seen as a death sentence on his first day, and promises that they'll keep in touch. Stiles jots down his number on Derek's hand in permanent marker with a watery smile and is about to kiss him again when they're interrupted by another camp counselor walking behind the cabin and exclaiming, "Aha! Found you!"

Stiles laughs and waves to Derek as he walks to his dad's car.

"So, how was it?" his father asks, a huge grin on his face.

"Amazing." Stiles whispers.