A Lot Like Pompeii

Chapter Three: Realization

Stiles sat in the den of Scott's house eating a hot pocket and watching ghost busters. After an extra day of lying in the hospital, stiles was finally released but due to his cast, was going to miss the first couple of football games.

"Hey man you okay?" Scott asked as he walked into the den and sat next to stiles while he handed him a soda.

"Yeah I'm fine, hey can I ask you something?" Stiles asked as he opened the soda and took a gulp. It had been three days, and all stiles could think about was Derek Hale. Tall, muscular, friendly, yet he seemed like a firecracker in stiles eyes.

"Yeah whatever you want."

"Can you tell me about your cousin Derek?"

Scott paused the movie and sat still for a couple of seconds before a smile crept across his face and he faced stiles, "Ah, seems like someone has been mesmerized by a Hale." He said. He turned to stiles and took a sip and smiles, "Derek is the only survivor of the Hale family after a fire killed everyone in the house that they owned. He's quiet because he doesn't trust easily, but also, he's one of the sweetest guys I know. He's really into music, especially piano." He said.

Stiles looked down at his hands as Scott talked. Never in a million years could stiles every think he would be in this position. Where he would want to get to know a guy more and more. Stiles usually stopped getting to know about guys when they started talking about their family but there was just something about Derek that made everything worthwhile.

"Why do you ask?" Scott asked looking over at stiles. Stiles looked up and shrugged, "I don't know. He just seems interesting and I told myself I would get myself to make new friends. Before I left for college next fall."

"That reminds me, where are you going to college?" Scott asked. Stiles sighed and shook his head. "I want to go to NYU, music is my passion, it's just something I'd like to do. But I also want to go to Stanford for football.." He looked up at Scott, "and then there's my father, who thinks being a lawyer is a great idea and that I should become one of those. He set up an interview for a law school over Christmas break, so there's that." Scott snorted and stood, "Stiles, you need to figure out what you're going to do. If you don't want to be a lawyer that's fine, just don't make your dad think you want to be one."

Stiles stood and walked out of Scott's room and down the stairs. "It's not that easy, he really wants me to be a lawyer because that's what he was going to do instead of being a sherif. I just feel terrible if I don't do what he wants." They walked into the kitchen to get something to eat and Stiles ran into what he though was a wall, but turned out to be Derek once again.

"We're going to have to stop meeting like this." Derek chuckled as he steadied stiles and walked around him and up the stairs. Stiles could feel his face growing hot. "Damn stiles," Scott said as he grabbed a bottle of water, "if I didn't know better, I would have thought you liked my cousin." Stiles waved his hand at Scott and started making himself something to eat, "C'mon man, I don't like guys."

Scott jumped up on the counter and looked over at stiles, "might I remind you about this past summer, isaacs party? You and Isaac sure got it on." Stiles shook his head, "One time, and I was drunk."

"You're gay."

"Dream on."

"Bi."

"Nope."

"Bi-curios."

Stiles sighed, "Even if I was, Derek would never go for me, and I would never ever do anything about it."

Stiles finished making his lunch and went into Scott's living room to watch a movie. For the rest of the afternoon, stiles kept hearing what Scott said, "If I didn't know any better, I would think you were in love with my cousin."

For the rest of his first week of his senior year, stiles couldn't get Derek hale out of his head, and by the end of the week stiles was sure of one thing and one thing only, he was falling for Derek hale.