Out Of Milk

6

Chapter 6

Stiles wasn't really sure what to do. I mean... Isaac had a point – had Derek turned him? Was he undergoing some freaky change between human and wolf that he wasn't aware of?

But... he knew, knew inside that the shallow marks on his back that had faded so much he could hardly see them wouldn't do it. And Derek hadn't bitten him – oh, he'd kissed the crap out of him, but he'd never actually bitten him.

So what was going on?

He stepped out from under the shower and turned off the hot water. He didn't bother with the towel – letting the water run down his body as he stared at himself in the mirror. The bruises were there, a lovely new one forming on his shoulder where Jackson had slammed into him. The others were still there too – like each bruise had got to the point where they looked the worst... then just stopped getting better. His entire torso and back was a mass of blue and purple marks – it was impossible to see where one stopped and the other started.

But there were changes. He had put on weight, his chest seemed wider, his stomach more defined. Was it possible to hit a second puberty? Was that what was going on? Had he hit a stage when he was going to start looking like a real guy and not just a skinny kid? He opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out the tube of Arnica and rubbed some onto the new bruise that was forming. He tried not to look at the unopened box of condoms, with the thin layer of dust over the top – and totally ignored the brand new tube of lube that he'd bought after that kiss. Just in case.

The cream soothed instantly, he sometimes felt like he could feel it working. Only... it wasn't working. The bruises weren't fading, if anything – he looked worse. He felt great, but he looked like hell.

Grabbing his jeans he pulled them over his wet skin. Derek was already standing in his room, waiting for Stiles to throw the tube at him. He could hear the wolf breathing. Huff puff.

As he walked through to his room, he noticed Derek had on his regular black jeans and one of the grey t-shirts he'd bought at the GAP with him. And just seeing it made Stiles feel bad. A few weeks ago they'd been laughing in a store, cute girls thinking they were a couple – they'd watched TV together on the floor, he'd been laughing at Stiles stupid jokes and his obsession that Dean really just needed to open his damn eyes because Castiel was totally gagging for it (how fucking ironic). So when Derek stood there in that T-shirt that Stiles picked, he felt like crying. It was like losing Scott – only worse because Scott hadn't given him a hickie that refused to fade.

Derek held out his hand for the tube, and Stiles threw it at his head. Of course the wolf caught it, didn't need to even look when his hand shot out and grabbed it.

"You need more of this."

"Yeah, I can pick it up after school tomorrow."

"Isaac said you were still benched?"

Oh, and didn't that just suck all kinds of balls? He'd been benched because coach had seen the bruises that were all over his body. And freaked out. So he was on a medical break – in other words, back to second string.

And Scott had been happy. Happy that Stiles was on the bench and he wasn't. Isaac had been happy too – but for different reasons. He was worried, worried about Stiles and his stupid temper and bruises and the fact that he broke Jacksons arm by accident.

"Yup."

"That might be a good thing."

"Yeah, cause being kicked off the team is awesome." Stiles said, turning his back on the wolf. "Best thing that's happened to me in weeks."