Two of a Kind

Confused

Lunch with Erica went well. She stopped drilling the twins for information and they all managed to have a nice time, however, Derek had noticed Stiles remained quiet throughout. He wanted to talk to him about it but didn't know how to bring it up.

When they got back to the dorm room Stiles collected the trash to take out, which Derek appreciated. He used that opportunity to ask Spencer about Stiles.

"He was unusually quiet during lunch," Derek said as soon as the door closed.

Spencer sighed, "I know. I hate when he gets like this. I wish I knew what to do. He thinks everyone prefers me because I'm more outgoing. I just wish he'd understand that's not true. He's more reserved so he doesn't' give people a chance to see the real him." Spencer looked genuinely upset.

"You were pretty quiet when I first met you two," Derek pointed out.

"Me? Quiet?" Spencer raised a brow.

"Sure, when Stiles went to meet that friend of yours..." Derek thought back to the first day he'd met the twins, "Danny was it?"

"Oh, you mean on the first day?" Spencer recalled, "I'm the one who met up with Danny. Stiles stayed behind." Spencer shook his head.

A frown tugged at Derek's features. He was sure Spencer was the one that had stayed behind.

"No, you showed me how you hacked the campus database and showed me who Erica was rooming with," Derek insisted.

"Wrong brother, dude," Spencer chuckled.

Derek specifically remembered asking who had stayed behind.

Before he could question it further Stiles walked back in.

"Ran into Kai outside, he's throwing another party next Friday and invited all three of us," Stiles held out a flier.

"He still interested in you?" Spencer asked with a teasing smile.

"Seems like it. He insisted I be there. He promised me Jackson wouldn't be a problem," Stiles dropped the flier on his desk next to the stack of napkins he'd acquired the night before.

"You should invite Theo, it'll get Kai to back off," Spencer suggested pulling on his jacket.

"I'm not gonna lead Theo on," Stiles rolled his eyes.

"Dude, he could tell us apart. He obviously likes you. He's cute. Go for it." Spencer insisted.

"I told you, he's not my type." Stiles shook his head.

"You don't know unless you try."

"I tried with Andrew, and look how that ended," Stiles scoffed.

Spencer let out a sigh. Andrew had been the one that tried to get with Spencer while he was with Stiles.

"Tell Danny I said hi," Stiles waved a dismissive hand before Spencer could respond.

"Stiles, you're gonna find someone who thinks the world of you, and they'll make you forget all about the assholes you dated in the past," Spencer said with a sympathetic smile.

"Until then, I get to live vicariously through you, now go," Stiles waved him off again.

"I'll be back later." Spencer sighed before walking to the door.

"Have fun, make good choices," Stiles called after his brother with a chuckle.

After a moment of silence Derek spoke up.

"Why did you pretend to be Spencer that first day we met?"

Stiles paused in the middle of logging on to his computer.

"How'd you find out?" Stiles sighed. Not turning to look at Derek.

"Things weren't adding up," Derek explained vaguely.

"I wasn't trying to lie to you I just..." Stiles trailed off with a sigh.

"Was afraid I'd like Spencer better?" Derek guessed.

"Most people do and I get nervous around new people. I find I have more confidence if I'm pretending to be my brother," Stiles shrugged. He was facing Derek now.

"You know I had the two of you so mixed up because of that," Derek commented. He was now unsure if he liked Spencer or Stiles.

"I'm really sorry," Stiles looked genuinely sorry.

"I just hope you know you don't have to pretend around me," Derek offered gently. He wasn't mad, just more confused about his own feelings.

"I appreciate that," Stiles gave a shy smile.

"Speaking of you being more confident as your brother, you seemed pretty confident last night collecting those numbers at the bar," Derek smiled. He hoped it would lighten the mood a bit.

"Alcohol, liquid courage," Stiles laughed picking up the napkins.

"You got five, that's pretty impressive," Derek was trying to make Stiles feel better, but he wasn't sure how. Comforting was never his strong point.

"The one time I can keep up with my brother," Stiles laughed dropping the napkins into the trash.

"You really shouldn't compare yourself to him," Derek frowned. He didn't like that Stiles felt the need to keep up with Spencer.

"It doesn't usually bother me, but Jackson knows how to get under my skin. I have pretty much accepted being second best to my brother and our personalities allow for that. I wouldn't do well with the amount of attention he gets. We're just different like that," Stiles shrugged again.

"Well I like you the way you are," Derek offered with a smile, "I'm not much of social butterfly either."

"Thanks, Derek." Stiles grinned. It meant a lot that Derek would talk to him like this.

"So just to clarify, you're the one that dated Danny's roommate, right?" Derek was determined to figure out which brother was which.

"Yeah," Stiles nodded.

"And you helped me find Erica's roommate that day?"

"Yeah."

"And you're going into criminal investigation. Spencer is the one going into computer programming."

"Seems like you're not as confused as you thought," Stiles grinned with a nod.

Derek only wished that were true. He wasn't sure which personality he preferred. Not that it mattered, he wasn't going to pursue the twin, once he figured it out, but he would like to know. He had been certain he liked Spencer, but now he had a sneaking suspicion it was Stiles he actually liked. Which if that was the case, he didn't have a chance in hell. Stiles was more guarded than he was, and that was saying something. 

*AN*
Another update. Hope you like it!