Baking My Way Into Your Heart

10 - Unplanned

Baking My Way Into Your Heart - Unplanned

It was Thursday. There was nothing special or significant about Thursday. Thursday was just another day of the week. This is what was in Derek's mind when he woke up that morning. He looked at the date then told himself that it was just Thursday. Only Thursday.

The day had been going smoothly. It was just like any other day. He got his coffee, ate some spiced pumpkin pie, went to class, did some studying just like he did every Thursday. And then he got a call from his sister.

She just wanted to check up on him, make sure he was all right considering the day. She had meant well, but Derek wished she understood his need to just numb himself from what the day was. His Uncle Peter knew that. He was likely to hear from him on Friday, maybe even Saturday, but definitely not on Thursday. But Laura always thought she knew Derek best. And in most cases, she was spot on. But when it came to this…

Derek sighed. He couldn't be mad at her. He couldn't be mad at anyone. And that just left him with a stuffy apartment where he was all alone with these emotions daring to overwhelm him. Unable to stand it any longer, Derek grabbed his keys and left.

It was late. Nearly midnight. He had to be grateful for it, cause any earlier and he probably would've crashed into someone. He had been driving around at reckless speeds, making sharp turns, wearing down his tires and his brakes. He rolled his windows all the way down, letting the cold air sting against his face. And once the need for speed had died down, he found himself here, parked with his windows back up, just outside Stiles' apartment.

He had no plans to go inside. Hell, the boy was probably asleep by now. He just needed the proximity. Just being there, in his car, made him feel better in a way he couldn't understand. Derek sighed, leaning his head against his steering wheel.

'Dammit Laura… why did you have to call? Everything was fine.' He shut his eyes. "Everything was fine…" he repeated to himself, over and over again. At some point, he wasn't even sure he was talking about his sister any more.

Just then, a knock came on his window. Derek snapped up, darting a look to the figure leaning in.

"Derek? I thought this was your car."

'Stiles.'

The boy smiled.

Derek blinked out of his reverie and unlocked the doors.

Stiles just pointed to the passenger seat in question and moved to the other side of the car when Derek nodded. Stiles climbed in, pulling the hood of his red sweatshirt down, and laying the bag he had been carrying on the floor between his feet. "Hey, whatcha doing here?"

"I was just… driving…"

Stiles cocked an eyebrow, but didn't push it.

Derek looked at his hands, clenched tightly against the steering wheel. "Why aren't you asleep?" He wondered, voice low.

"Hm? Me? I told you, I don't sleep much. I actually went out to buy some midnight snackage," he smiled, lifting up the bag and shaking it before laying it back down. "Don't tell Scott though. I nag him about eating healthy so he'd probably maim me if he knew about the Oreos I plan to demolish."

Derek heard the boy chuckle. He was trying to lighten the mood. Derek knew he should react. A smile – hell – even a scoff would do. But he just couldn't bring himself to do either.

The moment passed, leaving nothing but silence. Stiles looked to his friend, worry in his eyes. "Derek? You okay?" he asked, concerned. Gently, he placed his hand over Derek's arm, feeling the muscles tense underneath.