Sterek Library (a03 Edition)

Cinnamon part two

By: blackstar on tumbrl

His phone wouldn't stop ringing, even though he was sure he'd turned the alarm off in the evening, before his endless attempts at sleeping had started. They weren't especially successful - there were fits of what he'd rather call unconsciousness than sleep, filled with bits and pieces of nightmares. It was late summer and he blamed the heat for his nightmares.

Stiles stretched his arm and tried to find his phone without opening his eyes first, and on the third try he slapped his hand over the device and pulled it into his bed.

"Mm?" He moaned, trying to fully convey how very asleep he was.

"Bro, are you not going to come to the seminar today?" Scott's voice asked, worried notes sneaking around his question. Yesterday, Stiles had told him what happened in the morning and Scott had been dutifully worried since. "Starts in less than an hour, man, it's 11 o'clock. Are you still sleeping?" As a response, Stiles moaned again, turning to the wall, phone still pressed to his ear. He didn't believe he'd be able to actually go to the seminar yesterday as well and he'd told Scott as much. Heartbreak didn't sit well with Stiles. "Hey, Stiles?" Stiles moaned in the affirmative. "You okay, buddy?"

He'd heard that same question fall from his own mouth, these same words, a million times through Scott and Allison's relationship. Because Scott was as dramatic as a person could get without living in the Enchanted Forest and that applied tenfold to his relationships. Through every up and down, Scott would have a mini-breakdown, a lack of trust in the strength of his relationship with Allison, or in himself, or in her, and he'd call Stiles, saying nothing, seeking comfort. And then Stiles would always ask "You okay, buddy?", which opened the floodgates until Scott was reassured and everything went back to normal.

Trouble was, Stiles didn't need exactly that right now.

"Yeah, Scott." He replied, his voice thick with sleep. "I just don't feel like going to that seminar. Maybe I'll go drink with Lydia."

"You should totally do that!" Scott exclaimed, more excited by the idea than Stiles felt and added "You know she's with us too, right? Everyone's going to the seminar and the day welcome party for the freshmen. Maybe you should at least come to the party, meet some new people, have some fun. They promised they were gonna have cocktails, man. Free alcohol." Stiles contemplated this for a second and then sighed.

"I ache for a cup of coffee, Scotty, you have no idea." There was only silence on the other line. Stiles groaned and pushed his blanket away and to the ground. "Fine, Scott, I'll come to the damn welcoming seminar, just... I have to shower quickly first. I can leave my Jeep near your place so I can drink later, right?"

"Of course!" Stiles felt as if he could feel the beaming waves of Scott's happiness through the line. "Allison's going to come in a bit with Lydia, we can wait for you at my place and leave together. Deal?"

"Deal. And Scott?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, buddy." Stiles swore he could hear the smile on Scott's end and tapped on the end call button. He rolled into his shower and tried to not think of Derek or Derek's lips pressed against that woman's lips and Derek's broad hands around her middle, as if they belonged there. He tried not to think of earlier that morning, when everything had felt possible, when Derek's eyes were always on Stiles, following his every gesture, his full attention on Stiles' stupid stories. He tried not to think of Derek's fingers touching his forearm, gently and insistently at the same time, full of promise, and Derek's slight blush when he and Stiles just stood there, staring at each other for too long. Stiles tried not to dwell on the previous weeks and months, spent looking for opportunities to spend more time with Derek, of drinking coffee and trying the baked goods and how Derek always remembered to add cinnamon to everything Stiles ordered. He tried not to think of Derek's stubble, which covered a beautiful jawline, and of Derek's multicolored eyes, and of Derek's rare smile, which he so willingly shared with Stiles.