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Derek's not expecting to be snuck up upon by some random youth in the back of the public library on a Tuesday afternoon.
"Hey, what's your name?" the kid asks, panting a little, as if he's been running. There's only so far you can run in a library without running into something or somebody (Derek knows from experience), so he's a little confused as to how out of breath he is. The kid pulls out an inhaler from his pocket and uses it while Derek gathers what little wits he has, putting the bookmark in the novel he's skimming before closing it.
"Uh, it's Derek," he replies slowly, because he's not a kid anymore and he's allowed to give his name to cheerful teenagers. Also, it's only polite. Derek is a very polite person. "Why--"
"Yes!" the kid does this weird fist pumping thing, smiling brightly. He could knock someone out with a smile like that. Or something. Derek isn't good with this kind of English-related stuff. Or English in general. "I am amazing."
The kid's got this scruffy kind of adorableness, all big brown eyes and ruffly hair and cheek dimples. Dimples are the cutest muscle deformity, Derek thinks. But Derek is not a creep, so he doesn't dwell on the fact.
"Do I know you?" Derek asks. The kid shrugs, still grinning.
"Probably not. I'm Scott," he replies, waving. Derek blinks. "Do you know how hard it is to identify someone from the description of a blind man?"
Derek can physically see his own mind loading. The little buffering circle rotates in front of his eyes as his brain processes that statement. It's not until the kid's giving him a strange look and slowly backing off that the loading completes.
"Wait, you know Stiles?"
*
Derek doesn't expect to be following a slightly less random youth on a dirt bike in his car to a baseball game at the local high school.
After stumbling after Scott, babbling explanations about how "No I just sort of blanked out for a second there sorry" and "do you know where to find Stiles like haha not to be a creep or anything I just like wanted to make sure he hasn't run into any poles recently" and "okay please ignore what I just said that was really embarrassing and I wish I hadn't said it", Scott seemed happy enough to find Stiles for him.
"Stiles likes to commentate at the baseball games," Scott explains as they exit the library (after having to double back in shame because Derek forgot to check out the book he'd been reading and got yelled at by the older librarian. How do old ladies even know that many curse words?).
"He does it every once in a while and the school loves it. He'll just randomly yell out "and that's a home run for Beacon Hills!" or something like that and everyone will go crazy, but all that's happening is the teams switching sides. It's pretty funny." Derek nods along, feeling a little dazed and still fairly embarrassed.
"He always does it on Tuesdays for Varsity, I was just about to head down there. I can lead you there, if you want?" Scott suggests. Derek tried to act nonchalant when he agreed, but he thinks Scott saw though his facade anyway.
And that's how Derek gets to where he is now. Following a reckless, barely legal teenager on a dirt bike, to a stadium full of over enthusiastic kids to see another reckless, barely legal teenager. Youths.
(Derek thinks he needs to stop thinking he's so much older than the rest of these kids: he's only twenty three, dammit, he's no grandpa yet.)
They eventually pull up to the school and park. The lot's already pretty full, so Derek guesses the baseball games are pretty important here as he exits his car. The stands are buzzing with noise and filled with people, decked out in different colors for separate teams. Derek thinks it's nice: pretty much anything is nice after so many boring private schools in New York, with ridiculously lame sports teams.
Scott bounces up to him happily and leads the way with a grin, greeting everyone left and right and center. Derek trudges behind like the awkward adult he is, subtly watching the crowd for Stiles.
"Derek!" Derek snaps to attention, blinking at the pretty, dark haired girl standing next to Scott, who seems to be the one who called his name. "This is my girlfriend, Kira." Derek manages to move his lip muscles into what he hopes resembles a smile. He wonders when it got so difficult acting like a normal human being. "Kira, this is Derek, a guy I met at the library who knows Stiles."
"Hello," he greets. Kira grins at him, shaking his hand firmly.
"Nice to meet you. I think Stiles is over by Coach Finstock and Danny if you're looking for him," Kira points through the little group of teenage girls towards the lowest stand next to the chain link fence. "They said he couldn't commentate today because the normal commentator threw a little hissy fit." Scott rolls his eyes, but Derek is too busy attempting to casually walk over to where he can see Stiles' spiky brown hair.
He doesn't actually know what to say to Stiles once he gets up there, he realizes. Which is probably not the best thing, considering he's now just standing behind Stiles like an idiot. He decides to wing it, even though history has proven that winging it never actually ends well for him.
"Uh--" he starts, hesitantly touching Stiles' arm. Stiles turns in his direction, eyebrows raised. "Hi. It's Derek again." Stiles blinks (can lashes generate enough wind to knock someone over? Because that's how Derek's feeling right now) before grinning.
"Hey! My knight in shining armor!" he turns fully to Derek, which he counts as a win.
"Who's this, Stiles?" Derek turns to see the tall guy standing next to Stiles, who Derek didn't even see at first. Maybe Derek should actually look at other things besides Stiles when Stiles is in the vicinity.
"Oh, this is Derek," Stiles pats Derek's arm and Derek thinks his nerves explode from excitement. Damn arm nerves. "He saved me from running into a pole."
"And getting hit by a car," Derek adds mildly. Stiles punches the spot he's been patting and Derek winces. Stiles' got some strength, apparently.
"Whatever. Anyway, this is Danny. He's usually playing, but he broke his pinkie beating off the other day." Derek almost chokes on his spit. Danny rolls his eyes.
"That's not what happened. I just caught it between the school doors," Danny explains, holding up his broken finger before Derek's face can go full tomato-red mode. Stiles is cackling beside him, face scrunched up all happily, and Derek remembers just why he couldn't stop thinking about him for two weeks straight.
"I think you actually believed him there for a second," Stiles wheezes, and Danny rolls his eyes again, fondly.
"I'm going to go over there, where I won't be the brunt of all the jokes," Danny says, playful. Stiles waves a hand at him and Danny tips his head at Derek before moving to where the team is seated, legs jiggling and clothes dirt stained.
"In case you didn't know, I'm hilarious," Stiles smiles, gazing at the side of Derek's head.
"Kind of figured that out," Derek replies, a little sarcastic. Stiles snorts.
"So what have you been up tOO--!" he tries to lean against the chain link fence but misses it by a long shot, nearly falling if it weren't for Derek catching his arm. "You messed up my depth perception, man." Derek raises an eyebrow.
"I didn't even do anything," Derek points out.
"Yeah yeah, whatever you say big guy," Stiles finally leans on the fence correctly, crossing his arms. "So where've you been the last few weeks?"
"You know, just around town," Derek shrugs a little. "I, uh, met your friend Scott at the library--" Stiles' eyebrows raise again, lips parting. Derek is obviously, immediately distracted.
"Scott? How'd you know he knew me?" Stiles asks, confused. Derek frowns.
"I didn't. He'd said you described me, and--wait," it seems it clicks in both of their heads at the same time, because, to Derek's delight, Stiles begins to blush. "You talked to him about me."
"That--is a true, frankly embarrassing statement," Stiles says, raising a finger. "I say we forget that whole ordeal about me possibly acting like a tween with a crush and you buy me a hot dog. We'll call it a day." Stiles is grinning so Derek can't help but grin back.
"How about you buy, and I'll pretend you forgot about me for two weeks," Derek can't believe he's flirting, but Stiles looks satisfied, so Derek counts that as another win. Derek is winning a lot today, which is pretty exciting.
"Seems like we've struck a deal. Lead me to the hot dog stand!" Derek takes Stiles' proffered hand with a smile.