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Derek can't tear his eyes off him. Again. It's not his fault really. His hair is bright purple again and when he turns his head a little toward Derek, he can see that his eyes are in an unnatural green shade that clashes with them completely. Derek is surprised to feel relieved to see this peculiar color combination, but somehow he is. Stiles' hair had been light brown all week, his eyes amber, somehow it didn't feel right. It made Derek's stomach clench every time he looked at him. The fact is that he can't just walk up to him and ask what was wrong, so he can’t do whatever he needs to make it go away. It makes it even more frustrating. But he can't. Because he doesn't actually know him. Or rather Stiles doesn’t know Derek.
Stiles, everyone knows Stiles, he’s hard to miss with all the colors, always so bright, so vivid. His loud words and laughter make you want to join in, no matter what it is that he’s laughing about. Derek has never seen anyone else laugh the way Stiles does, with his whole body, like he can't stop. It’s impossible not to stare. So Derek stared.
They share some classes, not many, which is probably lucky for him. It’s easy to forget to pay attention when Stiles is right there in front of him, chatting with his friends in low voices. It’s easy to imagine it’s him that Stiles is leaning close to, whispering something in his ear. He has wished for that to be true for as long as he remembers, yet their conversations never turn into anything more than Stiles asking to borrow some ink when he forgot to bring his own. Derek desperately tries to come up with something to say that would make Stiles want to talk to him, maybe even make him laugh. But he always ends up stammering, “Yeah, sure,” after a pause that’s too long to not be awkward. Isaac is laughing at him for weeks afterwards and never neglected to retell the whole thing to Erica in great detail so she could laugh at him too. They tried to help him sometimes, offering tips and advice, some of them even good, the others completely ridiculous. It never really mattered as Derek just didn’t have the courage to speak to Stiles. Sarcastic, popular Stiles that probably doesn't even know Derek exists. So he tells himself he's content just staring at his bright purple hair across the Dining Hall.
He doesn't notice the calculating look of Lydia's green eyes on him before she leans in to cut into Stiles' conversation with Scott. He does notice when Stiles turns his head to look straight at him, his lips already forming a smirk. Derek blushes deeply and hangs head down, suddenly very invested in his food. Isaac laughs beside him. There are moments that he's grateful Erica is not in the same house as him and Isaac, it's one less person to tease him at a time. Truth be told, Stiles and Scott shouldn't be sitting together either, but it's been a long time since anybody said anything about Scott's presence at the Slytherin's table.
“You should just talk to him already,” Isaac said after he sobered up from his laughing fit. “This whole staring thing is getting quite creepy.”He grunted noncommittally in response. He was after all fully aware of that, Erica likes to remind him of that on regular basis. So did Cora, even if only through letters. Laura mostly just laughed at him. She was still in school when eleven year old Stiles first arrived to her house, shaking nervously and with violently red hair. The nervousness was short lived, quickly turning into mischievousness and Laura liked him from the start. He probably would like her too if he wasn't so intimidated. But she was much older and left to work in the ministry. Derek isn't bitter at that thought, he really isn't.
He sighs, pushing the plate away from him, he isn't hungry anymore. He says so to Isaac, who looks slightly concerned now, before standing up to leave the Dining Hall. Maybe he'll be able to snatch up his favorite place to read under the tree if he hurries.
“Hey, wait!” He hears someone yelling as soon as he’s out the doors. Someone whose voice sounds just like Stiles', but he can't be calling to him, can he? He turns around questioningly, and indeed he sees Stiles there, slightly winded as if he ran to catch up to him.
“Yes?” he asks curiously.
“Um...” Stiles scratches his head, looking nervous all of sudden. As if he has anything to be nervous about while talking to a lame Hufflepuff! “I was wondering... I mean tomorrow...”
“What's tomorrow?” Derek frowns at him, not getting where this is going,
“It's a Hogsmeade day tomorrow, I was wondering if you would like to go with me?” Stiles blurts out, looking determined. Derek just blinks at him.
“Or you know - not,” Stiles mumbled, face fallen, making Derek mentally kick himself. “I just thought... I thought you liked me. You stare at me a lot but I guess I was wrong, so... I'm just gonna go.”
“No, wait!” Derek almost shouts, and catches his arm before he can leave. “I do like you. I was just... surprised. Sorry, I would love to go with you.”
“Really?” Stiles looks up at him with a hopeful smile, that makes something inside Derek's chest melt.
“Yeah, of course,” he stated softly, looking into those eyes for the first time from this close.
“Awesome,” Stiles breaths out in happy-excited voice that Derek never heard before. “I gotta head back before Lydia kills me for running out on her, but tomorrow... I'll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, tomorrow,” Derek agrees happily.