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Stiles didn't have the first idea what had hit him. He was suddenly being hauled into the vice principal's office and could feel nothing but injustice in the air.
"Why did you do it, Stillinski," Vice Principal Deucalion demanded, bearing down on Stiles across the desk.
"Excuse me, sir?" asked Stiles, "Did I do it, and what am I supposed to have done?"
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Earlier that day, Stiles had been so thrilled to be alive. He had been given another A+ assignment by their algebra teacher, Ken Yokimura. Mr. Yokimura had told him he was a sure shoe-in to enroll at Stanford University the following schoolyear, along with Scott, Allison, Lydia, Isaac, Liam and even mischief-maker Jackson. The following period, however -
All seven of the friends had the same phys ed period. After Coach Finstock sent them in to shower and dry off for their next period, Stiles was approached by one of the under achievers in the class, Theo Raeken.
"How does it feel to be the ultimate nerd, Stillinski?" he asked, flicking the back of Stiles' ear.
"Don't you get tired of trying to provoke me, Theo?" Stiles retorted, "After over 12 years, haven't you had enough?" Ever since they had been in kindergarten, Stiles and one of his friends or another had been attacked without provocation by Theo or one of his own cronies. They'd even tried getting Jackson to join them, but Jackson made it clear that Stiles, Scott and the others had helped him obtain self esteem like nobody else.
"I don't like your attitude, Stillinski!" snarled Theo, "How about I close your mouth permanently with my fist?"
Theo advanced. Stiles dodged his fist, but he wasn't quick enough to see Matt Dahler's foot coming at him from his right. Stiles fell to the shower room floor with a sharp pain in his hip. Then, both Jackson and Scott grabbed Theo and Matt respectively and pinned them against the wall.
"Stiles, are you alright?" asked Scott, as Stiles picked himself up off the floor.
"I'll be fine," said Stiles, "Matt, you and Theo fight dirty, and Matt kicks like a 7-year-old."
Assistent coach Derek Hale entered the shower room. "Is everything alright?"
"Fine," responded, Stiles, Scott and Jackson in unison.
"Stiles, I recommend you go to the nurse for a onceover, all the same," said Derek, "I saw what happened."
"Okay, Coach Hale," said Stiles.
"It's Derek," he responded.
On his way past the four boys by the wall, Stiles heard Jackson whisper in his ear, "Do it!"
Back in the deserted locker room, Stiles dipped into Jackson's backpack for a cherrybomb he knew was concealed next to his wallet. He stuffed it in Theo's own bag, timed just right for it to go off when Theo next opened the bag.
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Once Stiles was declared fit to return to class, he left the nurse's office and suddenly found himself grabbed by the ear and hauled into Deucalion's office.
After he was asked without preamble why he'd "done it", Stiles had to suffer the vice principal giving him a look the like of which he had seen in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine featuring a disfigured Cardassian. It was clear thet the vice principal favored Theo's gang. It only served in Stiles' head to justify his actions.
"There was a pyrotechnic explosion about 10 minutes ago in Theo raeken's schoolbag. If I'm not mistaken, you are in his P E class?"
"Sir, I have no prior record of disciplinary breakdowns. It doesn't do you any good just to assume I was the culprit when you haven't even asked me if I did anything - other than take his and Matt Dahler's unprovoked attacks."
"Don't try your smart overachiever talk with me, you brat," Deucalion continued to snarl, "Just because your daddy is the sheriff and you're the teacher's pet of more than half the faculty, doesn't mean you can get away with anything!"
"Excuse me, sir, but - does that mean Theo's bunch can?" asked Stiles, doing everything in his power to avoid losing his temper from the injustice of Deucalion refusing to hear his side of the altercation, "I've been targeted by those guys since we were all 5 years old. You've seen it and always looked the other way. I think it's worth risking detention to tell you that I should not be the one in the hotseat.
Right on cue, a knock came at the office door.
"YES!" yelled VP Deucalion, acting like he was being asked to step out of a line to get tickets for a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert.
The door opened, and in came Derek. "Mr. Deucalion, I'm here to speak on behalf of Stiles."
"I'm sure you are, Derek Hale," said Deucalion, mockingly, "I'm sure this kid's got you wrapped around his little finger."
"Sir, that's uncalled for. So is your treatment of this young man. Right before that explosion in the locker room, Theo and Matt were physically assaulting him. As Stiles was attempting to dodge Theo's fist, Matt kicked him in the hip. I witnessed all of it. Scott McCall and Jackson Whittemore, two others in their class, needed to restrain Theo and Matt."
"Anything else?" asked Deucalion.
"Yes," said Derek, "I just checked Theo out. He's unharmed, even though his books - which he's never seemed to open anyway - have been damaged."
"I'll gladly pull some money out of my savings to pay for the damaged materials," piped upp Stiles, "if you, Vice Principal Deucalion, have those boys punished for attcking me without cause. Otherwise, sir, I'm going to take this to my father. You know - the sheriff."
"I'll back him each step of the way, Mr. Deucalion," added Derek, "Stiles does not deserve to be bullied by anyone. Especially not a faculty member."
"GET OUT OF HERE, BOTH OF YOU" screamed Deucalion, acting as if the cherrybomb had gone off in his seat and gesticulating at the door. Derek took Stiles' hand and led him outside.
"Thank you, Derek," said Stiles, slightly shaken, "I'm just glad the day's about to end."
"We're going straight to your father's station," Derek responded.
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Sheriff Noah Stillinsski let Stiles and Derek into his office as soon as they arrived in Derek's Camaro (Jackson was with them). The sheriff was not surprised at what they told him. Stiles confessed to having slipped the cherrybomb in Theo's bag, and Jackson confessed to having given it to Stiles. Noah was lenient with the boys because of their cooperation, and he revealed that Deucalion had ben exactly like Theo and Matt when he and Noah were students. The sheriff phoned up the school, reaching Principal Thomas to confer with him on the subject of bullying in the boys' gym locker room resulting in a small explosion. Within 15 minutes, all 5 of Scott, Theo, Matt, Principal Thomas and Vice Principal Deucalion had arrived at the sheriff's station.
"Sheriff Stillinski," began Principal Thomas, "I do not blame you if you favor Stiles in this case. Aside from being your son, I have actually been very proud of his cool head up to now. I wouldn't have expected him to set off fireworks, especially coming from one of his own friends, but I applaud him for taking responsibility for the damage done to Theo's books. Derek here is right. Theo probably doesn't open them. He's failing all his subjects."
"Mr. Thomas - " Theo interrupted.
"Be quiet, Mr. Raeken," "Mr. Thomas retorted, "And that also goes for you, Deucalion!" For the vice principal had opened his mouth to raise his own objection.
"Why are you looking at me, Thomas?" whined the VP.
"Because, Stiles had every right to level with you about not trying to keep Theo and Matt in their place. Today was only the latest of, let me think, 11 incidents spread over the last 4 years that Theo has targeted either Stiles or one of his own friends. I watched him reduce Lydia Martin to tears after one of their English classes. He wouldn't stop telling her she writes like a girl. And no, that's not a compliment. He was demeaning her sexually."
"Don't you think you're being a little sensitive, sir?" asked Deucalion, "I mean, it's high school."
"Yes it is, and we do not need to have faculty members participating in the subdivisions, pal," said Thomas, "If an incindent of this nature takes place in my school again, you're fired." He reared on the two bullies and continued, "As for the two of you, it'll be a week's worth of detention, beginning now. Come with me back to the school."
Deucalion stomped his foot loudly on the floor and started whining again. "Sir, leave them alone. They did nothing wrong. Just because you're the principal and wrapped as tightly around Stillinski's finger as Derek, doesn't give you the right to lord it over them or me!"
"Okay, buster," said Thomas, "if you're going to push it this way, we can skip clear ahead to the consequences for spoiling the rod and spairing the bully. YOU'RE FIRED!"
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Before the year was out, not only was Deucalion succeeded by another vice principal, but both Theo and Matt were expelled, this time for rushing the field during a lacrosse game and trying to attack Scott with his own stick. All seven of the old friends graduated with honors and enrolled at Stanford together. Stiles kept in touch with Derek - who he later married and came back to Beacon Hills to live with - from campus. Derek joined him in Palo Alto every weekend, and they occasionally discussed how difficult it had been to cope with Deucalion sassing them about their feelings for each other, feelings which only the two of them were aware of before Stiles finished high school.
"Guys like Deucalion, Theo and Matt will always penetrate the walls of every high school around the world," Derek told Stiles.
"I know," Stiles responded, "but the sweetest moment was when my dad and Principal Thomas moved to draw the line."
"I love you, Stiles," said Derek.
"I love you, Derek," said Stiles.
They kissed.