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The host gave him a little shove and told him, “Alright, you’re up.”
This was the most important moment of Stiles’ life. This was the day that could make the difference between just wasting away in Beacon Hills for the rest of his life and being able to pursue his dream. And honestly? He was sick of it. Every day he wakes up to an empty house because his dad is pulling another double. Or worse, he’d come downstairs to see him passed out with a bottle of whiskey in his hand trying to forget that his wife, Claudia, was never coming back.
School wasn’t much better. Being the weird, “artsy” kid was like having a giant target painted on his back. Jackson and his cronies were always giving him a hard time, pushing him, tripping him, and shoving him into lockers like a giant fucking cliché. At least last year he’d had Scott to hang out with, but ever since he met Allison Argent and made the varsity lacrosse team Scott had completely abandoned Stiles.
So here Stiles was on a Wednesday morning in San Francisco, putting everything on the line to see if he had any talent and had what it takes to make it out of Beacon Hills.
He walks out onto the stage. The lights are so, so bright and he can practically feel the crowd judging him before he has even fully made on to the stage.
When he finally gets to the stage he takes a look at the judges. And they look unimpressed. A few years ago, the Hale family – who own one of the largest music labels in the country – decided to host a talent show a la American Idol called Who The Hale Are You? The judges are the widely successful children of the company’s CEO and founder Talia Hale. Cora Hale, the youngest, looks like she wants nothing more than for him to fail miserably so that she could get a good laugh in. Derek Hale is sitting there like usual as though he is regretting every decision that has led him to this moment and Laura seems to be the most accepting and is also the first to speak,
“Hi, Hello. Who the hale are you, where are you from, and what do you do?”
“Uh, my name is Stiles Stilinski, I’m a student, and I’m from Beacon Hills,” Stiles said.
Cora pipes up with, “Did you say Beacon Hills? We used to live there before…” she trails off.
She doesn’t need to finish, everyone knows what happened to the Hales a decade ago. One of Derek’s crazy fans completely lost her shit and burned their house down. Luckily, no one was killed but Peter Hale, the siblings' uncle, received major burns and has been in a coma ever since.
“Yeah,” he wasn’t really sure how to continue, afraid that he had started off badly just from being from that toxic place.
All of sudden Derek says, “Wait, did you say Stilinski?” Everyone is shocked. Derek is known for never saying anything more than brusque no or a rare yes. Him asking questions is unheard of.
“Um, uh. I mean. Uh, y-y-yes.” Stiles managed to stutter out in his shock.
To everyone’s further astonishment, Derek continued, “I remember your parents. Your father was the first deputy on the scene and your mom was the nicest nurse at the hospital. How are they?”
Stiles swallowed. He vaguely remembered that day that the Hale house went up in flames. His parents talked about it for weeks. It was shortly after that that Stiles’ mother was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Everything had been pretty much downhill from there.
“Well, my dad got elected Sheriff a couple years ago,” he responded slowly.
“And your mom?” Derek encouraged.
Stiles took a deep breath. This part was never easy. It still hurt after all these years and telling thousands of people was not going to make it easier.
“She’s dead. She died about four years ago.”
Silence.
The entire building was silent.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Stiles. She was an amazing woman,” Derek replied.
“Yeah, she was.” Stiles stated under his breath. Great, he was starting to choke up on national television. He was never going to live this down.
Clearly trying to lighten the mood, Cora asks, “Who did you bring with you? Your dad?”
This couldn’t possibly get any more awkward, could it?
With a big sigh Stiles just bites the bullet, “No, it’s just me."
He can see the pity in everyone’s eyes now and he doesn’t want it. He just wanted them to listen to him sing, not hear about his sad life and put him through because they felt bad.
“Well Stiles, what are you going to sing for us today?” Laura asks.
Finally, back to something that was simple and easy.
“I’ll be singing ‘The Death of a Bachelor’ by Panic! At the Disco.” He answers.
“Well good luck Stiles,” Laura tells him.
Stiles takes a big breath and waits for the music to begin. This is it. The moment that he has been waiting for, the moment that his life could really, truly change.
Do I look lonely
I see the shadows on my face
People have told me
I don't look the same
Maybe I lost weight
I'm playing hooky
With the best of the best
Pull my heart out my chest
So that you can see it too
They haven’t stopped him yet so that must be a good sign, but so far everyone is just kind of staring at him waiting to see what will happen next. So, he keeps going. Stiles sings and puts everything that he has into it, just hoping that it will be enough.
I'm walking the long road
Watching the sky fall
The lace in your dress
Tangles my neck
How do I live
And when he hits that note, the crowd begin to cheer. They actually seem to like him. The judges, however, are still silent and staring at him with blank faces.
The death of a bachelor
Oh oh oh
Letting the water fall
The death of a bachelor
Oh oh oh
Seems so fitting for
Happily ever after
Whooo
How could I ask for more
Lifetime of laughter
At the expense
Of the death of a bachelor
The crowd has begun to clap along with him and Laura and Cora are smiling. It looks he’s got the crowd and those two on his side but Derek is just sitting there. No smile, nothing but his angry looking eyebrows. So Stiles keeps singing, determined to impress this grouchy judge. He makes it closer to the end and finally it’s the highest note of the piece.
The death of a bachelor
Oh
Seems so fitting for
Happily ever after
Oo
How could I ask for more?
A lifetime of laughter
At the expense of the death of a bachelor
He did it. He hits the note and the crowd goes absolutely wild. Cora and Laura are on their feet and dancing along. Stiles finishes the song and feels insanely proud of himself. No matter what happens after this he knows that this is what he wants to do for the rest of his life. He just hopes that the judges agree.
Laura is the first to go, “Stiles! That was amazing! Brendon Urie himself would have been impressed with that performance.”
“Thank you, Laura.”
“It’s a definite yes from me. I loved everything about it and I cannot wait to see what you have in store for us next.” Stiles can’t believe this. He got his first yes from Laura Hale herself. Next, up is Cora though and she doesn’t seem nearly as excited as her sister.”
“I’ll be honest Stiles, when you walked out here with your flannel and skinny jeans I was dubious. Then when you started to talk I really wanted to like you, but I wasn’t really convinced. Then you started to sing and it was like your whole demeanor changed. It was beautiful. There is a bit of a sadness to you that is really interesting.“ She pauses as though she’s thinking, “It’s a yes from me Stiles, good job.”
That’s it. He got two yesses, he’s going to LA for boot camp. Despite this he really wants to hear what Derek has to say. Of the three, his opinion means the most to Stiles.
“Stiles,” Derek begins, “why do you sing? Why do you want to do this?” Of all the things that Stiles thought that Derek would say that was not one of things that he had imagined.
Stiles takes a second to consider how he wants to answer. He could go generic and impersonal, but he gets the feeling that Derek would know and see him as lesser in some way. So Stiles decides to tell the truth.
“My mom had frontotemporal dementia. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a type a brain disease that is similar to Alzheimer’s. She began to forget things. At first it was little stuff, the neighbor’s dog’s name, my favorite ice cream, ya know? But eventually it progressed. She forgot how to read, write, and walk. Towards the end she forgot who I was.”
The whole audience is silent and Derek looks like he regrets his question, “Stiles, you don’t ha-,” he tries to stop him but Stiles can’t stop now that he has begun.
“The only thing that really gave her any peace was when I sang to her. Then after she died it was the only thing that kept me sane when everything went to shit. When my dad started drinking, I sang. When he started working doubles back to back to back, I sang. When my best friend dumped me, I sang. When I’m cleaning my wounds from whatever the school jocks unleashed on me that day, I sing. I can’t imagine a world where I don’t sing and I want to do this for the rest of my life.”
Stiles is flushed and breathing hard after sharing that much, but he doesn’t look at anyone. Not the host or the crowd, just Derek.
Derek doesn’t move for second before he says, “Ok,” under his breath and a bit to himself. Then he gets up slowly and walks around the judge’s desk. He takes a second to just look at Stiles and then does the unimaginable. He presses the Golden Buzzer.
Holy. Shit.
Derek Hale has never pressed the buzzer in six seasons of being on this show. His sisters are clearly in shock that their brother has just pressed it. Effectively stating that he thinks that Stiles has what it takes and that he is willing to mentor him. This is unbelievable.
Derek doesn’t react to the looks of his sisters or the screaming that the crowd is doing. He just looks Stiles in the eyes and says, “You deserve a happy ever after, Stiles.”