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Stiles doesn't know why he's so mad but he is. How dare this snot-nosed piece of shit think he can yell at Liam and get away with it? If Stiles didn't know any better, he'd think that the teen in front of him knows that Liam can't afford to get angry right now. It's like he saw Liam, figured out his anger issues, and decided to poke the bear. And Stiles is beyond furious.
As soon as Stiles rounded the corner of his old high school hallway, he had seen Liam shaking. Stiles immediately was concerned. Not for Liam but for whoever Liam was going to rage at. You see… Liam is a bitten werewolf struggling to find an anchor and with anger issues to boot. Tie in a past issue at his previous school leading him to be expelled and then moved across the country to Beacon Hills of all places, yeah, he was a bit on edge at all times. But when the teenager shoved his finger deep into Liam's sternum and poor Liam just shook in place from the effort to stop himself from lunging?
Stiles was so proud of him.
So he had shoved Liam behind him and got into the stupid dude's face. The teenager was baffled at first and then he started to insult Liam. Everything from his hair, down to the true reason he ended up in Beacon Hills. And Stiles lost it. For Liam. His baby.
Knowing even self-righteous Scott would be pissed only fueled Stiles' anger.
"…And another thing! I hate how you thought he would easy to pick on! He's loved by so many people-!"
But the idiot cuts Stiles off and- Shouldn't everyone know better by now?
"Not by his parents."
Silence.
The entire hallway seemed to hold their breath. The small crowd that had started gathering around them grew larger somehow. Still shocked.
Stiles turned partially to gauge Liam's expression. The beta's bottom lip was quivering. He looked close to tears, close to a shift. Stiles waited a moment, just to be sure. Maybe Liam could shake this off…
A sniff.
From Liam of all people.
Oh Hell no.
Stiles turned back to the offensive party and let out a roar so feral, he might as well be a turned werewolf too. He made a move to jump and Liam was too slow. Oh fuck. He can't let Stiles go down for this, not for defending Liam like this. With Stiles' dad being the Sheriff, Stiles probably wouldn't have a lot of trouble but Liam still couldn't write off John being upset with Stiles still. Even a tiny bit was too much.
Still, despite his best efforts, Liam was too slow to grab him and Stiles was already airborne.
Liam let out a strangled yelp but stopped moving when he inhaled a scent nearby. An unmistakable one.
Derek Hale.
Sure, it wasn't his chosen True Alpha Scott McCall but Derek was still better than no one. After Derek let them in, he was becoming a nice born wolf and a nice co- Alpha to Scott.
Derek Hale shoved the pimple faced teenage boy back and caught Stiles' flailing limbs like it was nothing. Not being a werewolf meant that Stiles took a moment to come back to himself, to realize that Derek was touching him, not that stupid kid from before.
"Get your hands off of me!"
More flailing.
Derek chuffs, playfully nuzzling his cheek on top of Stiles' head. The Spark takes a deep breath, his limbs going lax. He lets his body relax further once he's put down on the floor. Forgetting they have an audience, Stiles beams at him like he's the goddamn sun. Derek just smirks a bit before turning to look at the guy he shoved. Except, embarrassingly enough, the guy was no longer standing. He was on the floor, sprawling around like he couldn't get up.
A quick sniff to the air let him calm down. Okay, good. The kid wasn't injured, just so embarrassed that he couldn't stand up all of a sudden. Okay. Cool.
Stiles was smirking, cracking his neck as he watched Derek watch the dude. Their audience of gawking high schoolers just drooled over Derek or stared wide eyed at the guy no one could remember. An unremarkable guy like that was trying to bully someone? Stupid. That same guy trying to mess with that weird growly gang the whole town tried to steer clear of? Suicide mission with no gain at that.
Derek seemed to realize it too because he picks up Stiles, who squawks as if miffed and not thrilled, and throws him over his shoulder. He starts to make his way out of the hallway but turns back after a look from Stiles.
He reaches Liam in what feels like two seconds and suddenly his hand is cradling the back of his head. Liam's eyes widen.
"Please don't tell me we're about to kiss."
A tiny pause and a tilt of his stupidly handsome face. Then, "Straight A's and I'll let you dream about it."
Before Liam can respond, Derek's scratchy beard rubs firmly across his cheek. It feels so fucking good that only the reminder of the audience by their awkward coughs, stops him from outwardly moaning. He must not do such a good job hiding it because Stiles glances down and then full out starts laughing. Derek just winks and the two are off.
The crowd disperses as quickly as they had formed.
And the bully and the wolf are alone.
"What the fuck just happened?!" The kid seems exasperated.
Liam just shakes his head. "Wouldn't you like to know…"