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It was a couple of weeks after the ultimate Truth or Dare success and Stiles was still patting himself on the back. Everyone was talking to each other in school, Scott didn’t scowl at the sound of Derek’s name, and there was no more talk about finding new packs or not being part of packs or any of that. So, Stiles figured that another game night couldn’t hurt, especially since Jackson had decided to let Danny into the loop. The poor guy had taken it marvelously well, as everyone had expected. This was Danny after all. At the same time, he’d started distancing himself slightly, and the pack could see the change that had caused in Jackson. Stiles decided it was time that he intervened.
“Scott!” Stiles called as he jogged down the hallway, waving an arm to get his friend’s attention, “Scott!” Well no wonder he wasn’t answering. He was holding hands with Allison. It was disgustingly adorable and annoying just how much Scott lost himself in her. It was like they stepped out of a romance novel. However, Stiles had learned that once you break the initial focus, Scott went back to normal. Well, as normal as he ever was. Taking a deep breath, Stiles took off at a run, launching himself onto Scott’s back. The other boy pitched forward, losing his hold on Allison’s hand to prevent the both of them from falling. Somehow he maintained his balance and kept both himself and Stiles from falling. Lucky werewolves.
“Yes, Stiles?” Scott said sounding exasperated but the smile on his face betrayed him.
“Well, old buddy, old pal, old friend ‘o mine,” Stiles said, hopping off Scott’s back, “We need another game night.”
“For Jackson, right?” Scott said with a nod. He noticed a lot more than anyone ever gave him credit for.
“Precisely,” Stiles said, slapping him on the shoulder, “Plus, we need Danny to see that we’re not murders and monsters.” Speaking of the newly included human, Danny walked past them just then. Both Stiles and Scott offered him a smile and a wave, which he returned politely, but it was easy to see that he walked a little faster.
“How the hell are you going to get him to come?” Scott said, watching Danny walk away.
“I’ll figure it out,” Scott shrugged, “He just needs a little heart to heart with the humans.” With that he gave Allison a nudge who had come to stand with them.
“Talking with us, especially Lydia, will definitely help,” she agreed, taking hold of Scott’s hand again. Scott smiled at her and she smiled back, the two of them stuck in their own little world again for a moment.
“So, I have a yes for your attic again?” Stiles asked, just to clarify.
“Yeah,” Scott said as he and Allison continued on their way to class, “Just make sure to ask Derek too.”
“I will!” Stiles called back, heading in the opposite direction for his own class. He pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts until he found Derek’s, sniggering slightly at the name as he always did. He’d put the older man’s name as I Am The Alpha, something he constantly liked to remind everyone of. Ever since the night of Truth or Dare, Stiles had texted him everyday. It was always stupid stuff like gross things he learned in biology, or quotes from The Wolfman, or random commentary on the people at his school. He never got a response, but every night without fail, Derek would send him a single text that read “Goodnight, Stiles.” They always made him smile. Then he would remember the kiss and how they hadn’t actually seen each other in person since then and his face would fall again. He still had Derek’s shirt, though it had stopped smelling like him a while ago. He wanted to actually talk to Derek about what had happened, not ask him about it through text message, so he’d refrained from saying anything. Maybe this game night would be his chance.
Stiles: /So we need to have another game night. Danny is distancing himself from Jackson and we need to fix that pronto./
I Am The Alpha: /You’re right. Go ahead and set it up./
Stiles: /Alright. I’ll text you the date later./
Stiles didn’t get a response after that, but he didn’t mind. He was surprised that Derek had answered so quickly in the first place. He sent out a mass text, asking when everyone was free and decided that Friday was the best day to do it. He sent that back to everyone and got all assenting responses. Stiles smiled to himself as he walked down the hallway. He was the best.
Two days later on Friday, Stiles cornered Danny in the library. Lydia and Allison were waiting for them in an empty classroom and it was Stiles’ job to get Danny in there.
“Hey Danny,” Stiles said as he slid into a chair next to the other boy, hoping he didn’t sound nervous or suspicious. Judging by Danny’s raised eyebrow, it didn’t work. “So Lydia told me to come and find you,” he continued, “Sounded pretty important.” Danny sighed and looked at him.
“Look, I’m not mad and I’m not going to tell anyone,” he said, voice low, “I just need time to adjust.”
“You know what would really help you adjust?” Stiles hedged, “A nice little human talk.” Danny looked doubtful. “Look, it really does help,” Stiles went on, “I was the only human around for a while and having Allison and Lydia helped a lot. You should come talk to them with me.” Danny sat there for another minute or two before he finally started to pack up his things.
“I’m not making any promises,” Danny said seriously, “I’m just agreeing to a talk.” Stiles nodded excitedly. He knew for a fact that once he was in the room with both of those girls, he would have no choice but to come to the get-together tonight. Danny didn’t even get two steps inside the classroom before Lydia was on him.
“You and Jackson have been friends for how long?” she asked immediately.
“Umm, since preschool?” Danny answered, his voice making it sound like a question.
“How close would you say two are?” she went on.
“He’s my best friend,” Danny shot back, his voice a little more confident now.
“How often would you say that you fight?” she continued without pause.
“Only when he loses his shit over something that usually has nothing to do with me,” Danny admitted.
“Perfect, so then you’re coming,” Lydia decided. Stiles couldn’t help but smile.
“Coming to what?” Danny asked, completely lost.
“A pack gathering thing at Scott’s house,” Lydia said, fixing her lip-gloss.
“Hey, I never said—“ Danny tried only to be cut off by Lydia moments later.
“What you said is that Jackson has been your closest friend since preschool and that you’ve never had any problems with him, so based on that you should have absolutely no problem hanging out with Jackson tonight,” she said fiercely.
“He’s still the same Jackson, Danny,” Allison cut in, her voice a little more understanding, “It seems like a big change, but it’s really not. If anything, all it did was inflate his ego a little more.”
“I can attest to that,” Stiles agreed, nodding his head. Danny looked at the three of them, but he knew that he would never win against Lydia. That was something he learned early on. Letting out another sigh, he nodded.
“Fine,” he said, “I’ll go.” Stiles punched the air in victory. Humans rocked.
Later that night, Stiles was back in Scott’s attic, setting everything up. He had removed the coffee table from inside the circle of furniture, and added another chair next to where Jackson had sat last time for Danny. He figured that everyone would gravitate towards the same seats. An hour or so later, he was proven correct. Unlike last time though, the air wasn’t so tense and everyone wasn’t so quiet. Boyd and Erica went to talk to Derek when he came in. Surprisingly, Isaac and Peter looked like they were having a nice discussion. Allison, Scott, Lydia, and Jackson looked comfortable as well. Danny was the last to filter in, the room going a bit quiet when he did. That was when Stiles jumped into action.
“Danny!” he exclaimed, his voice just a touch too happy, “Come on in buddy, and we’ll go around the room for you.” Stiles shoved Danny into the seat next to Jackson.
“I’m Isaac,” Isaac began, like the merciful godsend he was, “I’m in a few of your classes but we’ve never been formally introduced. I’m also a werewolf.” Erica jumped in next.
“I’m Erica,” she said, a slightly suspicious smile on her face, “I was in most of your classes since freshmen year, though I doubt you noticed. No one really did until this year. Werewolf.”
“Boyd,” Boyd said, the man of few words that he was, “I think we had gym last year. Werewolf.” All the heads in the room turned towards Derek expectantly, who gave them all a look he usually saved for when Stiles was exceptionally stupid. Finally he sighed, turning towards Danny.
“My name is Derek,” he said, sounding like every word was cutting him on the way out, “Yes, the same Derek who had been blamed for all the killings at the beginning of the year and the same Derek who was exonerated. I’m the alpha of the pack.” The sarcasm had practically dripped out of his mouth as he spoke and Stiles could barely smother his grin.
“I’m Peter,” Peter said from his spot next to Stiles, “I’m Derek’s uncle, the only one to survive the Hale fire. Werewolf.” Stiles was glad he didn’t say more than that. Danny hadn’t been filled in on everything yet, and resurrecting werewolves might just send him into cardiac arrest.
“Okay,” Stiles said, clapping his hands together, “Now first things first, phones in the box.” Stiles jiggled the cardboard box slightly, his own phone rattling inside. There were a few grumbles, but everyone stood up and tossed their phones in. Even Danny was a good sport about it. “Alright, now tonight’s game is Honey If You Love Me,” he continued, smiling goofily, “Easy enough to understand. Someone stands in the middle and chooses a person to try and make them smile. Before you do anything, you have to say “Honey, if you love me, you’ll smile.” Now you can say this while doing anything that you think will make them smile. They have to answer “Honey, I love you but I just can’t smile,” without even a hint of happy facial expressions. If they can do it, the person in the middle has to choose someone new. If they can’t then they have to go in the middle. Everyone clear?” Stiles received nods all around the circle, and a strangely funny look from Scott who now understood why his coffee table had been moved. “So, who wants to go first?”
“I will,” Allison volunteered after a few moments of silence. Stiles was actually really happy that he didn’t have to start, unsure of who he would pick just yet. Allison went to stand in front of Scott. She held her hands behind her back and tilted her head town a little. Batting her eyelashes, she looked at him shyly. “Honey, if you love me, you’ll smile.” Without hesitation, a huge goofy grin broke out on Scott’s face. The teenagers all broke into laughter. Scott suddenly realized what had happened and laughed good-naturedly. Standing up, he looked around the circle for a moment before going to stand in front of Isaac.
“Honey,” Scott said, smothering a laugh himself as he got down on his knees and pretended to be a begging dog, “If you love me, you’ll smile.” Isaac stared at him for a moment, closing his eyes and looking towards to ceiling.
“Honey, I love you,” he began, the corners of his lips turning up as he looked back at Scott who had begun panting, “But I just—“ He was cut off by his own chuckle, a smile breaking out over his face that he tried to cover up as he cursed. Scott grinned triumphantly as Isaac stood and he sat down. It only took him moments to decide who to stand in front of.
“Honey,” Isaac said, going to stand in front of Erica. He gripped the hem of his shirt with one hand, the other going to rub the back of his neck as if he were embarrassed. He ducked his head, looking at Erica through his lashes, clearly trying to use his adorableness to his advantage. “If you love me, you’ll smile.”
“Honey, I love you,” Erica tried, but the smile was already at the corner of her lips, “But I just can’t—“ Now she was full out laughing, the image of adorable Isaac somehow hilarious. “Isaac you little shit, you’re not innocent and you know it!” Isaac laughed with her before sitting back down, gesturing obnoxiously for her to stand. Erica rolled her eyes, walking across the room to where Danny sat. Stiles was surprised that she was the first person to include him.
“Honey,” Erica said, laying down on the floor. She spread her legs in front of Danny, a silly look on her face. “If you love me,” she went on, as she pushed herself up on her elbows. “You’ll smile.” Erica finished her sentence by thrusting her hips up into the air. Danny burst into laughter that he had been holding in since she started. Shaking his head, he stood up. He turned his head around the circle, hesitating over Jackson as he moved to step in front of the blonde boy. The olive branch was being extended.
“Honey, if you love me, you’ll smile,” Danny said, his dimples showing slightly, “And I won’t tell anyone about camp from 6th grade.” Whatever story was attached to that had Jackson smiling in an instant and made everyone else in the room extremely curious. Danny just laughed and sat back down. Jackson didn’t even bother moving for his turn, simply turning to Lydia by his side.
“Honey, if you love me, you’ll smile,” he said softly, leaning closer to press their foreheads together, ”Because I love you, so so much.” His voice was quiet and sincere and before she knew it, Lydia had a soft smile on her lips. When she felt it, however, she wasn’t as happy.
“That had to be some kind of cheating,” she stated as she stood up, fluffing her skirt slightly. She looked around the circle, eyes zeroing in on Stiles who swallowed instinctively. She walked over to him slowly. “Honey, if you love me,” she said, bending over so she would whisper in Stiles ear, placing a hand on the back of his neck, “You’ll smile.” Stiles held out for maybe a second before a smile crossed his face. How could he deny the power of Lydia Martin? Standing, Stiles made his way over to Derek, wanting to include the Hales.
“Honey,” Stiles started, his heart beating strangely as a light pink tint covered his face, “If you love me, you’ll smile.” He then proceeded to poke Derek everywhere he could reach. His face, his neck, his arms, his chest. Just a continuous annoying poke, occasionally coupled with the words “C’mon, smile. I know you want to. Just smile.” Suddenly Derek grabbed his wrist, looking up at Stiles and giving him the most sarcastic smile he has ever seen in his entire life, but it was a smile nonetheless. Proud of himself, Stiles sat down again. Derek didn’t stand, simply turned his gaze on Peter.
“Honey, if you love me, you’ll smile,” he ground out, as if the words were needles in his eyes. It happened so quickly Stiles almost missed it. A brief flash of red in Derek’s eyes directed towards Peter had the older man smiling in an instant.
“Cheating,” Peter chastised before casting his gaze around the circle, ending back at Derek. “Honey,” Peter began, staring Derek down with a smirk on his face. He grabbed Stiles by his shirt, yanking his body down until his head rested in the older man’s lap. Stiles swallowed hard when he suddenly felt claws drumming an idle tune against his throat. “If you love me, you’ll smile,” Peter finished. Thick tension had seeped into the room, every single person was on edge. Derek glared for a moment before baring his teeth at Peter in some semblance of a smile. “A real one,” Peter said, shaking his head, “Don’t you love me, honey?” He pressed his claws a little harder against Stiles’ throat, and involuntary whine escaping the teen. Derek flashed the biggest, brightest, realest smile he could manage, and suddenly Stiles found himself upright again, as if nothing had happened. Anger still seething out of him, Derek turned on Boyd.
“Honey, if you love me, you’ll smile,” he bit out harshly, eyes flashing once again to make Boyd smile. The other boy obeyed, offering up a quick show of teeth. Wanting to take some of the tension out of the room, Boyd turned to Erica.
“Honey,” he said, his voice low as he took her hand and kissed it. “If you love me,” he went on, his words coming between soft kisses as he went up Erica’s arm. “You’ll smile.” He finished his statement with a big, obnoxious lick up the rest of the way of Erica’s arm that had her laughing and swatting him away in seconds.
“You suck,” she complained, rubbing the spit off her arm with the sleeve of Boyd’s shirt. Everyone relaxed slightly after that, bodies less poised to fight. Boyd smiled happily, mentally patting himself on the back. Erica stood, sauntering over to stand in front of Stiles. “Honey, if you love me, you’ll smile,” she said, offering her own sweet smile right before she struck a goofy pose and proceeded to sing out the Batman theme song. Stiles was laughing before he even had a chance to stop himself.
“Asshole,” he said with a smile, shoving Erica’s shoulder playfully as he stood. She just shot him a grin as she went back to sit down. Surprisingly, he started making his way towards Jackson. “Honey, if you love me, you’ll smi—“ Stiles didn’t get to finish his sentence as he purposefully tripped over his own feet, falling flat on his face directly in front of Jackson. The entire room was in stitches. Stiles smiled, standing up to sit down again. The game continued without a hitch, everyone dutifully ignoring Peter’s existence.
Stiles waited until he was sure that everyone was gone this time before starting to clean up. Danny had become increasingly more comfortable as the night went on, settling into an easy spot within the pack. Stiles gave himself another pat on the back for a job well done. He was literally, the best.
Driving home took far too long in his opinion, since Stiles just wanted to go home and go to bed. He said a quick goodnight to his dad as he bounded up the stairs, ready to kick off his shoes and pass out. However, when he opened his door, a heavenly smell hit his nose. Sitting on his desk was a bag of curly fries from his favorite diner. He was about to call down to his dad and chastise him on his food choice when he saw a note stuck to the top.
/Sorry Peter is such an asshole. We can talk when you return my shirt. It was a favorite./
A huge smile broke out over Stiles face as he pulled out his phone.
Stiles: /Thanks, sour alpha./
I Am The Alpha: /Goodnight, Stiles./
Stiles shoved a couple curly fries in his mouth, a stupidly large smile still on his face. A good night indeed.