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Stiles runs through the details in his head one more time, making sure everything is in its proper place when Scott speaks up.
“Um, dude? Could you stop pacing, it’s making me nervous.” Stiles stops, sighing and turning to Scott dramatically.
“Scott. Scotty. We’ve been over this. I need to make sure everything’s in it’s place, and you know I can’t do that while standing still.” Stiles explains, quickly scanning over the banner for the fifth time.
“You’re freaking out for nothing, dude. Allison and I know what to do, everything’s going to go smoothly, and Derek’s totally going to say yes, alright? You don’t need to worry.” Scott smiles, patting his best friend on the shoulder.
“But what if he doesn’t, Scott? Then I would’ve bought those hella expensive tickets for nothing, and he’s going to know I have this big crush on him and I’m going to humiliate myself in front of the whole school and-” The rest of Stiles’s rant is cut off by the lunch bell echoing through the cafeteria. Scott beams, throwing Stiles one last thumbs up before he runs to his position.
“Scott! Wait! Who’s idea was this? This isn’t going to work!!” Stiles yells at Scott’s rapidly retreating back. He huffs when he gets no reply, running the hand not holding flowers through his hair. He shuts his eyes as the first few students filter into the lunch room, cooing at the cheesy banner. He opens his eyes and scans the room, nearly vibrating out of his skin with anticipation as he waits for Allison to bring Derek through the door.
What he doesn't expect is someone to come up behind him and run their fingers up his sides. He yelps in surprise, laughing as he arches away from the attacker. His smile fades as he turns around to see Derek smirking at him.
“I thought you didn't eat the school lunches.” Derek says, a teasing glint in his blue green eyes.
“What are you doing coming from the West Wing?” Stiles asks, panic rising in him as he sees Scott run in from where Derek came from minutes before.
Derek furrows his brows. “I had to ask my English teacher about a project… why?”
“Hey, man!” Scott interjects, running up and slapping Derek on the back nervously. “Why’d you come from the back way? I thought you had to meet up with Allison today.”
“How’d you know about that?” Derek glares, moving his shoulder from under Scott’s hand. “What’s going on? Was that some kind of joke?”
“What? No!” Stiles squawks, glancing nervously at Scott as he fiddles with his tie.
“And why are you all dressed up?” Derek asks, glancing between the the flowers in Stiles’s hand to his blazer and tie. “Are you doing a Promposal today?” He asks, looking up as Allison jogs into the cafeteria, scanning the room quickly before locking her eyes on the trio and walking over. Scott, bless his soul, intercepts her, giving Stiles and Derek a little privacy.
“Um, yeah?” Stiles motions to the banner hanging behind Derek. Derek slowly turns around to it, expression hardening as he reads the cheesy message. He turns back to Stiles with a tight nod.
“That’s a pretty shitty way to ask someone to Prom.” He states. Stiles eyes snap up to him.
“What?” Stiles gulps. Derek shrugs.
“Cheesy banner, flowers, doing it in front of everyone? It’s just screaming cliche. I don’t think they’ll say yes.”
“Neither do I.” Stiles mutters, hot, angry tears clouding his vision. This was such a stupid, stupid idea and he was a complete idiot for thinking that someone like Derek Hale would go to Prom with someone like him. He blinks rapidly, the first few tears slipping down his face as he pointedly looks at the ground.
“If you don’t think they’ll say yes, why bother?” Derek asks, and no, he does not get to do that. Just because he is cooler and hotter than everybody at school doesn't mean he gets to make Stiles sound utterly worthless.
“You know what? I just wanted to go to Prom with my crush of the past 4 years. And just because you don’t feel the same, doesn’t mean you have to such a jerk about it. If you don’t want to go with me, just say so.” Stiles says, shoving the flowers against Derek’s chest. “Have fun at Prom, asshole.” Stiles stomps out of the cafeteria, avoiding the pitying looks of his classmates as tears stream down his face.
XXX
“What the hell was that?” Scott asks, coming up in Derek’s face as the other man stands there motionless.
“I told him that his Promposal was cliche…” Derek trails off, still at a loss for what the hell just happened.
“That’s because you’re a big ass sap, Derek!” Scott cries, throwing his arms out wildly. “You love this kind of shit!”
“This is for me? ”
Scott throws his arms up with a groan. “Oh my god, yes, Derek! Who else would Stiles ask to Prom?”
“I thought- he was asking- and I-I just…”
“Why is so impossible to get you two together?” Scott wonders aloud, shaking his head.
The two stand there as they- and the rest of the students in the cafeteria, apparently - realize what just happened.
After a beat of silence, Scott fixes Derek with an expectant gaze. “Well?”
“Well, what?” Derek asks.
“Aren’t you going to go get him?” Scott explains slowly, watching as Derek looks from him to the flowers in his hand, a determined look settling on his face. Derek nods tightly before taking off in the same direction as Stiles.
XXX
Derek finds Stiles down the hall from the cafeteria. His lean form is slumped against a row of lockers with his arms wrapped around his knees and his chin tucked to his chest. His lithe body shakes with silent cries, and Derek’s chest aches with guilt. Derek quietly slides down next to him, despite the uncomfortable metal pressing against his back. Stiles tenses when their shoulders touch.
“Stiles-”
“You didn’t have to do that, you know.” Stiles sniffs, wiping his nose on his blazer sleeve. “I get it, okay? You don’t want to go to Prom with me, and that’s… well that’s not fine, but I’ve been rejected before, I would get over it.”
“Stiles, listen, I-”
“What I don’t understand,” Stiles plows on, “is how you had to be such an ass about it. Sure, you don’t want to go with me, but hey, that doesn’t mean that nobody would want to. People would have loved a Promposal like that.”
“Stiles, I did-”
“And on top of that!” Stiles yells, flailing his arms out until his right hand smacks into Derek’s leg. He let his legs slide out in front of him with a sad sigh. “You acted like you liked me back. For a second there, I thought I really had a chance with the most popular kid at school.” Stiles laughs, dark and self-depreciatively. “You didn’t have to lead me on like that. Didn’t have to string the nerdy kid around to see how high you could build his confidence before squashing it.” Stiles sniffs again, wiping at his face.
“That’s not what any of this is about, Stiles!”
“Well why did you have to humiliate me when I was trying to ask you to Prom?”
“Because I didn’t know you were asking me!” Derek yells, making a passing teacher jump as they walk by. He turns to look at Stiles, who is just staring back at Derek with his mouth hanging open. He turns instead to glare at the floor, wishing it would just open up and swallow him.
“Who else would I ask to Prom?” Stiles finally asks.
“I honestly thought you were dating Greenburg.”
Stiles lets out a surprised laugh, amusement clear in his eyes despite the red still rimming them. “Greenburg? Yeah, no, I would never-just no.”
They sit in a beat of silence before Stiles speaks up again.
“How did you not know I was asking you, though? It was cheesy and everything.”
“I… I didn’t know you liked me back.” Derek whispers, praying that the damn floor would swallow him already.
“Wha-dude!” Stiles screeches, hitting Derek’s leg purposefully this time.
“Ow! What?”
“You totally like me!”
“I literally just said that.”
“Yeah, well you never said it to my face.” Stiles points out.
“You never told me that you liked me, either.”
“I was planning on it, along with the banner and the flowers, until you shut me down because you thought it was for fucking Greenburg, of all people.” Stiles can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
“So… “ Stiles says once he has calmed down, “Just to clarify, you only hated my Promposal because you thought it was for someone else, and now that you know it’s for you, you’re saying yes?”
Derek rolls his eyes. “ Yes, Stiles. I would love to go to Prom with you.”
“Hey, don’t roll your eyes at me, dude! You’re the one who thought I was asking-” Derek shuts Stiles up by pressing his lips to Stiles’s in a chaste kiss. It’s short yet sweet, and Stiles beams when Derek pulls away. He slaps Derek’s thigh as he bounces to his feet.
“Come on, big guy. We have a cafeteria of people waiting to hear what happened.” Stiles says, holding his hand out to Derek, who easily takes it.
Derek and Stiles walk down the hall hand in hand. When they reach the cafeteria, Stiles pushes the doors open with a flourish.
“HE SAID YES!” Stiles announces to the room, holding up his and Derek’s interlaced fingers. The cafeteria erupts in claps and cheers.
Stiles laughs and pulls Derek over to his banner, where Derek reads it in a whole different light. He smirks at the cheesiness of it and squeezes Stiles’s hand, who squeezes back.
XXX
He ends up being late to his next class, but Stiles walks into the classroom with a smile on his face. All that matters is that he’s going to Prom with Derek fucking Hale.