Chapter Text
Stiles couldn’t get much more out of his dad that night. John mostly just sat his with head in his hands, sighing sadly while Stiles fired abuse and ridicule at him. It didn’t often happen that the sheriff did something stupid, so Stiles made the most of it for a while he could before deciding to let him stew in his guilt and regret for a while.
But not before he forced his dad to give him Kyle’s number.
Stiles couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he headed up to his room, waving his phone in the air triumphantly. “You brought this on yourself, dad!” He called down the stairs, typing out a text as he walked and nearly colliding with the wall several times in the process.
To deputy hotdamn kyle what a qt omfg: Hey, this is Stiles. Got your number from my dad, hope you don’t mind.
Stiles flopped onto his bed and stopped himself from pressing send right at the last minute. He frowned at his phone screen. Was it too formal? He reread it, then reread it again. Totally too formal. He deleted the whole thing with a loud sigh and settled with an arm behind his head to type with one hand, forcing himself to concentrate.
To deputy hotdamn kyle what a qt omfg: Sup dude its stiles whats crackalacking
Stiles started deleting the text even before he’d finished it. Just… No.
[10:48pm] To deputy hotdamn kyle what a qt omfg: How’s your hangover coming along? This is Stiles, by the way.
Stiles wondered whether he should keep the capitals or not, but decided they made him sound more mature, and considering he was, in fact, twenty years old, he decided to keep them. He sent the text without another thought, then squeezed his eyes closed and buried his face in his pillow to muffle a loud scream.
Stiles was contemplating hurling himself out of the window seconds after the text said ‘devlivered’ - but after less than a minute, his phone vibrated on the bed next to him. It made Stiles jump, and he stared for a moment as though it had fallen from the sky before turning it over and unlocking it with shaky hands.
[10:50pm] From deputy ‘hotdamn’ kyle parrish omfg: It’s coming along nicely, thanks for asking. I was considering just having another drink, but all I could find was a random Four Loko, so I settled on plain old coffee.
Stiles snorted, something tight in his chest uncoiling a little. He propped himself up on his side to text back.
[10:52pm] To deputy hotdamn kyle what a qt omfg: Wow, I didn’t know you were secretly a frat boy, count boozy von drunk-a-ton.
[10:55pm] From kyle aka count boozy von drunkaton lol: Maybe you should have kept the glee references until we’ve at least been on a date? I might realise you’re actually too much of a dork to spend more than 10 minutes a day with.
Stiles didn’t know what surprised him more – that Kyle had picked up on his sneaky Glee shout-out or that he was talking about a date as though that was a thing likely to happen in the near future, oh dear god, Stiles, breathe. Stiles was still trying to calm himself down and catch his breath when his phone vibrated in his hand again, making his heart skip a beat in his chest.
[10:55pm] From kyle aka count boozy von drunkaton lol: I can picture you right now – you’re doing that thing where you open your mouth and seem surprised when no words come out, then start waving your arms around like there’s an invisible fly attacking you. It’s adorable.
Stiles blushed and bit down on his lip, flushing scarlet as he replied.
[10:59pm] To kyle no more glee quotes god stiles: So that’s why you always tease me! You just think it’s cute when I blush, right? Well, whatever. That’s harassment. And no way in hell do I believe you recorded the Shades of Grey audiobooks.
Stiles bit down on his lip and typed out a second text quickly, clicking send before he could think too hard about it.
[10:59pm] To kyle no more glee quotes god stiles: Also, invisible flies aren’t typically adorable. Just fyi. Your pick-up lines need work, man.
After sending the texts, Stiles suddenly feared that it was too much – he swallowed hard and pulled a pained face as he stared at his phone, like that would make it vibrate faster. He checked the time while he waited and was surprised to find it was past eleven already. He took his time getting ready for bed and when he got back he found another text from Kyle.
[11:04pm] From kyle no more glee quotes god stiles: Hm, maybe you’re right. How’s this – want to go see a movie tomorrow? Maybe get dinner?
Stiles could barely contain his enthusiasm long enough to reply, his grin threatening to split his face in half.
[11:06pm] To kyle no more glee quotes god stiles: That’s not a pick-up line, that’s a plain-old date invitation. A pick up line is ‘hey, my name’s Microsoft. Can I crash at your place tonight?’ or ‘Are you a parking ticket? Cause you’ve got fine written all over you.’
[11:09pm] From OMFG KYLE: I’ll take that as a yes, then.
[11:11pm] To OMFG KYLE: Confident, aren’t we? It is a yes though, obviously. That sounds really fun! But you should know that I am one of those obnoxious popcorn eaters at the movies. Just a warning. Get out of jail free card, and all that.
For a moment, Stiles panicked – what if Kyle wanted to see a movie that was rated NC-17? What if he tried to order a bottle of wine at dinner and they asked to see Stiles’ ID? What if his dad turned up with a copy of his birth certificate and a banner saying ‘Congratulations! You have been fooled into dating my underage son!’?
Stiles ran a hand through his messy hair and forced himself to relax. He would just have to deal with that if and when it happened, and keep his fingers crossed that Kyle was a fan of Punk’d.
[11:14pm] From OMFG KYLE: I’m sure I’ll survive. As long as the popcorn thing doesn’t extend to slurpies – those should be made illegal. I’m considering abusing my position as deputy. Meet me at 5? Outside the theatre?
Stiles’ worried frown dissolved into a goofy smile, chuckling out a laugh and eagerly replying.
[11:15pm] To KYLE OMFG: I’ll be there! Looking forward to it. Oh, and I hope your legs don’t ache too much.
Stiles snickered as he waited for Kyle to reply, fingers itching with the urge to send another text.
[11:16pm] From KYLE OMFG: Don’t worry; I’ll make sure I take it easy as I run through your dreams tonight.
Stiles’ jaw dropped open as he read the reply. He looked around the room for someone to be shocked with, but obviously, it was empty. “Dude stole my line,” he muttered under his breath, outraged, before dissolving into a fit of muffled laughter. God, the dude was worse than him.
Stiles’ played on his phone for a little while longer, deliberating on whether to reply or not. He eventually decided against it – he didn’t want to seem too desperate, after all. It took at least half an hour and countless attempts at getting past twelve on Flappy Bird for it to sink in - he was actually going to go on a date with Kyle tomorrow. He dropped his phone on his chest, breathing heavily - he had actually made out with the guy on not one, but two separate occasions in one evening.
What was even happening to his life? Things like that didn’t happen to Stiles – especially not since his whole sacrifice-induced ‘heart of darkness’ thing. He spent most of his time feeling bone-tired and weary, as though he’d lived a thousand lives instead of his mere seventeen years. Stiles could admit to latching onto the cute new deputy as an attempt to feel normal again, and he would never have expected anything to actually happen.
Stiles fell asleep with his phone still beside him on the bed, and he for the first time in weeks, he didn’t dream about ice-water filling his lungs or the smell of earth as ceilings collapsed over his head. He dreamed of whisky kisses and soft, quiet words in his Jeep under a street-light.