Chapter Text
Stiles Stilinski had graduated from the University of New York, at the top of his class with a degree in journalism. He had worked hard for it, and had proved himself to his professors with his work. He'd graduated with his best friend, Scott McCall, who was also the roommate to his apartment in New York City. They had decided that moving there full time was the best for the both of them, a writer and an architect. It was like the city was made for the both of them. Scott had managed to get into a architect firm, while Stiles was looking for a job in the world that he wanted. A professor that he had in college had been the person that gave him the push in the right direction. Only, he didn't realize that the right direction was Trend magazine.
The magazine began in the mid eighties, a unisex fashion magazine that helped both men and women find the fashion trends that would best work for them. It began as Penny Hale's project. She was a smart business and fashion forward woman, who easily brought the magazine to the high standard that it was currently staying at. The current editor of the magazine was Derek Hale, her only son. Just googling his name, Stiles was able to figure out that Derek was pretty much the toughest person to work for.
But when you left him, you were pretty much set in the printed/online world. He was a great step in the right direction. The professor that Stiles was in communication with had set up an interview for Stiles to be Derek's assistant.
Of course, Stiles was a little put off when he first heard that Trend was a fashion magazine and Derek was the king of fashion. Stiles... Was not a part of the fashion part of the world. He watched football, wore plaid and the only nice clothes he even had were a couple years old.
"If any of them make fun of you, I'll show up and kick their asses tomorrow." Scott called out as he heard his best friend moving around in the kitchen. Stiles rolled his eyes a little bit and threw a scrunched up piece of paper at the back of his head. They'd grown up together, their parents had been friends in California where they had spent most of their time growing up.
"Thanks." Stiles said, downing his coffee and then making his way out of their apartment. He had an hour before he had to be there for the interview, and he wanted plenty of time to freak out before he had to meet with him. This was really the first job interview that would really matter, the one that would give him a make or break into the world that he wanted to work. Tilting his head back when he got outside, he sucked in a big gasp of air and sighed to himself.
He couldn't really believe that he was doing it, it was so completely out of his comfort zone. He walked down the street, feeling uncomfortable in the clothes that he was wearing. He had on jeans, because the dress pant that he did actually have... Was torn in the crotch. Probably one of the times when him and Scott had gotten a little crazy in college. He had on red shoes, a black v-neck t-shirt and a black blazer that he had found in the back of his closet. So what if it had a weird little reindeer on the shoulder. He doubted that Derek would even notice he'd be so blown away with the things that he had written.
Descending into the subway, he wedged himself between an overweight and unhappy looking woman and an Asian business man that looked equally unhappy. He hoped that his job would make him feel a little bit better about his life. Crossing his arms over his chest, his foot bounced on the train with the nerves that were running through his body. He wanted this to go perfectly, that was true.
Feeling his phone vibrate, he jumped and reached into his jeans pocket, sliding it open and smiling a little bit at the picture that Scott had sent him. It was a picture of Scott's recent score in the video game that they had both been playing when the other was busy. He'd been a single solitary point away from beating the high score that had been set by Stiles. 'Better luck next time', Stiles texted.
He slid his phone away, getting up and leaving the subway as he arrived the area that he needed to be in order to get to the building. Of course, when he stood in front of the building, it was huge and intimidating. Taking in another deep breath, he pushed open the door and made a bee line for the elevator that would take him to the eighteenth floor where Trend headquarters was.
Getting inside, he stuffed himself in the very back of the elevator trying to make himself as inconspicuous as he possibly could. The people that were in the elevator with him were all dressed amazing, and they were all off by the time that eh reached the eighteenth floor. He bit his lower lip, stepping forward as the doors opened and looked at the world that he had just willingly tossed himself into.
Everyone looked good, like freakishly good. It looked as though they all came from the same town that had been invaded by soulless aliens. As a matter of fact, there were models there, models that were unphotoshopped, skinny and looking unhappy with existing. It was weird, because he was pretty sure that he had masturbated to a few of them. The man at the front desk raised an eyebrow, looking unhappy as he looked up at the unfashionable twenty-one year old.
"I have an interview with Derek Hale." Stiles said, raising an eyebrow and hoping that the other would understand what he was talking about. The man gave him a look and nodded, not saying a single word to Stiles as he pointed down the hallway and the crooked his finger to the right, giving him directions without saying a single word. He could tell by the look on his face, that the man was not impressed with Derek. And he had a fucking desk job.
He followed the man's directions, sighing quietly to himself and looking at a few of the faces as he walked through the area. A woman with red hair, a black man talking intensely with a blonde girl, and finally as he rounded the corner; an unhappy looking blonde boy dressed in a suit and looking completely business professional.
"What the hell do you want?" The blonde boy said, being the first person that he had seen while walking through the Trend hallway that seemed to actually be human. The male narrowed his eyes, leaning forward and looking not amused one bit.
"I'm here for an interview with Derek Hale." Stiles said, feeling a little bit intimidated when he saw 'Jackson' stand up. Or at least that was the name on the front of his desk. He had the kind of name that basically made him seem like an entitled douchebag. It didn't help that his face looked just like that as well, Stiles breathing in deeply because he was seriously getting close to passing out.
"Well, I guess this is a positive. Considering the way that you look, my job is secure and I don't have to worry about being the most handsome person at Trend." Jackson said, flashing a cocky smile at him and raising an eyebrow. Stiles made a face and huffed quietly to himself.
Jackson moved back to his desk, picking up the phone and pressing a number on the pad. He waited a few seconds before the other line was picked up. "Your noon is here... No, no... No... Yes, I can do that. It'll be ready in twenty minutes. Yes, he called.... Yes, I know I'll call him to give him your new number. No, I haven't gotten Isaac's shoes cleaned yet." Jackson said, clearly there were much more going on than just Stiles coming in for a interview. Things that Derek had to talk about. Jackson sighed and hung up the phone after being quiet for a solid minute. "He said that you can come in right now. He has a lot to do, so you better be prepared for some fast talking."
Stiles nodded his head, not bothering to say thanks to Jackson. He probably would have said that word to anyone else. But not Jackson, because he had kind of called him unfortunate looking. He sighed quietly as he slowly opened the door to the main office. His mouth instantly went dry when he saw the man that was sitting at the desk in front of him. The man was just... Gorgeous. Not fair gorgeous. He was perfect. With black hair, green eyes, stubble and the kind of body that even in a suit you knew that it was amazing.
"Stiles." Derek Hale said, sounding so unimpressed that he suddenly did not seem as attractive as Stiles had originally believed when he walked into the room. The worst part, was that Derek didn't even say the name right. He said it like 'Sty-LES'.
"Stiles." He corrected, biting his lower lip and mentally smacking himself as he did so. He knew that it was a stupid thing to say, correcting the guy that was possibly holding his entire career in his hands.
"Not that I see." Derek said flatly, raising an eyebrow as he looked over at Stiles and the clothes that he was wearing. He looked just downright serious, clearly not thinking a single thing on Stiles was worth his time or the magazines time. Derek sighed and looked at him. "So, why should I hire someone that clearly has no idea about the fashion industry."
"Because I'm dedicated to what I want to do, and I'm willing to do what it takes in order to get to where I want to be." Stiles said, keeping his face calm as he looked over at Derek. Their eyes were locked for a few seconds, both of them silently judging each other. Stiles judged the older man for the work that he did, something he didn't see as important as world news. Derek judging the younger man on what he decided to wear to a fashion magazine.
"You start tomorrow. Eight o'clock. I want you coming in with a coffee from the shop at the corner of the street. Mocha with three shots, two packets of sugar and one skim milk." Derek ordered, frowning at the male and turning away from him and to the laptop that was situated behind him. Stiles frowned a bit, assuming that he had just been hired and that was his subtle hint to get the hell out of there.
Stiles stepped out, looking a bit dazed. He glanced towards Jackson, who had a raised eyebrow. "Judging on the fact that you aren't crying, I'll say that you got the job."
"I guess." Stiles said with a shrug, ready to get out of there and go curl up in bed and possibly think about what to wear the next day. He grabbed his phone, quickly emailing Derek's order on the phone and sending it to himself. He was the assistant.
He was nearly to the elevator when he was stopped by a strawberry blonde girl who had a look in her eye as though she knew everything that the world had to keep. She looked him up and down, raising an eyebrow. "When you grow your hair out two inches, give me a call." She said, holding out a business card and then disappearing back into where she had came from.
Looking at the paper, it just said Lydia Martin. He slipped it into his pocket, fairly sure that this had to be the weirdest day that he had ever been alive.