STILES POV

A week later I found myself back in front of my locker with Cora and Scott. It was the last friday of the quarter, and the last football game, the championship game.

"So..." Cora began "Tonight's the big game. Derek seems to be more excited about what's going to happen after thought" They both seemed to be smiling, but I left the uneasy look on my face as I closed the locker door.

"What's wrong buddy?" Scott asked. I proceed with what I was doing with no intentions of telling them what was going through my mind, but I broke.

"I don't want him to do it"

"What?" they both asked simultaneously.

"Why not?" Cora practically screamed.

" You see how people treat me. I don't want him to do this because of me. It feels like I'm the reason behind all of this"

"You are, but it's only because he loves you"

"What does that say about me when he ends up getting his ass kicked "

"No one's going to touch Derek, he's a brick wall"

"You can't be sure of that. And it's going to be me that ends hating myself if something bad happens." I looked down at my feet leaning up against the wall of lockers "I can't let Derek go through with this, not if I love him like I say I do"

"Stiles" Cora said sympathetically, as she reached for my arm.

"I gotta go"  and with that I left on my way to class. There was no way I was letting Derek come out and there was a possibility he'd be met with the same treatment as me.

DEREK POV

We were ten minutes into the game when I finally let my mind drift back to Stiles. I hadn't seen him since lunch, and he usually always has dinner with my family before a game. Tonight, however, he just shot me a text saying he'd meet me at the game. Like I do everytime I play I found him in the crowd and sent a wink his way, and he just offered me a soft smile, different from the times before.  He'd been acting different since that night in my room, and I hated to think he still didn't agree with me coming out, but it had to be done. And yeah it was for Stiles,  but he failed to see how it was for me too. I was ready to stop pretending. We both deserved the imperfect high school relationship, and god damn it we deserved a fucking epic love story, and it wasn't going to happen if we kept hiding. It was happening tonight.

I was so wrapped up in Stiles the rest of the game, it wasn't until people were storming the field I even had realized I scored the winning touchdown, and we had won the game. I tore my helmet from my head pushing through the crowd, and claps of celebration to find Stiles. I needed to kiss him, I needed to hold him, and tell him I loved him. Nothing mattered more in that moment. At the end of cheering fans I was only met with Scott, and Cora's grinning faces.

"Where's Stiles?" I asked. They looked around skimming the field.

Scott shrugged "He was here a minute ago, maybe he's at his car?" I didn't give it another second before I was running towards the parking lot, not bothering to stop at the locker room. I had ditched my helmet long ago, leaving it on the grass as I caught his scent and raced to him.

It was quiet, and cold when I found him. I heard his breathing as I watched him leaning up against the door of his jeep, while his palms were splayed out over his face covering his eyes. It wasn't until I cleared my throat that he actually looked up, finally realizing I was there.

"Derek-" he stared ina whisperer, shocked and taken back.

"Don't" I stopped him "Why did you leave? You knew I was gonna- but you left - why did you" I finding it hard to phrase full sentences and contain my anger at the same time.

"I couldn't let you"

"It's not your decision to make!"

"You were doing it because of me!" he shouted back almost as loud "Did you ever think how much pressure that put on me!"

"It wasn't just because of you"

"Well you weren't thinking about it before we got together. What if you came out and we broke up, it would have been for nothing. Or what if you came out and they treated you as bad as they treat me- all of that shit would be on my shoulders"

"I love you Stiles. But it's gonna happen with or without you. I get that you care but you don't get to take that from me" It came out a little angrier that I wanted it to. And as I walked away I wished It hadn't.

STILES POV

I stood there leaning up against the door of my jeep after Derek left. Long after the cars in the parking lot cleared out, and even long after the lights went out. I just stood there. What I did was wrong, and I get that. But I did it to try and protect Derek, I felt like that should count for something.

You don't get to take that from me Derek's words ran on repeat in my head. I never realized what I was doing, what I was taking from Derek. His choice to stand up, to be himself, to show the world who he really was- that night I took that from him. I didn't know how to apologize for doing something like that. But I needed to figure it out, and quick because if I didn't I was gonna loose Derek, If I hadn't already.

I pulled my keys from my pocket opening the door to my jeep when a hand came down quick slamming it back shut again. I closed my eyes tightly hoping I was imagining it as 2 more shadows hovered behind me.

"If it isn't the resident faggot" I recognized the sneer as none other than Jackson "What are you doing here so late Stilinski"

"I'm just on my way home fellas" I choked out turning around to see Brett, and one of the twins- I think it was Aiden but it was too dark to tell.

"Oh no not so fast" Brett laughed. I was looking down at my feet when I noticed that there was a bat hanging from Jackson's hand. And that was the moment my heart officially stopped. First came the shoves. They pushed me around the circle they made to corner me against my car.

"I'm sure you guys have better things to do, small innocent animals to kill, so I'm just gonna go" I reached for the handle when someone slapped my hand away. I wasn't going home tonight.

"Oh you think your funny you little twink?" Jackson sneered right before he swung the metal bat at my knee causing my leg to buckle, and down I went.  I hadn't hit the ground before the bat was back at my leg again, and again, and again. I didn't even try to hide my screams. I bellowed, and yelled hoping someone would hear me, but no one ever did.

"Woah Jackson!" Brett shouted. Jackson only gave him a look that said he should really shut up and help or leave. Then that's when things got worse. There were two sets of fists being thrown at me as Brett held me down. There were blows to the face, to the abdomen. It didn't take long before every part of my body had been hit. And I had stopped fighting back, letting my screams echo throughout the parking lot until I couldn't scream anymore.

My eyes had started to drift shut and I was barely able to stay away before I saw a bright light, like a flashlight, and heard a muffled voice. Then, just before everything went black, everything stopped. I couldn't decide if I had become numb to the punches and kicks or if they had actually stopped all together. It didn't matter I was already gone.

DEREK POV

I didn't bother with any of the after parties that night. Even now as Scott, Cora and the rest of my family sat downstairs eating celebratory barbeque I had locked myself away in my room. I was glad Stiles was trying to help protect me, but he did it in the wrong way. We had had small fights before, but this has been the biggest, and I didn't like it one bit. We just stood in that parking lot yelling at each other instead of talking like we usually did. We always talk, through everything, and that's what we needed to be doing now. So I picked up my phone to called Stiles. It went straight to voicemail. That was unusual, even when we  were mad at eachother Stiles always answered his phone.  I was about to try again when my mother called me down stairs.

I made it to the bottom to find the sheriff waiting in his uniform "Hi Derek"

"Sheriff... Is something wrong?"

"I was just wondering if you've seen my son?"

I shook my head "No sir. We kind of had a fight and I haven't seen him since the game"

He brushed a hand down his face, with an exasperated sigh "He didn't happen to talk you either of you?" he asked gesturing towards Scott and Cora. They both gave silent head shakes.

"Sorry sir but what's going on?" I asked officially worried.

"Stiles hasn't come home. His phone keeps going straight to voicemail, and we've put out a bolo our on his car but it hasn't been found yet"

I still had shoes on, and was already pulling my coat onto my shoulders  "W-What are you saying, Stiles is missing?"

"I don't kn-" the sheriff was cut off my his walkie coming to life. There was a woman on the other end.

"Sheriff, I've found the jeep. It's parked by the football field, but you need to get down here quickly."

He mumbled something into it hurrying for the door. I was hot on his tail before he turned say "Derek, I think you should stay here"

"I'm going sheriff. I can either follow you or ride with you" he deflated, too worried to argue. I hopped in the front seat not even bothering to buckle up.

We made it to the school, and there were two other cruisers already parked around the jeep. But that's not what I noticed. What I noticed was the overpowering smell of blood-Stiles' blood. I didn't wait for the car to come to a complete stop before I was out and standing with the other deputies. There was a puddle of blood, and in it Stiles wallet, and his keys. I hadn't even noticed the sheriff standing beside me until he shouted.

"Call every hospital, emergency room, and clinic in the area, and find my son"

The woman deputy spoke up "We've been calling everywhere sir no-"

"Wait!" another officer spoke up "Beacon Hills Memorial had a John Doe dropped off an hour ago"

We were back in the car and on the road. The sheriff just about broke every traffic violation there was to get to the hospital. I was still comprehending what was happening. The worst case scenarios popped in my head, and suddenly I wasn't thinking straight. I wasn't seeing straight, and it was becoming harder and harder to not let go and just give in and let my wolf out.

Inside the hospital the sheriff bypassed everyone else straight to the front desk. "I-I'm looking f-for my son...  Stiles Stilinski"

"Sheriff" a doctor in a white lab coat called him over, a sympathetic look playing at his face "I'm sorry it took so long to identify your son sheriff. There was just so much blood and damage, he was... unrecognizable"

"Just tell me what happened to my son"

"An anonymous source found him in the high school parking lot. Said he'd scared off the kids who did this before bringing him in."

"What happened to him?" I spoke for the first time since we left my house.

The doctor let out a long breath. "Well it's a bit of a mouth full" we nodded for him to go on "He's got four broken ribs, a concussion, a sprained wrist, broken arm, dislocated shoulder, hairline fracture, busted lip, broken eye socket and a lot of bruising..." he let his voice trail off at the end.

"What? What else is there? There's something you are telling us"

He exhaled "It looks like Stiles was assaulted with a weapon-a bat- His legs are busted up pretty badly. We're not sure how long it'll be before he can walk on his own again"

"Who did it?"

"He won't say. He isn't saying much of anything. After his evaluation I found this to be a case of bullying or some type of abuse, years of it. I understand that this is an important matter, but right now our main concern is making sure Stiles is comfortable enough to heal properly"

"Can we see him?"

"Just understand he's on morphine and probably won't be coherent"

The only sound in the room was that of the machine beeping according to stiles' heart. His beautiful face was covered in a cuts and swells. His soft porcelain skin broken and painted black and blue. And based from the bulkiness under the blanket, both of his legs were covered in casts. He was still, and looked to be hanging on by a thread. I shoved my hands in my pocket giving in as my claws etched their way to the surface. I could tell my eyes had changed color, and I tried to keep them level to the ground.

"I'm going ti kill whoever did this" the sheriff admitted, not caring who heard as he combed his fingers through Stiles' damp hair.

"Not if I get them first" I growled back, and meant it. It was a promise