A/N: Here, have a short chapter with protective Derek :) 

Derek had been avoiding me since school started on Monday. We spent the weekend together as normal, just hanging out at his house and we even went to the movies together, but as soon as the first bell rang on Monday morning, he was no where to be seen. We talked about coming out at school, so the rumors about me and Lydia would stop and so that we could just be a normal couple without having to worry about being seen. I wasn't sure how we could come out if he wasn't talking to me at school. 

Tuesday was a repeat of Monday, where I didn't see even a glance of Derek at school. I tried talking to him after school, but we both had practice, so we didn't see much of each other. On Wednesday, I planned on forcing him to talk to me, so I could figure out what the hell was going on with him. I had to wait until after school, though, because apparently he had found a way to avoid me at all costs during the day. 

After gym, I took a slightly longer shower than usual, not really looking forward to going to lunch next where my friends would ask me about Derek and how things were going. I wasn't exactly thrilled about Derek ignoring me, but I wasn't mad either. I was confused and didn't want to talk about it with anyone but Derek. 

After I got out of the shower and dressed myself, I grabbed my things, moving towards the exit when I noticed one other person was still hanging around in the locker room. I stopped, taking a few steps backs to see if he wanted company. "Hey, Danny," I greeted him with a smile. He looked up from his notebook, returning the smile as he set his homework off to the side. "Whatchya working on?" I prodded, sitting down beside him. 

"Hey Stiles," he laughed, turning to give me his full attention. "Just some math homework. What's up?" he wondered, raising an eyebrow curiously. It was normal that he seemed confused about why I was talking to him. We weren't exactly friends, other than being on the same team. He hung around Jackson a lot and Jackson wasn't exactly my favorite person. Therefore, Danny and I weren't close either. 

"You give good advice, right?" I answered, nervously. Danny cocked his head to the side, watching me with narrowed eyes. I took that as a cue to keep talking. "Danny, I'm bisexual," I blurted out, not really sure what direction to take this in. 

Danny's confused expression didn't change as he opened his mouth, hesitating as he debated what to respond. "Stiles, I'm flattered, but-"

"Oh, God no, Danny," I cut him off with a nervous chuckle. "I have a boyfriend." I realized as soon as the words left my mouth that it sounded like I was coming onto him, so I shut that down quick before another rumor could get started. Not that Danny was the type to start rumors, but better safe than sorry. 

"Right," Danny mumbled, embarrassed. "I'm happy for you," he added, a small smile on his lips. 

"Thanks," I replied, glad I dodged that bullet. "Anyways, my boyfriend and I decided we were going to go public this week, but he's kind of been avoiding me. . . and I'm not really sure what to do?" I explained, hoping he had some sound advice for me. 

Danny's face scrunched as if he felt my pain. Finally, he sighed. "That's a tough one," he admitted. "It sounds like your boyfriend has cold feet. Maybe he thought he was ready to come out, but realized he wasn't. In cases like that, you can't really do anything about it. Trust me, I know."

"You do?" I asked, my heart sinking. I knew he was right. I couldn't push Derek. I just desperately wanted him to be on the same page as me. 

Danny chuckled, shaking his head. "Unfortunately," he sighed. "The guy I'm sort of seeing right now is in the closet. He's so far in the closet, I'm not sure he'll ever come out."

"Why do we do this to ourselves?" I teased, groaning as Danny laughed at me. I fell into his fit of laughter with my own as we found humor in our terribly pathetic love lives. 

As our laughter slowly died down, the sound of the locker door slamming forced our gaze away from each other and to the person who was interrupting our pity party. "What the hell is going on here?" Jackson remarked, angrily. I scooted away from Danny, trying to prevent anymore rumors from going around and getting back to Derek. 

"Jackson," Danny said, almost as if it were a warning. "We were just talking."

As I stood from the bench to face Jackson, hoping to have a normal conversation before slipping away, he grabbed the front of my shirt, slamming my back into the metal lockers. "Just talking?" he spat, his grip tightening on me as I winced from the impact. "First Lydia, now Danny? You just don't stop, do you?!" he screamed, shoving me even more, his elbow digging into my ribs. 

"Let him go," Danny demanded, but Jackson didn't move. 

I balled up my fists at my sides, trying to stay calm so Jackson would just let me go without having to fight with him. "Jackson, I don't know what your problem is, but Danny and I were really just talking. And Lydia and I were never together, okay?"

"Don't lie to me," Jackson growled, finally letting me go as he took a step back. I sighed in relief, moving to leave as Jackson turned away from me. Just as I thought I could slip past him, he spun around again, this time his fist connecting with my nose. "Keep your filthy hands off of my things!" Jackson screamed, as I fell back against the lockers again. 

"Jackson, what the hell?!" Danny yelled, rushing to my side. "You don't own me, asshole!" I held my nose as I felt the blood gushing down my face, the pain making me dizzy. Danny grabbed my arm, holding onto me tightly as he dragged me past a very angry Jackson and out the door, leaving Jackson alone to cool down. 

"I'm guessing he's the guy in the closet?" I teased, my eyes watering from the pain. 

Danny frowned, still holding me up as we walked down the hall, probably towards the nurse's office. "Stiles, I'm so sorry," he sighed. "I had no idea he would react that way."

Before I could reply to Danny, assuring him it wasn't his fault, my eyes locked with Derek's from down the hallway. At first, Derek looked like he wanted to run the other way, but he soon noticed I had blood all over my hands and shirt and the worry took over his whole body. "What the hell happened to him, Danny?" Derek demanded, rushing down the hallway to get to my side. 

Danny looked confused for a moment as to why Derek, of all people, would be worried about me. Then, I saw the look of realization on his face. "Oh, you're the boyfriend," he mumbled, as Derek pried him away from me and held me himself, his hand reaching for my face to examine where the blood was coming from. "Jackson punched him because he's a jealous asshole," Danny explained. 

"He punched you?" Derek nearly yelled, his eyes filled with anger. "Where the hell is he?" 

"Derek," I mumbled, shaking my head. "Don't." 

He frowned, taking off his sweatshirt to hold against my face. I tried to push his hands away, but he gave me a look like I shouldn't tell him no. I lowered my hands from my aching nose and let him hold the cloth under my nose for me. "Danny, take him to the nurse," he said, running his fingers through my hair as he kissed my forehead. "I'll be back."

"Derek, it's not worth it," I tried again, as Danny took my arm and tried to drag me away. I jerked away from him, following Derek as he stormed off towards the direction Danny and I came from. Soon, Jackson came into view. He must have just left the locker room, but he still looked just as angry as when he punched me. 

"Jackson!" Derek yelled, clenching his fists at his sides. I could already see this was about to get bad, and I wanted to stop it, but Derek was already determined. Jackson's eyes met Derek's and the anger turned into confusion for a moment. Before Jackson knew what was going on, Derek had his hands against Jackson's chest, slamming him into the nearest row of lockers. 

"What the hell, Derek?!" Jackson screamed, wincing at the pain of the lockers digging into his back. Derek kept him pinned there as Jackson squirmed, looking a little nervous as Derek glared at him. "What are you doing?!" 

Derek pushed Jackson further into the locker, making Jackson cry out in pain. "If you ever put your hands on my boyfriend again, I will beat the shit out of you," he threatened, catching the attention of people passing by in the hallway. Lunch had just ended, so we were starting to gather a crowd of people. "Do you understand me, Jackson? It'll be the end of you."

Jackson refused to look at Derek, despite the situation he was in. Derek had the upper hand here, so Jackson was in no position to do anything but agree. "Let me go," Jackson seethed, no remorse for his actions. 

Derek still pinned Jackson to the lockers with one arm, but his other hand grabbed Jackson's chin, forcing him to make eye contact. "I don't think you heard me," Derek growled, his eyes dark. "The only reason I'm not kicking your ass right now is because my boyfriend is watching and he thinks I'm a better person than that. The truth is, I'm not. I would kill you if I could. Keep your hands off of Stiles."

"Fine," Jackson spat, trying to push Derek away, but Derek was much stronger than him. 

Derek slowly backed away, still looming over Jackson with that intimidating stance. "You're going to apologize to him, and then you're going to leave him alone. You're not even going to look at him. Do you understand?" 

Jackson looked like he wanted to protest, especially considering how many people were watching this all unfold. Derek just wouldn't let that happen, so Jackson sighed, annoyed as he stepped closer to me. "I'm sorry I punched you, Stiles," Jackson grumbled. 

"Good job," Derek mocked him, shoving him away as Jackson glared at him. "Now get the hell away from him." 

"Whatever," Jackson answered quietly, glancing at Danny, who hadn't left my side, before making his way out of the crowd. 

Everyone was talking over each other, some cheering for Derek for standing up to Jackson, others just confused.  Derek ignored all of them as he walked back over to me, pulling me into his arms without a second of hesitation. 

"I'll take that as my cue to leave," Danny said with a small smile. "I'm really sorry about all of this," he added, as he slipped away. The crowd was beginning to thin too, everyone over it now that there was no possibility for a fight. 

"Thanks for not punching him," I teased, trying to smile even though it hurt my face. "And for standing up for me."

Derek sighed, kissing my temple gently as he held me in his arms, despite my blood getting everywhere. "I will always stand up for you, Stiles. I love you," he promised, slowly pulling away from me. He bit his lip before chuckling softly. "I guess we're out now."

"I guess we are," I answered, pulling his bloody sweatshirt away from my face to see if the bleeding had stopped. Derek frowned, so I knew it looked back. "Is it broken?" I asked, wincing as he gently touched his fingers to my jaw. 

"I wish you would have let me kill that asshole," he remarked, shaking his head as he stared at my injuries, probably imagining himself beating the shit out of Jackson. Not that I blamed him, but I was glad he didn't do anything that would have caused more trouble. "Let me take you to the nurse," he offered, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. 

"Thank you, Der," I mumbled, letting my head fall against his shoulder as we walked towards the nurses office.