A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the long break, I've been working non-stop :( 

I'm going back to school this week and my classes have already started, so I might still have a few long breaks between chapters, but I promise I'm trying to keep updating! I WILL finish this book, I swear!  Thanks for reading and I love you guys!!!!

I had meant to tell Derek about my plans with Brett this weekend, but all week, it never really came up. I didn't think it would be a big deal, but it was his ex boyfriend, so if he knew, he might feel awkward. I didn't plan on making a habit of hanging out with Brett anyways, so maybe Derek wouldn't even hear about it anyways. I could tell him after I talked to Brett. 

When I got to the mall, I texted Brett to tell him I would be waiting in the food court. I found a table and sat down, scrolling through my phone to avoid making eye contact with strangers. Brett read my text, but didn't reply. Soon, the chair across from me scraped the floor as Brett took a seat facing me. I met his eyes, smiling softly. "Hey," I greeted him. 

"Stiles, thank you so much for meeting up with me," he said, stretching his legs under the table as his foot knocked against mine. "I need relationship advice, like really bad, and who better to get it from than you?" he teased, folding his hands in front of him. "How are you and Derek, by the way?"

"Oh, we're great!" I shared, offering a small smile as I tried not to feel guilty about keeping this meeting from Derek. It wasn't like we were doing anything wrong, but it still made me feel bad for not at least letting him know where I'd be. "We've had our fair share of drama lately, but I think we're finally past all of that. I got punched in the face last week by Jackson Whittmore and I thought Derek would take his head off."

"Oh my God," Brett laughed, shaking his head in amusement. "You mean Derek didn't kill him? That's surprising."

I shared his laughter, replaying the events of that day in my head. "It was actually Scott, my best friend, who beat the shit out of him for me. Derek just threatened to."

"He got what was coming to him," Brett shrugged, clearly amused by the situation. I nodded in agreement, but talking to Brett about Derek gave me such an odd feeling, I just wanted to change the subject. Brett talked about Derek fondly, which only reminded me of their relationship and Derek lying about the whole thing, which had been forgiven, but I still didn't want to think about it. "Anyways, the reason I asked you to meet with me is because I'm having some boy troubles," he admitted, finally changing the subject from Derek to something I could actually bear talking about with him. "It's too embarrassing to talk about with any of my friends at school and you helped me before, so I thought. . ." he trailed off, his face turning red. 

"Of course," I said, reassuringly. "It's about Liam, right?" I waited for him to answer, but all I got from him was a small nod, as he still seemed embarrassed to talk about it. I waited for him to elaborate and tell me what was going on, but he stared at the table instead, not making a sound. "So tell me what's going on," I urged, folding my arms in front of me as I waited to hear more. 

Brett groaned, holding his face in his hands. "This kid has me all kinds of messed up, Stiles," he sighed, clearly frustrated. "We hang out every weekend after our games. We go to each other's houses, text and call all the time. . . I mean, on paper, we're basically dating. Whenever I try to talk to him about it, he changes the subject."

I listened to him without interrupting, and after he explained, I considered what he had told me. I really wasn't sure what to tell him, considering my boy problems had all been centered around Derek. Those kinds of problems were a little different than Brett's. If anything, Derek was the one in Brett's position because Derek liked me and meanwhile, I never wanted to talk about us because I was focused on Lydia. 

"Maybe he's not ready to be anything more than friends," I offered, drawing on my own experiences. "Or he hasn't admitted to himself that he likes you, even if he does. That's how I felt before Derek and I started dating. I liked him from the beginning, but didn't admit it to myself until we'd been friends for months."

"So what do I do?" Brett asked, seemingly on the  verge of ripping his hair out. I knew it must have been frustrating for him to be so close to Liam, yet not know exactly what was going on between them. Derek must have felt the same way when I was acting all confusing too. All of the mixed signals I sent him from the start must have been exhausting. "I don't want to push him, but I really like him."

"Just try to talk to him again, and let him know that if he's not ready, you don't have to be anything, you know? Tell him how you feel, but don't pressure him into anything. I'm sure it'll work out. He seems really into you, Brett. And you're a great guy, so just give it some time," I replied, trying to sound assuring and helpful, but I wasn't always the best at giving out advice. 

Brett was still holding his face in his hands, staring at me as I shared my wisdom, but he didn't have much of a response other than a small sigh. I knew it probably wasn't the answer he was looking for, but it was the best I could do for him. I offered him a smile, hoping it would calm his nerves, but before we could continue our conversation, an annoyingly familiar voice interrupted us. 

"Both of Derek's boyfriends, together, without Derek?" Garrett laughed, slamming his hands on the table between us. I rolled my eyes immediately, hoping he'd go away if I ignored him. I hadn't seen or heard from him since the time I kissed Derek to get away from this asshole. "What, did the the two of you band together and decide to just date each other?" he teased, grabbing Brett's shoulder violently. 

"Don't touch me," Brett warned, his face red with anger. I saw his fists clenched, like he was about to punch Garrett. As much as Garrett deserved to be punched, I didn't want that kind of attention on us at the mall. 

"We're not interested in a fight, Garrett," I said, calmly. "Just get out of here." I didn't make eye contact with him because I was more worried about Brett lunging at him, so I didn't dare tear my eyes away from Brett. 

"I'm curious," Garrett said, releasing Brett from his tight grip. "If you two girls are dating now, does that mean Derek is single? Cause I'd really love to fuck him again, at least once. It was hell dating him, but the sex was absolutely-"

"Shut the fuck up!" I yelled, cutting him off. I was worried about Brett hurting him, but now I was the one ready to jump into a fight with this asshole. "Keep my boyfriend's name out of your mouth, or I swear to God I'll beat the shit out of you!"

Garrett chuckled coldly, not threatened the least bit by my angry outburst. "Oh, so Stiles gets Derek this week? Brett must have him next week then. Let me know when you two get tired of him so I can have my turn," he continued on, only making my heart beat faster as I tried to control my anger. "I just can't keep up anymore. It seems he's fucking someone new every week."

"Garrett, get the hell out of here," Brett snapped, his eyes cold and glaring. People were starting to stare now, especially after my outburst. "And stay out of Derek and Stiles' relationship. I know you don't know what this means, but they're actually in a happy and healthy partnership, so you should really fuck off before you ruin it, like you ruin everything else you touch."

"Aw," Garrett sighed, sarcastically. "I wonder if Derek knows both of his little boyfriends are on a date without him," he teased as I bit my lip, fighting every urge in my body to not knock him on his ass. I knew I wasn't very strong compared to him, but even just one punch would be satisfying. "I should send him a picture!"

"Dude, stop," Brett tried again, but it did nothing to keep Brett from grabbing me roughly, his arm snaking around my shoulders to hold me against him, despite my best efforts to avoid his touch. 

"Say cheese!" he yelled, smiling into the camera as he went to hit the capture button. 

"Get your hands off of me!" I growled, twisting out of his grip to shove him away. His phone smacked the ground, probably shattered, but I couldn't care less. I grabbed the front of his shirt, throwing a hard punch that landed right on his nose. I felt the hard impact of my hand smacking into bone, the satisfaction already setting in as Garrett stumbled backwards, holding his face. 

"You son of a bitch," he cried, ready to lunge at me, but the last person I expected to see at the mall was the one who grabbed him by the back of his shirt, flinging him back on his ass. I blinked a few times, focusing on him as I tried to figure out what to say. I hadn't even noticed him walking over to us until he had his hand balled up in Garrett's shirt. "Stupid idiots," Garrett mumbled, scrambling to his feet before scurrying off without another word. He knew he'd been beaten. 

"Someone better start talking," Derek demanded, his voice low and angry. Lydia cowered behind him, clearly startled by the whole situation. They were probably hanging out today since I didn't have plans with Derek for once. 

"Garrett's an asshole," Brett answered casually. "He set Stiles off, and well, he got punched. He deserved it."

I knew that wasn't what Derek was looking for. Clearly he wanted more about what the hell we were even doing together at the mall in the first place. From the unresolved look of anger on his face, I knew that much. "Okay, yeah, I knew Garrett was an asshole. That doesn't tell me what you're doing at the mall with my boyfriend, Brett," Derek snapped. His glare pointed at me now, making me shrink back towards the table where Brett still sat. "And you," he nearly growled. "You're still healing from the last time someone hurt you, so why the hell would you purposely put yourself into another position to get hurt? Especially when I'm not here!"

"He was saying awful things about you, Derek!" I tried to defend myself. The anxiety of Derek being angry with me and not being able to explain what exactly happened made my eyes water, but I didn't want to cry like a baby in front of the entire mall. "I couldn't sit here and listen to him talk about you like you're some kind of object. You're my boyfriend and I love you, okay? I couldn't let him talk about you like that."

Derek sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he stared at the floor. I was still pushing back the urge to cry, just because I was so overwhelmed, my body didn't know what else to do. "Why are you two together in the first place?" he asked, more calm this time. It allowed some of my nerves to go away, so I could answer him without breaking down. 

"Brett asked me to come. I've been helping him with this guy he likes and he needed advice. And we're friends, so I didn't think it'd be a big deal," I explained. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"It's okay," Derek mumbled, but was still clearly upset. "Can we go home and talk about this?" he asked, glancing at Brett for a moment before returning his eyes back to mine. I nodded, not wanting to upset him any more. He reached for my hand and I took it without hesitation. "Lyds, can we reschedule?" he asked, holding onto my hand so tight it almost hurt. 

She smiled uneasily, probably because she was just as uncomfortable as everyone else who was unfortunate enough to be a bystander for that entire show. "Yeah, of course. I've got tons of homework anyways."

I gave a small wave to Brett, hopefully conveying an apology for everything that had just happened. I would have to text him later to make sure he was okay, but for now, the most important thing was Derek.

In the car, we were both silent. We didn't go back to his house because my car was still at the mall too, so I had to drive myself home. We just needed someplace quiet to talk. "Are you mad at me?" I asked, worriedly. It was never my intention to make him mad, but I should have realized hanging out with his ex wasn't going to exactly make him happy either. 

"Not mad," he sighed. "You should have told me you were hanging out with Brett. He's my ex, so it's a little weird. Not to mention, he treated me like shit, so we're not exactly on great terms. It just would have been nice to have a heads up that you were friends with him." He was right. I should have told him, and I knew that. I just convinced myself that he wouldn't care because not telling him was so much easier than starting an argument. "And because I know how he is. He's manipulative and if I'm not careful, he'll steal you right out from under my nose."

I chuckled softly, rolling my eyes. "Derek, no one is going to steal me from you, okay? I don't want anyone else."

"For now," he sighed, staring at his hands. I never realized how insecure Derek was until now. I thought he knew how much I loved him, and only him. Maybe that was why he didn't break up with Brett until he knew for sure that he had me, because his insecurity made him think he wasn't enough for me or something. I didn't think that much into it, but now it was very clear that he didn't think he was enough. "I just don't want to lose you. And the moment we start keeping things from each other, that's when we start slipping."

"You won't lose me," I promised, reaching for his hand and intertwining our fingers, squeezing tightly so he knew I wasn't letting go. "I shouldn't have kept it from you. I'm sorry."

"Okay," he breathed, finally showing a resemblance of a smile on his face. "How did you end up punching Garrett?" he wondered, changing the subject from Brett since that was pretty much cleared. 

I winced, thinking about the horrible things Garrett kept saying. I could have done a lot worse than just punching him, but I held back until I couldn't anymore. If Derek hadn't shown up when he did, who knows how hurt the both of us would be. "Brett and I were talking and Garrett came up to us, asking if we were dating, and saying disgusting things like. . ." I trailed off, not wanting to think about Derek having sex with that asshole. 

"Like what?" Derek wondered, worriedly. 

I shrugged, shaking my head. "He said he wanted to fuck you because that was the best part of your relationship with him," I admitted, my hands back in my own lap, refusing to meet Derek's eyes. I didn't know he had done anything like that before, but I shouldn't have assumed I'd be his first. As much as I wanted to be, I knew Derek had past relationships. "I hated hearing him talk about you like that. I just couldn't listen to it."

Derek was quiet for a while, but I refused to look at him. I was too embarrassed and angry at myself for being so upset over Derek having sex with another person. "Stiles, my past relationships don't mean anything to me anymore," he said, quietly. "I never loved Garrett, or Brett. I never came out for them. They were just toxic relationships that I got myself into and that I never want to relive. I just want to forget everything about them. . . about what we did."

"You really didn't love him?" I asked, daring to glance at him.

"Only you," he whispered, leaning in until we were so close, I could feel his breath on my lips. "I only ever wanted you, Stiles."

When he kissed me, I felt all of the anxiety and worry leave my body, relief flooding in as his strong hands held my face, his thumbs tracing my jawline, warming every part of my body. I rested my hands on his arms, trying to pull him as close as possible, but that was difficult in the front seat of a car. When he pulled away, I didn't let go, keeping him close to me for as long as possible.