"What the hell are you looking at Stilinksi?" Jackson, former captain of the lacrosse team questioned the shorter brown-haired boy, despite his tone feeling pretty smug about it.

"At how much your face reminds me of an ass." He replied to the blond walking past him into the field where they played their sport.

"Look whose finally got themselves in shape." Danny his best friend commented.

"I've always been-" Jackson started quickly defensive about any negative comment regarding his athletic physique.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Not you." He cut him off mid-sentence. " I was talking about Stiles, he's actually looking kind of...good, actually."

A low growl erupted from Jackson's chest passed slightly bared teeth and he spun around facing the opposite direction before Danny could see.

"You okay Jacks?" Danny asked after several seconds of silence.

"Yeah I'm fine." Jackson dismissed him, tone curt, response short and clipped. It's not that he meant to be rude to Danny or hurt him, it's that he needed him to go, he wasn't completely in control of his wolf and he didn't want to take any chances, especially not with Danny.

Jackson turned quickly noticing Danny looked hesitant, of course he was going to be if he was worried and concerned for Jackson, which he was, Jackson could sense it. "Don't worry, I'm just sporting a really bad migraine right now."

Giving one last look, Danny nodded and joined the rest of the team outside on the field. Jackson leaned against the locker, breathing heavily, trying to calm his wolf.

He didn't know what was going on, but whatever it was it had to do with Stilinksi. Of that he was sure.

...

He was at Derek's training, finally over what had happened a little over a week ago. That is until the familiar rumble of Stiles' jeep caught his attention as it drove up the pavement to Derek's.

He'd deny it if asked but some part of him was excited to see the shorter boy who had so kindly driven Scott over to the Hale residence.

The slight jump in his heart must have made Derek curious because he looked over at Jackson from where he stood in front of Scott, a black brow raised.

Jackson lowered his gaze under the scrutinizing gaze oh his alpha, not wanting him to see whatever it was that was in his eyes.

Stiles looked at the three of them, one hand in his front jean pocket. Jerking the thumb to his free hand he took a step back toward his jeep. "I'm gonna' go."

Scott grabbed at his sleeve pulling him in his direction and Jackson lost what little control he had. He lunged for Scott, shifting into a werewolf as his feet left the ground and quicker than Scott or any of them could have anticipated, had Scott underneath him. Scott looked as shocked as he felt, but his wolf wasted no time in shifting as well, if it was a fight that Jackson wanted then it was a fight he was going to get.

Derek stood there amused for a second, letting the two go at it for a bit- it was good practice for them, since they weren't necessarily going easy on each other like they normally did in practice. Out there in a real fight, there would be no going easy. A snarl from Jackson and the painful howl from Scott made Derek intervene, of course being the alpha it didn't take much, just a simple 'stop' seeing as they had no choice but to do that exact command. He was after all alpha.

Shifting back to normal Scott clutched at his neck glaring at Jackson as he walked into Derek's house, probably to get something to treat that. Derek with a little or a lot of nudges and complaints from the pack had finally renovated most of his house, so that now it actually looked like a house, instead of some creepy haunted house from the horror movies.

Jackson eventually shifted too and eyed Derek nervously, afraid and almost sure he had displeased his alpha. Derek just shook his head a bit at him motioning for him to come over.

Stiles on the other hand was just standing there in shock. One minute Scott had grabbed at his arm and the next he was being tackled down to the floor by a very angry Jackson, who had seemed pretty alright when they had gotten there, not exactly in a good mood, but not in a bad one either.

"Stiles, why don't you go check on Scott?" Derek asked him, needing the human to go inside and be distracted with something as he addressed one of his beta's. "Jackson."

Jackson flinched, it wasn't that Derek had said his name in any particular way or anything, it was just he was trying to come up with different ways that this conversation could go and none came out positive.

"I know, I know." He said slouching a bit in his stance, so he looked like a kid who knew they had done something bad and was about to get in trouble for doing so.

"You know what happened." Derek stated.

Even though he knew Derek hadn't asked it, that he had just stated the obvious he nodded his head because he did get a gist of what had happened; Scott had touched Stiles and Jackson had seen red. It wasn't that he didn't know that they weren't romantically interested in each other, he did. It was the simple fact that Scott had touched what was his and if he couldn't touch Stiles...then he'd be damned if someone else could.

He shook his head violently at the sudden possessiveness that had taken over. He had absolutely no right to get angry at anyone touching Stiles. Stiles didn't belong to him. That thought, that thought alone made him whimper a bit and he didn't understand his wolf, it was him but then again it wasn't because he wasn't completely in touch with all of his animalistic instincts yet, wasn't quite used to his wolf.

A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his sudden despair, his alpha was looking at him with an odd look, concern as if he actually cared for Jackson. As if the bond that they shared was one of friend's instead of an Alpha who had bitten him for the sake of shutting up the egotistical teen. In a way Jackson figured they had developed to be more than that, over the last few weeks of training.

"I know that I reacted that way because he touched Stiles." He whispered, so lowly only werewolf ears could hear and hopefully Scott was too occupied too. "But I don't know why."

He looked at Derek expectantly. The alpha sighed as he looked out in front of them at the forest surrounding the hale residence. "I was getting ready to tell you guys about mates a little after everything between Scott and Allison was back to the way it was before-." He ran his hand through a few strands of his hair. "Seeing as this has happened, I have no other choice but to tell you. Jackson, Stiles is your mate."

Jackson sprung up from where he had sat and faced Derek. "No- way in hell. I-'m not, he isn't- I'm not gay."

Derek raised his eyebrow at Jackson in return. "Are you denying your attraction to him? Denying the emotions you feel towards him and the urges your wolf has toward him?"

Jackson seemed to curl into himself, he just...deflated. "No." He croaked, throat suddenly dry.

"Then you know that I'm telling you the truth, Stiles Stilinski is your mate."

He nodded his head at his alpha because maybe if he pretended that it was totally fine and that it didn't affect him in the slightest then he could probably come to terms with it. With the idea that Stiles was him mate, his other half, the only person he and his wolf would ever truly want to be and feel complete with.

"Alright well were going to go." Stiles came out of the house, hand patting Scott's back as he glared at Jackson. "Scott says he's gotta' study with Allison, which we all know isn't true and I've gotta' go before my dad get's home and kills me."

Derek nodded, hand coming to rest on Jackson's neck, kneading the tense muscle there and Jackson could have sworn that Stiles looked. Not in any particular way but his eyes had wandered for a second to where Derek was touching him and with a quiet despair he watched as his mate climbed into his jeep, Scott in the passenger;s seat.

"You'll see him tomorrow." Derek told him, getting up and lending a hand to Jackson to help him up. Not that he needed it.

"Yeah." He whispered in return heading towards his gray porsche. "I'll see him tomorrow."

…

"Are you alright? You're even more broody then normal." Danny commented as they sat down at their table at lunch.

"Danny for the last time, I'm fine." He said stressing the word 'fine'. It was like the fiftieth time that day he had been asked that question.

So what if he didn't feel like being happy. So what if he had no way and no reason for talking or even getting close to his mate and so what if said mate was only two tables away; facing front nibbling on his plump bottom lip as he concentrated on something McCall was saying.

If Jackson was being honest and he was he'd admit to the fact that he was a little worried about Stiles. He was worried about how Stiles was handling everything, how he was handling lying to his dad, how he was handling all the stress that came with knowing that their were supernatural being out there and knowing that by being on their side he was subjecting himself to danger.

Jackson frowned at the horrific idea of Stiles being in danger. He wanted to snarl, to slam things- to take his mate home and never let him out of his hold.

"I give up. Your not even listening." Danny fumed next to him, biting into his apple as they shared a silent lunch period.

…

Jackson slammed his locker door shut as a hand came to rest on his shoulder. He was known to happy to see Scott standing there in front of him, hands on both straps of his back pack as he waited for Jackson to acknowledge his presence.

The only acknowledgment he received though was a raised brow.

"Dude- Stiles want's to know why you've been staring at him all day, it's starting to freak him out. I mean what's up with you anyway? Yesterday you attacked me out of nowhere too."

"Don't worry about it." He said coolly, walking passed Scott and heading towards the double doors.

…

He couldn't sleep. He didn't know what but something was bothering him. Something was gnawing at his mind. He knew it had to do with Stiles- knew that unless he went over and checked on him, even if it was just to stand outside and listen to his breathing , that he wouldn't be able to have proper rest.

Pulling his hoody over his head and chucking on a pair of sneakers, he climbed out of his window.

…

From where he stood across the street he could hear that Stiles actually wasn't sleeping, despite the fact that his phone displayed the time as 2 AM. What could Stiles be doing at two AM he wondered to himself as he crossed the street.

…

Stiles was typing away furiously on his laptop. It was the third night in a row that he couldn't sleep and it was honestly starting to wear him out. No amount of Monster drinks or Redbulls were going to suffice for much longer- in fact, if he continued to drink them as he had been doing then he was sure he would die of a heart attack- or something.

The worst part about going days without sleeping was how your own mind seemed to eat away at itself, how it made every creepy thing that existed even more so- or the way that everything just seemed so much more out of control. For once he felt like he just couldn't handle the cards he'd been dealt.

He hated lying. It always set this bad feeling in his stomach , not too mention how he felt as if he was literally choking with guilt anytime he'd have to look his dad square in the eye and utter another excuse or lie as to where he had been, or why he coincidentally was at the same place as the police. He was sick of watching the trust that his father had in him slowly fade away into oblivion, like all the times that he did tell the truth- though that wasn't the case as of often, like they just didn't matter because they'd been coated by lie after never ending lie.

There was also the whole thing about helping Scott. -Scott who though he had become a better friend, since he wasn't exactly ignoring Stiles anymore- not as much as he had when he had first met Allison, he still didn't seem to get Stiles. He loved Scott- honest he did, but he felt like Scott didn't really get him. At least not in the same way he seemed to get Scott.

He ran his hand down his forearm as a cold breeze slipped through his window- which was supposed to be closed because last time he had checked it had been closed. Hadn't it?

Swiveling his chair around he came face to face with something he did not expect; a blond head in his face.

The unmanly scream that if ever asked was totally- definitely manly in every sense of the word, was covered by Jackson's hand. Stiles' eyes widened as he looked at the boy in front of him. Jackson was looking a little more wolfish now, like he was shifting. While in Stiles' room!

He shook his head. Not being able to exactly say what he wanted to say since Jackson's hand was still covering his mouth. The blond eyed him warily before deciding to take his hand away from his mate's mouth but gave him a meaning full look that if he even thought about screaming again, he wouldn't hesitate to cover his mouth.

"What the hell is up with you and Derek?" He asked Jackson, eyes disbelieving as he stared at the taller teen who was crouched in front of him.

"Derek?" Jackson questioned, blue eyes ablaze.

"Yeah, Derek smart ass. Ya' know I. am. Derek. Hale. I think I can totally just show up in someone's room through their open window since apparently it's an invitation into my room."

"Derek's been in your room?" Jackson growled out.

Stiles was too tired to be dealing with Jackson wolfing out on him. "Is that all you got from that? Cuz' you happen to be doing the exact same thing."

"It's different." Jackson growled lowly, claws starting to come out.

"No." Stiles plucked Jackson's nose and everything in the room seemed to stop, especially the beating of Stiles' heart as he waited for Jackson's reaction.

"Did you just- pluck me?" He asked in disbelief, it seemed to stop the shifting though so Stiles was at least happy with that.

He gulped, forcing his sleep deprived mind not to think of all the creative measures Jackson could take to kill him. Nope, he wasn't going to think of that. Not at all.

"I did." He said nodding his head.

Jackson lifted himself from the floor and stared down at his mate, a little annoyed but not exactly angry that he had plucked him. He looked at the dark circles under his eyes, the frown on his usually neutral face and the way his eyebrows seemed heavier if that was even possible and frowned.

"Have you been sleeping?" He asked, forgetting all about what just happened as the worry about the smaller boy's health settled inside him.

Stiles looked at him incredulously. "I- what? Look. I still don't get why your here. You of all people, considering how much you don't like me."

Jackson's heart plummeted at the look his mate had on his face. A look of loneliness.

"I-" What could he say though? It wasn't a lie, before he had become a wolf he couldn't stand Stiles and now here he was worried about him, concerned that he wasn't taking care of himself and though he wanted nothing more then to hug the boy he knew he had to take it one step at a time. That he needed to explain to Stiles. Needed Stiles to understand that he cared about him- that even though not that much time had passed since his becoming a wolf he knew for a fact that he couldn't live without him.

"I didn't. Before." He told Stiles, watching him carefully as the boy doe brown eyes stared at him.

"Before? Before was what? Two week's ago right? Because last time I checked two weeks ago was when you called a pathetic human who should find- find a..." He didn't complete his sentence.

Jackson watched in horror as a lone tear slid down Stiles' cheek. That one tear seemed to open the floodgates because soon tears were falling freely from his eyes as he tried to wipe them and hide his face from Jackson. From the face of the person that he least of all wanted to be seen as weak in front of.

"I get it Jackson. Okay? I get that I'm the pathetic- human who can't really do anything. I hate it! I hate not being able to help! I hate having to watch my friends get hurt and not be able to help because I'm useless!"

Before even registering what he was doing Jackson grabbed Stiles, yanking him out of the computer chair and crushing him into his chest in a hug so tight there was no way Stiles would be able to free himself, not that he was even trying. He was so torn up he didn't even care that the one offering him comfort was Jackson. Jackson -the-prick -Whittemore whose hand was rubbing soothing circles on his back as Stiles hiccuped and choked on sobs.

"You are not useless." Jackson whispered fiercely into his mate's ear. "I know that I called you thing's Stiles...but you have to know that I never meant them. I was just being a douche." He walked over to the bed and sat, pulling Stiles down with him so he sat against Jackson's side with the blonds arms circling his waist. "You always contribute to the pack Stiles. You always come through even when we all treat you wrong. Without you our pack would- it wouldn't exist, we wouldn't be able to function. I wouldn't be able to function."

Stiles pulled away to look at Jackson. "What are you talking about?" He asked Jackson, a few stray tears still falling from his eyes.

With his thumb Jackson wiped them away staring at his mate's red lips that were swollen from being bitten as he cried and looked into brown eyes that were red and squint-y from all the crying. "Stiles. Your my...mate." He whispered the last part. Scared that he'd be rejected because if that were to happen he wasn't sure what he was going to do, didn't know what he could do if his mate rejected him.

"My mate? As in-. Wait!" He said sharply giving Jackson a look. "Is that why you attacked Scott?" He asked suddenly.

The taller teen nodded his head, giving him an apologetic glance. "I didn't get it at first, but Derek explained it to me...I didn't like that he touched you- not when I- couldn't."

Stiles sighed and lay back on the bed. "I'm also guessing that's why you've been such a douche to Danny."

Jackson looked at him curiously. "And how exactly would you know that?"

Stiles shrugged."My best friend's a werewolf, he heard you growl at Jackson after he called me hot."

Jackson frowned at him as a growl reverberated in his chest. "He did not call you hot Stiles."

"Okay, okay sour wolf number two- or should I call you douchey-wolf? Since you are more of a douche-"

"Stiles." Jackson snapped.

"Oh. Sorry." He twiddled with his fingers. "Does that mean that you won't be mean to me anymore?" He asked in a low voice, one that Jackson was only able to pick up because of his super hearing.

He nodded his head, still looking down at his mate who looked more vulnerable then he'd ever seen him.

"Good." Stiles muttered. "That's- good."

Jackson didn't know what to say. He still didn't know if Stiles accepted him as a mate or not.

"Stiles I-"

"I know." He said cutting off Jackson and stifling a yawn. "But right now I don't know Jackson. I love that you care about me- you do care about me right?" He asked suddenly feeling insecure.

Jackson reached out his hand and squeezed Stiles' hand. "Yes stiles. I care about you."

Stiles smiled sleepily. "Thanks. I just I need you to be here for me right now Jackson, for you mate please?" He asked.

Jackson nodded at him, already beginning to take off his shoes as Stiles turned and scooted up so his head was actually on his pillow now.

He looked at Jackson expectingly and the other teen seeming to get it scooted over to lay beside him. "Right now I just really need you to be here for me." Stiles whispered, looking down.

Jackson lifted Stiles' chin with his hand and caressed his cheek. "I am Stiles. I'm here for you."

"Thanks." He murmured as he finally closed his eyes and turned his body so that his head lay in the crook of Jackson's neck.

The blond hummed in contentment at being this close to his mate, at the fact that Stiles was finally getting rest and that he too would be able to finally get some as well.

"You have no idea how much I'll be here for you." He murmured against Stiles' forehead as he kissed it.

He didn't know for sure but he could have sworn that before he closed his eyes Stiles had smiled.