Stiles had always considered himself a good liar.

That was until he met Derek Hale.

Now, Stiles wasn't and never has glorified the act of lying but until the day he met the werewolf, he had been pretty confident about telling a fib or two.

At first it hadn't been much of a problem considering Stiles not only feared but also resented Derek Hale's existence. But as time went on and Derek became pretty chronic fixture in Stiles life, lying became harder and harder to do.

Especially to himself.

Stiles hadn't meant to walk into the warehouse when Derek was working out in his birthday suit.

Was that even a normal thing to do?

Being a bit dramatic, Stiles had squealed like a little girl at the sight, which was embarrassing enough if he hadn't also gotten a little hot and bothered as well.

Derek had called out to him but Stiles had quickly escaped to his Jeep, which seemed to only remind him even more of the hulking alpha.

What the fuck? What the actual flying fuck? Derek Hale does not turn me on. Not even a little bit. There's just no way…

I love Lydia, just like Scott loves Allison. I am straight. I am straight. I am straight.

Not that there is anything wrong with being gay… I mean, Danny's awesome and that club was pretty fun… but that's not the point!

That boner I got? Well, that was a shock boner and nothing else. That can happen.

….Right?

FUCK!

Even when he slammed his head against the steering while to rid his mind of the thoughts of Derek's sweaty and perfectly tone body, he was reminded of the time that Derek had caused him bodily harm by doing the same thing.

Confused and slightly disturbed, Stiles had driven away that day with much more lying to do than he ever had before. From there, the webs of lies that he had started to spin would only escalate and become much more complicated.

TW-TW-TW-TW

"Hey, can you actually drop me at Derek's? I have to ask him something about the cure." Scott requested one day afterschool as they walked down the hall.

Stiles immediately paled at the question. He had successfully managed to avoid a certain sexy werewolf that had been plaguing his thoughts recently for a little over two weeks.

It had made the lying to himself a little more convincing. Without seeing, hearing or being around Derek in any capacity meant that there was no way that anyone could prove he actually was attracted to the guy.

Stiles intended to keep it that way. He did so with a lie.

"I actually have to get home. I'm supposed to be working on a project with Danny this afternoon." Stiles muttered, not daring to look at his best friend. "Maybe you can get Allison to take you?"

Thankfully, Scott didn't like to ask questions when the subject involved school.

He nodded and peeled off to find Allison before greeting, "Catch yah later then, man."

Stiles let out a sigh of relief.

Nothing was worse than lying to your best friend.

Well, nothing was worse than lying to your best friend so that you can avoid the object of your desire because you are so deeply in denial.

Stiles was beginning to think that this whole lying thing really wasn't his niche.

TW-TW-TW-TW

Stiles was a daydreamer, especially in biology.

His teacher was droning on about the migrating patterns of a certain type of whale when he zoned out completely. The good thing about zoning out for Stiles was that it didn't matter much; he was a straight A student who used the Internet to teach himself.

Not that he loathed school or anything; he liked it for the social aspect but not so much for the educational part. Today was one of those days where he simply couldn't keep his head in the game.

Daydreaming was when Stiles subconscious liked to put itself into full power.

In his daydream, Stiles found himself back at the warehouse, staring openly at Derek's naked (and glistening) body.

But this time he couldn't flee as he had before, his feet seemed to be cemented to the very spot. He still made the same squealing sound but now there was no escape route for him to take.

Derek turned around slowly and looked at Stiles knowingly. The gaze wasn't predatory, as Stiles would have expected, it was more indecipherable than that.

The werewolf neared Stiles, his body moving with grace and power as he made his way to where Stiles was rooted to the ground. Stiles body screamed out to be able to run away or… maybe just to touch Derek.

"You know you don't have to scared about the way you feel." Derek purred, his blue eyes dazzling as he smirked at how uncomfortable Stiles looked.

"'m not s-scared." Stiles managed to stammer out, down casting his eyes to avoid Derek's piercing gaze.

Derek lifted a hand toward Stiles' chin and moved it up so they were making eye contact again; the touch stung with such pleasure that Stiles could have sworn the interaction was real instead of simply a way of his mind to taunt him into realizing the truth of his feelings for a certain Alpha werewolf.

"Stiles…" Derek practically cooed, moving his naked body right up against Stiles' fully clothed one.

Derek had an unfair advantage of being completely nude and Stiles clamped his eyes shut in hopes that the mirage would simply disappear and he'd wake up in his regular daydream of watching Lydia do a striptease.

"Why do you think that lying to yourself will help the situation?" Derek accused, running a hand along Stiles' forearm teasingly.

Stiles eyes flew open and Derek was still in front of him, much to his dismay. But maybe the werewolf of his subconscious was right. Maybe he should stop pretending that his attraction to Derek Hale didn't exist and simply embrace it.

Maybe that way it wouldn't hurt so much when Derek simply wanted nothing to do with him.

"You know, you look much better with a smile on your face, right?" Derek prompted in such a sensitive tone that Stiles couldn't even take a bit of offense.

"It's hard to smile when you're worried all the time about people figuring out what's really going on." Stiles expressed, his tone surprisingly frustrated. "All my school friends have a sense but are ignorant enough to fall for my lies and excuses but you… I think if I was even around you for a second, I'd have to admit it."

"Admit what, Stiles?" Derek wondered, his eyes full of expectation.

Stiles bit his lip before saying it aloud, "I like you, Derek. Well, at least, I'm attracted to you."

"Now, was that so hard?" Derek teased, nuzzling his head into the nape of Stiles' neck, which sent electric shocks of pleasure up and down Stiles' spine.

"Fuck…" Stiles groaned out, unable to control himself. "I am so fucked…"

"Stillinkski!"

The teacher's voice quickly woke Stiles from his daydream. He was sprawled across his desk and drool seemed to be dripping down from his mouth. An excessive amount of drool.

"Now, dare I even ask what you were dreaming about, young man? Or should I spare you the embarrassment and simply send you off to the principals' office?" The teacher asked sternly, looking completely unimpressed by her student.

Stiles simply hung his head as he collected up his things before heading out toward the door.

This was a new low for him: he hadn't even had enough gusto to attempt to lie.

TW – TW – TW – TW

One morning when he had been waiting to pick up Scott for school, Stiles heart stopped when he saw Derek on Scott's front porch talking to him.

He hadn't seen Derek since the incident and had been quite all right with that fact. But seeing Derek only a few hundred feet away made something jolt in Stiles that he couldn't deny any longer.

Stiles was thankful for the fact that he had been observant enough that morning to catch sight of Derek before having to awkwardly hold a conversation with him. Stiles was sure he wouldn't have been able to last it without having a panic attack.

He had pulled into a spot next to the curb that shielded his Jeep from view but gave him enough of a vantage point to still see Scott's house. The conversation between he and Derek seemed to be coming to a close, much to Stile's relief.

He felt a bit like a creeper watching from behind the bushes but at least he didn't have to cross paths with Derek by doing so.

When Derek finally took off, Stiles let out a sigh that he hadn't known he was holding in. He started his engine and pulled up into Scott's driveway.

Scott trotted out to the car and opened the door. "You just missed Derek."

"Oh, did I?" Stiles asked as innocently as he could.

"Yah, he asked about you actually." Scott said as he climbed into the Jeep.

Stiles breath hitched. "Did he? What did he ask?"

"I guess he just hasn't seen you around much but whatever." Scott muttered, looking at his cell phone that was buzzing with a text from Allison (assumedly).

Stiles blushed fiercely as he began to back out of the driveway but accidentally clipped a trashcan as he did.

"Whoa, dude!" Scott cried out in surprise. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Stiles determined defensively. "I'm completely fine!"

But Stiles wasn't fine. Not even close.

TW – TW – TW- TW

Lydia Martin didn't simply invite people over to study. She was practically a genius. She didn't waste her precious time studying.

So, when Stiles got a text that read:

Study sesh at mine? Just us 2?

L

He was floored. He almost dropped his phone into a puddle.

A month ago, this would've been the very life changing even that Stiles had dreamt about since he was a little boy. But more recently his taste had morphed into more of a lupine style.

But, this might be the perfect thing he needed to spark his obsession with Lydia again. It would be the perfect cover up as well.

The perfect lie.

Without a second thought, Stiles made his way over to Lydia's house in his Jeep. His heart was racing and for some reason, he felt like he was betraying himself by doing this.

But, he needed this.

When she opened the door, Lydia was wearing a teddy and had a lustful look in her eyes. The look she sporting had haunted Stiles' dreams ever since they started high school together and he had never imagined that it would be directed his way.

"Ready to learn?" She purred, before grabbing a hold of his shirt and dragging him inside.

Lydia led him up the stairs to her bedroom and pushed him down onto her bed. She pounced on him, straddling his waist with her legs. She pushed back her hair and went in for the kill.

Her lips pressed against his and he felt nothing.

Stiles had expected to feel something; at least a remnant of what he had yearned so desperately for only a few months ago.

But there was nothing and he was tired of lying.

Stiles pulled away from Lydia and rolled away from her, so she awkwardly fell down onto the bed.

"I-I'm sorry, I can't do this." Stiles stammered, unable to make eye contact with the gorgeous girl he had wasted so much time pining after and now felt nothing for (aside from friendship).

Lydia began to laugh, "I told them! I told them it wasn't me!"

Stiles looked over at her, a horrified look in his eyes. "What… what are you talking about, Lydia?"

"Oh, Stiles." She murmured sympathetically, sitting up on her bed with an amused look on her flawless face. "Everyone said you had it bad for someone, but I knew it wasn't me. This just gives all of them proof."

"Everyone, who's everyone?" Stiles demanded, furrowing his brow in utter confusion.

"Allison, Scott, Jackson, Danny, Isaac, Erica…"

Before Lydia could say the name of the one who had spun his entire life into chaos, Stiles held out a hand and stated flatly: "I get it. Everyone."

"So…. Who is it then?" Lydia inquired, her eyes dancing with curiosity.

Stiles began to panic. "No one… I don't like anyone."

"Stop lying to me, Stillinksi." Lydia chided. "You can trust me, you know that right?"

"I don't think I can trust anyone with that answer when I can't even trust myself with it." Stiles responded, sitting up suddenly.

"Well, just know that I'd be the last one to judge you on my choice in men." Lydia advised. "Considering the last guy I kissed was a hallucination of a younger Peter Hale before I brought him back to life…"

Living in Beacon Hills was complicated, no matter who you were.

"It's just…" Stiles began before biting his life. "It would never happen so I'm just not even going to go for it."

"Oh! Forbidden love, my favorite!" Lydia cried out with excitement. "Now, who would never go for it…. Oh my god… do you like Scott?"

Stiles gave her a disgusted look. "Number one, ew. He's practically my brother. And two, why did you automatically assume it's a dude?"

Lydia raised her perfectly groomed eyebrow. "It's a guy, isn't it?"

"Maybe…" Stiles muttered, looking down at the ground.

"IS IT JACKSON?"

"No!"

"Um…. Danny?"

"Not my cup of tea."

"Isaac? Boyd?"

"No and no."

"That only leaves…. Oh my god… Derek? You have the hots for Derek Hale? You want to do the dirty with a werewolf?"

Stiles couldn't respond so he simply ran. Thankfully, this time he actually could.

"I approve, Stiles!" Lydia hollered out her window as he pulled away in his Jeep.

He had almost said it out loud. Now he just had to trust that Lydia could keep her pretty little trap shut.

TW-TW –TW- TW

Stiles knew he had gone in too deep when Derek showed up in his room a couple of weeks later and shoved him up against a wall, teeth bared and eyes wild.

"Why are you avoiding me?" The werewolf demanded.

Stiles was aware that their proximity was too close to be able to employ lying without Derek being aware of it. Instead, he turned to his second best defense mechanism: humor.

"Why are you stalking me?" Stiles accused, smirking as convincingly as he could up at the werewolf.

Derek growled and backed up a few feet. "That won't work on me, Stillinksi, what's really going on here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. It's not like you made a conscious effort to come and find me either." Stiles snapped, crossing his arms, as he grew frustrated. "I could say that you were avoiding me too!"

Derek was taken aback by Stiles' accusation. He even seemed hurt by it.

"Well, you're not exactly the easiest person to find." Derek murmured. "Especially when most people don't even know where you are most of the time."

Lying had alienated Stiles, he knew that.

His friends had almost completely stopped even bothering to make contact (besides Lydia who had been utterly supportive since she found out about Stiles' crush on the werewolf).

"It's even been hard to track your scent. The last time I smelt it was that day at the warehouse." Derek explained, something foreign in his eyes.

Stiles was beginning to wonder if he was experiencing another daydream. This wasn't the Derek Hale he was used to; this one was much more emotional, vulnerable and sensitive than Stiles remembered.

This Derek made Stiles want to live even more because this was a Derek he could fall for.

"S-sorry about that." Stiles stammered, looking down at the ground in hopes that Derek wouldn't see the blush on his face at the memory of seeing Derek's naked body. "I should've knocked or something…"

Derek shrugged, "Whatever. That's not the part I'm confused by. I just don't get why I haven't seen or smelt you since that day."

Stiles paled as he watched Derek's feet near him. And as if Derek had seen his daydream, the werewolf put his palm under Stiles' chin and guided it up so that Stiles could meet his intense gaze.

"Just be honest with me… why did you run away?" Derek implored softly.

Stiles heart would have stopped there if there weren't so much adrenalin running through him because of Derek's contact.

"I… I… I don't know." Stiles stumbled over his words as Derek cocked his head in interest, looking more like a puppy than a wolf.

"Yes, you do." Derek urged. "Your pulse is racing, Stiles, please tell me the truth."

Fuck it, I'm done with lying. It isn't worth my pain and Derek's pain as well.

The decision made Stiles suddenly confident. With the surge of self-assurance, he told the truth the only way he knew how: he kissed Derek Hale.

The werewolf's lips were rough against Stiles at first, but it didn't make Stiles back off one bit. It made him want Derek even more.

Kissing Derek was like kissing something that hurt in the best way possible. The part that shocked Stiles the most was that Derek was kissing back.

When Stiles finally pulled away, he was out of breath and more relived than he could ever remember being in his entire life.

It was exhausting to lie and the easiest thing in the world to simply tell the truth.

"You never have to be afraid of what you feel." Derek's voice rumbled before he nuzzled Stiles fondly. "What we have is the most natural thing in the world."

Stiles never wanted to utter another word of a lie again.

Stiles had always considered himself a good liar.

That was until he met Derek Hale.