Like it or Not

Alaric

Stiles put the empty coffee cup to his lips and tipped it back before remembering it was empty. He sighed as he set it back in its previous spot. He'd only done that three times now. He'd called all the people on his list; sent all the emails he'd needed to send and had plugged every appointment he'd made into Derek's calendar.

Derek had been in a meeting with a new designer to see about putting a piece in their next issue. He had another half hour before Derek would be finished so he was starting a new list of things that needed to be done. The newest issue would need interviews and designer swatches, models, photoshoots. He scribbled quickly; his attention so focused that he didn't hear the incoming footsteps.

"Stiles," Elijah leaned on Stiles' desk with a wide grin plastered on his face.

Stiles looked up. Elijah had been getting acquainted with his new office while Derek was in his meeting.

"Can I help you?" Stiles set his pen down, giving Elijah his full attention.

"I was going to pick something up for lunch and was wondering what you wanted? I was planning to hit that restaurant on the corner that Derek likes so much. He still like the broccoli cheddar soup and grilled chicken ciabatta?"

Stiles raised his brows at Elijah, "Typically but if we're doing dinner, he usually eats something lighter. You did invite him, didn't you?" his eyes searched for any hint, any clue that would tell Stiles if Elijah actually wanted Derek there.

"I did," Elijah nodded, "I assume he's coming?"

Stiles noted the shift in posture as Elijah straightened, no longer leaning on Stiles' desk.

"Well you did invite him," Stiles pointed out, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, "Is that a problem?"

"Of course not. I just thought maybe he'd grown up since we were together, but I see he's still just as clingy," Elijah lifted an iron paper weight Stiles kept on his desk. He turned the baseball statue in his hand, examining it as if he'd never seen a baseball before.

"I think it just makes him uncomfortable that you're so interested in me," Stiles shrugged, his eyes not leaving Elijah.

"Is that what he told you?" Elijah's eyes met Stiles' over the paper weight.

"It is a bit suspect," Stiles pointed out. He reached over and took the baseball from Elijah's hand, placing it back on his desk.

Elijah sighed, "Tell me, do you tag along when he has dinner with Alaric?" his hands clasped behind his back.

Stiles swallowed. Alaric. Alaric. "No," He answered with false confidence, hoping Elijah wouldn't notice.

The smirk on Elijah's face told him he didn't do a good job. "You haven't met Alaric, have you?"

"I...know of him," Stiles lied. He was going to murder Derek. Who the hell was Alaric and why hadn't Derek mentioned him? If it was another ex, Stiles was going to flip out.

Elijah gave a satisfied hum. "Perhaps it's not me you need to be worried about."

Stiles' brow dipped into a frown as Elijah turned away from his desk and towards the exit.

"I'll get us salads for lunch," Elijah called over his shoulder, not waiting for a response.

Once he was out of sight, Stiles flipped through his notebook to the notes he'd taken at lunch the other day. He scanned it once, twice, a third time and no where did it say anything about an Alaric.

Stiles flipped through his rolodex searching through the contacts feverishly.

He had almost finished flipping through the A's when Derek walked down the hall with the designer.

"Thank you for coming and we'll be in touch," Derek shook her hand before turning to his office.

Stiles stood, tossing the tall blonde a polite smile before following Derek. He snatched his notebook as he went.

Derek sat at his desk, looking up to see Stiles stalking towards him.

"Stiles, what-"

"Who the hell is Alaric?" Stiles snapped, flailing his notebook.

Derek's brows furrowed before smoothing once again. He sighed, "Elijah?"

"Who else?" Stiles flailed again, "please, for the love of god, do not tell me that you have another ex I need to contend with."

"What? No," Derek scoffed. "Alaric is my best friend."

Stiles once again flailed. The pages of his notebook thwapping through the air. "And you didn't think to mention him to me? I just fumbled through a conversation with Elijah because I didn't know who the fuck Alaric was."

"Why did he bring up Alaric?" Derek glanced past Stiles as if to see where Elijah was.

"Why didn't you?" Stiles demanded.

"I like to keep work and my personal life separate," Derek shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"I am your boyfriend; don't you think I should know about your personal life?"

"I didn't think about it," Derek shrugged again, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest at the word boyfriend.

Stiles threw his arms up, the notebook dragging through the air once more.

"What did he say?" Derek pressed when Stiles didn't offer any more information.

"He was trying to compare he and I going to dinner to you and Alaric," Stiles explained as he grabbed a pen from Derek's desk. "How the hell do you spell Alaric?" He asked, pen poised to a fresh page of his notebook.

"Is that really necessary?" Derek growled, his eyes glaring daggers into the notebook. He didn't know why he was so annoyed by Stiles documenting their relationship like a work task, it wasn't like it was real.

"If this relationship is going to be believable, we have to know one another, so, yes, this is very necessary," Stiles snapped, "A. L. A. R. I. C. K. Is that right?"

"No K," Derek sighed, "I call him Ric for short."

"Okay well, Elijah knows I've never met the guy," Stiles said scribbling out the k he'd added.

"He lives in Ithaca. He teaches occult at Cornell," Derek explained with another sigh.

"Cornell?" Stiles looked up at Derek. "Fancy. Anything else?"

"We've been friends since college. We met in freshman year. He was my roommate."

Stiles scribbled down everything Derek said.

"Did you find out what Elijah's motives were?" Derek huffed, crossing his arms. He had thought Stiles' notebook was endearing before, now it only irked him for reasons he didn't care to investigate.

"Oh yeah, he totally doesn't want you to go. No clue why though," Stiles answered, not looking up from his paper.

"Great, then it's settled, I'll be there."

Stiles finished his sentence and looked at Derek, "We're really gonna have to sell it tonight after that conversation earlier. Too many slip ups like that and he's not gonna believe we're dating."

Derek pinched the bridge of his nose. He hadn't even thought of the fact that he was going to have to act like Stiles' boyfriend at dinner. Regret welled in his stomach. Why had he let himself get into this predicament?