Remember all his general creepiness? Especially when it came to Jackson?
And how it seemed like all that creepiness was just a misdirect, to make us think for a time that he was the kanima’s master?
That was all that there was to him, right?
No, actually. I don’t think so.
Because even if he wasn’t the one controlling Jackson, he still has an oddly intense interest in Jackson. Especially for a teacher.
You might argue that Jackson, the captain of multiple sports teams, is sort of the golden boy of Beacon Hills High, and any teacher with a fair amount of school spirit would take concern in the well being of such a student. But that makes more sense for someone like Finstock, and I don’t see Harris as being much of a sports fan.
So what’s his deal?
I think he does have some connection to Jackson, probably to his past. It’s the only explanation I think of for his behavior towards Jackson other than something that might be heading into “bad touch” territory.
At first I thought perhaps Harris was somehow related to Jackson, or Jackson’s real parents, whether by blood or just by having been a close family friend who is now seeking to look after Jackson from afar. But there is no reason to hide that from Jackson, especially after he learned that he was adopted.
No, I think it would have to be something else. Something worth hiding.
I think Harris was responsible for the death of Jackson’s parents.
We learned in s1xe09, Wolf’s Bane, that Harris was formally an alcoholic.
In s2xe07, Restraint, Erica accesses her dad’s records of the insurance report on Jackson’s parent’s death (which, by the way, means that they know who his parents were. They’d have to have at least their names in order to access the report. So all the mystery about Jackson’s “true name” is just for atmosphere at this point) and reveals that they died in a car crash. The report, however, was inconclusive, so there might have been foul play involved.
If Harris was driving drunk and caused the crash, but was able to leave the scene without leaving enough evidence to pin him (or anyone) to the incident, then that could have been what caused the report to be listed as “inconclusive.” There was enough speculation to question whether it was an accident, but not enough evidence to say for certain.
Harris, however, knows what he did. He knows that the couple died. He knows that he orphaned a child before it had even been born. And he has had to live with the guilt of it for these sixteen years.
And then the boy who, because of Harris, will never know his real parents, ends up as one of Harris’ students. Harris, whose bitterness towards the listless and uninterested faces that plague his classroom grows every year.
Except not for Jackson. Jackson who Harris can’t resent under the crushing weight of his guilt.
this is more careful and interesting thought put into a minor character than jeff davis has put into the entire series thus far to date, and for this i salute you
AU in which Jackson sticks around long enough to meet Kira. He’s distant and cold at first, but eventually Kira ends up being the one person he can stand the most.
This is an established relationship Stackson where they want to open up their relationship to a third.
They put out an open invitation to the pack, and pretty much everyone except Derek entertains the idea. So obviously Stiles and Jackson fixate on why they’re not good enough for the likes of Derek. The ironic part is Derek wants it the most, but he took a step back when it was obvious there’d be a line.
Derek also needs it to be something meaningful, not just a notch in their belts. The three end up in a closed triad.
of fucking course he did. because even now, after all these years, Derek still doesn’t think he’s good enough for them. any of them! no matter how long it’s been or how much he’s grown, he’s always going to think more highly of his friends and packmates than he does of himself, and Stiles and Jackson think it’s absolute bullshit.
as if they aren’t the two most fucked up jerks on the face of the planet. as if both of them can’t give Derek a run for his money as for who hates themselves the most. i mean, really.
they might’ve taken Allison up on her wink and nudge, or even gone in on another try with Lydia. but Derek is hanging back just looking so despondent and faking a smile like it’s what he thinks they want from him, and it’s just utterly infuriating. they won’t stand for it.
they’re gonna make damn sure Derek knows that invitation had his fucking name on it.
And Derek know’s what’s going on when he suddenly starts “accidentally” walking in on things he really shouldn’t be seeing. He’s way more careful than that. It’s just so obvious that Stiles and Jackson want to use him.
He starts making excuses for why he can’t be part of pack night. Slinks away sooner than expected during the times when he does join in. Peter’s now giving him speeches about valuing relationships and how there’s nothing wrong with participating in the fun (everyone’s over 18 now, after all).
Derek’s just really done being hurt, and he’s pretty sure he’s just gonna be nothing more than a living sex toy for Stiles and Jackson.
…little does he know just how precious he’s gonna become…
and, ya know, it’s not completely unreasonable for Derek to assume that, if only because that’s what most of the others in the pack were up for. Stiles and Jackson have been an established thing for a while now, and while when they said they were up for having a third and meant it in both the casual and the committed sense, most of the interest from their friends was on the more superficial end of the spectrum.
pretty much any of them would be up for a night of fun, so why would Derek assume that they would assume anything was different with him? sex is what most people think when they look at him anyway. and considering how much he’s come to care about them, he’s really just not capable of withstanding getting used and casually discarded by two trusted friends at once, okay? he’s not up for that.
and Stiles and Jackson just don’t realize that’s where Derek is coming from. they’re looking for a third partner, not just a quick fuck, and clearly they have not made that clear enough, but they just think Derek is being a stubborn martyr like usual and needs a little gentle coaxing.
only the coaxing doesn’t feel so gentle when it’s inadvertently hitting all Derek’s soft spots, the most vulnerable bits of him that he’s worked so hard to patch over. walking in on their sexcapades is embarrassing and flustering at first, then frustrating, then almost insulting. why can’t they just take no for an answer? for fuck’s sake!
it’s not until Jackson gets a whiff of Derek’s chemosignals after one of these encounters that he starts getting a clue that maybe they’re not handling this the right way – they’re trying to tempt and seduce Derek, after all, not make him feel hurt and angry and some bitter combination of resentful and self-loathing. that’s noooot what they were going for here.
but it’s where they are now and they’ve somehow managed to hurt the one person they care about the most. fuck.
Derek is utterly confused when Stiles and Jackson end their open invitation. He assumes they found someone, but it’s still just the two of them.
Then it’s like he’s being courted, but he must be reading too much into it.
DEREK GETS COURTED UNTIL HE FINALLY SUCCUMBS TO THE FEELS
once Jackson sniffs out the problem, Stiles takes puts a halt to everything and takes the reins. obviously they have been doing something very very wrong, and the thing they’ve been doing most is the sex stuff, so obviously the sex stuff is wrong.
romance is next on the list. it is time to woo the fuckout of Derek Hale until he realizes they mean business.
Stiles starts complimenting Derek at every opportunity. and not just how lovely his eyes are but how great his book collection is and what a good idea he came up with for that battle plan there and how good the stir fry he made for the pack dinner was. he texts Derek memes and factoids and articles with “made me think of you” and no winky face.
Jackson starts touching Derek in passing. usually he keeps pretty much to himself, but he puts his hand on Derek’s arm as he walks by, brushes his fingers over Derek’s shoulder when he walks behind the couch, stands close beside him at meetings and doesn’t step back when Derek looks at him sidelong. he doesn’t crowd him or push, but he stops making an issue of personal space with Derek like he does with everyone else.
Derek is baffled, sort of thrown for a loop. he thought he knew what was happening but it’s not anymore and this is totally different and it can’t be what it seems like. he knows where they stand, okay? they made it very clear before.
but now they’re both being so nice and paying so much attention to him, but they also leave when he tells the pack to leave and they haven’t positioned their sex where he can overhear in two weeks now. Jackson smiled at him without even a trace of a smirk the other day. Stiles literally brought him a flower he’d picked off the side of the road (he’d shrugged and said “blue is just pretty, thought you might like it too”).
he couldn’t possibly be misreading this…..could he? because if he was wrong, it was going to hurt twice as much as anything that came before.
theproblemwithstardust 