There are a few reasons he's volunteered for a few hours at this stupid kissing booth, but none of those reasons are "because he really, totally wanted to." Stiles asked and pointed out that it's good for the energem. Nate probably would've life coached at him if he'd found out that Derek had been recruited and he'd turned it down. And lastly, he really should put himself out there a little more. Things aren't going as well as he'd like and it's entirely his fault, so maybe pushing himself out of his comfort zone on purpose is what he needs to get the ball rolling.

Or he could end up hating himself for doing this, but if nothing else, at least he can say he tried, right?

So, even if he's not excited to be here, Derek will be doing his best not to let that show, because if it's for a good cause — creeping closer to his wish to keep Cora safe absolutely is — then he'll put his best face forward and throw himself in wholeheartedly.

While he's wandering around the festival, Derek can't help noticing the little tents with the twinkling lights and he wonders what's in them. As soon as he peeks his head in, he wishes he hadn't, because all he can see is a ton of women sitting around piles of baby clothes, putting together what look like care packages.

Ever since baby Baby, Derek's been feeling that obnoxious tug on his heart. He's always wanted to have a family of his own someday, but since the fire started a domino effect of people he cares about being hurt or killed, Derek had resigned himself secretly to the idea that he'll never be that guy. He'll never be able to trust someone enough to settle down and make babies with her.

It doesn't stop him stepping inside and it doesn't stop him — even though he knows he should get the hell away from here — from joining the women and helping them pack the boxes, because why not? It's not like he has anything better to do and at least this volunteering opportunity won't have him kissing loads of strange women.

When he hears about the Color Run, Derek is absolutely interested. He's always wanted to run in one of the Color Runs back home, but they never come close enough to Beacon Hills and, somehow, traveling to the nearest major city to run a race always seemed sort of counterproductive. But it's here in Cadelle and there's no way he's missing his chance to finally run the damn thing.

After filling out the what felt like a million forms, Derek grabs his complimentary t-shirt and peels off his own, folding it up and stuffing it into one of the plastic bags to keep it from being ruined by the colorful powder. Hopefully, he doesn't have to worry about it being stolen by leaving it...

Once that's handled, he'll pull the white shirt on and making his way to the starting line. Already, his adrenaline is pumping and he's excited. This thing always looked so cool and he's stoked to finally have a chance to participate.

(( or hit him up with your own starter. feel free to PM or plurk (mistojen) me if you want to plot ahead of time! ))