How to be Cool

Lesson #22: Stiles has a Girlfriend?

"So it's official?" Scott asked, his eyes lighting up as I told him about how last night went. "You and the most popular guy in school. . . who would have thought?" he teased, making me roll my eyes. 

"Thanks for the confidence boost," I grumbled, thumping his shoulder as he chuckled at his own jokes. "Anyways, we're not public yet. He still hasn't come out at school and obviously, the only people I've come out to are you, Lydia, my dad, and Derek's family."

"Are we planning a huge coming out party or something?" Scott asked, sarcastically. "I mean, honestly, you two don't even have to come out. Just be yourselves and if people ask, you can tell them, or don't. Whatever," he said, through a mouthful of pizza. We had taken a break from our video game to eat, but Scott had eaten a majority of our pizza while I talked. 

"I'll do whatever Derek wants to do," I answered with a small shrug. "I just wanted to tell you before we came out at school. Tomorrow, we're telling Lydia. And then everyone important will know." I would have been fine with just those people knowing, because it made things easier, but then it would be difficult to hold Derek's hand in public. One of the perks of having a boyfriend was pda and I'd never gotten to do that before. 

"Cool, so do you want to go on a double date this weekend?" he asked, taking this all surprisingly well. I knew he'd be happy for me, but he was even asking to hang out with Derek and I. It was weird because Derek and Scott never really got close, considering I was always with one or the other, but never both at the same time. 

I laughed, stealing the last piece of pizza before Scott could scarf it down. "Yeah, I'll ask Derek," I answered. Scott grinned, jumping into conversation about what we could do on their double date. The rest of the night we spent talking and hanging out, which I realized we hadn't done in awhile. It was a good night. 

The next day was game day. Derek promised he would be at the game with Lydia, in the front row, cheering me on. He also promised to hang out with me after the game, even though it would be in public around people from school. If they won, the entire team went out for pizza and ice cream. If they lost, we usually didn't do anything. The team we were going up against was one we usually beat, so we'd probably be going out afterwards. Derek wanted to be there, so I was a little nervous about the whole team finding out about us. 

"Stiles, we need to talk," Lydia said, making me jump as I realized she was there. I took a deep breath, shutting my locker as I glared at her. "Don't look at me like that," she hissed, grabbing my arm. "Listen, Jackson broke up with me and-"

"Wait, you were dating Jackson?" I asked, cutting her off. I knew she flirted with him all the time, but I had no idea they were an actual item. 

Lydia rolled her eyes, still clamped onto my arm as we walked down the hallway. "It was an on and off kind of thing," she explained, waving it off as if it didn't matter. "The point is, I told my parents I was bringing my boyfriend to our family dinner this weekend because they've been pestering me about him. Now, he officially dumped me and I need a boyfriend."

"How is this my problem?" I asked, confused what she expected me to do about it. "You're the most popular girl in school, Lydia. I'm sure any guy would love to be your boyfriend." It was the truth. A month ago, I would have jumped at the opportunity to be with her, but things were clearly different now.