Lesson #10: Play Hard to Get

School on Monday was absolutely nerve wracking, having to go the entire day without knowing if I had made the lacrosse team or not. If I didn't make it, my chances with Lydia went from zero, to negative. I would be an absolute joke to the entire school if I didn't make the team. At least now, I was just invisible. Once the team roster came out, if my name wasn't on it, that was over.

"Stiles," Scott said, thumping my shoulder hard enough to send a shooting pain down my arm. I glared at him, scooting away from his violent hands. "Stop worrying. You're going to make the team, and if you don't, it's not a big deal. You've never played before, so no one is expecting you to be amazing at it."

I shook my head, staring down at my untouched lunch. "I have to make it," I mumbled, shoving my tray away. "If I don't, everything will be ruined."

"What are you talking about?" Allison wondered, trying to be supportive. She'd been hanging around with us every free second she had today, which was fine, but it was hard to talk to Scott about what was going on since Allison didn't, and couldn't, know. "You've been fine without sports before, haven't you?"

"I guess," I answered, trying to keep her in the dark about what was going on. "I just really want to make it."

She smiled warmly, reaching across the table to put her hand over mine. "I'm sure you will, Stiles." I returned the smile, but I didn't feel like talking anymore. Not until I knew for sure if I would have a chance with Lydia after today. If I didn't make it, Derek would probably tell me to forget about everything. Hopefully, he would still talk to me if this was over.

At the end of the day, once my nerves were all over the place, and I was sweating through my t-shirt with worry, I walked over to the gym with Scott. Allison tagged along behind us, happily blabbing about something that had happened today. Usually, I would have listened and given input, but I was too nervous about the lacrosse results.

There was already a huddle of guys who had tried out in front of the locker rooms. Coach fought them back and put the list up before slipping back into his office, away from the madness. I didn't blame him. While everyone swarmed around the list, searching for their name, I stayed back and waited. My feet were stuck there, in that one spot. I felt a hand on my shoulder and was surprised to see it belonged to Isaac Lahey.

"They're like animals," he joked, showing off his perfect smile. "I saw the way you moved at try outs, Stilinski. There's no way you didn't make the team." It was as if he could sense how nervous I was. He dropped his hand from my shoulder and went to check the list for himself. Scott followed him, while Allison stayed next to me.

I watched Scott and Isaac stare at the list for a long time, neither of them saying anything or even looking at me. I was sweating in places I had never sweated before. Finally, Scott turned around wearing a lopsided grin. "Dude, you made the team!" he exclaimed, practically jumping into my arms as he strangled me in a congratulatory hug. "And you're starting, too!"

I felt a weight life off my shoulders. "Starting?" I repeated, trying to make sense of the word as if I had no idea what it meant. There was no way I was good enough to start. "That's-"

"Amazing," Isaac finished for me, clapping my shoulder with a grin on his face. "Congrats, Stilinski. I told you it would be fine."

There was suddenly another large hand on my shoulder, the opposite shoulder from the one Isaac's hand was currently occupying. "I heard we're gonna be teammates," Boyd said, stepping into view as he dropped his hand. "Congratulations on making the team. I can't believe you've never tried out before this year. That's crazy, man."

"I tried to get him to try out before this year," Scott chastised, shaking his head at me. "But better late than never, right?" he teased. Everyone chuckled. It felt odd, having people to talk to in public other than Scott. This was on of Derek's lessons, right? Making cooler friends. Isaac and Boyd were up there on the food chain.

I was fully content basking in the small amount of glory these guys were giving me, listening to them all joke and banter. I was in my own little world, thinking about my next steps in making these guys my new friends. It was only when I heard the voice of an angel that I snapped back to reality. "I saw that you made the team," Lydia said as I turned around to face her. I tried to keep my jaw from dropping to the floor. She was actually speaking to me? And not against her will? I was dreaming. I had to be. She smiled at me, which was basically heaven. Maybe I wasn't dreaming, but then I had to be dead. "Congratulations, Stiles. You were really good at try outs."

Derek was hovering behind her, his eyes focused in on me as if he were watching my every move. I smiled back, hoping it didn't look too awkward. I hadn't expected her to talk to me, so I wasn't prepared. "Oh, uh, thanks. That means a lot," I replied, hoping I wasn't still visibly sweating.

She twirled her hair around her finger, watching me for a moment. She turned to Derek, so he now trained his eyes on her instead of me. It was almost a relief, him not staring me down. "We should celebrate," she insisted, waiting for Derek's approval.

"Just the three of us?" he asked, confused.

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "No, silly, all of us." She waved her hand at the rest of the group, catching her attention. "Do you guys want to celebrate? You all made the team, right? Let's get some pizza, or something," she suggested.

"We could go to my place and order pizza," Scott offered, waiting for everyone's opinion. "My mom is working tonight, so it'll just be us. We can hang out. It'd be fun."

Everyone nodded, or hummed in agreement. It did seem like fun, and I was over the moon about getting to spend time with Lydia, but I was also beyond nervous. Not only did I have to keep myself from acting like an idiot in front of Lydia, but I also had to be careful around Derek. I was still trying to get over what stupid feelings I thought I had for him in the first place. It was hard to do when he was always around.

"Cool," Scott said, snaking his arm around Allison's waist. "You can all meet me there. Stiles, you think you can pick up some drinks before you come over?" he asked, eyes pleading.

I was broke, but I guess I could afford a couple drinks. "Sure," I gave in. Everyone started to disperse, leaving just me, Lydia, and Derek in the hallway. We walked out to the parking lot together.

"Derek," Lydia said, tugging on his arm. "Why don't you go with Stiles to get drinks? He shouldn't have to buy all of them anyways. There's a lot of us."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Um, okay?" He glanced at me, probably wondering if it was okay with me. I'd rather be alone with Lydia, but I didn't mind Derek tagging along if it meant he was going to buy half of the drinks. I gave him a small nod. "Then I'll just see you at Scott's," he said to her, waving her off as she went to her own car. "I'll just drive us," he offered, as we made our way across the parking lot. "I'll bring you back to your car later tonight. Or give you a ride to school tomorrow."

"Okay," I agreed, knowing I didn't have much of a choice. Not that I minded too much.

Once we were in the store, it was a little awkward. Derek wasn't talking much, so I wasn't either. I was still a little weird about the whole feelings for him thing, and he was probably weird about me running out on him after he told me he had a boyfriend. Things between us were just not that great.

"So Lydia finally talked to you," he said, starting the conversation. He was searching the shelves for drinks to add to the cart. "That means our progress is going well."

"Yeah," I agreed, avoiding awkward eye contact with him. "Far from where I want to be, but it's a good start, I guess." I grabbed a couple of drinks that I knew Scott would like and threw them in the cart. "How are things with you?" I almost regretted asking, because I didn't want to hear him talk about his boyfriend, but I didn't want him to think something was up. Even though something was up. Kind of.

He chuckled softly, glancing at me in a way that felt too personal, so I looked away and kept pushing the cart down the isles. "I still suck at calculus, so not much has changed. Unless you're referring to the guy I told you about before you ran out of my house like a lunatic for some reason?" I felt my face heating up, so I did everything in my power to keep him from looking at me. I knew he wasn't an idiot, but I was hoping he wouldn't bring it up. "Because that's moving slowly. We haven't really hung out much."

I wasn't sure if that made me feel better or not, but my chest did feel some kind of relief. I wasn't sure why. I wanted Derek to be happy. Not with me, so it had to be someone else. I was getting closer to Lydia, so I really couldn't be getting hung up on Derek right now. "Oh, cool," I said, trying to sound nonchalant. I wanted to change the subject before things got even weirder. "So I'm about to hang out with Lydia. Got any new lessons that would be good to know?"

I pushed the cart towards checkout and Derek dug out his wallet. "What lesson are we on?"

"Ten," I reminded him, rolling my eyes as he tossed a candy bar into the cart. "Craving chocolate?"

"It's Lydia's favorite," he explained. "Anyways, lesson number ten. It's going to sound stupid and cliche, but with Lydia, I promise I'm not wrong. You have to play hard to get. If you fall all over her and do everything she says, then you're going to get friend zoned right off the bat. She likes a challenge."

I sighed, pushing the cart up to the register before putting the drinks on the belt. "So I have to be an asshole, like Jackson?"

Derek shrugged, like there was nothing else he could say. "Yeah, pretty much. That's what she's in to."

Derek paid for everything without even asking if we were splitting it. I didn't complain because I only had twenty dollars in my wallet. Once we had everything in the car, we drove to Scott's and talked about nonsense things, as if there was nothing weird between us. It was nice, until we pulled into the drive way and reality set in. I was about to be in the same room as Lydia Martin for the first time where she would actually notice me.

I undid my seatbelt and took a deep breath, already nervously sweating. This was not going to end well for me. I reached for the door handle, but Derek stuck his hand in front of my chest, stopping me from leaving. "Wait," he sighed, turning to face me. We were face to face, way too close, and now my heart was racing as he looked into my eyes. I tried not to get too wrapped up in him, but I was failing. Every time I told myself I was going to get over him and focus on Lydia, I found myself doing something stupid, like right now. Thinking about Derek's lips and how close they were to mine. Or how I could feel his breath on my chin and it only made me wonder how it would feel against my neck as he whispered to me.

"What?" I breathed, biting the inside of my cheek so I didn't say something stupid. Knowing me, I would have ruined everything.

He smiled, and it was beautiful, like always, but I somehow noticed it more this time. I realized I loved his smile. I had seen it way more than I had seen Lydia's, so how could I compare them? "I can tell you're nervous," he said, a little concerned. He grabbed my shaking hand, holding it still against the armrest. "Stiles, calm down. There's no reason to be nervous. I mean, you're you. There's no beating that. Once she realizes it, it's game over. She'll fall for you. I know it."

I wanted to ask him how he knew that, but in that moment, it seemed my nerves weren't just because of Lydia, but because Derek was so close to me. He was comforting me, being the best person he could be, and somehow I couldn't stop myself from wanting him. It wasn't Lydia on my mind in that moment. Only Derek. He was the one making my hands shake, and he was the one stopping them from shaking. "Fuck," I mumbled, turning away from him. I ran my hands over my face in frustration.

"What? I'm serious, Stiles," he retorted, grabbing my shoulder with a small laugh. "I'm not playing around. I don't want you to be nervous."

I couldn't tell him the truth. I had decided before that I was going to let Derek go and focus on Lydia, but I could see now that it wasn't going to be that easy. I had a choice to make, and it was a hard one.