Lesson #5: get cooler friends

"Derek, this is one of the easiest concepts in calculus!" I yelled, wishing I could smack him in the head. I thought we were getting somewhere, but he must have gotten hit in the head at football or something, because it was like he just completely forgot everything we studied two days ago. "Do you ever listen to me, you big oaf?" I teased, shoving him playfully. We were laying on his bed on our stomachs, his calculus laid out in front of us. We usually studied this way. Derek said it was comfortable, and if he was comfortable, he learned better.

He scoffed, shoving his book away. "What did you just call me?" he asked, his voice low. I was about to defend myself, but he was quicker and had me in a headlock before I could get a word out. He was freaking pinning me down like we were on a wrestling mat, which wasn't fair.

"Ow! Derek, I don't wrestle, this is cheating!" I complained, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. He only put more of his weight on me, which sucked, because I was so tiny compared to him. "Okay, I give up!" I tried, laying my head down on the bed in defeat. I was getting used to all of this touching that Derek liked to do. It didn't bother me, but it was odd. I was starting to feel like we were actually friends.

"Okay," Derek sighed, starting to lift his weight from off my small frame. I took that as my chance to get him back, tackling him to the mattress. At first, he laughed, but then his laughter turned into a cry of pain. "Ouch, okay, get off," he grumbled, shoving me to the side. He rolled back over on his stomach, burying his face in his arms as he took deep breaths.

I felt horrible that I had somehow hurt him, even though I wasn't really sure how. "Was that my fault? Did I hurt you?" I asked, worriedly. I sat up on my knees, watching him intently as he just sat there in pain. "Derek, talk to me? What did I do?"

He turned his head to look at me, letting out a weak laugh. "Not your fault, Stiles," he assured me, reaching over to put his hand on my knee. "I got hit hard at practice yesterday. My back has been killing me since then." He moved his hand back underneath his head, but kept his eyes on me, his face thoughtful.

"Oh," I mumbled, still feeling a little guilty. I suddenly had this super weird thought and I tried to push it away, but eventually, I sighed. It wasn't gay for me to want to help out a friend in pain, right? No, it wasn't. Derek was helping me get a girlfriend, but he had to teach me how to play sports in order to do that. He couldn't help me like this. "Wh-Where does it hurt?" I wondered, trying not to sound as nervous as I was. I was about to offer Derek Hale, the most popular guy at school, a back rub. I must have been out of my freaking mind.

"Everywhere," he sighed, his face buried in his arms again. "Specifically though, up here," he pointed, gesturing to his shoulders. "Why, you gonna rub it?" he teased, though he really was just joking. I was serious though. I really would do it, if he wanted me to.

"Well, uh-" I mumbled, losing my words. Why were my hands sweating? "If it hurts, I can try to help," I offered, looking away from his curious eyes.

He chuckled a little, and I didn't want to call him cute, but with his cheek smashed against his arm and that breathy laugh. . . he was cute. And I sounded super gay, which was NOT cool. I was trying to get a girlfriend, not come off as gay. "Okay, that would be great," he agreed. "But only if you want to. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, or anything."

Uncomfortable was an understatement, but I had already offered, so I wasn't going to back down now. "Take off your shirt," I said, a little more demanding than I had meant to. Derek didn't argue though, so I didn't take it back. He sat up just enough to strip off his shirt, then laid back down on his stomach. I took a deep breath, then threw a leg over his waist to straddle him. "I-Is this okay?" I asked, after realizing how weird it was that I was sitting on him, or more specifically, his ass.

I thought I heard him mumble the word 'perfect' but I wasn't sure. Eventually, he nodded, glancing back at me. "Yeah, whatever works." I nodded, biting my lip awkwardly. I had never done this before, but it couldn't be rocket science. I started at his lower back, working my fingers into the muscle. As I worked my hands up his bare skin, he made small noises, groaning every time I hit a sore spot. When I got to his shoulders, that's when it was very clear where the soreness was. "Oh my God, that's the spot," he groaned into his arms, muffled by the mattress. I felt my face heat up at his words, unable to stop my mind from racing to other scenarios where he might be using that phrase. The small groans and grunts every time my thumbs dug into the sore muscles did not help the situation. I didn't know what to say, so I stayed quiet, just listening to him talk.

We both looked up in horror when the door flew open with nothing but a small, quick warning knock. My hands were still on Derek's shoulders when Cora raised an eyebrow, taking in the very odd scene before her. "Uh- sorry, you guys usually aren't doing anything when I come in, so I didn't bother waiting after I knocked. Next time, I will," she mumbled starting to close the door.

"Cora," Derek called after her, nudging me off his back. I didn't object. My pride was already gone, the second Cora opened that door and saw me sitting on her brother's ass in a very gay way. "We weren't doing anything. What did you need?"

She turned back around wearily, relaxing when she saw I was no longer on top of her brother. "I'm having some boy trouble," she mumbled, embarrassed. "Laura isn't here, so you're the next best thing." She ambled into the room and wearily sat down on Derek's bed, in front of us. "Promise not to tell anybody what I tell you?" she asked, eyeing both of us seriously.

"We promise," Derek said, rolling his eyes. "Now speak." He sat up on his knees, watching his little sister carefully as she avoiding eye contact.

Finally, she looked up, her eyes meeting his. "So there's this boy that I like, but he doesn't really notice me. We've been partners a couple times in biology, and he's so funny and cute, but other than that, I'm invisible. How do I get him to talk to me?"

"You guys are pathetic," Derek grumbled, earning him a glare from me and Cora both. He shrugged me off and returned his attention to Cora. "Listen, you're beautiful. You have the same genes as me, so of course guys are going to like what they see. It's all about how confident you are, Cora. You're popular enough, you hang out with popular girls, so the only thing stopping you is your own confidence."

She smiled a little at his words, but I didn't find them as sweet as she probably did. Why didn't he give me that same advice? I mean, I guess I just wasn't popular enough to be confident. "Derek, I don't know," Cora mumbled. "I want him to like me for me, not just for my status, you know?" That, I understood. While all of this becoming popular business was fun, in the end, I wanted Lydia to like me for me. Cora was onto something.

"He will," Derek promised. "Just ask him out, Cora. If he says no, he wasn't worth it in the first place. You deserve the best."

She gave him a skeptical look, then hopped up off the bed. "Okay, if that's the best you've got, I guess I'll take it." She crossed her arms, staring at us for a moment before her eyes landed on me. "Stiles, come help me make dinner," she demanded, gesturing for me to get up. I raised an eyebrow, clearly confused, but she kept waving me towards her. "Come on, Derek has homework to do anyways."

I glanced at Derek, who only shrugged his shoulders. I sighed, cursing him for not being of more help. "Fine, I'm coming," I grumbled, getting up off the bed to follow her downstairs to the kitchen. She started getting things out of the fridge while I stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. "Can I do something?" I asked, watching her move around like she knew exactly what she was doing. I couldn't cook, so it was fun to watch. The last person I watched cook like this was my mom.

"Fill this pot with water and put it on the stove," she instructed, handing me the cookware. I did as I was told, filling it up and putting in on the burner to boil. "So, you and Derek," she said eventually, her voice sounding as if she were suggesting something. I gave her a confused look before I realized what she was hinting at.

I laughed nervously, stepping out of her way so she could keep cooking. "There is no me and Derek," I assured her, to which she rolled her eyes. I couldn't exactly explain what she walked in on, and I didn't want to tell her the real reason I was hanging around Derek because she might tell Lydia, so I was at a loss for more to say.

"So you're in the closet," she retorted with a smirk. I didn't have time to defend myself before she cut me off. "I get it, Stiles. You don't want anyone to know. Derek's not out of the closet either. He only told his family." She started dumping ingredients into a separate pot on the stove. "He has always thought you were cute, you know?"

"W-What?" I spat, very confused at this point. What the hell was she talking about? Derek did not think that, did he? If he did, why was he helping me get a girlfriend? Not that there was anything wrong with liking guys, but I wasn't interested. Derek was just a friend, if that. He was helping me. "Why would you say that? We're just friends!"

"Don't play with me, Stiles. I saw you giving him a back rub. If he were a girl, he'd be pregnant by now. You two have something going on." She laughed at her own joke, but I didn't find this funny at all. She had no idea what she was talking about. Sure, Derek and I were getting closer, and maybe I felt some things I didn't usually feel sometimes when he looks at me, but there was nothing going on between us. She looked at me, at the look of terror on my face, and nudged my shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm not going to say anything. Are you still a little confused about your sexuality? Is that why you haven't come out?"

"Cora," I groaned, trying to think of something to tell her that would get her off this stupid subject. "I'm not gay, alright? Derek and I are just friends. I'm helping him with calculus. That's it."

"So you are confused," she decided, grinning at me. I rolled my eyes at her, but she didn't seem to care that I was annoyed. "Stiles, I'm going to help you figure out your gay."

"I'm not," I answered lamely, giving up on trying to convince her. As long as she didn't go blabbering this to the world, it was whatever. I knew I wasn't gay, so that was all that mattered. "But whatever you say." She smiled again, like she knew something I didn't. I was done trying to figure out what was going on in her head, so I excused myself. "Derek is probably staring at his homework and scratching his head, so I'm going to go help him."

"Be safe!" she called as I turned around to run away. I didn't even bother replying.

I made it back to Derek's bedroom where he sat on his bed, indeed scratching his head as I had thought. He looked up at me with relief flooding his face. "Stiles, I've never been happier to see you," he whined, dropping his pencil on his book. "I'm stuck."

I couldn't help the smile on my lips as I nudged him over to sit next to him. "We never talked about lesson number five. You said we were moving on to that one today." I picked his pencil up and checked over his work while waiting for his reply. All of his work was wrong, so I marked it out. "You messed up the first part, so all of it is wrong. Try again, but look at the book example first."

He took the pencil from me and sighed. "You're not going to like the next lesson."

"Tell me anyways," I insisted. I couldn't remember what we had written down, and he also could have changed the order around. I had no idea what it was. "Tell me, then I'll help you with the rest of these problems."

He sighed, finally meeting my eyes. "Lesson number five is get cooler friends." I raised an eyebrow, not really knowing how to respond. Cooler friends? Wasn't that the whole point of him helping me, so I could be cooler? "Not super popular friends like me, but some friends who are more popular than you. Like Isaac Lahey, or Allison Argent."

"What's wrong with Scott? He's even on the lacrosse team!" I defended myself, getting a little heated. Scott wasn't popular, but he wasn't hated either.

"Stop getting upset, you know I'm right," Derek argued, nudging my shoulder. "Scott is cool and all, but his only friend is you. You just need to expand. Eventually, you and I can hang out in public, but not yet."

I was still frustrated, but I still couldn't help but smile a little. "So we are friends, then?"

Derek laughed, shoving the eraser end of his pencil into my arm. "Dude, you kissed me to get my ex boyfriend off my ass. None of my other straight friends would have done that for me. Of course we're friends. We just can't tell anyone."

The memory of that embarrassing moment made my cheeks red, but I turned away so Derek couldn't see. "Okay, noted. So I'll get cooler friends. That shouldn't be hard," I said sarcastically. "I'll see what I can do, I guess."

"I know a girl that goes to a different school. I can talk to her and get you two connected. If Lydia sees you with her, she'll automatically get jealous. She's jealous of any girl that can compete with her." Derek grinned evilly, which made me a little nervous. What the hell was he trying to do? Anyways, no girl could compete with Lydia, right? She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen.

"Okay," I agreed with a sigh. "Now, let's get this calculus done so I can go home."

"Or you could stay the night," Derek offered, but I was pretty sure he was joking. I rolled my eyes and shoved him lightly before pointing to his paper. "Alright, alright. I'm working the problem."

For the next two hours, I had to keep myself from beating my head against the wall while I helped Derek figure out his homework. I really hoped this turned out to be worth it.