Cause with you, I can let my hair down. I can say anything crazy; I know you'll catch me right before I hit the ground…
Everyone in the hallway was staring, which isn't unusual, but today I knew it was because there was a huge grin plastered on my face and I was wearing Stiles' lacrosse sweatshirt.
"Lydia, is there anything I should know about, with you and Stiles?" Allison asked as soon as she caught up to me at my locker.
"Uh, no? He let me borrow his sweatshirt last night because I forgot my jacket and it was freezing when I walked to my car, big deal." Stiles and I had agreed to keep things quiet about our relationship for now, until we figured things out and it had stopped being butterfly inducing for the both of us. It made me giddy to think that I was finally with someone who cared just as much about the inside of me as the outside, and it was still hard to believe it was with Stiles. I knew it was going to be hard for him to keep quiet, but he knew people were going to talk if we said anything too soon. Plus, with Jackson out of the picture only recently I didn't want anyone to think Stiles was my rebound, because that was so not the case.
"Oh, okay," Allison said clearly confused, "Because I could have sworn he drove you to school this morning, but whatever, not a big deal. Sorry."
"Nope," I lied, "I drove, sorry for the confusion. Ready for bio?"
Later on Stiles caught me by the arm and dragged me into an empty part of the hall.
"Are you sure we can't just tell people? I mean, please? You're wearing my sweatshirt. Scott saw us driving in together this morning. I mean, I made up an excuse, but seriously I think he's on to us…"
"If we bring it up now people are going to be convinced I'm only dating you to get back at Jackson," I say earnestly, "I don't want that, for either of us, it wouldn't be fair."
He nods vigorously, "Okay, but soon? Because I just want to run down the hall and scream that we're together at the top of my lungs and I don't know how much longer I'll be able to refrain."
"If I kiss you right now can you make it through the rest of the day?"
He nods again, this time even more enthusiastically. "Trust me, I want to tell people just as much as you do. This is on the top ten list of best moments in my life, but I don't want to ruin it with people gossiping. I know I can trust you to hold onto the secret for just a little bit longer." I lean in and stand on my tiptoes, giving him a well deserved kiss. When I step back Stiles' staring just behind me like he's seeing a zombie invasion unfolding. I turn around so I can see what he's so dumbstruck by, and then I wish I hadn't.
"It's not what it looks like," Stiles says immediately, "Please don't kill me, or her, it was my fault. She wasn't involved, but please don't kill me."
Jackson's smug face was making my stomach knot involuntarily. There was no way he wasn't going to spread this around school, or let Stiles off the hook without injury.
"If you thought you were going to make me jealous with him you were wrong," Jackson says snidely, "But I'm sure this will help you commit social suicide pretty quickly, so I hope you're prepared to be a loser just like he is."
"He's not a loser," I snap at him, "Don't even start with me Jackson, I'm not in the mood to deal with you today."
"Lydia," Stiles says quietly, holding my elbow gently, "We should just go, before he changes his mind about not punching me."
"No, Stiles, we're not going to 'just go' because I'm not afraid of him."
"The more time we stand here, the more evidence he has to use against us, and the more people are going to have to talk about. If you want this to stay between us, we need to go."
I look at him momentarily and the knot in my stomach fades to anger toward Jackson. The expression on Stiles' face is a mix of embarrassment and worry, and I don't want to see him like this. I instantly feel bad about making him keep our relationship under wraps, because it occurs to me that we shouldn't have to hide how we feel. Not to mention Jackson just put the idea into Stiles' mind that I was using him, and I wasn't about to let him walk off without knowing the truth.
I didn't even take the time to carefully word what I was about to say, I just let Jackson have it. "Listen, if you seriously think I'm using Stiles to get back at you then you're the one that is mistaken and narcissistic. Why would I want you back after you dumped me? And for no reason! For your information, I like Stiles, a lot. He's everything you're not and then some. He cares about me, he makes sure I'm happy, and he likes me for who I am. I don't have to pretend everything he says is funny, or make myself seem smarter than I am so I can impress him, or dress up in my best outfits everyday just so he'll look at me like I'm the best thing he's ever seen. Stiles is actually funny. He actually thinks I'm smart and doesn't care if I don't 'know everything'. And I'm wearing a hoodie and leggings with no cute accessories and this morning he still made out with me and said I was beautiful. You would have asked me if I was sick just because I was dressed down, and then you wouldn't have come near me all day!" By now my voice is getting a bit shrill so I take a deep breath before I continue. "So no, Jackson, I'm not using him to get back at you. He's not my rebound or my second best or whatever you want to call it. And if you see me dating him as social suicide? Good. Let me die with my social status, because I don't want to be associated with jerk-offs like you anyway!"
All of a sudden I realize I've really pissed him off, but before Jackson can even take one step toward me Stiles is standing between us. His hands are already curled into fists like he's going to fight Jackson even if Jackson doesn't make a move.
"Get out of the way, Stilinski," Jackson growls.
"Not a chance," Stiles replies, "You even so much as touch her and I will smash your little Ken Doll face into the ground so hard that not even Doctor Barbie will be able to repair you."
I can feel a grin spread over my face, Stiles never makes any sense when he's angry, but it is absolutely the cutest thing to hear him try and intimidate people.
"You know what? This wouldn't even be a fair fight, you're too tiny for me. Measly little twit. But you're going to pay for this, Stilinski, you're going to pay."
Stiles' gaze remains glued to Jackson as he stalks off down the hallway. He doesn't turn to look at me until the coast is clear.
"So what do we do now?" he asks glumly.
"We don't 'do' anything," I tell him, "Jackson's all talk, he won't hurt you. And if you were talking about the relationship? Well, I guess we better start telling people the truth before they start hearing any lies."
He smiles and takes my hands in his. "Are you sure about this? We can still try to keep it on the down-low if you're more comfortable."
"Nah," I reply confidently, "It's time for people to know I'm with you."