The song ended abruptly after and Lacey and Stiles were reminded of where they were. Another loud song blared from the speakers and they could hear squeals of laughter and shouting from the other partygoers.

Stiles held her gaze for a moment. Lacey was amazed at how difficult it was to keep her eyes on his.

"You ready to go?" he asked, reading her very muddled mind.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm so tired."

"Me too," he agreed. "You wait here. I'll go get everyone out of the pool."

Lacey waited where he left her, trying to keep the world from spinning.

"Lacey!" she heard Scott's voice call.

"Yeah?" she replied, walking over to the pool.

"Stiles says you wanna go home," he told her, obviously confused as to why she would ever want to do that.

"Well…"

"She's tired, Scott. We're both tired," Stiles tried to reason with him. "You'd feel tired too if you weren't so drunk."

Allison, Lydia, and Isaac laughed heartily. Lacey couldn't help but crack a smile. Stiles stood on the edge of the pool grinning good-naturedly at Scott, obviously proud of himself.

Scott let it roll off his back. "Come swimming again!" he urged.

"No way," Lacey answered. "I just got warm."

"Scott, we're not gonna go swimming," Stiles explained. "Let's go, bro!"

"Fine," Scott sighed. He followed Allison, Lydia, and Isaac up the steps and onto dry land. He shook his body like a dog to expel excess water.

Lacey walked up to Allison and Lydia. They both smiled at her expectantly. "What?" Lacey asked dumbly.

"We saw you two dancing," Allison whispered.

Lacey gave her a look and glanced back to make sure Stiles wasn't listening. Luckily, he was too preoccupied with a talkative, drunk Scott to notice.

She couldn't help but return their smiles. "It was nothing…"

"It was so something," Lydia hissed. "He was holding you so close."

"Okay, maybe it was something," Lacey admitted. "But I don't know. I'm horrible with this stuff."

"We can teach you," Lydia assured her, patting her shoulder. "Just like with the make-up and the wardrobe."

"Speaking of which…" Lacey looked down at her damp clothes. "Sorry about your dress and your shoes."

Lydia waved it away. "I've already worn that dress twice, anyway."

Allison shook her head.

"Besides, those shoes make me look like a stripper when I wear them," Lydia commented.

"Gee, thanks," Lacey sassed. "Of course you give me the stripper shoes."

"I don't even wanna know what you three are talking about over there," Stiles told them. "I just don't even wanna go there."

All three girls giggled.

"I kinda wanna know," Scott said, scampering up to them.

"We were just talking about my shoes," Lacey told him.

"Why, do your feet hurt?" Scott asked.

"You don't even know," Lacey admitted.

Before she knew it, she was off her feet and in Scott's arms.

"Whoa," was all she could say at first. Her head was spinning like a top. She slowly came to. "What are you doing?" she inquired curiously.

"Carrying you to the car," Scott said, as if it were obvious.

"Why?"

"'Cause you said your feet hurt," he replied.

"Oh yeah," Lacey said, shaking her head vigorously to clear it. Just more spins.

"Let's go!" Scott charged toward the open double doors.

Lacey laughed. "You better not be wasted enough to drop me!"

"No promises at this point," Scott laughed.

He breezed out the front door and almost made it down the front steps, but his foot caught on the bottom. They were both flung through the air and luckily landed on the grass. Lacey sprawled out on her belly and Scott was close behind, landing right on top of her.

Both were seated on the grass, in a fit of laughter when the others caught up.

"Oh my god." Lydia shook her head and smiled.

"I knew carrying was a bad idea," Stiles said, crossing his arms.

"Lydia, I'm taking off these damn shoes," Lacey proclaimed, leaning forward to unclasp them. She amazed herself with her ability to handle such tiny buckles. Taking both shoes in one hand, she accepted Stiles' outstretched hand. He pulled her to her feet a little too quickly and she lost her balance, falling into him.

"Sorry," she was quick to say, regaining her balance.

Stiles smiled goofily at her. "It's all right. Are you all right?"

She knew what he meant. "Yeah, of course. Just a head rush."

"Okay," Stiles let it go. But he was still skeptical; she could tell by the way he hovered as they walked down the remainder of the driveway.

They all said good-bye to Isaac when they got into the street and watched him pedal away on his bike.

"So, successful night?" Lydia questioned.

Everyone responded in the affirmative.

"Good thing I brought that tequila, then," she chirped.

"I'll…get back to you on that one," Allison joked.

"Yeah, wait until tomorrow," Lacey agreed.

"Well," Scott proclaimed, "It made my night, for sure." He threw an arm around Lacey and walked them in the direction of the car.

"Sorry about the whole falling and dropping you thing," Scott told her.

Lacey just giggled in response.

Stiles watched them carry on, angry with himself for being angry. Scott was his best friend and he knew if he weren't drunk, he wouldn't be acting this way. This didn't mean anything. But still, there was a white hot pit of jealousy in Stiles' stomach.

By the time they got to the car, Stiles was feeling rather stormy. He unlocked the doors and slid into the driver's seat, not speaking.

"Shotgun!" Lacey hollered. She ducked under Scott's arm and made a break for the door.

"Yeah, right!" Scott protested, chasing after her. He caught her right as she put her hand on the handle, lifting her up by her mid-section. He swung her around so that he was in position to get in the front seat. She jumped onto his back, grabbing his arms at the shoulders and holding them. Try as he might, he couldn't extend his arms far enough to reach the handle.

"Dammit," he huffed, trying to free his arms.

"Just give up, the seat's mine," Lacey ordered.

At that moment, Scott could see Stiles sitting in the driver's seat, watching them humorlessly.

"Okay, fine." Scott gave up the fight and very obediently got into the back seat.

Lacey climbed into the passenger seat and shot Stiles a smile. He returned it momentarily and turned the car on.

Allison and Lydia were out as soon as the car started rolling, leaning on each other for support. Scott kept up the conversation enough for all three of them, spewing drunken nonsense throughout the ride.

Once Lacey was able to tune him out, she tuned into Stiles. He was staring straight ahead, rigid. She could see him clenching and unclenching his jaw and heard his heart beating loudly. She couldn't tell if he was just tired and irritated by Scott's chatter, or if something was actually the case, she instinctually extended a hand and gently placed it on his forearm, which was resting on the center console.

Instantly, she felt him relax and heard his heartbeat return to a normal volume. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him look at her. She turned her head to return his look. She had the strongest urge to kiss him then, but all the confidence Allison and Lydia had instilled in her seemed to evaporate in that very second. No matter what they said, she was still terrified that he wouldn't kiss her back. Besides, she wouldn't know which one of him to kiss, considering she was seeing double.

His eyes returned to the road and hers found her lap. She realized that Scott had stopped talking. She swiveled around in her seat to look. Scott was still wide awake, staring out the window silently. He met her gaze and gave her a little half smile, nodding almost undetectably at her hand on Stiles' arm. She shrugged ever so slightly, cracking a smile and turning back around. She was glad Scott was returning to his normal self.

The three of them shared the much needed quiet until Stiles arrived back at Lydia's house.

"Lydia, Allison," Stiles said, putting the car in park. He reached into the back and gave Lydia's knee a shake.

She came to, startled.

"We're at your house," he told her quietly.

"Oh, right," Lydia spluttered. "Of course."

She shook Allison awake and together they got out of the car, saying their thank you's. Then, they walked up the drive together. Stiles made sure not to leave until he saw both girls safely walk through the front door.

"Don't you fall asleep on me, Scott," he said, noticing Scott's heavy eyelids.

Scott laughed quietly. "You better drive fast or I'll be out before we get to my house."

When they got there, Scott was surprisingly still awake. He hopped out of the car and came to Lacey's window. She rolled it down for him.

"Thanks, Stiles," Scott said genuinely. "Next time we go to a party, I'll drive."

"Thanks, man," Stiles replied.

"And Lacey," Scott continued. "I'm sure you'll hear a lot more of this from me tomorrow, but I'm sorry for being a drunk idiot."

She smiled. "Believe me, you weren't that bad. We just have to figure out this whole scent thing."

"Yeah, I guess." Scott shrugged. "Good night, guys."

"Night, Scott," Stiles said. He reached across the car so he and Scott could do their hand shake.

"See ya tomorrow," Lacey called as he walked to his front door. He waved before closing the door behind him.

Stiles and Lacey were silent as they drove to Lacey's house, both too tired to make conversation. Ten minutes later when they pulled up to the curb outside her house, it was all Lacey could do to open the door. Her head was still swimming and she was exhausted.

"Thank you so much, Stiles." She leaned over to give him a hug.

When they drew back, she swore she was seeing stars.

"Do you want me to walk you to your door?" Stiles asked hopefully.

Lacey waved him off, not wanting to burden him. "No, I got it." She placed a wobbly foot on the curb and propelled herself into a standing position. She hadn't taken two steps across the lawn when she tripped and fell.

Stiles laughed to himself as he flung his door open and jogged over to the passenger side of the jeep. When he got to her, she was in a fit of laughter.

"So I'm guessing you don't got it?" he asked jokingly.

"I guess not," she admitted. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"What is it?" he asked.

"I don't think I've ever been this drunk before." She shook with laughter, feeling the relief of finally telling him.

Once she had settled, he offered her his hand and pulled her to her feet. He held her waist once she was upright, helping her balance.

"I'll tell you what," he began, leaving her on the lawn while he locked up his jeep, "I'm gonna make sure you get to your door safely."

"Sounds good," she said.

He returned to her. "Ready?" he asked.

"For what?"

"For this," he said as he lifted her into his arms.

She laced her arms around his neck, feeling his strength as he made his way to the front door.

"Key?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah," she remembered, reaching into her bra and withdrawing a single key.

Stiles tried not to stare.

Lacey unlocked the front door and twisted the knob from where she lay in his arms and he pushed it open with his foot.

As he stepped inside, he was immediately confronted with a flight of stairs on his left.

"Let me guess," he said. "Your room's upstairs?"

She nodded and laughed loudly.

"Shhhh," he urged. "Isn't your roommate asleep?"

"No, she's not home," Lacey told him. "She works night shifts at the hospital."

He nodded. "All right, I guess I'm doing the stairs then." She closed the door behind them as he embarked on his uphill journey.

"Stiles, I honestly can't thank you enough," she told him. "I probably would have slept on the couch if it wasn't for you."

He got to the top. "No problem at all," he puffed. He walked through the open door to her room, which was the only room on the top floor, and set her gently down on the bed. He flopped down next to her exhaustedly.

They lay there for a moment, taking in each other's closeness.

"I'm gonna go get you some water," Stiles told her, cutting the moment short.

"Okay," she said. "I'm going to get out of this freaking dress."

Stiles got up and walked to the door. Once she heard his footsteps on the stairs, she dared to heave herself up. Her head was so fuzzy it was difficult for her to walk the four steps it took to get to the bathroom. She found her pajamas hanging on the back of the bathroom door and undressed completely. She clumsily put them on.

Stiles had just set two full glasses of water down on her nightstand when she emerged, clad in her pajamas.

"Thanks," she said.

"Yeah, I got two 'cause I figured you may need it," Stiles replied.

Then they were silent. They stood on opposite sides of her room, simply looking at each other.

Stiles put his hands in his pockets. "Well, I should probably go. You know, let you sleep and stuff…" He backed reluctantly toward the doorway, determined not to let his eyes leave hers until they had to.

"Okay," she said.

As he turned to walk down the stairs, some part of her panicked. She didn't want him to leave. "Wait, Stiles?"

He whipped around quickly, his eyes finding her shape in the darkness of her room. "Yeah?"

"Can you stay?" she whispered.

"Yeah…" He took a moment to collect himself. "Yeah, of course I can."

She was suddenly flustered, realizing what she had let herself say.

"I mean, if you want to go home, you don't have to––"

"I don't want to go home," Stiles admitted to her.

His confidence propelled her. "I know I act tough, and I know I can take care of myself…I mean, I never feel unsafe or anything, but…when Celeste works at night… I don't know…"

"I get the same feeling when my dad works late," Stiles told her softly. "Sometimes you just want someone there."

"Not just someone," she said boldly. "You, Stiles."

Before he knew when he was doing, he was crossing the room and taking her face in his hands. He leaned in and kissed her with everything he had.

They stood there for a moment, locked in a state of pure bliss.

Then, he detached his lips from hers and leaned back, letting his hands drop away from her face. She smiled up at him slightly, then dropped her gaze to the floor, touching her lips. Three agonizing seconds ticked by.

Just as he was cursing himself for his stupidity and readying himself to give the apology of a lifetime, her eyes met his. She wrapped her arms securely around his neck and pulled his face to hers. She kissed him more fervently than he had kissed her, pressing her body tightly against his and running her hand through the back of his hair. His hands found her hips and hungrily made their way up and down her torso.

As quickly as it had begun, it was done. They pulled away from each other ever so slightly, bodies still intertwined. She laughed ecstatically, throwing her head back to look him in the eyes. He smiled giddily and leaned down for one more elongated peck.

"Should we go to bed?" she uttered.

"I guess we should," he returned quietly, still out of breath.

She stood at her nightstand, chugging water, while he removed his T-shirt and jeans. Lacey climbed into bed and he slid in next to her. She cozied up to him, putting her head on his bare chest. He wrapped an arm securely around her. She closed her eyes and sighed blissfully. They both fell asleep instantly, tired from a long night.

**(So... Kind of a big chapter! I really wanna know what you guys think! Please, please comment and let me know!)**