A/N: Helloo how are you guys doing? Hope everyone is feeling great good fine aaaand heres some more drama to you, catch!

Stiles could feel Malia's eyes burning holes on his skin as he tried his best to keep his focus on the mashed potatoes on his plate. He wouldn't lift his head because he knew his eyes would immediately run across the cafeteria and land on a certain couple sitting not too far from there. And because he still couldn't trust himself when he saw them together, he chose to keep his head down.

Lydia and Theo had been dating for two weeks now, and Stiles was still having a hard time getting used to it. At the beginning, he easily kept his promise to not get involved; all he had to do was think about Malia and how it felt to almost lose her. Now, Stiles had to use all of his strength to stop himself from walking up to the couple and yell at them, asking what the fuck was going on. He wanted to grab Lydia by the shoulders and shake her until she realized the mistake she was making.

And if she really wanted to be with Theo - and somehow Stiles still hoped that she was going through some delayed rebellious phase,- then why did she look so miserable when she was with him? Her smiles never reached her eyes, and they never lingered much on her lips; they were nothing but a weaker version of the bright smile Stiles knew she had. The fact that he didn't know what to do about that bothered him more than the hatred he felt for Theo. Lydia was growing more and more distant; she never sat with her friends anymore, and the small talks they had were only long enough so she could quickly say she was fine.

Allison, Scott and Stiles knew something was going on. Allison had picked up the habit to stare at the couple with the most threatening expression she owned, the one that could make anybody want to run for their life. The brunette wasn't a violent person, but she did know some amazing moves, some of which she had learned from Stiles' dad. She was quick on her feet and stronger than she looked; the girl could wreak havoc if she wanted to. Scott tried to convince Stiles to confront Theo with him, but the boy rejected the idea almost immediately. Malia still didn't understand the reason why they were so worried. She insisted in saying that Lydia obviously didn't mind dating a cheating asshole. Stiles was almost sure she still resented what happened at the party, but was afraid to ask.

"Are you guys excited for the game tonight?" Malia asked.

"We're gonna lose," Stiles answered, drawing his fork around the mashed potatoes.

"Wow, that's the spirit," she ironized. "Come on, you've been practicing almost every day!"

"Yeah, you can win this one," Allison agreed, putting a hand on her boyfriend's arm.

"We did make some progress during all those weeks," Scott said. "But we're definitely gonna lose."

Stiles nodded. The Beacon Hills High School's lacrosse team, the Cyclones, was not the worst in the state, but also was far from being the best. The exhausting and insistent training had been showing its results, but all the players, including the coach, had already accepted that tonight's game wouldn't be theirs. But they wouldn't be slaughtered, which was already progress, but they were definitely not going to win.

His eyes wandered involuntarily around the cafeteria. Theo was enjoying a heated conversation with his friends about the game - or rather what they could do to the opponents, - while Lydia sat uncomfortably on his lap, clearly wishing she could be anywhere else. The plastic fork snapped on Stiles' hand and he took a deep breath. That was one of the rare moments he wished he had left the bench and actually played with the team, just so he could have an excuse to tackle Theo. But at least he had Scott to represent him on the field.

Xxxx

Lydia left the cafeteria in such a haste that her feet barely touched the floor. If she stayed another minute listening to Theo talk about that freaking game, that place would become a murder scene. She wanted to run to her house and take a shower; after two weeks of fake dating, she still hadn't gotten used to feeling dirty all the time. And the anger she felt towards Theo and his friends only seemed to grow.

She walked with large steps in the hallway until she entered the bathroom. Lydia sighed in relief when she found the place empty and went to one of the sinks. She put a good amount of soap on her hand, rubbed them together and covered half of her forearm with foam, rinsing it afterwards. It wasn't enough to make her feel cleaner, but it was something.

Lydia put her hands on the edges of the sink and looked at the mirror. Its reflection showed a beautiful girl, perfect hair and perfect makeup; a typical vision of Lydia Martin. She was doing everything she could to keep the appearances. Inside, she felt exhausted, unhappy, on the edge of a mental breakdown. She wanted to scream. She was so damn tired of the fake smiles, of the unwanted touches, of pretending she was fine. Lydia felt like that stupid revenge was against her.

And the worst part was that she didn't even know if it was working. Stiles seemed to be simple ignoring them both, for Theo's frustration. Lydia hated to admit it, but that bothered her too. She knew that Stiles' reaction should be a good thing, and that she should be relieved with his decision of not starting another fight. But she couldn't help feeling a little... Abandoned? No, that wasn't it. She just had the idea that Stiles would always be there to protect her, no matter what. She had grown up used to having him by her side.

"Lydia?" Someone called her, making her jump. Lydia turned on her heels and looked at Allison with wide eyes. The brunette smiled. "Hello."

"Hey," the redhead breathed out.

"I was looking for you," Allison said, stepping closer and leaning on the counter. Taking a closer look at her friend, she frowned. "Is everything ok? You look..."

"I'm fine," Lydia quickly answered, putting a smile on her face.

"Right." The brunette narrowed her eyes, clearly not believing her friend. "Anyway, I came to ask you if you're coming to the game tonight."

"Ah..." Lydia bit her bottom lip nervously as she put a strand of hair behind her ear. How did she say 'I wouldn't show up at this game to save my life' in a nice, convincing way? "Actually no, I... have homework to do. Lots of it. Piles."

Allison arched an eyebrow. "That much, hun?"

"Yup. It happens."

"But Theo is playing tonight. Won't you come cheer for him?"

The redhead almost laughed. She couldn't imagine herself sitting on her bedroom' floor making an overly decorated banner with 'Go Theo!' written on it, then taking it to the bleachers and yelling like a crazy lady during the whole game. Lydia would never do that, not for Theo; he already made her humiliate herself too much.

"He doesn't need me there. Plus, they're gonna lose anyway, so." Lydia shrugged and Allison laughed.

"Yeah, that's true," she agreed. "Do you think you'll be done with you homework by tomorrow?"

The redhead opened a half smile, sensing that Allison knew she was lying before. "Maybe, why?"

"We could do another girl's night," the brunette said, smiling excitedly. "Just the two of us, like the old times."

Lydia's smile grew at the prospect of having a little fun after all those awful days. She needed a break from all the faking and hiding; she needed to be herself for a moment.

"Sounds amazing," she said truthfully. Allison let out a happy squeal and embraced her friend in a bear hug. Lydia laughed and hugged her back, already feeling a little better.

Xxxx

Lydia hated to drive to school with Theo everyday, but those were the only moments when she didn't feel so powerless. Theo's patience wearing thin outside her house never made her rush to get ready or having breakfast.

"I'm sorry, but your boyfriend is a jerk," Monica said on Friday morning, while Theo's insistent honks ruined her breakfast mood. Though she never actually met Theo, because Lydia would never introduce him as her official boyfriend, Monica was starting to hate him. She had noticed that, since the beginning of the "relationship", Lydia hadn't once looked happy at the prospect of spending time with him. Though that was enough reason for Monica to not like Theo, the fact that he didn't respect breakfast, her favorite meal, annoyed her to the point of once almost attacking him with a pan.

Lydia laughed and kissed her on the cheek.

"Don't worry, he won't be around for much longer," she said, grabbing her bag and walking to the door. The girl noticed Theo's bad mood even before she entered the car; she already knew that the Cyclones, as expected, had lost the game the night before.

"Good morning," she cheerfully said as she climbed in his car. "How was the game last night?"

Theo muttered something Lydia didn't quite understand and stepped on the gas pedal, much to her delight.

Her personal moment of fun ended as soon as they got to school; she could no longer act like herself from the minute she stepped out of his car. That thought made the smile get wiped out of her face.

"Theo, for how long we're gonna keep doing this?" Lydia asked, staring at the windshield as Theo parked the car. He killed the engine, leaned back on his seat and frowned.

"What do you mean?" He asked, though he knew very well where that conversation was headed.

"I mean this." Lydia waved her hand exasperatedly between them. "For how much longer I'm gonna have to pretend I'm your girlfriend? Because, if you haven't noticed, your plan is not..."

"I say when we're done," he cut her off, ending the conversation as he opened the door and stepped out of the car. Lydia blinked, outraged, and did the same as him. She quickly walked to him and and kept her tone down so she wouldn't draw attention to them.

"But can't you see that Stiles..."

"Lydia." Theo interrupted her again, putting his hands on her arms and looking in her eyes. For anyone who watched from afar, that would be a romantic scene, but only she could see the glow on his baby blue eyes. "I saw when we're done."

Theo gave her arms a light squeeze as he leaned in and joined their lips. It was a quick and tender kiss, very different from all the other ones. Theo stepped back and walked away without saying another word, leaving a stunned Lydia behind. Of all the kisses he had given her since that nonsense begun, that was the she had hated the most. It was almost like it carried a hint of a feeling, something that meant more than the classic we're-just-trying-to-convince-you-that- we're-in-love kisses.

Theo's grumpiness persisted during the rest of the day. Lydia didn't know if it was because of the game they had lost or because of something else, but honestly, she couldn't care less. On the contrary, seeing him having a bad day was definitely satisfactory for her. Lydia didn't have to display many fake smiles of touch him in an affectionate way; it was like a day off.

When the classes were over for the day, the girl walked to the parking lot and waited for her ride. She bit her lip, excited and anxious for some fun.

A strong arm was placed around her shoulders, startling her.

"Come on," Theo said, basically dragging her towards his car. Lydia pushed his arm away and turned to face him.

"I'm not going with you today," she said, barely containing the excitement on her voice. Theo frowned.

"Who's gonna...?" He stopped talking, looking confused at the wide smile that appeared on the girl's face. Theo turned his face and saw Allison walking in their direction.

"Ready?" The brunette asked, smiling back at her friend, who nodded fervently.

"Hold on," Theo said, grabbing his fake girlfriend by the wrist before she could walk away with her friend. "I can take you home."

"Well, she's not going home," Allison cut in before Lydia could open her mouth. The brunette stepped closer to the boy, s staring him with her chin up. "Is there a problem?"

Theo stared back, not saying a word. He was a few inches taller than her, but in that moment, she seemed to be way bigger than him.

"Then I suggest you let go of her, now," Allison continued. "Or round two will be with me."

Lydia almost laughed when she noticed that people had started to pay attention to them, probably waiting for some action. Maybe she should sign up for that second round too; she had more than enough reasons to punch that pretty face of his.

Theo locked his jaw and let go of her wrist. Lydia wiggled her fingers goodbye before grabbing Allison's hand and walking to the brunette's car.

"That was awesome, Ally," Lydia said as soon as they were both in the car. The look Allison gave her made the redhead realize she had said too much. Congratulating her friend for hating her boyfriend didn't sound like something someone in love with the boy would do. For a moment, Lydia forgot that Allison didn't know the whole story behind her relationship with Theo.

The brunette shook her head as she started the car. "Girl, you and I are up for a long conversation," she said.

Xxxx

All of Lydia's worried were gone the second Allison took out a bottle of vodka from her wardrobe.

The girls tried to watch a movie, surround by chips, candy and chocolate, but the alcohol made it hard to focus on the cheesy couple on the TV screen. So they danced and sang their favorite songs, blasting in the background. The booze made them feel lighter, and the sugar stopped them from being too drunk to dance around the room. That was exactly what they did when they were little, except for the vodka; they would turn on the music and pretend they were supermodels, of famous singers.

Hours after the sun went down, they fell on the bed, exhausted.

"We gotta do this more often," Allison panted, smiling.

"Hell yes," Lydia agreed, shoving some chips into her mouth. "And the vodka was an amazing addition."

Eventually, the giggling died. The girls stared at the ceiling of Allison's room in silence as the music still played. Lydia felt their moment come to an end, and she knew what would follow. Allison knew it too.

"Lydia," she said. The redhead sat up and sighed. Lydia should have known she could never really catch a break, that she could never forget about it. "Lyds, you know we have to talk about it."

"I don't... There's nothing to talk about," Lydia said, though she knew Allison didn't believe it.

"Of course there is," Allison insisted sitting up in front of her friend. "Please, tell me what the hell is happening. We're worried about you."

"Well, I don't know why are you so worried, I already told you everything is fine." Lydia worked on the impatience in her voice, but she stared at her hands, incapable of letting it reach her face.

"You're not telling us the truth," Allison stated. "Theo and you... It doesn't make any sense. Not just because of everyone that happened, but because you're unhappy, Lydia. We know there's something wrong."

Lydia pressed her lips together, feeling her eyes get filled with unwanted tears. "I don't need help," she murmured, keeping her head down. "Theo and I are dating and... I-I like him. A lot. I really like him..."

"Then look me in the eye and tell me you want to be with him. Tell me you love him."

The redhead slowly raised her head and stared at her friend's dark brown eyes. She couldn't do it. She couldn't lie, she couldn't say those words. She didn't want to. Lydia closed her eyes before the tears fell from them. That was too much.

"Ally, I can't..." She whispered. Allison grabbed her friend's hands and squeezed them.

"Yes, you can. Tell me."

Lydia inhaled deeply and, before she could stop herself, the words were spilling from her mouth. She told what happened on the night of the fight then on Monday after, she explained Theo's plan and why she thought it wasn't working. Her throat was dry when she finished talking, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Allison staring at her with sympathy.

"Oh, Lydia..."

"You can't tell anyone," Lydia warned her. "I don't know what Theo's gonna do if he finds out I told you..."

"What do you think he could do?" Allison asked. "If you told Stiles, for example."

"I have no idea, and that's what worries me. I don't know what he has in mind, I don't what he's capable of and honestly, I really don't want to find out."

"You can't keep going with this... plan, or whatever the fuck this is." Allison shook her head. "This is crazy, Lydia."

Lydia sighed. "I don't have many options, ok? I can't just tell Theo I'm out."

"But you don't have to deal with it alone anymore," the brunette said with determination. "I'm with you and I've got your back. Always."