Author's Note: Hey guys. This chapter is pretty much all set up. But I tried to throw in as many fun character moments as I could (and Melissa McCall). Thank you so much for your reviews!

"God, Lydia," Allison said, looking through her closet. "Do you own anything that isn't long sleeved and grey?"

"I do..." Lydia protested. But long sleeved and navy or three quarter sleeved and beige probably weren't what Allison was looking for.

"You're going on a date with the most popular guy in school, Lydia. Do you own anything a little more flashy?"

Lydia didn't know what to say. It's not like she could tell Allison that this wasn't a real date. That it was all a ploy to get her and Scott together. She couldn't tell her that spending an evening pretending to be on a date with Stiles was at the top of her list of things she never wanted to do.

"Shouldn't he like me for me?" Lydia asked.

"Of course he should," Allison said. "I just think... dressing up for a date shows the guy you care."

"How about you just show me what you're wearing?" Lydia was desperate to change the subject.

"Well, I'm not totally sure, so I brought some options," Allison hefted a giant duffle bag onto Lydia's bed and Lydia laughed.

"Did you bring everything in your closet?"

"I'm nervous, okay? I'm not good at all this girl stuff. How about we help each other? And you can wear what I don't. "

And that's when Lydia knew that one night with Stiles was definitely worth it if it made her best friend happy.

"How's this one?" Scott asked, holding what had to be the twentieth shirt up to his torso and giving Stiles an awkward frozen grin.

"If you smile like that when we pick them up it's not going to matter what you wear, Scott." Stiles sat on Scott's bed, next to the mountain of discarded shirts.

"Did he show you the green one?" Scott's mother called from the other room.

"Yeah!" Stiles replied, shouting through cupped hands.

"Don't let him wear the green one!" Melissa told him. "He thinks it looks good but the pattern is so tacky!"

"Mom!" Scott yelled, throwing the shirt onto the pile.

Melissa walked in and leaned against the doorway.

"Then what do you think?" Scott challenged.

"The dressy grey one with a black shirt under it," Melissa answered easily. "It looks like you put in effort, but you're still casual."

Scott's jaw dropped. His mind had been blown. He dug through the pile of shirts.

"You're a genius, Mrs. McCall," Stiles told her. He liked Scott's mom. Ever since his mother died, Melissa had kind of taken him under his wing. She clearly knew his dad couldn't always be around and sometimes she stepped in when he needed a mom or a mom-like figure.

"What are you wearing?" she asked.

"I'm going with a timeless look," Stiles gestured to the ratty jeans and plaid shirt he was wearing.

Melissa scoffed.

"No, seriously."

"Seriously," Stiles said. "This is what I'm wearing. Is not working?"

"It works," she told him. "If you wanted to let this girl know that you couldn't care less about how you looked for your first date. That is what you're going for, right?"

Stiles looked down sheepishly.

"Well, it's not actually a real date," Scott told her. "Stiles is kind of doing me a solid."

"So you're only seeing her so Scott can go out with her friend?" Melissa asked.

"Pretty noble, huh?" Stiles grinned.

"No!" Melissa half-playfully slapped him upside the head. "I don't care who this girl is. You treat her with respect. Starting with what you wear. Go home and change."

"But-"

"Is this girl nice?" she questioned.

"Not exactly," Stiles said, thinking about her face when she barged into the locker room to yell at him.

"Is she smart?"

"Yeah," Stiles answered, recalling how smoothly she'd been able to get Scott and Allison alone together.

"Do you want to know more about her?" Melissa asked.

"I do," Stiles surprised himself by answering honestly.

"Then change."

About an hour later, Stiles knocked on the door. He looked down at his new outfit, hoping that it sent the right message. Although, to be fair, it was hard to find an outfit that said thanks for going on this fake date with me, hopefully this is relatively painless and our friends hookup and make it worth it.

Allison answered the door, a huge smile on her face.

"Lydia's upstairs," she told him with a smug smile. "You're going to thank me."

"For what?"

"Allison!" Lydia called from upstairs. "I feel like I'm wearing freaking stilts."

Stiles heard her clomping down the steps and suppressed an eye roll. Of course Lydia was already upset. Great.

But then Stiles saw her. She looked amazing. Stiles had never considered her unattractive, but he'd never seen her as a knockout either. Until now.

"You're welcome," Allison whispered.

Lydia hated the dress. She hated the way it rode up when Stiles helped her into his stupid Jeep. And she hated the way she had to keep her knees glued together to keep from flashing her underwear. Surely, Allison could have found her something to wear that didn't show so much leg. Plus, she was cold.

The look on Stiles' face when he saw her. The way his eyes practically glazed over and his jaw slackened. That was almost worth it.

Almost. She tugged on the hem.

"I thought you and Scott were picking us up," Allison said from the backseat.

"Yeah, we were, but I had to run home to- uh- change."