Lesson #3: Wardrobe Change

"What's wrong with my shirt?" I asked, offended. Derek raised an eyebrow, picking at one of the buttons on my flannel, as if that answered my question. "Derek, I like my style!" I whined, pouting as he turned away from me. I grabbed his wrist to grab his attention back, but it only resulted in him turning around and glaring at me. "Sorry," I mumbled, letting go of him.

"I like your nerd style, but Lydia won't notice you until you get a wardrobe change," he explained, grabbing each side of my open flannel to pull me closer. Uncomfortably close, actually. "We have to go shopping. My clothes won't fit you." Slowly, he let go of me, taking a step back to take in my appearance. "I was hoping we might be able to salvage something, but. . . nope, it all has to go."

"W-What?!" I sputtered, chasing after him as he left me standing in the middle of his bedroom. He scooped up his keys on the way out, so I assumed that meant we were leaving. "Derek, I don't have money to buy new clothes! Unless we're going to goodwill, or something!" He wasn't listening, so all I could do was chase after him. When we made it to his car, he opened the door, waiting for me to get in. I crossed my arms over my chest and stood my ground. At least, at first. "People are going to see us together at the mall. You're too popular to be seen with me."

Derek rolled his eyes, still holding the door open as he tapped his foot impatiently. "Stiles, I've already thought of everything. Come on, get in the damn car. You asked me to help, so I'm helping." I was about to protest, but he grabbed the front of my shirt, forcing me into the passenger seat of his stupid car. "Watch your feet," he said, then slammed the door and walked around to his own side.

"I don't like you very much," I grumbled, as soon as he started the car and pulled out of the drive way. Derek grinned at me, but didn't say anything. I continued pouting, and he flipped on the radio to ignore me. "Where are we going?" I demanded, having to talk over the radio. He glanced at me, but didn't say anything. "Derek, answer me!"

He chuckled, taking one hand off the steering wheel to grab my shoulder. "You're cute when you're angry," he said, letting go of me. I felt my face heat up at his words, but I didn't know how to respond to them. I wasn't sure if he was making fun of me, or if he meant it. Surely, he was just making fun of me, right? Derek Hale did not think I was cute. "I have a calculus test coming up, so tomorrow night, we have plans. All night, okay? There's a lot of material to cover." He changed the subject so easily, probably to distract me from the fact that he had called me cute. Whatever, I guess. He was hard to read sometimes.

"That sounds like so much fun," I grumbled sarcastically. I stared out the window, watching as we passed by the mall in town. Apparently, that wasn't where we were stopping today. Derek said he had thought of everything, so I guess he wasn't lying. "How far is this place, anyways?"

"About forty-five minutes," he answered, and then turned up the radio to shut me up. If he didn't want to talk, then I wouldn't. The rest of the ride there consisted of Derek singing along with the radio, and surprisingly, he wasn't half bad. When we finally got to the mall, I already wanted to go home. "Are you hungry? We should do some shopping and get some food afterwards. That sound good?"

I scoffed, keeping a little distance between us as we walked. "Derek, food always sounds good," I replied, making him grin at me. That was another thing about him. If he wasn't staring at me like an oddball, he was grinning. Not just smiling like a normal person, but full blown grinning, like a madman. "What kind of stores are we shopping in? Because I don't have a lot of money, so it needs to be cheap."

"Trust me," was all he said before grabbing my wrist and dragging me through the doors to the mall. The first store he dragged me into was huge and he immediately began picking through the racks and piling me up with clothes. He didn't even ask me what I thought about something before throwing on the pile. Once I had an armful, he dragged me over to the fitting room and waited while I tried everything on. The first outfit was a pair of skinny jeans and a nice button down shirt. None of it was my style, but the way Derek looked at me, I could tell he liked it. "We're getting that," he stated, spinning me in a circle by my shoulders. "Alright, next one."

"I feel like I'm in a beauty pageant," I complained with a sigh.

"You have to be pretty to be in a beauty pageant," Derek retorted, laughing at his own joke. I rolled my eyes and walked back into the dressing room to try on more ridiculous outfits. Once it was all over, we ended up with three pairs of jeans, six shirts, and a brown leather jacket. "To check out," Derek announced, leading me to the check out counter by placing his hand on my lower back. I didn't appreciate the unnecessary touching, but I let him anyways.

"Derek, I can't afford all of this. Maybe like a pair of jeans and one shirt," I admitted, keeping my voice low so no one else could hear me. It was a little embarrassing that I had no money.

Derek shoved me towards the checkout anyways. "Stiles, when I say trust me, I mean it." He took the clothes from my arms and piled them up on the counter, giving the sales lady one of his pretty smiles. She rang up the clothes and made light conversation with Derek as she did so. He seemed so calm and talked easily with her. I wasn't sure how he did it, but I wished I was as social as he was.

"Alright, your total comes to $296.74," the girl said, pushing my bags towards me. I stared at her with my mouth hanging open, trying to find a way to tell her I couldn't afford it, but then Derek was handing over a card so I didn't have a chance to say anything. Once she handed the card back, she smiled. "Thank you! Have a nice day."

"You too," Derek answered, returning the smile. He grabbed my bags and gestured for me to follow him out of the store. "Let's get some food, and then we'll go buy you some shoes," he said, as if he hadn't just bought me 300 dollars worth of clothes.

I was almost at a loss for words. Why in the world would he spend that much money on me? Just to help me get a girl? "Derek, you didn't have to buy me all of that stuff. It's a lot of money. I can pay you back eventually, but-"

"Don't," he interrupted, giving me a smile. "It's a gift."

"A very generous one," I grumbled, a little annoyed. I was grateful, yes, but now I felt like I was in debt. We walked towards the food court as I sulked and Derek ignored me. Everything was fine, until Derek stopped abruptly and turned around, dragging me with him. "What's wrong?" I asked, trying to glance back at what might have stopped him. Someone from school, maybe?

"You wanna pay me back for the clothes?" Derek asked, his voice sounding a little worried. I raised an eyebrow, very confused at what he was hinting at here. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Okay," I said slowly. "What is it?" There were a myriad of possibilities here, but most of the ones I was conjuring up in my head were not good.

Derek sighed, snaking his arm around my waist. "Pretend to be my boyfriend," he whispered, pulling me closer. I was about to laugh, because I really thought it was some kind of joke, but then I realized he was being serious. "There's a guy over there. He's my ex boyfriend. Things did not end well. Stiles, please, I'll do anything."

"You're-" I started, but cut myself off. It didn't matter that he was gay, I guess. He was helping me get a girlfriend, after all. And as much as I didn't want to do this, I couldn't say no. Derek was helping me so much, and in ways I never even asked him to. If there was something else I could do in return, it was my obligation. Besides, nobody around here knew me. "Alright, fine," I agreed.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, grabbing my hand before turning around and continuing towards the food court. I could sense how nervous he was, so I squeezed his hand a little tighter. I hoped we could pass the guy and not get roped into any kind of conversation, but it was clear that wasn't going to happen.

As soon as we got near the table, some guy stood up and blocked our way. He was taller than both Derek and I, and he was wearing ripped skinny jeans and a leather jacket. "Derek Hale," he said, his lips turning up into a smirk. "Been awhile, hasn't it, babe?"

I figured if I was going to play this part, I needed to play it well. "Derek, babe, who the hell is this?" I demanded, whispering, but loud enough that this asshole could hear it too.

Derek glanced at me, then back at the ex. "Oh, uh. . . this is Garrett," he managed to get out, still trying to shake his nerves. "Garrett, this is Stiles. . . my boyfriend." I squeezed his hand again, just to reassure him I was still there and I wasn't going anywhere. Whoever this Garrett guy was, he must have fucked with Derek a lot.

Garrett smiled in a very cold way, stepping closer to Derek. "Derek and I go way back," he explained, talking to me, though his eyes never left Derek. "We had some good  times, didn't we?"

I felt the heat on my face, but I wasn't really sure why. Was it anger? No, why would I be angry? But something was bothering me. Either way, I had to play my part. "Derek, what the hell is he talking about?" I demanded, glaring at him. I was pretty proud of myself for how well I was acting. I was actually getting myself worked up.

Derek gave me a soft smile. "It's nothing, babe. I'm with you now. You're the only thing that matters," he promised, his words bringing the heat back to my cheeks. I knew he was pretending, but those words would have made me blush coming from anyone. He looked back at Garrett, his smile disappearing. "We should go, Stiles has been complaining about being hungry for an hour."

Derek started to pull me away, but Garrett wasn't done being an asshole. "Derek, I'm not buying this. I follow you on Instagram and you haven't posted about your boyfriend once. It's just like you to hire someone to be your boyfriend, just to avoid a little embarrassment."

I wasn't sure why, but that comment really got me pissed off. It was probably just because bullies like him always made me angry, but still. He deserved to be punched in the face. Since I couldn't do that, I had to settle for proving him wrong. "What the fuck did you just say?" I demanded, yanking Derek back to stand beside me. "Listen here, you asshole, if-"

"Stiles," Derek said, his voice firm. He stared at me for a few seconds before shaking his head. "He's not worth it."

I knew Derek was right, but I couldn't help it. I was beyond pissed that this asshole thought he could get away with talking to people like that. "He think's we're faking," I spat, turning my attention back to Garrett. "You stay away from my boyfriend. He's with me now," I said, jabbing my finger in my chest. I had to prove it even more, apparently, because the asshole still didn't look convinced. Derek did pay 300 dollars for my new wardrobe, so if this was a way to pay him back, so be it. I grabbed the front of his shirt, yanking him against me before connecting our lips. It wasn't a short kiss, but it wasn't long either. Once I got a taste of his lips and I made sure Garrett saw it, then I pulled away. Derek looked surprised, but didn't say anything as I turned back to face Garrett. "Fuck off," I grumbled, and then pushed Derek to get him walking.

Once we were far enough away, Derek cleared his throat, glancing at me for a few quick seconds. "That was some good acting," he mumbled, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck awkwardly. It was then that I realized I had actually kissed Derek Hale. I kissed the most popular guy at school. . . oh my god.

"Derek," I started, my words just tumbling out. "I'm so sorry! I was just so angry that he was talking to you like that, and I knew there was no way he would shut up unless I-"

"Stop," Derek cut me off, shoving his finger against my lips to shush me. "Stiles, thank you for doing that. It means a lot to me. And we don't have to talk about it anymore, okay? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

I nodded, thankful he felt that way. I was afraid he might want to punch me, or something. I agreed to be his fake boyfriend, but he never said I was allowed to do that. Not that I wanted to kiss him in the first place, but he needed help getting that guy off his back. It was the only way I knew it would stop. "So, wanna share a subway sandwich?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

Derek laughed, rolling his eyes and he nudged me towards the line for Subway. "Sounds like a plan."