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It was their first night to hang out and be normal teenagers in a long while, and Stiles could tell Scott was completely miserable.
“Okay, what’s wrong,” he sighed, throwing down his controller after his fifth consecutive win. Normally, he’d be gloating, but he knew his best friend, and something was definitely off. “Is it Allison?”
“No,” Scott answered immediately, then paused for a moment and seemed to change his mind, tossing his own controller down next to Stiles’, “Yeah, actually. Kind of. Her parents are on to us.”
“Oh man, that sucks,” Stiles said, reaching into the bowl between them to shove chips into his mouth. “So that’s it for you guys?” he asked around the food, spitting crumbs everywhere.
“I dunno,” Scott murmured, looking down at his hands. “I don’t really know where we are. She made plans to hang out with Matt for a while, see if it throws them off my scent.”
“Dude, what?” Stiles asked bluntly, chips falling down onto his lap. “You can’t let her date Matt. He’s a total creeper.”
Scott rolled his eyes. “Just because you don’t like him doesn’t mean he’s evil. Have you even had a conversation with him, ever?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Stiles barked, waving his hand wildly. “You can’t let her just go out with some other guy.”
“Do you have a better idea?” Scott asked, laughing mirthlessly. “‘Cause I’m all ears.”
“Well…” Stiles trailed off, thinking. Then, like a lightbulb had lit up in his brain, he thought of it. “I could date her.”
Scott stared at him, mouth hanging slightly open. “...What?”
“Dude, it’s perfect,” Stiles continued. “You know I’m not gonna try to steal your girlfriend. I could take her on dates and you guys can meet up and spend time with each other. I’m in the know, so there’s no potential jealousy factor. And, you know, she doesn’t have to date the creeper.”
“You’d do that?” Scott asked, eyebrows raising. “You realize that ruins your chances with Lydia, right? She’d never go out with you if she thinks you’re Allison’s ex.”
Stiles shook his head. “I never had a chance with her anyway. One of us should get to be happy. I like Allison. You guys are good together.”
“There’s one problem,” Scott told him, frowning. “Her parents know you’re my best friend. They’ll never buy it.”
“So we stage a fight,” Stiles said. “We make it loud and public, avoid each other in the halls. Her mom works at the school now, she’s bound to at least hear about it.”
But Scott didn’t seem convinced. “That’s my option? Keep Allison by losing my best friend? I don’t see how that’s better.”
“Well, unlike Allison, I’m not banned from seeing you outside of school,” Stiles pointed out. “I can still go to your house and hang on the weekends. It’s not like we spend so much time together at school anyway.”
“I guess you have a point,” Scott conceded, chewing on a fingernail, lost in thought. “Let me talk to Allison.”
“She’s gonna take anyone over dating Matt,” Stiles told him, picking up his controller. “Now, since I’ve solved our problem, maybe I can beat your ass fairly.”
Scott laughed, picking up his as well. “You’re gonna wish you never opened your mouth.”
---
Allison found him the next day in between classes.
“Scott told me your plan,” she said by way of a greeting, glancing around to see if anyone was close enough to overhear. There wasn’t.
Stiles pulled his History textbook out of his locker and closed it, turning to her. “It’s a good plan, you gotta admit.”
She nodded. “It is. It’s perfect.” But she frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure about this? It’s gonna be really weird. And people aren’t gonna think too highly of us for a while. Scott is kind of universally liked.”
“Nothing I’m not used to,” he told her, shrugging. “Like I told Scott, something around here has to go right for once. You make him happy. Scott being happy makes me happy.”
She stared at him for a few seconds, head tilted, as if considering his intentions. “Okay,” she said, smiling. “It’s a plan. You’re gonna have to be around my parents a little more. They think I’m friends with you so I can keep an eye on Lydia, so you should come to some of our study sessions. Today after school. I can probably even get them to invite you for dinner, if we can keep you here long enough.”
She turned and walked away, leaving Stiles staring after her, mouth open. He hadn’t quite expected to start now--and meeting her parents had definitely not been a thing he’d considered.
Still, it was the best plan so far. He pulled out his phone to text Scott not to meet him at the jeep for a ride to work like he usually did.
He just hoped he hadn’t just dug himself a giant hole to fall into.
---
The Argent house seemed bigger than he’d remembered it.
The last time he’d even been here, it was months ago--rushing to her house to tell her parents their daughter had possibly been kidnapped by a werewolf. He’d barely seen the inside of it, he’d ran so fast from the door in mortification. Now, though, being let in by Allison, it seemed like the rooms were bigger and the walls were taller, and there were definitely more things. His eyes couldn’t help straying to the large chest in the living room, and his mind betrayed him with visions of crossbows and guns and knives all pointed at his chest--either when her parents figured out their little lie, or when they completely disapproved of Allison’s choice of rebound.
“Stiles, relax,” she whispered to him, rubbing a hand across the top of his back. “They’re not here, they won’t be home for hours yet. Mom’s still at the school, she has a PTA meeting until 7 and Dad’s off with my grandfather somewhere.”
Her grandfather--shit. He hadn’t thought of him at all, and it was a good thing, if the way his chest tightened up at the mention of him. How would he react to all this?
“Are you still okay with this?” Allison asked him suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts. “We haven’t done anything yet, you can still turn around and leave. I can still go out with Matt, it really isn’t as bad as you think it is.”
Stiles shook his head. “You can’t date Matt. I refuse to let you go out with that future neckbeard. I can do this.”
Allison smiled. “Thank you again for this. You don’t know how hard it was for us.” She leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tight.
“I have an idea,” he told her, holding her close enough that his face was kind of buried in her hair, which smelled vaguely of coconut. They broke apart, and Allison took his hand, guiding him up the stairs.
Lydia was already in Allison’s room, lounging on the bed with what looked like a Trig textbook open in front of her. She frowned when she saw them. “What is he doing here?”
“I invited him,” Allison said, her voice carefully light, sitting on the bed next to her, crossing her legs. “I’m having trouble in science, he promised to help.”
“I thought that’s what I was here for,” Lydia replied flatly, narrowing suspicious eyes at Stiles.
“Well, the more the merrier,” Allison offered. “I need a lot of catching up, and it’s always good to have more than one person looking over your work.”
Lydia hummed in vague agreement but said nothing, still staring Stiles down. It was equally terrifying and incredibly hot.
“So, uh,” Stiles began, when the silence began to get uncomfortable, “let’s...get started?” He pulled his biology homework out of his bag and settled into the easy chair near the bed.
It was dark when they finished, moonlight streaming in through the open curtains. Lydia looked ready to pass out, and Stiles wasn’t far behind her. Allison honestly didn’t need help with biology--she was actually better at it than him--and Lydia had glared at him the entire time. It wasn’t the least productive studying he’d ever done, but focus had been an issue, even with his medication.
The sound of a car pulling into the driveway abruptly ended their studying.
“Guys, wait here,” Allison told them, pushing herself upright and off the bed. “I’m gonna let them know you’re here.” She jogged out of the room, leaving Stiles alone with Lydia, who turned on him the second her friend was out of earshot.
“Okay, what are you playing at?” she asked bluntly, crossing her arms. “And don’t give me that ‘she needs help in biology’ bullshit because you and I both know she doesn’t need help and if she did, it wouldn’t come from you. So spill.”
Stiles gaped at her, trying to come up with something to say. He couldn’t tell her the truth, but he also didn’t want Lydia getting the impression that he was the kind of person who would try to steal his best friend’s girlfriend--or did he? Lydia was the town nutjob but she still had a lot of pull with the cliques at school, and convincing her that something was happening with him and Allison would help the news spread around school, and eventually to Allison’s mother, that much quicker. And they wanted quicker, right?
Maybe he could compromise.
“Allison’s...really nice. And smart,” he explained. “And you know, she’s Scott’s girlfriend, and we haven’t really had the chance to hang out. So...we’re--hanging.”
Lydia stared at him for a long moment. “Scott and Allison broke up.”
Crap.
“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean Allison isn’t cool,” Stiles stammered, losing his train of thought. “She’s fun to be around.”
“This is surprising out of you, Stiles,” Lydia said, slamming her book shut and shoving it into her bag. “I honestly didn’t peg you for the type to move in on your friend’s ex.”
Stiles’ heart dropped into his stomach. “I’m not--”
“Don’t play stupid,” Lydia snapped, pushing herself off the bed and swinging the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “Whatever the hell you’re playing at, I really hope you’re happy with yourself when it’s all done. Scott doesn’t deserve this.” The front door slammed, voices echoing up from the foyer. Lydia smiled nastily at him. “I hope you enjoy dinner--I assume you’re staying. Make sure you check out the impressive collection of assault rifles in the garage.”
She stormed out, leaving Stiles thunderstruck in her wake.
--
“So, Lydia thinks I’m the scum of the earth now.”
He’d opened Skype the second he got home, to find Scott already online and waiting for him. He’d regaled Scott with the story of their study session--every glare and biting comment, every awkward silence--and when he was done, Scott looked thoroughly like a kicked puppy.
“I’m sorry,” Scott said, and he looked it. Stiles tried to feel better and just felt like more trash.
“No, it’s not your fault,” he sighed. “This was my idea, and we knew Lydia wasn’t gonna be on board with it. It’s not like I was ever her favorite person to begin with.”
“How was dinner?” Scott asked. “Did her dad actually show you their guns? It is a pretty impressive collection.”
“No, thank god,” Stiles said. “I didn’t even stay for dessert. I ran the first chance I got.”
Scott looked contemplative. “You know, you don’t need to do this. I don’t think the Argents will do anything to you, but if you’re really that worried, then I’d rather come up with something else.”
Stiles shook his head. “No, we’re doing this. Which reminds me, we should plan this fight. I’m thinking tomorrow after school, in the parking lot. Lots of witnesses, and it’s in eyesight of the main office so if her mom’s there, she’s bound to overhear.”
“Okay,” Scott replied, looking unsure. “What should I do?”
---
The Fight was epic and loud and incredibly public.
“How could you do this to me?” Scott bellowed at him as Stiles and Allison stood before him on the pathway in front of the school, holding hands. Classes had just ended for the day, and the area was packed with kids waiting for buses and rides from parents.
“Scott, we never meant to hurt you,” Allison was pleading. “Please believe me, it wasn’t supposed to happen this way.” Her crocodile tears were impressively convincing, seeming to come without effort, falling down her cheeks freely.
“You,” Scott snapped, pointing at Stiles. “You were supposed to be my friend.”
Stiles knew it was all fake, that Scott wasn’t really mad at either of them, but the look on his face broke his heart all the same.
“Scott, I really like her,” he said as loudly as he could, which wasn’t nearly as loud as he was trying for, “I’m sorry.”
“Whatever,” Scott spat at them disgustedly. “You two deserve each other. I hope you have a great life.” And with that, he stormed off into a sea of people who weren’t even trying to pretend they weren’t staring. Stiles could spot Lydia over by her car, looking murderous.
So far it was working like a charm.
As soon as Scott was out of sight, Allison was at his side, murmuring in his ear. "I took the bus this morning. Give me a ride home, we can call him on the way."
Stiles nodded wordlessly, letting her guide him toward the parking lot where his jeep sat waiting. People stated at them as they went, gossiping to each other unsubtly in each others' ears. The plan had worked like a charm. By the next morning, as far as the population of Beacon Hills High was concerned, he and Scott would no longer be friends.
Fake or not, good cause or not, he couldn't feel good about it.
He called Scott the second the school disappeared from his rearview. “That sucked,” he offered as a greeting.
“It really did,” Scott’s tinny voice agreed. “But it’s worth it. You’re taking Allison home?”
“Yeah, she’s here. Wanna talk to her?” he asked, handing the phone to her without waiting for a response. Of course Scott wanted to talk to her.
He drove on to the sound of Allison’s voice, low and sweet.
---
That Friday was their first “date”.
As far as Allison’s parents were concerned, Stiles was taking their daughter to the movies. When Stiles had gone to pick her up, he was finally introduced to the gun collection--apparently, he’d forgotten that Stiles was supposed to be there at 7 and swore up and down that it had been 8, and he absolutely would have cleaned up all the weapons laid out on the kitchen table, which was obviously the only appropriate place for their guest to sit and wait for Allison to come down--and they had what was possibly the scariest conversation Stiles had ever had without using words. For the first time in his life, he couldn’t make himself say anything. He was sure if he opened his mouth, the entire truth would come pouring out.
He was not taking Allison to the movies.
They parked in a clearing in the woods that he and Scott used to hang out in a lot as kids until the high schoolers found it and used it as an occasional party ground. It was empty that night, and Scott and Allison made good use of it, while Stiles waiting in his jeep, carefully not staring.
After ten minutes of apparent silence as Stiles played Candy Crush, Allison called out to him.
“Stiles, come hang out with us. I promise we’re not doing anything!”
He risked a look, and Allison wasn’t lying. She and Scott were sitting on a large rock near the edge of the clearing, sitting close but not touching. He climbed out of the jeep slowly.
“Isn’t this, like, your date night?” he asked as he sat gingerly near them, carefully distanced. “Figured you’d want some time alone.”
“It’s not fair that you have to sit in the car while we hang out,” Scott told him. “We don’t just make out all the time, you know. You and Allison never hang out, anyway. I always said you guys would get along. We have a chance to test that.”
Stiles shrugged--Scott had a point--and Allison deftly changed the topic (school woes, history test on Tuesday that none of them were prepared for), and they all settled in.
It was one of the best, most relaxing nights any of them had had in a long while.
---
Eventually, though, curfew approached. Stiles and Allison parted ways with Scott at the clearing. Stiles would have been happy to drive Scott home, since he’d walked, but none of them were willing to risk Scott being seen in Stiles’ jeep.
When they got to the Argent house, Stiles walked Allison to the front door. Their relationship might have been fake, but fuck if Stiles was going to let anyone get the idea that he was anything but an absolute gentleman.
At the door, Allison turned to him and smiled. “I want to thank you again. For all this.”
“It’s cool,” he said, shrugging, then dropped his voice, in case anyone was listening in. “You guys are important to me. If I can help make you happy, then it’s worth it.”
For a second, Allison looked like she wanted to say Something Important, but it passed quickly enough for Stiles to tell himself he was seeing things. Allison broke eye contact to glance around at her surroundings, then grabbed Stiles by the shoulders and pulled him in.
They were kissing.
It wasn’t his first kiss, but it was definitely the most unexpected. Allison’s lips were soft and sticky with the lipstick he definitely hadn’t watched her re-apply in the jeep after they’d parted ways with Scott--
Scott.
He pulled away sharply. “Allison--” he said shortly, not sure how to react. He’d kissed his best friend’s girlfriend. Who he was dating. Sort of.
When had his life gotten so freaking weird?
“My parents are watching from the window,” Allison whispered against his lips. Her breath smelled faintly of vanilla and mint, like tic-tacs. “Gotta make it convincing.” She stared up at him, waiting, and he realized she was leaving it up to him. He could walk away. He could say no.
He leaned in and kissed her again.
Her mouth opened beneath his and he dipped his tongue in, because that’s what you did with girls who open-mouth kissed you, even if they were your best friend’s girlfriend. He tried to remember that Scott knew about this, that he had helped come up with this plan, but they hadn't discussed kissing--
He pulled away, regretfully.
"Thank you," Allison whispered, turning slightly toward her door. "Good night, Stiles."
"Night," he called back absently. Even as she disappeared into her house, closing the door behind her, her perfume lingered. It was nice.
He lifted a hand to his mouth, wiping at it as quickly as he could, and it came away pink. His lips still tingled like she was still there, mouth pressed against his.
And just like that, Stiles was screwed.
---
There are no guidebooks for when you start falling for your best friend’s girlfriend who you’re fake-dating.
Stiles was almost glad that he was “fighting” with Scott at school, because looking him in the eye for long periods of time was difficult. He kept thinking about kissing Allison, and about Scott kissing Allison, and about the both of them kissing Allison at the same time (which honestly seemed logistically confusing, but he was dedicated to the cause). He thought about Scott being there and watching and joining in.
Not for the first time, not even for the 100th, he thought of him and Scott.
It was no secret between them that Stiles’ sexuality was recently rather...undefined. He supposed if his life weren’t a literal horror movie and he were able to think about it for more than five minutes, he would probably settle with bisexual. Girls definitely did it for him, but more than one of his favorite fantasies lately involved Danny in the locker room after a game where Stiles scored all the shots and Danny was very impressed. Enthusiastically impressed.
And then there was Scott.
Scott was his best friend, okay? There were rules. You don’t have sexy thoughts about your best friend. You don’t fantasize about them, or imagine them as your boyfriend, or envision them watching and jerking off while you eat out their girlfriend. You definitely don’t make out with said girlfriend in her bedroom with the door cracked in hopes that her parents would walk by and “catch” you.
Stiles was breaking all the rules.
He pulled away from Allison’s mouth, panting slightly. He’d come over to “study” again, this time without Lydia’s suspicious eyes, and they hadn’t even gotten ten minutes of fake studying in before she was kissing him--her parents would be home soon, after all.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, forehead creased in concern, like it was all for real and she couldn’t possibly imagine why he’d stop.
He ran his fingers over the short stubble of his hair, anxious. “Scott...knows about this, right?” He knew Scott was aware of the first time they kissed, outside of her house, and he knew about the first time they’d made out in her room--had even suggested it--but they hadn’t spoken of it since. “Do you...tell him? About this?”
“Of course,” Allison said, looking surprised. “I tell him everything. You think I’d do this behind his back?”
“No, no,” Stiles assured, holding up his hands. “It just feels weird. Like we’re doing something wrong.”
“Do you wanna call him?” Allison asked. She sat up. “Do you wanna not do this anymore? I think my parents have seen enough to believe we’re the real deal. We can stop.” She put a hand on his leg, warm and comforting, and a bolt of heat shot through him.
“You tell him everything?” Stiles asked, unsure why it was suddenly so important. “In detail?”
“Of course,” Allison insisted, eyebrows raising. “He knows everything. Stiles, are you okay?”
Stiles considered the question. He wasn’t panicking, or freaking out, or scared, or angry, or hurt. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered slowly. “Sorry. Just...this whole thing is weird.”
Allison laughed. “Since when is our life not?” She ran a hand up and down his arm, which was doing nothing for his concentration, but it was sweet and calming. “You wanna go home?”
“No,” Stiles replied, shaking his head. He leaned back in, fitting his hand around Allison’s cheek, and pulled her in for a kiss. “Your parents’ll be home soon anyway.”
She smiled against his lips, and kissed him deeper, slotting their mouths together and parting her lips. He liked the way she kissed, not too crazy with tongue, not too wet. Scott was a lucky guy. He wondered what he thought when Allison told him about their “study dates”. Wondered if he liked hearing about it. Wondered if he was into it, got off on it--
He broke off, startled, and stared into Allison’s equally shocked eyes for half a second before bolting off the bed and out of the bedroom.
“Stiles!” he heard Allison cry behind him, her footsteps right behind him. “Stiles, wait!” She caught him in the foyer, because of course she was faster than him. “Stiles, what’s wrong? What happened?”
“I can’t do this,” he gasped. “I can’t do this anymore, we have to find another way, I have to go.”
“What are you talking about?” Allison asked, holding onto his hand as he tried to walk out the door. “Please, don’t leave yet. Just tell me what’s wrong? What did I do?”
Without thinking, he was suddenly in her space, framing her face with her hands, and he dipped in for another kiss, harder and more desperate than any of their previous ones. She stood shocked for a few moments, then slowly slid them up his hips, pulling him in closer. They broke apart slowly, breathing heavily, neither of them moving away.
“I’m not here to fool your parents,” Stiles deduced suddenly, as if a light bulb had gone off in his head.
“You don’t keep coming back because you think my parents need fooling,” she replied with a mirthless laugh. “I love Scott.”
“So do I,” Stiles shot back, honest in a way he usually wasn’t when it came to that.
“We need to talk to him.”
Stiles sighed. “Yeah...we do.”
---
They drove to Scott’s house that night, picking him up and heading toward their regular clearing. Stiles had never felt so out of sorts before, which was saying something. He was probably about to lose his best friend, or at least make things extremely uncomfortable between them. At least they were already technically fighting at school.
“Okay, now I’m really worried,” Scott announced as they all settled on the large rock after a completely silent drive. “What’s going on?”
“Stiles and I have feelings for each other,” Allison replied bluntly. “And...things kind of happened. Between us.”
Well. That was one way to do it. Stiles had an entire speech leading up to it, about intentions and getting in over his head and how much they both cared about him. But Allison’s way worked too, he supposed.
Scott stared at them, wide-eyed. “Um…?” was all it seemed he could get out.
“It wasn’t on purpose,” Stiles blurted out. “If I thought for half a second this would happen--”
“Oh, we would have never--” Allison cut in, shaking her head.
“We wouldn’t have even considered doing this--”
“It was so not intentional, I swear--”
“Guys!” Scott cried, throwing up his hands. “Relax. I’m not mad.”
Complete silence followed the pronouncement for several seconds.
“You’re...you’re not mad?” Allison asked slowly.
“No,” Scott said, smiling. “I kind of knew, actually.” He looked between them, back and forth, then turned to Stiles. “Can...can I try something?”
Heart pounding, Stiles stammered, “Uh, s-sure?”
Whatever he was expecting, it was not Scott leaning over and pressing their lips together, softly, carefully, giving Stiles enough room to pull away if he wanted. He didn’t.
When they pulled away, Stiles felt sort of dizzy, but the good kind of dizzy--the happy hazy feeling that something amazing had happened. He tried to think of something to say, something that wouldn’t sound stupid.
All he could think of was, “...Oh.”
---
Their relationship was much like their life--anything but normal.
But that was par for the course, and Stiles wouldn’t have it any other way.