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Cora tucks her phone very carefully into her butt pocket of her jeans. Her front pockets are completely useless against her iPhone 6. She grabs her books off her desk, and heads out of the classroom. As usual, she’s one of the last out. If she times it right, she can spy on Erica’s crush, Boyd.
It works out perfectly when she sees that he’s walking a few people ahead of her. Cora keeps her eyes locked on him. When he veers off towards his locker, she slows down. Caitlin, the girl with the purity ring that everyone (unfairly) teased, is waiting for him. She’s smiling up at him and Boyd gives her a soft look.
Cora huffs and picks up her pace. It’s the fifth morning in a row that Caitlin had been waiting for Boyd at his locker. She doesn’t know how she’s going to tell Erica.
When she walks up to her locker, she sees a small piece of something red sticking out of it. Cora rolls her eyes. She unlocks her locker and then picks up the box of chocolate sitting on her stuff.
For fuck’s sake. Cora slams her locker close, shuts the lock, and storms down the hallway. Stiles Stilinski has no idea what’s coming. She spots him at Allison’s locker a few halls away. Cora doesn’t care that he’s with Scott and Allison. Hell, she doesn’t care if the whole goddamn world sees her.
She stops in front of him abruptly, and he looks surprised. Cora throws the box of chocolate onto the ground. “Listen up, Stilinski. You can buy me all the goddamn chocolate in the world, I still won’t go out with you.”
“Cora, I think–”
“I don’t care if you think I’m the prettiest girl in the school or…or what was it today?” Cora bends down to pick up the piece of paper attached to the box. She scoffs. “Oh. I’m apparently one of a kind? Wow. Can you be lamer? Seriously, Stilinski, give it up.”
She turns on her heel, feeling the stares of people in the hall. Cora takes a few steps and as she continues on, she crumples the note and tosses it on the ground. Twice a week for the past two months she’d been receiving chocolate. Chocolate everywhere. Fuck, she’d mentioned that she loves chocolate once to Stiles. Once.
He had taken it one box too far. Cora makes her way back to her locker, and passes by Boyd and Caitlin on her way.
She shoots Caitlin a dirty look, which might not be called for, but fuck everything. Of course, Stiles would be the one who likes her. Cora had only ever been interested in one person before. Would it be too much to have her feel the same? Stiles and his stupid crush aren’t making her feel better.
In fact, she already regrets how harshly she’d acted to Stiles. He just has a crush on her. She should’ve been more understanding. Just like Lydia had been when she’d turned Cora down last year for the Spring Formal.
Cora kind of hates everything right now. But when she reaches her locker again, Erica’s standing there with a hopeful look on her face. “It’s been a week! You said you’d spy on him for a week and let me know how I should make my move.”
She tries not to look at Erica when she opens her locker. “I haven’t decided what your best route is. Give me one more week?”
“Cora, come on! This was our deal.”
“I know, but–”
“There’s someone else, isn’t there?” Erica asks, eyeing Cora down. She doesn’t want to admit it. Doesn’t want to acknowledge that Erica’s right. But she nods. “Who? Who is it, Cora?”
“Caitlin. She always meets him after classes.” Cora’s shoulders drop. “I’m so sorry–”
Erica’s eyes flash with mischief. “I have an idea. We’re going shopping after class.”
“Wha–oh, okay.”
❤ ✿ ❤ ✿ ❤
Cora wants to jump when she realizes that Lydia is standing in front of her desk and glaring at her. Instead, she calmly lifts her head. Fuck, Lydia is so gorgeous. It’s too bad things hadn’t worked out with them. Cora thinks it might have been magical.
“Yes?” she snaps, because that’s what they do now. Any form of friendship they might have built over the history project last semester is gone.
Lydia’s eyes narrow on her. “You yelled at Stiles.”
“Yes, I did. He’s–”
“Apologize,” Lydia demands.
“No. He’s harassing me!” Cora shakes her head. “What do you care anyway? God, Lydia, you know if you cared a little less about your fucking appearance and reputation with this school you might be able to relax and have some fun. Instead, you have a giant stick shoved up your ass.”
Lydia’s expression tightens. She places her hands on the desk and leans forward. Her face is close to Cora’s now, and she wonders if Lydia does it on purpose. Teasing her, taunting her, reminding her of her pathetic confession of love. “I think you should know me better than that. Now, apologize to Stiles. He’s not harassing you.”
Cora grumbles that she begs to differ but then Lydia’s turning around and leaving her. She can’t help but watch her go to her seat. Lydia settles in, turning to face Cora slightly. They share a look, but Lydia’s face remains unreadable.
“Bitch,” Cora mutters. But she doesn’t mean it. In fact, her face softens when she steals another glance at Lydia. The woman might get under her skin, might make her say things she doesn’t mean, but there’s something about the way Cora’s insides get all gooey. The way she feels a little restless when she’s lying in bed, thinking of Lydia. Lydia had crawled her way in and Cora’s realizing that she hasn’t left yet. Even if it’s been months.
❤ ✿ ❤ ✿ ❤
It takes her about three days the following week, but finally, she walks up to Stiles. She gives him a short wave and he doesn’t immediately walk away from her. Lips pressed tight, she takes a moment to sort out exactly what she needs to say.
“You don’t have much of an audience today. Wanna wait until lunch before you embarrass me in front of my friends again?” Stiles asks.
“Um. I was a bit unfair to you last week. I’m sorry. I really didn’t consider your side of…things, y’know? It’s just that I said no and I was hoping that you’d respect that,” Cora says with a sigh. She struggles for a moment before she finally grounds out, “I’m sorry that I embarrassed at you and yelled at you in front of your friends.”
Stiles shrugs. “You gotta do what you gotta do. But ah, Cora, I didn’t get you any chocolate.”
“What?” Cora asks. Stiles has her complete attention now.
“Yeah. Um. I asked you out a couple of times but that was enough rejection for me. I spent like five years drooling after Lydia. I don’t plan on doing it again. Not that you’re not great or worth it, Cora, but –”
“No, no, I get it. So wait. You haven’t gotten me any chocolate?” Cora asks.
“None,” Stiles promises. “So does this mean you have a secret admirer?”
Cora’s stumped. On one hand, great it’s not Stiles. She likes Stiles and she didn’t enjoy thinking that he was the one still chasing her. But on the other hand, it means that someone knows her combination to her locker.
“Fuck.”
Stiles laughs. “That’s not usually someone’s first reaction to news like that,” Stiles points out when she looks at him.
“Someone’s been breaking into my locker,” Cora mumbles. “To leave me chocolate. It’s all expensive chocolate too. And compliments. That are pretty lame, really.”
“Maybe we should schedule some look-outs to see if we can catch them,” Stiles says.
“You’d help me?”
“What are friends for?” Stiles asks, smiling.
Cora narrows her eyes on him. “What’s in it for you?”
“A date with your hot older brother.”
She laughs now and shakes her head. “Derek’s so lame. He doesn’t doanything ever and he’s super boring. I’m not sure you want a date with him.”
“Can you try?” Stiles asks.
“Whatever, sure.”
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“Holy mother of god,” Cora all but shouts when Erica shows up to school the following day. She looks hot. Seriously, seriously hot.
“Cora, you were there with me when I bought this! Why are you surprised?” Erica hisses when she walks over to her. The heels echo in the hallway and people turn to stare.
“I know, but I forgot how good you look.” Cora takes Erica’s tight mini-skirt, heels, and revealing top in. “You sure about this?”
“Fuck no. But if there’s anything my slutty mother taught me is that boys generally respond well to hot women. Not that I’m competing against Caitlin, but I’m just stepping up my game. That’s all.” Erica smooths out her skirt. “Okay, so maybe taking lessons from my mom isn’t a smart move. She does have a new guy every week.”
Cora sighs. “You’re not like her. Even if you look a bit like her. You’re gonna kill it, babe.”
“I hope so. Fuck. I hope so. Wish me luck,” Erica says as she squares her shoulders and starts to walk away.
“Good luck!” Cora calls out.
She looks down at her phone when it buzzes.
STILES: any chocolate??
CORA: nope, but usually it comes after first period
STILES: maybe it’s someone with a first period spare??
Cora frowns at her phone. Why hadn’t that occurred to her? The only person she knows with a first period spare other than Stiles is Lydia. And it’s obviously not Lydia. Cora slips her phone into her butt pocket and heads off to class. She’s not going to worry about it.
❤ ✿ ❤ ✿ ❤
She should’ve worried about it. Cora finds a new box of chocolates in her locker. She picks up the note today.
thank you xo.
Thank you? Someone is thanking her? What the hell does that mean? She takes the box and stares at it the entire time she walks to Stiles’ locker. Cora holds it out when Stiles sees her.
He picks up the note and his eyebrows go up. “Cora, I know who your secret admirer is. And why they have your combination to your locker.”
Cora blinks. “What? Stiles–how–?”
“Look,” Stiles says, turning back to his locker. “Don’t get mad. But I can’t tell you.”
She takes one step towards him and he throws his hands up. “Stilinski.”
“Fine, fine. But I’m sure she’d kill me if I told you. So I’m going to lead you to find out on your own. Okay?” Stiles asks. “Because my balls need to be in working condition if I’m to go on that date with your hot older brother. And the person who wrote this note will not allow them to work if I tell her secret.”
“Her?” Cora asks, her voice quiet. “It’s a girl?”
“Yeah. Um. Yeah.”
“Okay, Stiles. You have twenty-four hours.”
❤ ✿ ❤ ✿ ❤
It ends up working out perfectly. Stiles arranges for a group study date with some people from their history class. Cora’s only task is to show up, prepared to study. Stiles would take care of the rest. Whatever the hell that means.
She walks down the hall, hugging her textbooks. When she reaches the library doors, she pauses. Cora tugs on the first card she’d ever gotten with the chocolates. The note had been simple.
cora, you smile like sunshine after a bad day. you laugh like there’s still hope. you blush like no one’s told you how beautiful you are before. xo.
It’d caught her attention. She’d looked at it and often wondered how Stiles could feel this way. He hadn’t seemed interested in her seriously, and the notes implied serious. Then again, they’d slowly progressed to simple (or lame) notes.
Cora hadn’t been able to give up the first one though. She tucks it back into her textbook and walks into the library. She freezes when she sees everyone at Stiles’ study group table in the private room he’d booked for them.
“Hi,” she says, her voice catching.
Stiles and Lydia look up first. Then Erica, Boyd, Malia, Heather, Allison, and Kira look up at her. Stiles reacts first and says, “C’mon, Cora. Join us. We saved you a seat.”
Cora is glances at Stiles, nervous. She takes a seat across from Lydia and murmurs, “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
Lydia eyes Cora. “If it bothers you, I can leave. I don’t really need this study session. Stiles just convinced me that he could use the help.”
“No, no, it’s…fine,” Cora manages to get out. She looks away from Lydia. “What chapter are we starting at?”
“Seven,” Allison answers. “We haven’t gotten very much done.”
“Sorry. I didn’t realize I was going to be late,” Cora apologizes.
“No worries,” Heather says, offering her a bright smile.
“I was just asking abut…what was it again?” Boyd asks, looking back down at his text book.
Cora feels like she’s in a daze as the study session discusses…well, history. She mostly nods along to what everyone’s discussing and watches Lydia with amazement when she starts explaining something. God, the way she talks so passionately about things is one of the reasons that Cora had developed a crush on her to begin with.
It’d been last semester. They’d gotten together for a project, and it’d been a drag at first. Lydia comes off as a stuck up beauty princess at first, but that impression hadn’t stuck long with Cora. Not after Lydia launched into an argument for one of Cora’s points and completely destroyed her. She’d been too enamoured to do anything but smile.
They’d spent most of their first night working on the project. Lydia typed everything up as they spoke and Cora scribbled down notes in her book. But eventually, they started to meet up for coffee or pizza and they swore it was for the project. It wasn’t. Some days they wouldn’t even mention the thing that had brought them together in the first place. Lydia would smile at Cora in the hallways and sometimes pull her aside to whisper about some juicy gossip she’d heard.
No one cared that they talked. It wasn’t some forbidden friendship. Hell, there were a few days when Lydia ditched her popular friends to join Cora at lunch. It’d been a wild ride, and suddenly, Cora had been too deep.
Stiles had asked her out a couple times near the end of her friendship with Lydia. She’d said no. Only considered it once, but that was solely because she thought it might make Lydia jealous. It wouldn’t have been fair to Stiles, so she had shook her head.
Cora had admitted her feelings one day when it’d become too much to keep it in.
“Lydia, I want to–I just– I have the biggest crush on you. I really, really like you. Do you think we could give this a shot? You and me?” Cora asks. She completely interrupted Lydia’s rant on how women are treated in the work place. Cora reaches for Lydia’s hand.
“You and me?” Lydia whispers.
“We’re always talking or texting each other. I still can’t get enough of you. I’m happy when I’m around you, like my feet don’t quite touch the ground. I sometimes lie awake and think of what it’d be like to kiss you…I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to keep this to myself for what feels like forever, and I just–sorry. I came on too strongly, didn’t I?” Cora lets out a nervous laugh, tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, and hopes that Lydia can’t see her blushing.
“Cora, I love you–as a friend. I do. But I’m not–I couldn’t–we aren’t–I’m sorry,” Lydia tells her. She squeezes Cora’s hand, but Cora yanks it back. “Please, don’t be–”
“Upset? Of course, I’m upset!” Cora takes a shaky breath. “I need a few days of space, okay?”
“Cora, let’s talk about this–”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I just…I need to go.”
In hindsight, Cora really wishes she’d stayed to talk about it. After she’d demanded some space, well, they hadn’t exactly closed the space. It’d just grown bigger and more snarky with every passing day.
Cora jumps when Lydia clears her throat. She looks around the room to realize everyone is staring at her. “I’m sorry–I zoned out. What?”
Lydia huffs. “You know, Cora, this isn’t going to work if you don’t even attempt to participate.”
“I–sorry, I just…” Cora trails off. Then she shakes her head and straightens her shoulders a little. Tightens her jaw. “It won’t happen again, Martin.”
Lydia’s eyebrows twitch slightly but then she says, “Okay, good. And next time, Hale? Maybe you should bring the proper textbook.”
Cora looks down. Fuck, Lydia’s right. This is her math textbook. She hadn’t even noticed. Cora closes her eyes and groans. She smacks her head onto her textbook.
“Here, you can use mine. I’ve already memorized it anyway,” Lydia says, turning her textbook around and pushing it towards Cora.
She peeks to see that Lydia’s written notes on the margins of the textbook. Cora sits up straight suddenly and yanks the textbook from Lydia’s hands. Lydia seems a bit miffed by this, but Cora can’t stop staring at the writing.
“You wrote this?” Cora demands.
“Of course. Why would I let someone else write in my textbook?” Lydia asks, but Cora hears the hesitation in her voice.
“You? You’re the one who has been leaving me chocolates?” Cora breathes. “You? Seriously? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Cora, I–”
“How dare you mock me like that?” Cora says. She stands up and closes her textbook. She shoves it into her backpack and says, “I never thought you’d stoop so low.”
She turns on her heel and heads out the door. She will not cry. She won’t. Cora inhales sharply to fight the tears.
Cora makes it out the library doors and half way down the hall before she hears Lydia call out, “Cora! Wait, goddammit!”
She doesn’t want to stop, doesn’t want to consider the fact that Lydia might have a really good explanation. And then she hears her plead, “Please,Cora.”
Fuck, she really hates this. Hot tears are threatening to escape and she doesn’t know if she can hold herself together enough to not cry in front of Lydia Martin. Dammit, dammit all to hell. She stops walking but doesn’t turn around.
“Cora, I never–I never meant to hurt you,” Lydia says when she’s closer. She doesn’t try to turn Cora around and doesn’t pass her to face her. “It’s just…you took me by surprise. I hadn’t thought–”
“Hadn’t thought what?” Cora snaps. “That I might be an idiot and fall for you?”
“That you could ever feel that way about me,” Lydia says, quietly.
“But you don’t feel that way about me!” Cora shouts, spinning around now. Tears are on her cheeks, but she doesn’t care. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“I’m not trying to do anything but explain. I might be a genius, Cora, but fuck if I know what I have until I lose it. And I lost you and suddenly, everything started to become clear to me, and I was wrong.”
Cora sniffs, but holds back on saying anything. She can’t give in just yet.
“I’m crazy about you, Cora. You make life interesting. You don’t bore me. Do you know how easy it is to bore me? You never do. You always keep me on my toes. I took all of this for granted because I didn’t really understand what I felt. But suddenly, you weren’t there, and I had no one to do things with or to be with. No one like you. And then I figured it out. I like you. I really like you,” Lydia takes a deep breath. “Just being friends with you isn’t enough for me.”
She reaches forward to brush away some of Cora’s tears and Cora squeezes her eyes shut. Her chest doesn’t feel as tight anymore. She nods and steps closer to Lydia. Then she feels her arms wrap around her and Cora does the same so she can pull Lydia in tighter.
“I don’t want to be some stupid teen fling,” Cora admits. “It doesn’t feel like that to me. I can’t do this if that’s what it feels like to you.”
“No, it doesn’t feel like that to me,” Lydia whispers. “It feels like it could be the real deal.”
“Yeah,” Cora breathes. “Were you trying to make me fat with all of that chocolate?”
“You don’t remember?” Lydia asks, surprised now. Cora leans back and shakes her head. She wipes her eyes. “You kicked my ass in Mario Kart and told me that I owed you a thousand pieces of chocolate.”
Cora lets out a strangled laugh now and nods. “Fuck, I remember that. You shook on it. That’s what that was? I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together. And my combination code?”
“Stiles has it written down inside his locker from that week you were sick.”
“Fuck.”
Lydia smiles. “That’s okay. We can’t all be geniuses.”
“Good. I don’t want to be,” Cora murmurs. “But I wouldn’t mind dating one.”
Lydia smiles as she intertwines her fingers with Cora’s. “I really, really like you, Cora. Do you think we could forget these past few months and maybe be girlfriends?”
“I don’t want to forget these past few months,” Cora admits. “But yeah, maybe we could be girlfriends. Can we ease into it?”
“Sure,” Lydia murmurs. “We’ll go at your pace. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
Cora smiles now. Things are going to be okay. She has a feeling.
❤ ✿ ❤ ✿ ❤
“No, no, you have to wear something a little sluttier. That’s how I wrapped Boyd around my finger,” Erica tells her, shaking her head at Cora’s casual outfit.
Cora scoffs. “You got Boyd because you finally got the nerve to actually talk to him. He didn’t give a shit what you were wearing.”
Erica beams at this and clasps her hands together. She lifts her shoulders and drops them as she sighs dreamily. “Yeah. You’re right. My boyfriend is the best.”
She rolls her eyes at her best friend, but really, she can’t blame Erica. The way Boyd looks at her is the cutest thing she’s ever seen. Erica gets a dumb, goofy smile on her face whenever Boyd’s around, and it makes Cora happy. She tugs on a new shirt that shows off a little more cleavage. “What do you think?”
“I honestly think Lydia won’t give a shit what you’re wearing as long as she can get you out of it later. Why did you two opt for a triple date for your first date anyway?” Erica asks. “I still don’t get it.”
Cora smiles. “Because Stiles begged us. He’s too nervous for his first date with Derek.”
“And Derek?” Erica asks her.
“Has no idea he’s on a date. He thinks it’s a group hangout because I’m too nervous,” Cora admits.
“And Boyd and I are there because…?”
“I know you both love the drama,” Cora tells her. Erica grins.
“You’ve got us pegged. Now how do you think Derek’s going to feel when he realizes he’s on a date with Stiles?” Erica picks up her phone when it buzzes and her smile changes. Must be Boyd.
Cora shrugs and fixes a piece of her hair while looking in the mirror. “He’s probably going to hate me for a bit. But then he’ll realizes that Stiles is perfect for him and he’ll owe me great Christmas presents for at least five years.”
Erica snorts. “Those two are going to kill each other.”
“I know. It’s gonna be great,” Cora says. She spins around. “How do I look now?”
Erica eyes her up and down slowly before she nods. “Yeah, you’re getting laid tonight.”
“It’s not about sex with us,” Cora reminds her.
“No, but isn’t that such a nice perk now that you’re more than friends?” Erica asks her with a soft expression.
Cora’s eyes light up with all of the possible ways she can make Lydia come undone later tonight and she exhales softly. “You’re absolutely right.”
“I always am.”
❤ ✿ ❤ ✿ ❤
DEREK:
coraaaaa don’t you dare ignore your phone
DEREK:
is this a date?!?! am I on a date with Stiles???
DEREK:
GODDAMMIT CORA ANSWER YOUR PHONE
DEREK:
you’re the worst sister ever, why the fuck would you and erica abandon me with this kid?!
DEREK:
I answered my own question…I don’t need details
DEREK:
fuck fuck fuck cora I hate you
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CORA:
sorry I ditched you last night
CORA:
did you and Stiles kill each other?
DEREK:
not exactly
DEREK:
you’re still the worst so you don’t get to say i told you so either
CORA: not exactly means??
LAURA: hey, where did you and derek sleep last night?
CORA: you slept over at his place? whoa big bro you move fast
DEREK:
it’s not like that, we watched some movies and fell asleep. how did you even know this anyway?
DEREK:
dON’T YOU DATE TELL LAURA, CORA.
DEREK:
don’T YOU DARE
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“Are you going to tell Laura?” Lydia asks, stroking Cora’s hair casually. Se snuggles closer.
“Probably not, but it’s going to be fun letting him sweat it out.” Cora sets her iPhone aside on Lydia’s nightstand before she turns back to kiss her. Because she can do that now. “Last night was awesome.”
Lydia smiles. “Oh?”
“Yeah. We should just repeat that sometime soon…or now. Now is good too,” Cora teases as she presses her lips down Lydia’s neck and collarbone. “What do you think?”
“I think you may be onto something really good,” Lydia murmurs, pulling Cora’s face to hers to kiss her again. “You might be the genius after all.”
“As if it was a competition,” Cora mutters but then they’re rolling around and Cora has no idea what they’re talking about. She just knows that when Lydia lets out the first gasp, she considers herself something of a genius.