How to be Cool

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."