How to be Cool

Lesson #13: Party Etiquette (High School Style)

With the party coming up tomorrow, Derek was finally making good on his promise to teach me how to dance. After school, Derek was supposed to come over and teach me some more moves, other than the ones he taught me the other night, after he took me home from Scott's. If these dance moves were anything like those ones, I was in for a very awkward night. Derek was supposed to be over around six, because he had promised Brett they would hang out for a few hours. While it bummed me out knowing there were together, doing god knows what, at least he was still helping me get Lydia. Focusing on her took my mind off him, sorta. 

I planned on lounging around for a few hours, playing video games to take my mind off of certain things, but those certain things changed all of that. I got up to answer the door, not expecting any company, so it was more than a little surprising to see Derek standing there at only 4pm. He gave me a guilty smile, holding up a bag of takeout food from the cafe downtown. "I got rainchecked," he shrugged. "I knew you'd be okay with me coming over early, right?"

"I was just playing some video games. Wanna play?" I offered, waving the controller in front of him. He grinned, following me inside where we settled on my bed in front of the tv. "So Brett cancelled, huh? What was his excuse?" I wondered, trying to make conversation. 

Derek shrugged, his focus on the tv as he shot at the enemies. "Something about practice going a little late, and his buddies wanting to do something afterwards. It's whatever. I get to hang out with you instead. A fair trade, if you ask me."

I  chuckled, shaking my head. "A fair trade? You can't even have sex with me, so how is that a fair trade?" I teased, making Derek laugh. 

He glanced at me, just as I happened to be looking at him. "I mean, I could have sex with you, but we'd both have to consent for that to happen," he shot back, knowing he had won as I shifted uncomfortably next to him. I felt the heat creeping up the back of my neck and hoped he wasn't watching me anymore. "Besides, Brett and I just met. We haven't done that yet."

"Oh, right," I mumbled, feeling a little guilty that I had even assumed Derek had done anything like that yet. "So when do we start dance lessons?" I wondered, changing the subject from Derek's sex life to something less awkward. 

"About that," he answered, his words dragging out. "I may or may not have invited Erica over at 6 so she could help with the dance lessons. Its just, having an actual girl to dance with might be easier for you, plus you two need to spend some time together before tomorrow." His words flew out of his mouth so fast, and by the time I could pause the game to glare at him, he was grinning apologetically. I couldn't even be mad. 

"Fine, I guess I have no choice," I sighed, turning back to the game. It was probably a good thing that Derek wasn't going to be grinding up on me, since I was trying to get over him to avoid more heartbreak. 

Derek sighed in relief, but paused the game again, before we could even continue at all. "Stiles, do you feel ready for this party? It's kind of a big step in the plan, especially since Lydia has already made it clear that she is interested."

I shrugged, setting my controller to the side. "I  don't know, Der. I've had a lot on my mind lately, so I feel like I'm out of it. What if I screw something up tomorrow? What if I ruin my chances with Lydia forever? I've never even been to a party before."