I grumbled as I emptied out my locker into my bag. I'd need all the room in there I could get for later. Just as I shut my locker closed, Scott came running up to me frantically.
"Woah, what's got you so-?"
"I kissed Kira," he blurted, cutting me off.
"Oh..." I muttered, confused on why he was so weird about it. "Good." He turned, walking down the hall with me as we headed towards the locker room.
"No, not good," he groaned. "It was our first kiss since our actual first kiss."
I licked my lips, squinting at the empty hall before me. "I don't think that's how that works." Scott gave me a pointed look that Stiles often gave Isaac and I chuckled. "Okay. Was it on the lips?"
"Yeah," he said like he was unsure.
"Was there tongue?" I prodded.
A cringey expression crossed his face. "No. It-it was like how you kiss your grandmother when your five." He seemed like he hated himself while I nodded slowly, trying to understand. "It was-. It was like a peck. Like I just pecked her lips like a chicken-."
"Oh, god, you didn't."
"And now it's all completely weird, and I don't know what to do," he stammered. "Maybe I should text her."
I stopped walking and jerked his shoulders to make him face me. His eyes stared at me like I would somehow give him the magical cure for this situation. "No. You're not gunna text her, okay? You're gunna... You're gunna..." He lifted his eyebrows at me. "Um... You're gunna... Okay, yes. Here's what you're gunna do. You're gunna take her somewhere private, and you're gunna-. I'm sorry, I got nothing."
"Y/N!" he groaned, turning to walk again.
"I know. I'm sorry." I felt bad that I couldn't help him, so before we parted ways so he could go to the locker room and I could go to the field, I put my hand on his shoulder. "Okay, talk to Stiles. He was always pretty good with that kind of stuff."
Scott nodded defeatedly. I offered him a small good luck smile and he smiled back. He kissed the top of my head gently before going into the locker room. Inside I could hear Stiles' steady heart pumping and his melodic voice cracking a joke. I sighed and made my way to the field, trying to tune out Stiles' voice.
Malia and Kira smiled at me as I joined them. Malia looked a little lost in the textbook sitting in her lap and Kira seemed lost in thought. I didn't know whether or not to mention Scott, so I just kept my mouth shut. The tryouts were long and full of random team exercises, and as much as I hated to admit it, I found myself watching Stiles.
Coach finished the tryouts with laps around the field, and this time I wasn't watching Stiles because I loved him. I was watching him and cringing.
The first person passed coach, and he looked at the timer. "Terrible." Another player passed. "Horrifying. Pathetic. Unbelievably pathetic. Is that everyone?" Coach pursed his lips as Stiles came to a stop in front of him, doubled over and panting louder than a dehydrated dog.
I winced at the sight of his face scrunched up in breathless agony. With all the running away we do, you'd think he'd be more used to it by now. Poor thing. Stiles dropped onto his back, still panting, and Coach rolled his eyes. Stiles' hair was drenched in sweat, and I tried not to think too much about it. That's usually how it looked after a long night together.
"Yep, that's everyone," Coach grumbled. Scott held back a laugh as he helped Stiles up. He smiled back at Coach while Stiles huffed like he was dying.
"Drama queen," I muttered.
"Who came in first?" Stiles panted, his face crumpled in funny ways. Scott nodded to Liam. Liam had been incredibly impressive on the field today, and oddly enough, I felt like a proud mom that held up signs that read 'my kid is #1!'. Even more impressively, Liam was still going. He was hammering out pushups like they were nothing. His heart was pounding, but on the outside, he looked relaxed like he had just rolled out of bed.
"Is he even human?" Stiles grumbled. "What is he? Like a werecheetah? Does that even exist? Is that a thing? Y/N?" My eyes jerked from Liam to Stiles to see he was already looking at me. He must've been asking me. His eyes darted between Liam and me and he squinted unhappily.
"Um, no, I don't think werecheetahs are a thing," I replied to cover myself. Scott repeated it back to him and he rolled his eyes.
"What?" Kira asked.
"Nothing, just talking to Scott and Stiles." I smiled at her, then to Scott I said, "I think he's just that good."
This time when Scott repeated it to Stiles, Stiles glared at me. I shrugged, trying to ignore the fact that both Malia and Kira's eyes were on me. Stiles rolled his eyes away and tapped Scott's arm.
"I'm gunna puke, take me somewhere," Stiles panted. Malia shook her head like she'd lost interest and started working on Precal (ick), while Kira fumbled with the lacrosse stick in her hands.
"Hey, Y/N..." Kira said, and I could instantly taste the anxiety coming from her. Oh, crap. This was going to be about Scott. "Has Scott told you anything? You know, about me?"
"Huh?" I said, brilliantly.
She sighed, ready to explain everything. "Scott and I had this thing happen. But it wasn't much of a thing. And now I'm starting to think it never was anything at all."
Before I could say anything, Malia piped in, saving my ass. "What do you want it to be?"
Kira's shoulders slumped as she said, "More." I let the topic slide, occasionally helping Malia with a math problem and watching Stiles and Scott. Okay, and Liam. Seriously, why was I so drawn to him?
Coach started the next drill, and Stiles was first up to throw (attempt to) the ball into the net past the goalie. Stiles jerked his stick under the ball on the ground, trying to get it into his net. After the third try, he huffed, bending over to grab the ball and slam it into his net.
I was distracted by his tongue swiping over his bottom lip as he prepared to take the shot. The ball flew from his stick and through the air. The goalie, who was pre-set in a ready position, stood up with surprise as Stiles' ball landed right in his stick. The goalie didn't even have to move. It was like Stiles aimed for his stick.
That obviously wasn't the case because Stiles looked around awkwardly at his laughing teammates. The goalie, who was also laughing, threw the ball back to him, and Stiles looked over to me. I smiled sympathetically, which he didn't seem to like.
Stiles turned to go to the back of the line only to see that Liam was smirking behind him, up next for the drill. Stiles glared at him as he passed, and Liam just let it roll of his shoulders while Scott gave Stiles a comforting pat.
I leaned forward a little, sitting on the edge of my seat as Liam gathered a ball in his net. I was anxious to see if he was as good on the field as he was on goal.
"You know, maybe Y/N's right. Maybe he's only good in goal," Stiles said, watching the boy with dislike. "Seems like Y/N really likes him."
"Oh, shut up," I retorted without looking away from Liam. Thankfully, Scott didn't repeat that to him. Liam ran forward a few steps, reared back, then flew forward, letting his ball soar through the air. It hit the net behind the goalie before the goalie could even move to get it, and my jaw dropped.
Scott and Stiles were pretty much the only ones who didn't cheer for Liam. Obviously, Coach was the loudest, shouting praises to his new favorite. I bet he was thinking maybe this new favorite would actually show up.
"Maybe he's just perfect at everything. I hate this kid!" Stiles complained.
Like he didn't want to say it, Scott forced out, "You don't have to hate him. The team needs new players."
"What about a new team captain?" Stiles replied, and Scott whipped his head over to look at him with wide eyes.
"He's got a point, Scott. If you want that position, you have to fight for it," I muttered behind my hands. Scott frowned at me, thinking about it, then his eyes darkened, and he shoved his way to the front of the line.
He spun the stick in his hands in preparation, then his lips pursed as he threw the ball towards the net. Malia's head was still buried in her book, but Kira, Stiles, and I were glued to the ball, hoping it would score. It would've, had the net been two inches wider. The ball clanged with disappointment as it hit the pole and bounced away.
I groaned and covered my face with my hands. Scott looked like he couldn't imagine the remote possibility of his shot not making it into the net.
"Nice, McCall!" Garrett teased.
"Hey, Garrett," Stiles said. His eyebrows jumped up once as he chuckled rudely, "Shut up."
The line went through again and again. Liam never missed a shot, Scott got better with practice (a lot of practice), and Stiles... Well, Stiles tried. It was looking more and more like Liam was going to make captain.
Kira leaned over to me and said, "Isn't the captain supposed to be one of the best players on the team? Or good?"
"You'd think..." I replied, sighing at the absolute suckiness of my friends right now.