a/n: hi i'm back! i updated a while back, but here's another update, and it's a long one! woo. summer is coming to a close and i'm gonna try and fit as much writing as i can until i become busy again.

hope you guys enjoy!

"Where the hell were you guys?" Malia asked with a huff as Liam, Scott, and Stiles approached the Beacon Hills teams. She stood crossed armed next to Allison, who simply just looked curious.

Scott shrugged and looked at Stiles and Liam, who seemed to be doing the same thing.

"We were just exploring."

Malia rolled her eyes as she turned around and leaned into Isaac, who had moved to stand next to her.

The ceremony started, and it wasn't anything special. They had endured three years of this ceremony and it was the same old thing every year. For lacrosse, they announced each team, where they were from, their rank in the league as well as team captains. For cheerleading, they did something similar, except they discussed past championships and wins.

Devenford cheer squad won too many to announce, which caused Allison to get very mad.

As the ceremony was over, each of the teams retreated to their dorms as tomorrow was the practice day. All the teams practiced in front of each other just to get a feel for each team's strength and the following day, the competitions started.

Stiles could not be more excited and pumped for the practice day tomorrow. He was ready to show Devenford and the other schools just what Beacon Hills was made of and how much they've improved.

As Stiles, Scott, and Allison made their way to their rooms, they accidentally got on the same elevator as Lydia.

She and Stiles exchanged awkward looks that thankfully went unnoticed by Allison, who was too absorbed and distracted by her conversation with Scott. She almost didn't notice the strawberry blonde.

Stiles and Scott looked at each other before they realized they had to get off on the second floor. Allison regretfully said goodbye, telling them both to get some sleep tonight.

As they left, Allison was stuck in the elevator alone with Lydia.

Allison still felt terrible about all the mean things she had said to Lydia in the diner, but she was too stubborn to actually apologize for it. Lydia didn't mind as much, but she just wished that the awkwardness would disappear.

"I'm sorry if I did anything to upset you." Lydia simply said, really unsure about if or what she should say in this situation. The elevator stopped, reaching the third floor, but neither made an effort to rush out.

Allison snapped her head in the direction of the girl, shocked at her words.

"You're apologizing to me?" Allison wondered incredulously. "I should be the one apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong."

Lydia looked away and shrugged.

"I must have done something to make you hate me so much." She muttered quietly, stepping out of the elevator and into the hallway.

Allison followed her. And not just because they were staying in the same room.

"Wait," Allison exclaimed, gently pulling Lydia's shoulder to stop her from walking any further. "Look, I should have apologized first. You didn't do anything but your job as a cheer captain and I was just…"

Lydia was waiting to hear what she had to say as Allison closed her eyes and sighed deeply, internally laughing to herself.

"I was just jealous of you," Allison admitted, opening her eyes to see Lydia. "I was extremely jealous of you because you've won literally every competition that we've ever competed in since our freshmen year and..you make it look so easy. You're a natural born leader and it took me a long time to become one. So, I was just envious of how well you could lead your team to success. I want so badly to be like you."

Lydia's eyebrows rose at the admission and she gave Allison a small look of sympathy. It must have been really hard to admit that to her rival.

"Wow," Lydia said, still shocked. "Thank you, I think...I guess I'm just surprised that other people saw me that way."

Allison laughed as the two girls began slowly walking to their room.

"Of course they do," She added. "It's amazing stuff you do out on the field. Perfect technique, original stunts and music...you're the real thing, Lydia Martin. All cheerleaders look up to you."

Lydia giggled as she unlocked their door and they both walked in.

"That means alot coming from you, Allison."

Malia stared at the two girls as they came in, confused as to how Allison and Lydia were suddenly friendly. Though, it seemed that Malia was also making friends with Lydia's teammate, Cora.

"Well, aren't you two being all friendly?" Malia said with a smirk on her face. Cora laughed along with her as Allison rolled her eyes. She looked to Lydia, who had a gentle smile on her face.

As Allison plopped next to Malia, introducing herself to Cora. Lydia just watched as Beacon Hills cheerleaders interacted with Devenford cheerleaders and was amazed at the sight. It was never seen before, but suddenly, Lydia realized she was seeming watching history, as an old time rivalry began to fade away right in their hotel room.

Lydia was happy that she was finally getting to know Allison and Malia, two of Stiles' closest friends. Talking to them was one step closer to her and Stiles' relationship being public. She only hoped that the Stiles, Scott, and the lacrosse team were doing the same.

It wasn't until Liam texted her that the lacrosse teams were fighting when she realized that the boys were never going to get along.

/

Not even ten minutes since Scott and Stiles left the elevator to go to their rooms until something went wrong. They walked along the hallway to see that Isaac was on the ground and Mason and Liam were standing in front of him, arguing with mysterious figures behind the door.

Isaac looked ready to fight until Scott and Stiles ran to his side, calming him down. They weren't surprised to see Ethan and Aiden standing there, arms crossed, with Brett to their side.

"Well if it isn't my two lovely roommates," Brett said with an evil smirk. "I was wondering if you two were going to come in at all."

It took everything in Stiles to not strangle him to death. He wanted him to pay for everything that he was doing to Lydia. She didn't deserve it.

Scott noticed Stiles' anger and put a hand on his shoulder. Stiles instantly untensed, only glaring at Brett and the twins now. They helped Isaac get up to his feet, asking if he was okay.

"Fine," He said, staring holes into Brett. "I'm fine."

Stiles crossed his arms together as more lacrosse players came out of their rooms to see the commotion.

"Just leave us alone, Brett, alright?" Stiles said firmly, standing his ground. Scott, Isaac, and Liam also stood their ground, as Mason hid quietly behind them.

Brett laughed coldly.

"And if I don't?"

Stiles felt his fist automatically clench, but was distracted as he heard the elevator ding. He turned to his left to see some familiar faces.

It was Allison, Malia, Kira, and Lydia. Wait what?

As the Beacon Hills boys were distracted by the girls' arrival, Brett took the opportunity in front of him.

He punched Scott square in the jaw.

"Oops," He said, laughing with Ethan and Aiden. "My bad, McCall."

Scott winced slightly as his hand touched his face, but he just glared harder at Brett. Suddenly, Allison was at his side asking if he was okay. He only nodded as he glanced at Stiles.

Stiles was seething, trying to restrain himself from doing anything he shouldn't.

Lydia made her way over to Liam who was on the right side of Stiles. She didn't want to make it look like she knew anyone on the Beacon Hills team besides Liam.

"Are you okay?" She asked Liam as she walked closer to him, fitting herself in between Liam and Stiles. But Lydia also rubbed Stiles' back comfortingly in a subtle way. It calmed him down and comforted him to see that even though they couldn't interact, Lydia was still trying to.

Liam nodded to her, giving Mason, who was witnessing Lydia touching Stiles, a deadly look. Mason only gulped as he nodded to his new found best friend.

Lydia suddenly removed her hand from Stiles' back and put them on her hips.

"Brett," She said, her voice venomous, causing the Devenford players to look at her with surprise. "Do you really have to do this now?"

All of sudden, Brett had an expression of guilt and embarrassment on his face, which shocked everyone around them. Stiles clenched his jaw, knowing that Brett was only listening to her because he had a stupid crush on Lydia.

"Sorry, Lydia," Brett spluttered out dumbly, his face turning a bright red. "Y-You're right. We, uh, can save it for the field."

Malia, meanwhile, looked over to her new friend, Cora, who looked a tad uncomfortable. She kept stealing glances of Brett, but looked away after a second. Malia raised an eyebrow as she watched her.

Cora liked Brett.

Malia turned her attention to Brett, observing the looks that he was giving Lydia. He looked vulnerable in a way that Malia could never expect from a guy like Brett. He wanted to impress her, make good by her, or at least appear to.

Lydia simply rolled her eyes as she patted Liam's back. Liam earned a death stare from Brett as Lydia walked away from them, motioning Cora to follow her. Malia watched as Cora and Lydia began talking before heading back to the elevator. She gave a reassuring look to her friends before tugging Allison away from her boyfriend.

As she and Allison walked away, she saw all the lacrosse players retreating to their rooms, including Brett, who seemingly backed off pretty quickly after the run-in with Devenford's head cheerleader.

It wasn't until she and Allison got into the elevator that she realized it.

"Oh my God," She said aloud. "Brett likes Lydia."

Allison tilted her head to the side as she listened to her friend.

"What?"

Malia only shook her head, contemplating what that meant for Cora. She suddenly felt sympathy for her newfound friend, and she barely knew her. But she couldn't even imagine what it was like to see the boy you were crushing on to be in love with one of your best friends.

That night, Malia gave Cora a sad, but encouraging smile before the four girls went to bed. She watched as Lydia and Allison continued to talk about something amicably, and Malia suddenly realized why Brett liked her.

Lydia Martin was perfection in a girl. She was beautiful, but also smart and nice. She was a good leader, a good teammate, and a good friend. She was friendly, and could seemingly make friends with anyone that crossed her path.

Malia took a mental note to talk to Cora about Brett tomorrow between practicing. And with that, she fell asleep to the sound of Lydia and Allison's quiet laughter.

/

The Beacon Hills and Devenford cheer squads were actually getting along. They were stretching together in the morning, pairing up, and talking to girls on the opposite team. Allison and Lydia stood in front of them in a similar fashion, discussing how great this idea was.

"You know, I think I like it a whole lot better when we're not fighting," Lydia said with a smile on her face. "This is nice."

Allison nodded in agreement, watching both their squads get along just fine.

"Even with the competition, I think this is better for both of us," Allison added. "Probably even more for me. Beating you was like the one thing on my mind at all times during cheer seasons. I want to win so bad. But I think this takes off some pressure, and I feel a little bit better about our standing."

Lydia grinned as she clapped and told the girls to break off into their individual teams. Lydia and Allison separated to practice their girls on their own. Allison tried her best not to watch how Lydia led her squad, but it was incredibly hard. Even though they were friends now, she still wanted to know her leadership tactics.

Maybe after the classic she'd let her in on some secrets.

The boys, on the other hand, were not making any progress with each other.

Stiles noticed that two cheer squads were friendly with each other, but the lacrosse teams were not having it. As soon as both teams got on the field, they broke off immediately to their separate teams, not even acknowledging each other.

Well okay, and Brett was still giving him a death glare, but what's new?

Both teams began practicing, and Stiles noticed that Brett couldn't help but stop and watch. Stiles smirked at Scott who noticed the same thing as him. A few of the other teams were looking at them as well, thoroughly confused and impressed at how much they had improved.

Stiles and Scott stepped off the field for a second to observe the other teams as Liam led drills on the field.

"Well we're definitely giving all these other teams something to look at." Scott remarked quietly, his arms crossed as they were observing a team from a neighboring town.

Stiles only smiled.

"Yeah, something to worry about, too," He said. "So, I was looking at the bracket, and because we did so poorly last year, we're super low on there."

Scott shrugged. They both had expected it.

"How many teams do we have to beat to get on top with Devenford?"

Stiles shook his head to himself.

"A lot," He stated. "Tomorrow morning, we play Harold Stevens Prep. After that, we have eight more teams to beat until Sunday."

Scott internally flinched at the number. Eight teams were a lot, and he was starting to wonder how they could actually pull this off.

"That's a lot, Stiles. That's almost all of the teams here," Scott said to him. "Do you think our guys will be able to handle it?"

Stiles crossed his arms.

"I want to beat Devenford so bad, Scott. You have no idea," He told his best friend, briefly glancing at Lydia, who was clapping and shouting out counts to her squad. "For more reason than one. And I know it's going to be difficult, but I believe in us. We've been working really hard and we've already caught the attention of every other team on the first day."

Stiles suddenly nodded to himself, as to remind him that this was going to work.

"We got this, Scotty."

/

After a long day of practicing, all the teams had the night off before competitions began the next day.

Stiles, Scott, and the rest of their friends decided to go out and explore.

"Where should we go?" Kira asked the group excitedly. Scott slung his arm around Allison as he shrugged.

"Honestly, no idea. There's a couple of cool places around here, I think."

Isaac was holding Malia's hand when he spoke up.

"Well I remember seeing this really cool recreational place a few blocks away from here. It was kinda small and low key, so I don't think any of the other schools would go there," He said, smiling down at his girlfriend. "They'll all probably try to get into bars or something. But this place has a lot of fun things. They have an arcade, bowling, and mini golf."

Allison grinned as she grabbed ahold of Scott's hand.

"We should go there!" She exclaimed, backing up Isaac's idea.

The rest of the group seemed to agree.

"Hey, is it alright if we invite Liam and Mason?" Stiles asked his friends real quick. "I just want them to have fun with the rest of us."

The group agreed wholeheartedly. But then.

"Hey, wait, why don't I invite Lydia and Cora, then?" Allison suggested with a smile. "No worries, Lydia and I are like friends now. And Cora seems super cool too. It wouldn't hurt to get to know them a little more, right?"

Stiles tried to hide how quickly his body tensed up at the mention of Lydia's name. He and Scott exchanged looks before they realized that the rest of their friend group had already agreed that it was okay for the two Devenford cheerleaders to join them.

"Stiles, could you text Liam?" Malia asked as she held her phone to text Cora. "We'll be leaving in a bit."

Stiles gulped and nodded.

Stiles Stilinski (3:54pm): Hey, man. Scott and the rest of us are wondering if you and Mason wanted to tag along with us to go out tonight. We're going to some game place. Should be fun. Meet us down in the lobby asap.

Stiles Stilinski (3:55pm): Please come. Allison just invited Lydia and her friend Cora to come with us too. I don't know how I'm going to pull this off.

A few seconds later, Stiles got a text back.

Liam Dunbar (3:56pm): Mason and I are on our way down. To the rescue!

Stiles let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding. The group talked amongst themselves for a while until Lydia, Cora, Mason, and Liam all showed up at the same time. They were talking as they got off the elevator, smiling as they saw the rest of the group waiting for them.

"Lydia!" Allison greeted with a smile. "I'm really glad you could make it.

Allison turned to the rest of the group.

"Guys, I know this is weird, but this is Lydia, the head cheerleader of Devenford's cheer squad. She's super awesome," Allison said. "And this is Cora, a member of the squad. She's really cool too."

Allison then introduced everyone to the two girls before they head off. It took everything in Stiles not to stare at Lydia for too long. She seemed to be doing a pretty good job of pretending not to know Stiles though.

They had finally arrived to the game place. They all paid the money which gave them access to a million different things like bowling, mini golf, and an arcade. There was almost no one else there too, and they basically had the place to themselves.

"Ally, want to bowl?" Scott asked as he and Stiles started to set up a lane. Liam and Mason were already sitting, getting their bowling shoes on. Allison stopped talking to Lydia, who was walking with her. She noticed that Kira, Malia, Isaac, and Cora were off to start with mini golf. Allison shrugged.

"Sure, why not." She said. She turned to Lydia with a smile. "You like bowling?"

Lydia laughed as she shrugged in response.

"I like bowling."

They started the game, and everyone playing soon realized that Allison and Liam sucked, Scott and Mason were decent, but Stiles and Lydia were really, really good.

"Lydia, you are so good at this!" Allison said with a giggle as they looked up to the scoreboard. Lydia and Stiles were basically tied.

As Lydia's turn was over, she started to feel hungry. Everyone seemed to agree with her.

"I can go get a pizza from food bar." Lydia offered. Allison nodded in response, about to get up to go with her. Stiles saw this and beat her to it.

"I can go with you," Stiles said, half smiling, trying not to look Allison in the eye. "Come on."

With that Stiles and Lydia got up to get pizza, and Allison sat back down next to Scott, her suspicious eyes following the pair until they were no longer out of sight.

As soon as they entered the food bar and no one could see them, Lydia hit Stiles' arm.

"Ow!" He exclaimed quietly. "What was that for?"

Lydia crossed her arms, looking around to make sure no one was around them.

"That was subtle! Not!" Lydia whispered. "Allison looked super suspicious."

Stiles shrugged his shoulders, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Whatever," He told her. "I mean she'll know eventually, right? We're going to figure this out and I'm going to tell the rest of my friends after the classic. And you are too. That's what we agreed, right?"

Lydia only nodded as she order a cheese pizza. She turned around as she was done, sighing.

"You know, I love that Allison and I are finally on good terms," Lydia started, grabbing his hand and holding it in hers. "But, now, I don't know I feel weird about hiding this. I don't know how we're doing this so well. Your friends are great."

Stiles and Lydia stood in silence, still holding hands. They only smiled at each other, just enjoying the presence of the other.

It wasn't until Scott ran into the bar that they broke apart slightly. Scott raised an eyebrow at them as he walked closer.

"You are lucky that I was the one to come check on you guys and not anyone else," He said, patting Stiles on the back. "Allison was worried that it was getting awkward for you two in here. Obviously not, because we know things she doesn't."

Lydia smiled awkwardly as she exchanged a look with Stiles. Then a thought crossed through her mind.

"Do you think Allison will be mad at me when she finds out about me and Stiles?" She asked Scott, genuinely curious.

Scott saw quiet for a second, actually thinking about it. He eventually shook his head.

"No, I don't think she'd be mad at you," Scott concluded. "Stiles, though…"

Stiles rolled his eyes and punched Scott's arm.

"Thanks, Scotty."

As soon as the pizza was done and served, Lydia picked it up, following Stiles and Scott back outside to their friends where they ate and continued to bowl.

Lydia ended up winning the game, to Stiles' dismay, and Stiles had to force himself to hide the smile that he wanted to give her. As they finished the pizza, Isaac, Kira, Malia, and Cora came back from mini golfing.

After switching, in which Lydia, Allison, Scott, Stiles, Mason, and Liam mini golfed and Malia, Cora, Kira, and Isaac bowled, the group decided to head out. They wanted to be at their best for the competition tomorrow.

Everyone said goodbye as they reached the hotel and had depart ways in the elevator. The boys got off on the second floor, bidding farewells to the girls. Stiles had to mindfully not look at Lydia as the door closed and her figure disappeared from his line of sight.

As Allison, Malia, Cora, Lydia, and Kira got up to the third floor, Kira disappeared in her room as the four other girls walked to theirs. Malia and Cora were heatedly discussing something about basketball while Allison and Lydia were laughing about one of the guys on the Devenford lacrosse team.

"You and Stiles seemed to really click tonight," Allison casually added as they entered the room. "I could totally set you guys up after the classic."

Lydia felt a bead of sweat form on the back of her neck. Lydia didn't really have to lie to anyone at school to keep her relationship with Stiles a secret. She only did a good job of keeping her demeanor constant, which was very hard since Stiles was such a gentleman. She had stop herself from smiling at his text messages during class or thinking about the night before when they just relaxed in her bed. But she never had to outright lie. Not until today.

This was it: the performance of her lifetime.

"Oh, I don't know…" Lydia muttered, lying straight through her teeth. "I mean, we're all getting along now, but there's still that school rivalry between Beacon Hills and Devenford. We don't want a Romeo and Juliet situation on our hands."

Allison and Lydia laughed together at her joke, making Lydia a little bit more comfortable. But she still didn't like the lying.

"Oh come on," Allison pushed, knocking her shoulder with Lydia's in a playful manner. "I think you would do Stiles some good."

Lydia smiled sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head and wiped the sweat off her neck.

"I'll think about it."

Allison smiled brightly with satisfaction, grabbing a few things before running to the bathroom. Lydia looked over to Malia and Cora, who were still immersed in their own conversation to care about what Lydia was thinking about.

She thought about Stiles and how great things were going. She thought about Allison and lying to her. She thought about how much harder it was going to be this week.

So much harder.