Series: Old Flames & New Loves
Chapter: 2
Words: 1,579
A/N: Thanks @the100-captainswan and @trolling-since-chernobyl for your help
“I’m sorry?” Lydia asked, stunned. She waited for him to change his statement as she closed the front door behind him. They were on the way to Lydia’s living room. “You have a what, now?” Lydia crossed her arms, clearly judging Derek’s priorities.
“I uh…” Derek cleared his throat. “I have a date?” He sounded conflicted. Normally Derek wasn’t one to present himself as anything other than confident. This time, however, it was Lydia he was talking to. Ever since Jordan left them, Derek made it a point to make sure he and Lydia didn’t go their separate ways. Derek was determined to be the best friend she could ever ask for, and he was. They both were.
Lydia gasped, jokingly. She could never be mad at him in reality. Well, probably not. It hadn’t happened yet and neither planned on that moment ever occurring. Derek knew better than to upset Lydia. “Cancel.” She said it so effortlessly and Derek couldn’t tell if she was still joking or not.
“I’m sorry, what?” He laughed in her face. “Clearly you’re delusional if you think I’m actually going to cancel on Cindy when I finally got her to go out with me! It’s been a long time coming, Lydia. Don’t mess this up for me.”
“Aw, it’s alright.” She reached out and touched Derek’s shoulder. “You’ll end up doing that all on your own. Now cancel.” She refused to take no for an answer. Not this time.
“What is so important that I can’t get happy tonight?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Lydia spoke softly and began to walk away from Derek as he looked at her suspiciously. “It’s a surprise.”
“What? Lydia, no.” Derek grabbed her wrist and spun her around, making her look at him as she spoke. He needed to be able to use his BS detector, and he could never do that with Lydia unless he could see her face. “If I’m going to cancel on Cindy, I need a valid explanation.”
“Fine,” she rolled her eyes. “We have a guest coming here in less than an hour. Go get out of that goofy dress shirt, and put on something comfortable. We’re not going five star tonight.”
“Who’s coming and what are we doing?”
“I was thinking maybe something super casual.” An alarm went off and Lydia strutted to the kitchen, humming. It’d been a while since Derek had seen Lydia so…exuberant. It was weird, but he liked it. He followed Lydia into the kitchen and saw what looked like he was walking back down memory lane. There were tortilla chips everywhere, salsa and spinach dips, pizza, and even a box of unpopped kettle corn on the counter.
“Dude.” Derek grinned. “Either we’re celebrating something tonight, or…” He studied Lydia’s excitement once more. “No way.”
The doorbell rang, and though still suspicious of Lydia’s behavior Derek headed off to answer the door. Lydia listened for Derek’s outburst. It was only a matter of time before it happened.
“BRO!” Derek yelled. Jordan was taken aback. He had barely spoken twenty words to Derek in six years. How could Derek actually be that excited? Lydia smiled. Her job was obviously done, so she met the guys in the living room where Jordan was incredibly silent. Derek was rambling about how good it was to see him. “Dude, we’re the Awesome Threesome again!”
Lydia cleared her throat, leaning against the wall. “Again with the Awesome Threesome, Derek?” She yearned for Derek to just shut up with that name for their trio. It would never catch on, and honestly it was the last thing she would ever want to use to describe the relationship. “Give it a rest,” she laughed mainly to herself. Lydia pushed her weight off of the wall and approached the couch Derek had been sitting on. She settled herself next to him. “We don’t want to scare him away, right?” Lydia’s eyes found Jordan’s. Their gazes lingered a little too long for Derek’s comfort.
“So,” Derek intervened remembering Lydia’s demand. “I’m going to go change into something more comfortable. Don’t get started without me.” Derek ran up the stairs to his bedroom, leaving Jordan to marinate uncomfortably to what he suspected was Lydia’s intention for inviting him over. He assumed that she and Derek were looking for a kink in him that he couldn’t offer up.
Jordan rarely looked Lydia in the eye afterward. They were both quiet. Lydia figured something was wrong, but she just couldn’t place her finger on it. Derek ran back down the stairs in sweats, apparently trying to seem like he didn’t care too much about Jordan’s presence in the house. It didn’t work. They all knew nothing could contain Derek’s excitement.
“This is going to be much better than the night I had planned.” Derek sat so close to Lydia they might as well have been holding up a sign to Jordan that should’ve read: ‘Jealous yet?’ He absolutely was jealous, aimlessly. There was literally nothing he could be jealous of.
“You uh…” Jordan cleared his throat. “You had plans?” His eyes drifted between Derek and Lydia.
“I might’ve had a hot date.” Derek chuckled and winked over at Lydia. That definitely could’ve been taken out of context, and Jordan did. Lydia just laughed at him, sure to make Derek see her exaggerated eye rolling. Derek chuckled knowingly.
“How long have you two been…” Jordan’s voice trailed off. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer. He didn’t want to know how long they were in such a happy relationship. This whole situation was uncomfortable for him.
“We’ve been pretty much inseparable since you left us.” Lydia offered a light smile to Jordan. “He’s actually not as bad as I thought he would be.”
“Hey, I’m awesome!” Derek pretended to be insulted by Lydia’s comment, his hand over his chest and mouth hanging open. Lydia placed her hand under Derek’s chin, pushing upward to close his mouth for him. Jordan’s mind was racing. As if that wasn’t already too much to handle, when Lydia removed her hand from underneath Derek’s chin she rested it on his knee. Jordan’s eyes lingered on the physical interactions between his ex-girlfriend and his former best friend. Suddenly he was regretting ever having decided to join in on this reunion. Of course he wanted Lydia to be happy, but he couldn’t watch her be with Derek Hale, of all people. It hurt to even consider being part of that.
“Jordan? Are you okay?” Lydia may not have been around him for the last nine years, but she could still tell when something was bothering him. This was one of those moments. Jordan didn’t speak, just nodded in response. “Are you sure?”
She eyed Jordan’s foot. It was bouncing rapidly, kind of like in school when he was nervous about a test. He would tap his foot nonstop. Lydia always sat behind him on test days. He always calmed down when Lydia reached forward and rubbed his back. She recognized the signs, even now. He looked just like the seventeen-year-old terrified of failing and messing up his GPA.
“Derek, go get the chips and dip.” Lydia commanded just before he was about to say something else. Lydia was pretty sure nobody wanted to hear it. Derek crossed his arms at her. “Now.” He left, but not without first releasing a groan that usually would have made Lydia laugh. Not this time. As soon as Derek was out of sight, Lydia switched to the couch Jordan had been sitting on alone.
“Hey,” Lydia lifted her hand to his shoulder. “I recognize that look. Why are you so nervous?”
“I’m not—“ Jordan hadn’t noticed Lydia’s change of location until he felt that familiar circular motion against his shoulder blade. Her proximity was suddenly startling. He didn’t trust himself to be so close to Lydia when she clearly had a healthy happy relationship with another man. Even though that man was the best friend who Jordan believed betrayed him, he was determined to just keep his distance. “Um…” Jordan’s eyes caught Lydia’s, and he couldn’t find a way to break his gaze from hers. Instead, he just remained next to her too consumed by familiarity to want to change a thing. Or more specifically, all he wanted was for things to go back to the way they used to be. Lydia always by his side and Jordan always wondering how they were lucky enough to have found each other. Even now, he still wondered how he was so lucky to have run into Lydia again. The difference? How was Jordan to focus on anything other than his feelings for her when he was so certain that Lydia didn’t feel the same way?
“Clearly.” Lydia shook her head with a gentle smile sneaking onto her lips. Jordan should’ve known Lydia better than to think she would believe such a failed attempt at proving his durability. “Listen… I know it’s been a while, but I’m still here. Whenever you need me.” Jordan smiled slightly, nodding.
“Me too, bro.” Derek placed the bowl of warm chips onto the small table in front of the couch, and kept a second bowl for himself. Kettle corn. It was his go-to snack in high school as the trio would play video games together in Jordan’s bedroom.
“Uh… Thanks.” Jordan couldn’t get over how weird the night had been going. Nothing could make this any better.