The cafeteria smelled like overcooked fries and disinfectant, a weird mix of grease and something vaguely lemon-scented. Trays clattered, students talked over one another, and somewhere in the background, Stiles sat across from Scott, gesturing wildly with a fork in one hand, a half-eaten, unidentifiable piece of cafeteria meat on it. "So listen " Stiles said, speaking so fast the words tripped over each other. "We're down a player. I mean, this guy—Morgath the Mighty?—total flake. Just vanished. Poof!. We need a new guy. Just hear me out—" Scott was barely listening. His gaze locked on Allison Argent across the room, she laughed at something Jackson said. He hummed vaguely in response, maybe to Stiles, maybe just in awe of Allison’s existence. "Okay, see, you'd be a half-elf ranger. Cool, mysterious, kind of broody but in, like, a fun way. You get a bow! Legolas, dude! Legolas!" Stiles nearly choked on his food in excitement, waving his arms so much he almost knocked over his soda. Scott blinked, finally registering some of what Stiles was saying. "Wait, you're still on about that?" Stiles groaned. "No, Scott, I'm talking about life! The adventure you're missing because you're too busy drooling over Allison like some lovesick puppy!" Scott finally looked at him, smirking. "Says the guy who turns into a human pretzel every time Lydia Martin walks by." Stiles opened his mouth to argue—because, no, that was not the same thing—but when Lydia did walk by, and his brain short-circuited. Perfect everything, the kind of girl who looked like she belonged on the cover of a magazine. She didn’t even glance at him. Of course, she didn’t. Stiles was invisible to girls like Lydia. Scott grinned, shaking his head. "Yeah. Totally not a lovesick puppy." Stiles scowled. "This is different. My love is tragic. Yours is just gross." Scott laughed while Stiles stuffed a handful of fries in his mouth, already calculating how to convince someone else. Maybe Danny. Danny liked math. That was basically the same thing as D&D, right?