"Allison!" Lydia shouted as she rose from her bed in the middle of the night. Her forehead was lined with beads of perspiration, and tears were threatening to spill from her weary eyes. She had an excruciating nightmare once again, and it was the same familiar one. But it felt so real. She was watching her best friend get stabbed in the torso right in front of her eyes, but she couldn't move a muscle, couldn't do anything to prevent Allison's demise. It was weeks after the incident happened, but Lydia still couldn't shake that painful memory off her mind.

Her mother was probably out late again, so Lydia was all alone at home. She felt so afraid, but there was no one at home to comfort her. Aiden was gone as well, and she just needed someone to talk to. Without much thought, Lydia picked up her phone and selected a number from her contact list.

After waiting for a few seconds or so, she thought, "Why am I calling him? He's probably sound asleep by now. This was a mistake." Then, as if to give Lydia an answer, the call was picked up.

"Hey, Stiles?" Lydia said in a flustered manner. "I'm so sorry if I woke you up, I don't know what I was th-"

"HEY, Lydia, it's okay," Stiles interrupted, but sounding as comforting as he possibly could. "You can totally call me anytime you want. I'm here for you. So, are you okay? What happened?"

Lydia felt her heartbeat slow down as she heard Stiles' calming, soothing voice.

"It's nothing, I just had a nightmare. The same nightmare as the ones I've been having lately, actually. They're about Allison," the redhead said, and then she paused. "It felt so real. It felt as if I was watching her die right in front of my eyes. And I couldn't do anything."

Stiles was also having horrific nightmares, in fact. About losing his loved ones. One night it was his dad, one night it was Allison, and the worst one was when it was about losing Lydia, whom he cared for the most. His dad would hear his frantic screams at night and go to his bed and calm him down. At least Stiles had his dad. Lydia had no one now, with her mother hardly at home. Stiles had to try to cheer her up, make her feel better.

"Maybe it's one of your mystical banshee powers or something," Stiles joked. "You get to watch your loved ones die over and over again."

"Well, then being a banshee really, really sucks." Lydia replied. "Almost makes me want to become a werewolf instead."

"You would definitely make the fiercest, most badass werewolf," Stiles said. "Even Derek would whimper if he heard you howl."

Lydia laughed, and Stiles could see that familiar charming smile on that beautiful girl's face even a few miles away, from his own room. It made him smile too.

Then for the next hour or so, they were discussing what kind of creatures their friends should actually be, like Scott being a were-bunny because he's really just so sweet and kind and caring. They talked about what they missed most, from back when they knew zilch about werewolves and banshees.

"I just miss feeling like I knew everything about the world," Lydia reminisced. "I pretty much did, you know."

"I know," Stiles laughed.

"Until all this started. This mythological madness became real, with everything from kanimas to kitsunes. I just can't look at the world the same way again," the teen genius sighed. "I feel so unsure, so uninformed about everything."

"I completely agree. Back then my greatest worry was pass-ing Chemistry." Stiles said, rolling his eyes. Lydia gave her adorable laugh again, which made Stiles feel like hugging her through the phone.

"But seriously," Stiles added. "I still need to pass Chemistry this year."

"Hey, you could totally just drop by my house after school," Lydia suggested. "I could tutor you or something, if you'd like."

"Yeah! That would be amazing." Stiles answered spontaneously. He imagined what it would be like spending hours after school at his crush's house. His heart rate increased, and he had a warm fuzzy feeling in his stomach.

"You're a lifesaver, Lydia. I love you." He said a bit too quickly. "I mean, uh, yeah. Like, as a friend, you know. Friend love. I love you like a brother. Bro."

Lydia suppressed a chuckle. She had grown to adore his goofy awkwardness. "Well, it's 3 a.m., and we have school today, so I think we both should get some sleep."

"Yeah, totally." Stiles replied. "Goodnight, don't let the ladybugs bite."

"It's bedbugs, Stiles," Lydia kind of gave him a side-eye. "Not ladybugs."

"Uh… I so knew that." Stiles lied.

"Anyway, Stiles, thanks." Lydia paused. "For listening to me and talking to me. I feel much better now."

"Anytime," he said. "Just give me a call or text me, okay?"

"Sure," Lydia said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Stiles couldn't smiling as he hung up the phone.

That was probably the longest conversation he's had with the cute and clever girl. He was probably going to get some sweet dreams. That is, if he was even able to get any sleep before it was for time for school.