''Just stay in there, for the love of God, please''.
Scott practically growled at the pair, his eyes already glowing red in anticipation of the danger that was now following their scent.
Stiles huffed in exasperation, ready to argue his case but the door shut with a solid thump before his words could be spoken.
The boy growled himself. A knock came from the other side and Isaac's muffled instructions were heard through the steel.
"Lock the door and don't move! We'll come back when it's safe''.

Their pounding footsteps could be heard retreating until there was no sound but the breathing of the boy and the strawberry blonde haired girl.
Stiles backed away from the door, his body quickly coming into contact with the brick wall behind him - the tiny space they were in becoming smaller as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. A desk lined one small wall with old, rusted tools lying upon it. A ladder was propped against other and water pooled on the cement ground. His shoes were sodden and his feet were frozen.
The empty warehouse they were in seemed to circulate cold air and a chilled wind that came from an unknown source lifted strands of Lydia's hair - making it dance around her face.

Lydia.

Stiles moved towards the girl, her arms wrapped tightly around her body as goosebumps rose on the surface of her pale skin. Her eyes were wide, holding a mix of fear and annoyance at being left behind. Her mind roared with thoughts of her friends running head first into the danger that had been chasing them.
A pack of werewolves had been found just outside of town by Derek and within a week they had been battling for dominance. These wolves were problematic, they were twisted and dangerous - using humans for both their entertainment and food source. They hunted young girls for fun and turned anyone they deemed worthy. Scott had had enough.
Now, they were fighting the pack through a maze of old warehouses, the light was scarce and Scott had seen Stiles throw himself into danger too many times.
Both the boy and Lydia had been forced into the safest place their friends could find and neither were happy with it.

Lydia's thoughts of Allison outside with only her arrows were interrupted by the touch of Stiles' hand. She jumped slightly, moving out of his grasp.
He raised his eyebrows at her response.
She stared back at him with a furrowed brow and grim features, her annoyance at the situation being taken out on the only other person in the room with her.
"What?'' She snapped harshly, her hair falling out of its already messy bun as she jerked her head sharply towards Stiles, waiting for him to bite back.
The boy scoffed in response, his dark chuckle only infuriating the girl more.
"Look Lydia, I don't like being stuck in here either okay - but don't take it out on me.''
She ignored his reasonable words and brushed past him, placing her hands on the cool steel of the door. She glanced at the lock.

Stiles was behind her, she could feel his warm breath on her bare neck.
"Don't even think about it.'' Lydia rolled her eyes at his words.
"You may be a banshee but they'll still tear you limb from limb", his voice cracked at his own words, "Besides, you take one step outside that door and I'm coming with you-''
Lydia spun around, almost gasping at how close he was to her. Her nose was practically touching his chest, his body standing tall above her as amber eyes glared down at her with fierceness.
She cut him off before he could finish, "Not a chance in hell Stilinski, you're not walking out in the middle of a supernatural battle...''
He took a step back from the girl, his hand rubbing the back of his neck in agitation, he paced the small room, water splashing around him as he stalked the concrete floor. He stopped, turning to her suddenly.
"Why not, huh? Why do you get to go help our friends?'' He spoke with rising anger, his eyes turning into molten chocolate as his nostrils flared, "Because I'm only human right?''
Lydia protested immediately but her words were drowned out by the boys rant.
"Cause I'm not a werewolf right? I don't have super strength or fangs? I can't shoot arrows at someone's neck from over a hundred feet away and I can't predict death. I don't control electricity and cause mother wasn't a goddamn coyote! Huh?!''
He was closer to her now and she could see the pain etched into his face, the frustration that he felt, Lydia felt inside her too. He moved away once more and her heart tugged in his direction.

Stiles slumped against the damp wall, his feet hardly bothering to hold his own body up. He looked at her, a defeated and bitter expression on his tired face.
"I'm just the human right? I'm not any use to anyone-''
"Shut up!''
Lydia thrashed her way through the cold water to stand before him, their faces at the same level as Stiles continued to slide down the bricks behind him.
He stared back at her in a way that made her shiver.
"Stiles you're not useless, you're-''
He opened his mouth once more, probably to argue, but Lydia cut him off. Her eyes were wide and she raised one perfectly arched eyebrow at him; daring him to speak over her.
He didn't.

"Stiles, you are not useless'', she repeated clearly, "You are important to all of us, we couldn't plan half of the crazy things we do without you and we certainly couldn't pull it off without your help!''
The boy scoffed and looked down to the ground, watching as the cloudy water rippled around the soles of his shoes.
Lydia sighed impatiently and moved closer, placing two hands on his face, tilting it upwards until his chocolate eyes met her own hazel ones. She frowned at him and all he could think of was how adorable she looked. Lydia opened her mouth to continue her rant but she hesitated and a blush took over her. The light was limited and dim but Stiles saw and it piqued his ever present curiosity.
He held her gaze with dark, hooded eyes.

Lydia took a deep breath and threw her words at the boy with abandon, "Stiles, to paraphrase a guy I now know very, very well… If you got hurt, or worse, I would quite literally go out of my mind''. The girl met his stare and refused to even blink, her wide eyes giving away all the emotions she still couldn't quite say out loud.
Stiles slowly let out the breath he wasn't aware he had been holding, looking down at the girl in awe. His own words had been thrown back at him and his mind raced with the memories of that night.
"Lydia...''
She stepped away from him, backing towards the opposite wall until her back hit the cold steel of the door. The key jangled in its lock and more strands of auburn hair fell out of her bun. She flicked them away from her face impatiently, her eyes staring at the crumbling bricks beside Stiles' head.
A roar and a bang could be heard from above them and she flinched.

Her voice was almost a whisper when she finally met his gaze once more. Lydia's eyes were softer and she bit her full bottom lip out of habit.
"Stiles, you could be a freaking alpha, a true alpha - and I would still refuse to let you walk into danger''. She swallowed the strangled noise that rose to her throat, horror invading her thoughts as images of Stiles in danger flooded her mind.
"You could have wings, Stiles! Wings and super senses and an invisibility cloak but I would still be hanging on to your leg, screaming and shouting to hell and back, before I let you face something that could hurt you''. Her voice cracked and her lip wobbled dangerously.
She dropped her gaze to the floor.
Lydia heard rather than seen Stiles slowly splash his way over to her, his steps wary and one hand outstretched to warn her of his presence. This time, when he placed his hand around the small dip of her waist, she didn't move away.

He pulled the girl into him, holding her tightly in his arms as yells echoed around them from every direction. He swayed gently with her, trying to soothe the building panic he saw in her features. The shouts and yells of pain and fear soon died down once more and Lydia stilled.
Stiles marvelled at how small the strawberry blonde was beside him, how she fit in his arms perfectly, how she was the perfect height for him to rest in chin on her tumbling curls.
He sighed into her hair and in return, Lydia burrowed her face further into his shirt.
"I'm sorry''.
The girl merely nodded, understanding that his frustrations were not aimed at her.
"I'm sorry too'', Lydia whispered, "I didn't mean to you know… freak out like that". Her voice cracked once more and her breath hitched, wobbling precariously on the edge of tears.
Stiles hushed her and pulled her closer into him, one large hand slipping comfortingly into the open neck of her cardigan. He rubbed gentle circles into her skin, listening as her breathing calmed.
Her voice was hoarse as she continued, whispering to him her secrets.
"I would you know", she murmured vaguely, "I would go crazy if something, if you… got hurt". She flinched against the hard planes of muscle under his shirt. His arms wound impossibly tighter around her waist.
"I don't think I've ever told you that before''.
Stiles just smiled against her cheek, letting her silently know that he was already, very much aware of that fact.

He drew back from her slightly, their foreheads bumping and their noses brushing against each others. A sad smile played on the boy's lips and he laughed humorlessly when he asked the girl, "Why do we have to find ourselves in life threatening situations to tell each other we care?"
Lydia smirked in return, leaning into him and winding her hands into the hem of his t-shirt.
"I know you care already, Stilinski, you made me aware of that fact in the third grade - supernatural dangers not needed".
Stiles laughed gently and ran his hands along her back, listening carefully for the almost silent purr of satisfaction she always gave him.
Lydia muffled a small moan underneath a breathy sigh.
There it was.

He smirked, "Well if supernatural threats is needed… you should be falling completely in love with me the next time we have a homicidal lizard attack our town''.
She giggled, pressing her lips to the sensitive skin on his neck without thinking.
"It might be a little sooner than that".