"Are you ready?"
Stiles ask Lydia, leaning into the doorway. Lydia snaps around and grabs her purse from her bed.
"Yes, let's go!"
She says good night to her roommate Liv and walks past Stiles in her 5-inch heals. Stiles waves to Liv wishing her a good night as well. Liv flushes and waves back. Stiles close the door behind him and catch up to Lydia that's already by the front door that leads into the dorm room corridor. Lydia picks up her phone and starts to scramble thru the texts she's been receiving about tonight's frat party. Lydia got invited by a jock named Seth. She of course said she come if she could bring her best friend. Seth said yes and texted her the details. Lydia opens the text and looks up at Stiles.
"So, are you sure you can find this place?"
Stiles shrug his shoulders and opens the door for her.
"Just give me the address and I'll find it!"
He says as they walk to his jeep.
Lydia and Stiles has been at collage for almost one month. They ended up in the same town for collage. Scott got a scholarship for lacrosse at a collage in LA. Malia didn't want to continue studying for now and settled on doing a road trip around the country with a newfound friend named Jill. Stiles and Lydia at the other side of the country in New York. Lydia got into Harvard and Stanford but she wasn't really into that math, she wanted to focus on other things like helping people, she's seen so many people get hurt or sick that she decided to focus on medicine instead, she found a great program for medicine at the New York university, and of course she didn't want to move so far away from Stiles.
Ever since he rescued her from Eichen she's been starting to feel something more for the boy. He's not the guy that had a crush on her and wouldn't leave her alone, he's grown into a man, a man that cares for her so much that he would go thru hell for her. Lydia wasn't sure if he felt that way to so she never acted on her feelings even though he asked her to prom, she was so sure she would get a sign from him but no. He's her best friend and she doesn't want to ruin that so she just pushed those feelings away for now.
Stiles' going at the same university as Lydia but focusing on law enforcement. Stiles, of course, still has those feelings for Lydia that never went away. He thinks Lydia just wants to be friends with everything that went on in Beacon Hills and Lydia finding a great friend in Malia, he didn't want to ruin that for her since she lost Allison and then Kira, Lydia needed a girl friend and Stiles thought it would be awkward if he asked Lydia out right after Malia and him broke up. He settled for friends.
They jumped into his car, Stiles in a blue shirt and black jeans with white sneakers, Lydia in a light blue, of the shoulder, dress that ended on her thigh, 5-inch white heels and a black purse, her hair curly. They arrive at the house and it's a full ongoing party. Stiles parks the car on the street and Lydia jumps out to the sidewalk, Stiles walks up to her and he looks her down and up smiling.
"You look really nice."
Lydia's cheeks turn a little pink when she do the same thing on Stiles.
"You too!"
Stiles lend out his arm for Lydia to take, they walk up to the front door and a very big guard halts them. Lydia picks up her phone to show the invite and they walk thru the door.
They've been on two other frat parties this month but never at this location. The big white mansion is almost intimidating. A big white staircase that leads up for three floors in the middle of the hallway. To the right is the big kitchen that's full of people drinking out of red cups and a lot of booze on the kitchen counter, to the left a big living room area with a DJ in the center and people dancing. Behind the staircase, what looks like two bathrooms, one with a boy on and one with a girl on.
The guy that invited Lydia, Seth, shoves them into the kitchen. He pores them drinks.
"Glad you made it!"
Shouting across the counter because the loud music makes it hard to talk in a normal pitch. Lydia smiles and nods and takes a sip of her cup. Stiles decides he can drink 2 beers but after that it's enough so he can drive them home later. Lydia's hand never leaves Stiles arm, she's a little uncomfortable with all this people and some guys that stairs at her like she's some kind of meat. Back in Beacon Hills in high school she would do anything for the boys to stair at her like that but now not so much. She's been thru so much the last year that she really just need one guy's attention and she's holding his arm right now. Stiles looks around to find some place they can sit down, he sees a white leather sofa in the living room area, pushed into the wall. Two other girls sitting on it but there's place for one more. He starts waking and Lydia's right behind him never letting him go. He gestures to Lydia that she should sit down and so she does. She greets the two girls that are sitting next to her and one of them reaches out her hand for Lydia to shake.
"Hi, I'm Ally!"
Lydia nods.
"Lydia! This is Stiles."
Stiles gives her a wave and he looks around the room to see if he recognize someone. The other girl stands up and walks up to Stiles, grabs his hand and drags him out on the dance floor. Lydia shrugs at the act but she doesn't want to seam jealous or anything, it's not like his her boyfriend.
"Oh, Nat seams very interested in your friend."
Ally shouts over the music and Lydia looks down at her drink.
In a few minutes a guy walks up to Lydia and sits on the living room table across from her. He places his hand on her leg and Lydia frowns, yelling.
"What are you doing?"
She kicks his hand away from her leg and stands up, the guy stands up right after.
"You seamed a little bored so I figured I'll ask you to dance."
Lydia shocks her head.
"I already have a dance partner!"
She went out on the dance floor looking for the blue shirt that she had given Stiles on his birthday. She finds him dancing with that Nat girl and she grabs his shoulder and places her hands around his neck. Nat disappears into the crowd of people. Stiles look down at Lydia with worry in his eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Lydia shakes her head.
"Just some guy flirting very inappropriately with me. I'm so over that."
Stiles smiles, he's happy she finally realized she's to good for those kinds of boys. Lydia snuggle her nose into his chest and lets him embrace her into his arms. Even though it's mostly house music playing Stiles and Lydia slow dance instead.
After a few songs Stiles looks down at Lydia.
"You want some more to drink?"
Lydia nods and walks behind Stiles never letting go of his hand. Stiles doesn't let go of hers either because he can feel that Lydia's really uncomfortable here. They reach the kitchen and Stiles pore Lydia a drink as she gives death stairs at all the girls looking at Stiles. Stiles can't hide the smile he feels crawling up his mouth. Lydia shoved the drink and begs for one more. Guy after guy walking up to Lydia to flirt or ask for her number but she just holds Stiles hand and pushes the guys away.
After a few hours of dancing and socializing a little, Lydia decides that it's enough for the night and she walks to Stiles jeep holding his arm. Stiles have to lift her in because she's a little unsteady on her feet from the alcohol. He starts the jeep and drives out to the street. Lydia reaches for Stiles hand and intertwine her fingers with his. He looks down at them and smiles.
"So were you a little jealous back there?"
Lydia turns her head to look out the window, feeling her checks turning red.
"Nooo…"
She doesn't let go of his hand though.
"I just… I just didn't think those girls are for you, you deserve better then those sluty ones."
Stiles chuckles and stops at a red-light, he turns to face her.
"So, what kind of girl do I deserve?"
Lydia knows he's playing with her. But she's a little drunk so she snaps her head to him and narrows her eyes.
"I think you probably know that yourself…"
Stiles turns to the light and let's go of her hand to make a left turn. Lydia looks forward biting her lip because she knows she just said too much.
"Okey, but who would you pick out for me to date if you got to?"
He says glancing over at Lydia. She looks down at her hands feeling a little embarrassed that she really just wants to say herself but she knows she has to twist the words so it doesn't sounds like she's describing herself. She fumbles with her fingers.
"Hmm… Someone that's not a werecayote or a werewolf. A girl that challenge you and that appreciates you."
"Okay. If you find her let me know."
He glances over at Lydia again and smiles. Lydia looks out the window again not wanting to face him. She turns on the radio so it won't be so awkward the rest of the drive home.
Stiles pull up to the parking lot and jumps out of the car. He walks around to help Lydia. After a few steps she realizes that she's probably a little more drunk then she thought, because she stumbles and almost twists her ankle. Stiles get a hold of her arm before she falls.
"Hey, you can't walk in those when you're drunk."
He points at the shoes.
"Well what should I do? I need to get inside."
She narrows her eyes at him. Stiles pats his back.
"Jump up, I'll carry you inside."
With a big smile on his face, Lydia can't resist how cute he is when he smiles. She jumps up on his back. She feels butterflies in her stomach because she can smell his hair and his cologne and he smells wonderful. Her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Stiles, a little chocked she agreed so quickly, because he often has to persuade her and it can take minutes. He likes having her so close, one of her curls is hanging next to him and he can smell the strawberry shampoo she always uses and he just wants to put his nose in her hair and smell it. Lydia places her face on his shoulder and whispers as they walk inside.
"Thanks for being my knight in shining armor. I like you…"
Her eyes are shut and Stiles looks at her face, she seems to be falling asleep. He's not sure she actually said it. She probably won't even remember it anyway tomorrow. Stiles a little flabbergasted at her words, if she said them, starts to think that she might feel the same way as he dose, she's been really attach to him the hole night, and Stiles noticed how she never wanted to let him go. He's not going to ask her about it, this time he really wants Lydia to confess her feelings to him first, because if this is all in his head he doesn't want to be rejected again. If she just wants to be friends he's okay with that. He stops outside her door and he head bumps Lydia's head carefully so she wakes up.
"Mm mm… What?"
Her eyes still shut.
"You're home, where's your key?"
Lydia starts sliding of his back and leans against the door searching for the key in her purse.
"I found it!"
Stiles hushes her because she almost screams when she pulls up her key and the dorm hallway is supposed to be quiet at eleven, it's one in the morning. Lydia hands Stiles the key and she leans against his arm. He opens the door for her to get in but she doesn't move. He has to shove her inside but she gets a grip on his arm and leans back against the door.
"Stay with me!"
Stiles once again flabbergasted at her words, this time he didn't imagine it. Stiles smiles and shook he's head.
"Lydia, your drunk! You will regret this in the morning."
Lydia shakes her head her lip between her teeth she lays her palm on his chest.
"No I will not. I want you to stay with me."
Stiles nods over to Liv's bed and winks at Lydia.
"Your roommate's sleeping. And so should you."
He gets her to her bed and he kisses her cheek and whispers in her ear.
"Good night beautiful!"
Lydia shivers at those words. He's never said it to her since he said she's beautiful when she cries. He walks out and closes the door, Lydia left standing in her room. A few minutes' walks by and she's just trying to process what he just said. Did he really just say that or did she imagine the word beautiful? She wants to run out and down to his dorm but he's probably already there going to sleep. She takes of her shoes and curl up under her comforter trying to go to sleep. She's a little embarrassed that she had asked him to stay with her, she wasn't sure he really was into her, they are best friends after all. Oh hope he doesn't remember this tomorrow. Her eyes shut rather quickly and she dreams about Stiles cute face.
"Lydia… Wake up."
Lydia heard a voice in her ear whispering. She opens her eyes and sees two brown eyes burning into hers. She jumps up and gasps for air, what happens last night? Had Stiles come back to sleep with her or had she walked down to his room? She looked around the room, no she was still in her own. Stiles sat on the floor with two coffee cups and a chocolate muffin in his hand.
"Stiles… What are you doing here? And how did you get in?"
Stiles gave her one of the coffee cups.
"I know you need coffee for the hangover and Liv let me in."
He tilted his head against Liv, sitting at her desk. Lydia took a sip out of her coffee. She realized she must look like a train wreck so she cover her face with her arm.
"Stiles you can't see me like this!"
Stiles chuckled.
"Why?"
She got out of bed trying to find some clothes.
"Because I probably look like a train wreck…"
Stiles jump up on the bed and take a sip of his coffee.
"I've seen you look worse. By the way I think you look cute."
Lydia snaps around and she can't hide the small smile that's growing.
"Really?"
Stiles shrug his shoulder.
"I'm your best friend I have to say that."
He winks at her, she throws a red shirt at him. She starts to make her way to the bathroom.
"Lydia, I'll see you for lunch in two hours I have some things I have to do now."
Lydia sighs and turns around.
"Fine. Pick me up then!"
He nods and winks at Liv leaving the room. When Lydia walks out from the bathroom 45 minutes later Liv's turning to face her.
"Hey Lydia…"
Lydia places her dress in the laundry basket.
"Yeah?"
"Is Stiles single?"
Lydia shrugs. Is Liv interested in Stiles? She wouldn't blame her, who wouldn't be into him?
"Eh, yeah… How come?"
"Well… He just seem so nice and kind and he's really cute and handsome."
Lydia's heart starts beating faster. She can feel the jealousy washing over her.
"Eh yes he is… You want to date him?"
Liv shrugs her shoulder and blushes.
"I don't know. Should I ask him out?"
Lydia turns her back to Liv and she can feel her hands start to sweat. No she can't date Stiles. But what if he turns her down then it would be okay to say yes, but poor Liv she would be devastated to be turn down. What should she say?
"Eh, I guess you could ask him if you wanted to."
Her face turning red. Liv smiles and goes for her phone.
"Okay. I'll text him."
Lydia excused her and walks into the bathroom again to hide the tears from Liv.
Liv knocked on the door a few minutes later.
"Lydia, I'm going to meet Stiles, he wanted to talk to me. Wish me luck."
Lydia's tears falling down her cheeks. That's what she gets for not telling him how she wanted to be the girl that he dated. Lydia walked out the dorm room and out to the park that's right next to the dorm. She felt like walking of the hangover and she listened to all love ballads she could find on Spotify, sad and happy ones. Every time a sad ballad came on she could feel tears in her eyes. Why hadn't she told him, why? She was walking and walking and forgot about the time when her phone buzzed. She picked it up and saw the time 12.30. Stiles were going to pick her up for lunch an half hour ago. It was Stiles calling.
"Lydia, where are you? I've been outside your room for 30 minutes."
"Sorry I'm at the park. Walking of the hangover. I'll be right there…"
She hangs up and jogged to the dorms. Stiles is outside, waiting.
"Sorry I forgot the time. Where's Liv?"
"Okay that's fine. I don't know."
They jumped into the Jeep and Stiles started to drive.
"So where are we going?"
Lydia asked with a lump in her throat.
"It's a surprise!"
Lydia narrowed her eyes.
"You know I hate surprises.."
"Yeah but I think you will love this one."
Lydia wanted to ask about Liv but didn't know how to start. She fumbles with her fingers and just blurs it out.
"So, did you talk to Liv?"
"Eh, yes…"
"Okay… What she say?"
"She asked me out…"
Lydia looks down at her hands, she could feel her face turning red of jealousy. Stiles looked at her and he knew she was jealous so he decided to get her out of her misery.
"But I turned her down."
Lydia, to quick with the smile.
"Really. Why?"
She didn't want to sound to excited.
"I like someone else."
Lydia's smile disappears as quickly as it came out. He likes someone else, of course he dose. She looked out her window as Stiles pulled up at a parking lot next to a small park. Lydia jump out the car and Stiles pull out a blindfold for her to place over her eyes. She hesitates for a few minutes, arguing about how it will ruin her makeup and hair. But when Stiles convinced her enough that it will not ruin anything to her beautiful appearance she goes along with it. Stiles take her hand and she walks slowly behind him, not knowing what to expect. After a few minutes they stop and Stiles let go of Lydia.
"Okay, now you can look!"
Lydia hesitates to pull the blindfold of.
"Stiles, I swear to god if you're going to scare me I will use my banshee powers on you."
Stiles laugh at her.
"I promise I won't scare you!"
She pulled the blindfold of and saw a mini carousel with white horses on and a pick-nick basket and a blanket lied out on the ground next to her feet. But she's still looking at the little carousel.
"Stiles, it's just like the one I loved to ride on when I was little."
She smiled a big smile at him and he flushed a little.
"Do you want a ride?"
"Are you kidding me? Yes!"
She ran down to the carousel, it could only take 4 people at the time. Stiles right behind her smiling widely. Lydia jumped up on a white horse and Stiles paid the nice gentleman who started the carousel for Lydia. Just her. She smiled and closed her eyes remembering being 8 years old again.
After a few carousel's rides Stiles was so hungry he could eat a horse. They walk up to the pick-nick blanket and Stiles opened the basket and pulled out some sandwiches with chicken for Lydia and turkey for him. He got her favorite wine as well and Lydia just smiled at him. After a few minutes after eating Lydia looked into Stiles eyes and asked:
"Stiles, how did you know about the carousel? I've never told you I loved to go on that when I was little."
Stiles looked at the carousel and smiled.
"Because that is when I first got a crush on you, in third grade you know, I told you I had a crush on you since then but I never told you how I got it."
Lydia dropped her mouth and couldn't speak. Stiles continued:
"We went to the same school and I had seen you around but it wasn't until one Saturday afternoon my mom and dad brought me to the park in Beacon Hills and we were walking around and I saw the carousel and on it this cute, most beautiful girl in the sunlight smiling and laughing, this most beautiful smile I've ever seen and that hair in the sunlight was glowing. I couldn't take my eyes of that girl. So happy, didn't care about anything else in that moment. That girl of course was you."
He looked at her and Lydia's eyes started to tear up, he had seen her at her happiest and her worst. This boy, no man, had always seen her. He wasn't ashamed to show her that. Lydia could feel a tear dripping down her cheek and Stiles quickly wiped it away. Lydia didn't know what to say. What do you say when the boy you love just told you how he feel in love with you at only 8 years old? She opens her arms and pulls him into a hug. She whispers in his ear:
"That's the most beautiful love story I've ever heard."
She pulled away and Stiles looked at the carousel again.
"Yeah it would be if I got the girl, but she loved someone else."
Lydia looked at his face, this was it. Even if he didn't want her now she needed to tell him how she felt.
"Can I tell you a story?"
Stiles turned to her and nodded his head. Smile on his face.
"Once there was a little girl, strawberry blond with green eyes. She thought her world was perfect in every way possible, she was smart, had loving parents and everything figured out when she was ten years old. When her mom and dad started having troubles at home and they didn't notice her anymore, didn't see the grades she got, she started feeling insecure at her self, her parents wasn't paying attention to her, and one day in 6th grade she got caught smoking a cigarette that one of her friends got from an older boy. Then her parents noticed her again, but of course in an other way, she decided to to play the part of a dumb girl and started to wear tighter clothes so her mom or dad would just speak to her about something, like, you'r not wearing that or you're not leaving the house until you put some clothes on, they were still were fighting about their marriage. One day a boy, very handsome walks up to her in school, she's 15 years old and this boy is very popular, Jackson was his name…"
Stiles frowns a little when he hears Lydia say Jackson's name.
"…this boy wanted to be with her, in the beginning it was just for sex but after a while that grew into something more, something that the girl was afraid of losing so she didn't give in to those feelings. The boy started treating her like shit and she got hurt, her heart broke. Another boy showed up, thinking she looked beautiful in her formal dress and when she cried. But this boy was nothing like Jackson, her first love, the girl thought. She became friends with this other boy and she really started to like him as a friend, but she wouldn't tell anyone that. She forgave Jackson and then he moved away. The girl focused on getting a distraction, not a boyfriend. She was done with those kinds of feelings. This other boy still in her life grew closer and closer to the girl, he was the one she always called in an emergency, he was the one who was always there. He knew she was smart, smarter then anyone else in their school, he paid attention to her but she still just saw him as a friend, until one day the boy got a panic attack and the girl was the only one there. To calm him down she pressed her lips against the boy's…"
Silence. Stiles and Lydia stair at each other remembering that moment, their first kiss. She clears her throat.
"…the girl pulled away slowly, she felt something, something different. She wanted more. But she didn't want to get hurt again, so she just pushed it away. They never spoke of that kiss again.."
Silence once more and Lydia looked down at her hands in her lap. Whispering softly:
"She lost her best friend, her distraction as well. The boy, the one she felt knew her, her now new best friend, dating someone else…"
Stiles looked away. He wasn't sure how to react to this part, the part when he dated Malia when Lydia needed him, after Allison's death.
Lydia was still looking down.
"…the girl started to get jealous, this boy that had been there for her, paid attention to her, was now with someone else. A beautiful girl. Her feelings for the boy started to come to the surface, she knew she needed to get away from the boy because if she didn't she would get hurt again…"
Stiles took her hand in his looking at her face, Lydia couldn't face him while she was talking about this.
"…she decided to figure out her own powers and the connection to a hellhound. This man, were carrying for her but he wasn't the best friend boy she knew she was starting to fall for, pushing away everything that had with the boy to do. She got hurt and the boy came but he got terrified when he saw her lying on the floor bleeding she had to fake a smile and tell him she was fine, she could se in his eyes that he was not. After that they became a little closer once more, their friendship growing into what it was before, still he was with the other girl…"
Lydia looked into Stiles eyes and she could see a tear dripping down his face, the memories of Lydia in the police station on the floor was too much for him. He broke down, Lydia felt a tear on her check a swell.
"Stiles, I really want to tell this story till the end, okay…?"
Stiles looked at her and nodded, he couldn't say anything.
"…after a while she ended up at an mental facility, not responding to the outside world, the boy came and visited her, she felt him there even though she never told him…"
Stiles looked into her eyes again.
"You knew I came and saw you?"
Lydia nodded.
"Yes…"
Stiles wiped away some tears from her cheeks.
"…she woke up, then the boy came to rescue her, the girl begged him to go when the evil man walked closer to her cell. The boy left her, she felt sad that he had left her, she didn't really want him to go, but he would die if he stayed. When the evil man dragged her down into the tunnels and tried to get her to use her power she thought she was going to die, die without seeing the boy one last time. She heard the boy scream her name thru the door and she killed the evil man with her scream. The beautiful boy running into her rescue, he came back, he came back for her, no one ever comes back for her…"
"I would never leave you!"
Lydia smiles and looks into his brown eyes.
"I know that now,
She struggles with the voices in her head and in the end she ends up screaming herself to death. The boy is there by her side, the girl is gone."
She looks away and Stiles try's to find her face.
"I've never told you this, but…"
"What?"
He whispers.
"I heard you, I heard you begging me to open my eyes even though I was dead. I could feel you pulling me back. You saved me, you brought me back to life!"
In that moment Stiles pushed his mouth to hers, he didn't care if this wasn't what she wanted. He wanted to kiss her one more time. Lydia flew back a little, but closed her eyes. His kissing her. Finally! She places her hands around his neck, his hands around her waist. A few minutes later he pulls away gasping for air.
"Sorry I.. I just needed to do that."
"It's okay… I wanted to do that too."
Their foreheads pushed against each other, closed eyes, her hands around his neck still and his on her waist.
"Lydia, I've always loved you! Even if I was trying to move on I couldn't. You're my love and I can't be without you, if this ruin anything I'm sorry but I need you to know!"
Lydia smiles, a little chocked at what he just said.
"Stiles, I love you too, probably longer then I would want to admit to myself. But I really and truly love you!"
Stiles smiles. The girl of he's dreams just told him she loves him.