[4x09 spoilers]
Lydia woke up in a sweat. She just had the most vivid dream about Stiles and Scott ending with Stiles... But no, it was just a dream, right? It wasn't like stiles would actually /die/, he wasn't on the Benefactor's - or should she say - Meredith's list. But she still had the sinking feeling...
She didn't know what was happening. She was distracted throughout the next day. She felt sick to her stomach just thinking about Scott and Stiles...the only thought of him made her so nervous, but it wasn't the kind of feeling she usually had when he was around. Sure, they hadn't been as close as they used to be ever since he started dating Malia, but Stiles was still the closest person she had on her life, especially now that Allison was gone. She walked to his house, waiting outside his door, hesitating. She had to be strong. She wouldn't let anything happen to him, she couldn't. She knocked on Stiles' door, waiting for him to come open. Stiles let Lydia in.
"Hi." He smiled at her. She took in a deep breath, unsure of where to begin. He could sense the confusion on her face. "are-are you all right?" She look like he was about to burst. She shook her head. He signaled for her to sit down on his bed and she did, on the edge, looking at the blue sheets. She shook her head and looked at him silently. She tried to open her mouth but nothing came out. How was she supposed to tell that kind of thing. It wasn't right. "Lyds?" He asked her, the look on her face worried him. He knew that look and he knew it wasn't good.
"I-" She couldn't. She simply could not do that to him.
"What's wrong?" He frowned at her.
Her face was slowly growing redder and redder. "It's uh-I had a-" she choked out. He squinted.
"Maybe if you write it down..."
She shook her head violently. "it's not like that! It's not a code, I .. I had a feeling..."
He didn't understand. He thought that the last code was the one her grandmother sent her. What kind of feeling was she talking about? "What kind of feeling?" He asked carefully.
"A-about Scott..." She said. "And you.." She added, in a whisper.
Stiles's eyes widened. "What about us, Lydia? I mean, we'll-we'll be okay, right? I mean we're fine and we-" he started to ramble and his breathing increased. She watched him for a few seconds, if this how he was taking it without knowing the end if her sentence she didn't think she could possibly finish it now.
"Stiles..." She looked at him. This couldn't be happening. Why him? He was the best person she knew. Scott was his best friend, she had to do something. She couldn't lose him. "I don't know." She breathed out. "I'm so sorry."
"About what?" He frowned, clearly bewildered. She shook her head again. "Tell me!"
"I had a nightmare.. I saw you and Scott...and I couldn't save you..." She bit her lip, tears forming in her eyes.
"Wh-what?" He stuttered.
She nodded, unable to repeat herself. "There's a chance it was just a dream but I.. I don't know!" She bit down on her lip again. "I don't know and that scares me, Stiles!"
"Lydia, what did you see? I need you to tell me! What happens to me? To Scott?" He felt like he was about to lose his mind. The Benefactor was gone, he wasn't on the list, what was happening?
"It was a dream - I don't remember much. We...we were running, and it was dark. It was out by the woods. Scott was the first to go, he-he was unable to transform and then it - whatever it was- caught up to you, and - and.." She was almost hyperventilating now.
As she began speaking, he could see it coming. Banshees predicted...death. He closed his eyes trying to focus on his breathing before turning back to her. "Lyds, look at me." He sat down next to her. "Breathe." He said softly, just like she had told him a few months ago.
Her eyes met him and she remembered to take a breath. "I-" she shook her head and couldn't finish her sentence. She lay her head on his shoulder.
He needed to stay calm. Nothing of what she had said was inevitable. He had to talk to Scott. He placed his head over hers, naturally. She was one of his best friends. His first love. He had moved on but it didn't mean that he had stopped caring about her. He couldn't leave her like this. "I need you to talk to me. What's going on?" He said softly to her.
"I'm scared." She admitted. "I don't know how to stop this and I don't-I don't want..."
"What are you scared of? Lyds, I can't help you if you don't tell me." That's all he wanted. For her to be okay and safe. He needed her to know that he was there for her. "We're all scared."
"I don't want to lose you." She whispered. "You or Scott."
"You're not going to lose me...I'm okay, I'm here!" He reassured her. He wasn't going anywhere. "Scott's an alpha and he has Kira now, he's going to be alright. Nothing's going to happen to us." In that moment, he thought of Allison. He wondered if the strawberry blond girl thought about her too and if that's why she was scared.
She shook her hair into Stiles's shoulder. Everything Stiles said was true, but that didn't change the fact that something /could/ happen when they were not looking out for it. That's what happened with Aiden.. And Alison..
"Alright now, smile!" He tried to cheer her up. She had a rough year... he really hoped she was okay. "I'm sorry for everything, I should've told you that a long time ago but I didn't know how."
"None of it is your fault."
"It is. The nogitsune was a part of me. I remember everything I did. Maybe I didn't do it directly but it's still my fault. And I let you with him."
She nodded. "I don't want to talk about him..."
"Sorry, you don't have to.." He looked at the floor. He still felt so guilty putting her through that.
"My main priority right now is making sure you and Scott are safe." She said firmly. "Don't go anywhere without Malia and tell Scott the same for Kira. You were with me in the dream... Maybe I..."
"Stop, this isn't your fault. Nothing has happened yet. I'm not sure Malia's going to agree with you. We're not really on speaking terms.." He shrugged. "We'll find a plan. We always find a plan."
She frowned. "What happened?" But she was reassured all the same.
"She knows about Peter..." He sighed.
"Oh."
"I tried talking to her but she just kind of shut me out. I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."
"Go apologize?" She suggested softly. "If you want to save it." Half of her, the currently vulnerable half, wished that he didn't want that.
"I did." He said simply. "I screwed up I get why she doesn't want to talk to me anymore...but I can't just leave her like that." He needed to make things right he wasn't that kind of guy who just left.
"Then give her time," Lydia tried to reason. She saw Stiles's intention and thought it was very sweet.
He nodded. He knew she was right. It felt kind of weird talking about Malia with her, probably because he never really thought there could be another girl. "Peter is just...evil and dangerous and so bad. " He tried gathering his thoughts. "He can't be trusted." He finished. Peter would've killed Lydia. The thought still made him sick to his stomach.
Lydia bit her lip. She always tried to refrain from saying bad things about Peter - or anyone, really. But she did nod along to what Stiles said. Could PETER have been the one chasing them in her dream...?
There was so much going on, Stiles felt like sometimes it was inevitably going to go wrong. He saw all of his friends go through so much and sometimes he was kind of just there, only human, but it had to be enough. "I'm not going to let him anywhere near us."
"We don't know for sure it's him." She said answering her own thoughts, rather than Stiles's but the point was still valid.
"Lydia look at what he's done to all of you. He turned Scott, he threatened you, he left Malia, for all we know he could be the one killing me." He said firmly.
She looked at him. "Please don't talk about it," she frowned.
"We have to because if we don't, it might actually happen!" And it was the last thing he wanted, obviously.
She sighed, but he was right. "Call Scott." She told him. "And Kira. I know she wasn't there but I still think she needs to know..." She looked out the window, luckily there was no full moon.
He immediately took his phone and called his best friend. "Does Malia have to be here too?" He asked, not knowing if she'd listen to him or show up.
"If you think she needs to be, she certainly wasn't a part of my dream.."
"I'm going to try her." He said after a moment and tried to call her. He hoped she would pick up. "She's, she's not answering." He sighed. This was driving him nodded slowly, trying to hide her satisfaction. She felt very safe around Stiles and as selfish as it was, she didn't want his attention split.
Stiles felt a weird energy between Lydia and Malia every time he would bring one of them up to the other. He appreciated them both and he didn't really understand why they acted that way around each other. "I'll have to talk to her.."
"I know." She sighed, she could blame him for being worried, he was Stiles...
"I don't want it to happen...Scott, Malia, you, my dad. I can't leave my dad!" He felt his heart racing. Soon, he was hyperventilating.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" She said rubbing his back.
"My dad...we're supposed to take care of each other."
"You do, Stiles. Both of you. You guys are so good for each other." She said all of this in a soothing tone in attempts to calm him down.
He ran his hand through his hair. "I can't leave him." He thought about his mom. How they had lost her. And everyday he missed her so much and wished she was there with them.
She continued to rub his back. "You'll be okay. We'll all be okay..."
He tried to calm down. "Lydia..." He breathed. He couldn't do this.
"What do you need right now?"
"I don't know.." He sighed, suddenly getting up. Maybe air would help. But he couldn't think straight.
She let him go, but drew her knees to her chest. He felt the tears form in his eyes, immediately wiping them away. He walked across the hallway and after a few minutes, his breathing got back to normal. "I'm sorry."
She un-curled, but she looked shaken up, as well. He rubbed her arm gently. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I just-I wish I knew how to help you whenever you..."
He nodded his head. Wondering if she thought about the same thing he did. "You do..." He said biting his lip.
"Doesn't feel like it." She muttered.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up over this..you already helped me once. It sure felt like it to me." He said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.
She looked at him and gave him a wavering smile. "I should go... It's late," she reasoned.
"Yeah, uh, I get it. No problem."
"No! I'll give you a ride home..like you said it's late. You shouldn't leave alone at this time." He said, grabbing his keys. She smiled, relived.
"Thanks for listening." She said softly.
"I'm always here, you know that right?" He asked. He wanted to make sure she did. "Thanks for telling me."
She smiled for the first time all day. It didn't matter that stiles was with Malia, he still cared about Lydia.