Stiles was sitting at his computer, trying to figure out his history homework, when someone rapped on his bedroom door. He took the pen out of his mouth, and looked at the closed bedroom door.
"What?" he shouted, cranky. It was probably his dad, checking in on him to make sure he was still on task. The door opened, and Lydia walked in.
"Hey," she said, smiling at him.
"Lydia? Hi." Stiles said, straightening in his chair. He'd been crushing on the ginger-haired goddess since the third grade.
She sat down on his bed, and sighed. Stiles instantly got up and sat beside her. She looked visibly upset, and he wondered what was wrong.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Lydia shook her head.
"I - I'm just having a really bad day." she said, looking down at her hands. "I dreamt about Allison."
"What, like a nightmare?" Stiles asked.
"No. It was a good dream. She was still alive, and we were all hanging out as usual. When I woke up, it took me a minute to remember she was dead. God, I miss her so much." Lydia said, looking at stiles.
He knew Allison's death hadn't been his fault. The nogitsune and the oni were to blame. Still, he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for his friends' death. Stiles often wondered if his friends secretly blamed him. He remembered the scared look on Melissa McCall's face when she had been checking his pulse, she had been afraid to touch him.
"I'm sorry," stiles told her, as Lydia turned to him and hugged him. She hugged him back. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Stiles." she said, into his shoulder.
"Allison died because -" stiles started, but Lydia pulled away from him, and looked at him.
"Because of the nogitsune and the oni. You didn't kill her. Remember, I was with you when she died." Lydia said, gently.
"I know. But it feels like I'm to blame. He was possessing me, making do all sorts of shit. I nearly blew up my dad. Isaac got hurt. Coach finstock got shot. My dad's coworkers, and nurses at the hospital got murdered because I wasn't strong enough to stop him." stiles said, looking down at his hands.
"Stiles." lydia said, and he looked up at her. "You are a good person. You're clever, and brave, and loyal." she told him. "That monster was incredibly strong. He used you. And he's gone now."
"I know." said stiles. He looked miserable, so lydia leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Their eyes met, and she could see he was starting to smile.
Lydia stood up, and looked at his computer screen. "You know that essay is due tomorrow morning, right?" she told him. Stiles nodded.
"I'm still working on. I'm probably gonna be up all night." he said, sitting down on his computer chair.
"I already finished mine, do you want some help?" she asked him. He nodded, gratefully.
She stayed for the next few hours, keeping him on task, and helping him polish up his essay until it was ready.
"Thanks," stiles told her, as his essay was printing off. He put it into his backpack right away, so he wouldn't forget it in the morning.
Lydia looked at the clock and realized it was two thirty. She was so tired. "I should get home," she said, picking up her stuff. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"You could stay, if you want." stiles said. "I'll drive us to school in the morning." he left to get a blanket out of the cupboard, and started to set up a bed on the floor.
"You want me to sleep on the floor?" lydia asked him, surprised. Stiles looked at her.
"No. I'm giving you the bed. I'll sleep on the floor." he told her, lying down.
Lydia crawled into the bed, and leaned over the mattress to look at him. "There's lots of room in the bed, if you want." she told him. Stiles grinned at her, and laid down beside lydia. She wrapped her arms around his chest, and fell asleep on stiles. He grinned in the darkness, as her even breathing lulled him to sleep.