She was stuck in this place for too long now. It has been days, weeks, she didn't know. She knew she was losing her mind, losing track of time. She wouldn't hold on very long. But she had to... To keep them safe.

Them...Her friends.

Were they still alive? Did they know where she was? What they were doing to her?

They were messing with her mind, trying to reach her deepest secrets, her saddest memories. She was fighting them, with all her strength. She had to. She was leading them in dead ends, lying to them.

But they were doing stuff to her, giving her medicines, she felt confused.

Slowly, inextricably, she was losing track of reality.

She was strong, she knew that, but how long would she be able to handle this situation, she had no clue.

She felt exhausted. The past years had been harsh on her. Being bitten by Peter, almost dying, finding out she was « something », being attracted to dead bodies and murder scenes, discovering that she was actually a banshee, facing death, too many times, losing her first love, losing her best friend...

Allison. She had to be strong for her. She had to fight for her so that her death wouldn't be meaningless.

Allison was fearless. She had a pure heart and a beautiful soul. She missed her so much. She knew she would fight too in her situation. She had to hang on to that.

As she was trying to calm down, she heard the noise of the door opening and petrified. They were coming for her. They most certainly wanted to question her again, trying to break her walls as she was at her weakest. She hadn't slept in days.

She stood still. They had to think she was asleep or in a catatonic state, to gain time. So she looked at the ceiling, emotionless.

Then she heard his voice. It couldn't be.

« Lyds, wake up, it's me, Stiles ».

She didn't move, she didn't look, she felt paralyzed. He closed the distance between them and took her hand in his. It was warm and familiar. She craved for it to be true.

As he was standing above her, he saw how pale and frail she was and urged to comfort her.

« Lyds it's gonna be ok, I'm here for you » He said with a reassuring voice « but we've gotta go, fast, we don't have much time » he tempered.

She wanted to jump in his arms, touch him to know that it was real, that he was real. But she had seen him lying in a car wreck, she had been drown to the scene, all banshee powers activated, that meant death...a tear slid down her cheek.

He was now leaning above her, looking at her, eyeing her intensely as if he was trying to read her mind. She could see him now. He looked tired but he looked like him, but so did Aiden when she tried to escape... Were they messing with her mind again? How could they do this to her? Not with him...She was losing it.

She jumped off her bed, waving his hand away. They were now facing.

« Go away! » she said trembling. « Just go away, please » she begged.

He cupped her cheek, soothing her.

« Shh lyds, calm down, it's me, I won't hurt you, I'm here for you, it's gonna be ok ». He said with a clear voice. He sounded convincing but how?

« You can't be here » she yelled « you're dead, I was there, I saw you lying in the car wreck. I was drowned to you, as in banshee drown to you ». She said as she collapsed in his arms, crying.

« Oh my god Lyds, I'm so sorry » He whispered in her ear.

He backed away a little trying to catch her gaze and as he did he started talking again.

« I did have an accident, but they reached me on time. I was taken care of and I'm fine. I'm fine Lyds. I lost my freaking mind when they told me you were here. I came as soon as I could. I'm sorry I couldn't make it sooner». He told her.

She looked at him impassively, silent. She didn't know what to think, he sounded like Stiles, looked like him and his eyes felt genuine. But she couldn't risk revealing a weakness to them if they were trying to trick her again. They couldn't know what she felt for him, how desperate she was when she saw his body lying on the ground circled by broken glass. Back then, she had wanted to scream, that's what banshee does, but she didn't. Nothing came out. It was as if the world was collapsing under her feet, and she couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak or even move. That's when they took her, she didn't even see them coming as all she could see was that boy lying on the ground motionless.

She scanned him warily, not sure what to do next. She hesitated a bit over the several alternatives ahead of her, trying to think of a way to be sure she was really facing him and then, on a whim, she kissed him.

It was fierce and needy. It was desperate and full of hope at the same time. It was intense.

Stiles stood still, caught off guard, as stroked by lightning. He hadn't planned to be kiss by Lydia Martin…again. Had he wish it would happen again? Obviously. But certainly not there or at that very moment for the matter. He also thought he would be the one taking the initiative, eventually having the guts to act on his feelings. This girl always managed to surprise him.

Still processing what was happening, he decided to let go, surrendering himself to her. He closed his eyes and clasped her face in his hands, deepening their kiss. His thumbs stroked the soft skin on her cheeks and just like that he stopped breathing. That's when she knew, she couldn't mistake this feeling, she couldn't mistake the taste of his lips and the look in his eyes filled with wonder and perplexity. She grudgingly parted. Ending their embrace before she would lose all common sense and the sentence that followed came as a confirmation.

« Ok, you've got to stop doing that ». He said with a sigh of frustration, his eyes still closed and his forehead leaning against hers. His voice was deep and low and his heart beat so wildly he was pretty sure she could hear it. He couldn't hide a grin though. He pulled himself together. « I mean, kissing me like that with no warning. I'm not an easy guy you know ? » he added with a teasing smile and a gleam in his eyes.

She half laughed half cried as she rested her head on his shoulder holding him in her arms.

« I'm glad you're alive » she just said smiling.

« I'm glad too » he told her with his voice still low « teamwork remember? » He eyed her cautiously with a sweet grin. « But don't think you're gonna get away with it that easily this time, young girl. You're lucky we've got to run ». That's when she remembered where they were. A situation she had surprisingly easily forgotten as she was losing herself in his embrace.

« I only bribed one man, and you kind of screamed your guts out back there. They're gonna find out I'm here, we've got to hurry up». He told her.

And just as that, they stated to run.