Rain poured down, splattering off everything and anything as Lydia rushed out of Stiles' house and took off along the sidewalk.
"Lydia! Hey wait up!" the boy cried, struggling to fight his way through the darkness as well as the rain "C'mon Lyd, just come back!"
She didn't stop, but her pace slowed, meaning eventually Stiles caught up. He scooted in front of her, bringing her to a halt by placing his hands on her shoulders "Okay" he sighed "Can we please go back inside and calm down?" he begged, having to shout above the noise of the wind and rain.
"I can't!" Lydia told him desperately, voice cracking as she spoke "I need to go to Eichen House!"
Stiles closed his eyes, fingers still gripping the girls shoulders "I know you're freaking out-"
"-I killed her Stiles. I pushed her over the edge and it killed her" Lydia cut in, her tone dull "So I need to see her and say goodbye"
"Lyd...she's already gone" Stiles reminded her gently, brushing a strand of her wet strawberry blonde hair behind her ear.
Apparently this was the wrong thing to say, as Lydia burst into tears and began lashing out, thumping the boy's chest.
"It's okay, it's okay" he soothed, pulling her into him as he stood rocking her in the middle of the sidewalk "No" she sniffed "It's not, I don't know what to do now, Meredith was the only other one..."
Stiles pressed his lips to her forehead, before pulling away slightly "I will use every search engine until I find another Banshee to help you, alright?" he vowed, cupping her face "It's gonna be okay"
Lydia nodded slowly, the determination to visit Eichen had gone, and she was becoming aware of the cold rain as it covered her pale skin.
"Now let's just go back inside before we both catch pneumonia yeah?" Stiles suggested gently, reaching out to take her hand. Lydia allowed him to lead her up the front steps of the house and into the entrance hall as he grabbed a couple of towels from the closet there. He handed one to her before towelling his hair dry.
Once he'd finished, he pulled the wet shirt from his chest, watching it drip as it fell back into place against his soaked skin. "Hey do you want a drink or someth-" Stiles trailed off as he looked up to see Lydia gazing at the blank wall, hands shaking as they held the towel. "Lyd?" he began softly "C'mon you need to warm yourself up somehow" he urged, fingering the material in her arms.
Still she didn't reply, so he gently prised the towel from her grip and began to dry her himself. Using his thumbs to wipe away the mascara trails down her cheeks as he carefully started on her hair.
Once both her skin and hair was dry, Stiles left the towels on the floor in the corner as he steered Lydia upstairs so he could change into something that wasn't soaked by rain. "You wanna borrow something?" he questioned, studying his open closet before turning to her. She shrugged, silently tracing patterns against his bed sheets.
Stiles watched her for a moment, his face contorted in concern as he pulled out his lacrosse jumper and handed it to her "Here" he said softly, nodding in encouragement as she accepted it "Oh and..." he hurried round to his drawers, opening them and pulling out a pair of leggings. "You left these in my jeep after our Mexico trip, to be honest I never knew you owned anything other than skirts and dresses"
Lydia bit her lip, getting to her feet and taking the clothing from him "Thanks Stiles" she whispered, hugging them to her chest. "No problem" he smiled, taking her hand and squeezing it "You can change in the bathroom, I'll be right here okay?" Lydia nodded, stepping backwards before leaving him to change himself.
...
10 minutes later and the pair were sat on the bed side by side, leant against the pillows.
"You warming up yet?" Stiles wondered, turning to look at Lydia. She blinked at him sleepily, but nodded, pulling the sleeves of the too big jumper over her hands. "You?" she asked quietly, looking at the jogging pants and hoodie he'd thrown on. He smiled at her in assurance, silently taking her hand in his as they lay there.
"Do you think they'd let me go to her funeral?" Lydia asked suddenly, eyes fixed on the ceiling
"Err, I dunno Lyd, maybe they only let family or..." Stiles trailed off, noticing the tears begin to well up in her eyes again "I'm sure they will" he nodded, and she closed her eyes in satisfaction.
"Are you tired?" he questioned gently, stroking her hair with his free hand
"Mmm" came the reply, as Lydia burrowed deeper beneath the covers for warmth.
"You understand that none of this is your fault right?" Stiles checked, staring at her intently
"I guess so" she murmured, on the brink of sleep.
He smiled slightly, leaning over to kiss her forehead once more as she settled down with her head on his chest and slept.
...
At some point, Stiles woke up and he didn't know why. Until he caught sight of his Father stood at the end of his bed, surveying the scene with a raised eyebrow.
"It's not what you think" Stiles insisted quickly "She had some bad news and-"
The Sheriff held up a hand to silence him "-I know, Parrish told me"
Stiles sighed, easing himself back against the pillows so as not to wake the sleeping girl beside him.
"How's she been?"
The boy waited a moment before answering "Not so great" he admitted "But she's gonna be fine" he told his Father confidently "Because I'm gonna look after her"
The Sheriff couldn't help but smile as he watched his son gaze at Lydia, his fingers delicately brushing the hair from her face, and stroking her cheek soothingly as she mumbled in her sleep.
"Well I'll leave you to it" he whispered, nodding at Stiles who smiled as his Dad left, before letting out a yawn and settling down beside the girl that he'd loved since third grade.