A/N: I posted this drabble to tumblr (littlecajunlady) on April 10, 2015 and the prompt was, "I thought you were dead."
Allison is alive.
At least, the girl sitting on the edge of Lydia's bed certainly looks like Allison. She looks so much like the girl Lydia had met when she'd first arrived in Beacon Hills, when they first became friends. She'd been so sweet and innocent and funny then. All the tough times they'd been through had changed them both and brought them closer as friends. But when Allison had died, she hadn't been this girl that was now sitting in front of her for quite some time.
Lydia sits up in bed and rubs the sleep from her eyes. Yep, Allison is still there. The room is dark but she doesn't move to put on a lamp. She doesn't want to make her disappear somehow. Lydia's hand reaches out to her, but too she's scared to follow through. Will she be able to touch her? Does she want to?
This isn't the first time she's seen a dead person and not simply heard the disembodied voices. It's happened once or twice before and fairly recently too. She hasn't even told the others about this sudden new ability yet and she isn't sure why. A part of her thinks she might actually be crazy this time.
"Allison?" she whispers. The girl finally turns to look at her and smiles widely. Allison's smile. Lydia suddenly smells a familiar scent and realizes it's the perfume that Allison used to wear. The wave of grief that overcomes her practically takes her breath away. She wants her friend back so badly that she's willing to believe almost anything, so she lets herself pretend it's true that her friend is really alive.
"I thought you were dead."
Allison's smile slips a little, and her appearance subtly changes. Now she looks older and more like the hardened hunter she'd become near the end. She says nothing. Lydia can hear those faint whispers she's gotten so accustomed to now, but this isn't what she wants to hear. She wants to hear Allison speak, to hear the words actually come out of her mouth. She wants to hear her best friend's laugh again.
The hope disappears as quickly as it arrived, and now she's angry. It's so unfair that Allison's gone! It's unfair that she was only 17 and had so much more to do. This girl sitting in front of her isn't whole. She's nothing but an echo. Allison's dead. Of course she's dead.
"Why did you come after me?!" Lydia screams at her. "I warned you and you didn't listen! Why?"
Allison still doesn't speak, but the expression on her face says it all. It says that she's sorry that she's gone, and that she left behind so many people to grieve for her. Lydia can feel her regret, her sadness.
Lydia hangs her head. "I'm sorry. I just wish you were here."
Allison reaches for her hand. Lydia holds her breath, unsure if they can actually touch and what will happen if they do. Right as their hands touch, Allison is suddenly gone. But Lydia felt it. For just the briefest moment it felt like her friend was really there.
Lydia falls back onto the bed and cries into her pillow. When she wakes up some time later, she isn't sure if she cried herself to sleep, or if the entire thing had been a dream. Either way, Lydia is sure she can feel Allison's presence around her, and it gives her some small bit of comfort. And as she falls back asleep, she swears she can still smell Allison's perfume lingering in the air.