Lydia knocked on the door, her breathing heavy and unsteady as she waited for a familiar face to appear. When the door opened, Lydia's face went from nervous to completely disappointed. There she was, standing in the room Lydia once spent all her time. Malia's eyes narrowed in on Lydia's face as she looked somewhat confused by Lydia's presence.

"Is something wrong Lydia? Your heart is beating really fast right now," Malia said.

"Of course not, I'm fine. Just a little anxious for my calculus test tomorrow," Lydia replied.

Stiles was at his desk studying when he heard Lydia's voice from the hallway. He wasn't sure what she was doing at his bedroom door seeing as though they had not interacted much since he started dating Malia. He made his way towards the door until he was standing beside his girlfriend looking at Lydia. She was wearing a short green dress with her hair tied up in a messy bun. 'Stunning as always' he thought.

"Lydia, what's up? What are you doing here?" Stiles asked her with the utmost curiosity.

'Damn, the one question I really did not want him to ask me.' She stood there, somewhat frozen, and stared at Stiles as though he had asked her the most insane question in the world.

"Lydia..hey, you ok?" he asked again.

"Yeah, I just wanted to...never mind. It's not important. I'll let you two get back to studying. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Goodnight."

"I'm about done studying Lydia. I can talk." he replied.

"Really, it's nothing. Nothing at all," Lydia said as she turned on her heel and headed down the stairs. Once she was outside, she ran to her car and drove off as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, Stiles was completely confused as to why Lydia showed up at his house at 9:30 to simply talk about "nothing important." He knew she was lying and he knew that he needed to get her alone so they could talk. The problem was, Malia was always around and it was really hard for him to separate himself from her during and right after school. He knew he needed to go to Lydia's house tonight and straighten things up. He saw the look in here eye and knew that something was bothering her.

"Hey Malia, Scott texted and said he needed help with his chemistry homework. Kira is stuck at home with her parents so she can't go over there and help him," Stiles said, trying to hide the big lie he was feeding his girlfriend.

" Then let's just take our stuff over there," Malia said, packing her books into her bag.

"Actually, he wants to talk about some stuff that's going on with Kira and I think it's best if it's just me who is there. You know, guy stuff and all." Stiles was lying through his teeth, but he knew Malia would not be okay with him making a visit to Lydia's. He knew they were not fans of each other and he didn't want Malia overreacting. Not now.

"Oh. Well that's fine. Just promise me that if he tells you anything important, you'll tell me. I'm tired so I'll probably be asleep when you get back. Just try to be quiet coming in."

"You got it. I'll see you in the morning, goodnight," Stiles said, packing his bag and grabbing his phone.

Stiles got in his jeep and finally had a chance to think about what he was really doing. He knew that if he didn't go to Scott's and Malia mentioned it tomorrow at school, he'd be in a heap of trouble. But then again, if Malia knew he was going to see Lydia, he'd most likely be in trouble for that too. In any situation, he would lose. His only hope was that if Malia mentioned something, Scott would cover for him. Before he could realize what he was doing, he was knocking on Lydia's door. He didn't realize he was pounding it until Lydia opened the door with an almost frightened look on her face.

"Stiles, what's going on? You were hitting the door like something terrible happened."

"No, everything is fine. I just need to talk to you. We need to talk."

"Stiles, i said it was nothing. It is nothing. Nothing you should be worrying about at 10:30 at night."

"Lydia, I know when you're lying. You do that thing where you bite your bottom lip. Something is up with you and I just want you to know that I'm here to listen."

"Since when Stiles? We've spent hardly any time together since Allison died. You have Malia and Scott has Kira and it's just me. And I thought that if I didn't have hardly anyone, that I would at least have you."

He hadn't realized the fact that Lydia was left all alone after Allison died. He hadn't realized that he had pretty much abandoned her for Malia. Not that he intentionally did it. Or that he would ever intentionally hurt Lydia. He just enjoyed having someone reciprocate his feelings, and that someone was not Lydia, it was Malia.

"Lydia, I feel like a jerk. I got so carried away in school and Malia that I completely forgot that you were grieving too and that you would need someone to lean on. I am so sorry that I was not that person. I truly am. Because no matter what, you're the person that means the most to me in this world. Because if you're out of my life, I'll..."

"Go out of your freaking mind? Because that's what I've been doing Stiles. I've been going crazy without you to calm me down. And I'm so glad that you are happy, I really am. I just wish that I was happy. But Stiles, I can't be happy. Not when you're with her and not me..."

"Lydia, I understa... What?"

"You heard what I said Stiles. I know you've spent a long time chasing after me, I just didn't think the day I realized my feelings for you would be too late. Because Stiles, I hate that I've fallen in love with you. But I know it's too late. You've moved on. I get it...

"Lydia, I've been in love with you since the third freaking grade. And that kind of love doesn't just go away. Sure, I like Malia. But I don't love her Lydia. Not the way that I love you. The way I have always loved you. You're the one I have always wanted."

"Stiles..." Lydia was cut off by Stiles' lips on hers. It was different from their first kiss. This one was initiated by him and had so much deep, true passion. They kissed as equals now. With mutual respect and love for each other. This is the moment Stiles dreamed of his whole life. This is the moment Lydia realized what true love was, how true love felt. As they broke away, they both stared at each other with a look of longing and love. And even though Stiles and Malia were "together", they would never be as together as Lydia and him just were. Stiles wasn't sure how Malia would initially react, but he knew she would understand that his feelings for Lydia never went away. He's pretty sure Malia has always known how much Lydia meant to him, that's probably why she didn't like Lydia very much. He wasn't scared of the future and neither was she. Because they both knew that their love was strong enough for anything. She was his emotional tether and he was hers. And nothing could underestimate the simple yet undeniable power of their love.