Shivers wracked through her body as she stepped into the station, freezing from the rain that was currently pouring outside. Hair stuck to her cheeks like flames licking her milky skin and all Lydia Martin wanted to do in that moment was kick off her heels, crawl into bed and read a good book. The desire was strong, budding in her veins, but the memory of the body she had come across—the mutilated, scorched corpse she had found—was burning bright in her mind. Frozen, she stood on spot, warm air blowing from the vent above her and enveloping her in a comfortable bubble that chased away any remnants of the cold outside. Well, any remnants aside from the obvious fact that she needed a change of clothes and perhaps a hot shower.
Forcing herself out of the safety of the warm air, Lydia pushed herself forward with a set mind. She needed to get those reports from Sheriff Stilinski and she needed to get them now. But before she could even contemplate turning the corner that led to the Sheriff's office, a series of voices caught her attention. More importantly, thetopic of conversation caught her attention. Sucking in a deep breath, Lydia slowly started to back track from her spot, moving closer to the break room where she could hear the deputies inside. "Shh," she hissed at her heels as if they could hear her and quiet down in any way. Lydia pressed her back against the wall beside the doorway, listening carefully through the crack in the door to the deputies inside.
"You'd think Parrish would be more discreet about it," one laughed—Deputy Cole, if Lydia remembered his voice correctly. "Every time she comes in here he can't take his eyes off of her."
"Does anyone else think it's weird that of all people in the world to be involved in these cases, it's Lydia Martin. I can't understand why Stilinski even allows her access to this information," asked another one, though Lydia couldn't make out who it was. Deputy Sanders, maybe? If it wasn't him, then it had to be Deputy Jenkins. The two always looked down on her with such condescension—most likely because she had a higher IQ than all of them combined.
"She does have an uncanny ability to be at every single crime scene," Deputy Cole offered. "Morbid, isn't it?"
"Somehow it doesn't surprise me that Parrish's girlfriend would be somewhat morbid," Deputy Sanders-Jenkins added, his laughs ricocheting off the walls.
Girlfriend? Lydia's eyebrows narrowed in confusion and with another affirmation of the word from Deputy Cole, she was pushing herself off the wall and heading in the opposite direction from Sheriff Stilinski's office. Straight to Parrish. Her hand wrapped around the knob of the door and she swung it open, the thought of knocking not really crossing her mind. But as she stood there, his piercing eyes on her form, she suddenly had wished she took a moment to think things over before storming in here. That look always managed to make her brain short-circuit. Because he wasn't looking through her or past her. He was looking at her. Parrish, the mysterious newcomer to Beacon Hills. Parrish, who seemed to have a mind far too intelligent for Lydia's liking. If he got anymore curious, he could tread on some dangerous soil. I like to keep an open mind. The words reverberated through Lydia's head and her heart fluttered in her chest. He couldn't know about her or Scott or Malia or anyone else. The farther he stayed away from them all, the safer he would be. She was sure of it. Whether he was on the deadpool or not.
"Lydia?" His voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "What are you doing in here? Are you okay? You look freezing."
There was a pause. Right. She had to answer. "It's raining outside."
Parrish's eyes narrowed even more and he stood up from his chair, walking from behind his desk to her. "Yeah, I know. Did you lose your umbrella or something?" he asked, grabbing his jacket off the coat rack beside her and pulling it over her shoulders.
It was warm and soaking in his scent. Lydia resisted the urge to breathe it in, her mind sharpening as she remembered why she had come in here in the first place. "Is there a reason why all the other deputies are referring to me as your girlfriend?" she asked, one eyebrow quirking upwards.
There was a light flush on his cheeks; one that darkened as soon as her question fell off her tongue and Parrish took a step back. "No, I have no idea why they would be calling you that," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck and averting his eyes.
"Then why did I hear Deputy Cole say that you can never take your eyes off me?"
"He said that?" Parrish asked, his head snapping up with a bashful look in his eyes. "I—I mean, he was probably just kidding. Guy stuff. We joke around a lot and poke fun at each other."
Lydia could tell he was lying. Not so much about the deputies joking around with each other, but over the fact that Deputy Cole had been lying. There was a deep flush to his cheeks and he was avoiding eye contact; sweat beaded at his hairline and he couldn't stop rubbing the back of his neck; he stumbled over his words and seemed to fidget, just a little bit. Those were telltale signs—he was nervous. And though Lydia didn't show it, she was nervous too.
She liked being referred to as his girlfriend.
"I look at you, too," she told him, her voice somewhat quieter, as a small smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
That got his attention. Parrish caught her gaze again, holding it with an intense stare that made Lydia realize she couldn't look away. She didn't want to look away. The redhead wasn't sure when it had happened, but there was that spark there. Whether it had been at the Walcott's house or when they were trying to talk to Meredith—or any time in-between—it had appeared and it continued to burn strong and bright. The harder she tried to avoid him, the more drawn to him she became. And… Maybe there was no point in trying to fight it. Parrish took a step closer, closing the distance between the pair and for a moment, time felt like it suspended. His breath tickled her lips and she watched as he came in closer…and closer…
"Uh…" Lydia took a step back, inhaling sharply. "I—I have to go see Sheriff Stilinski about something."
The look of sheer disappointment on Jordan's face was too great that he couldn't he try to hide it. Now Lydia was the one averting her eyes, shooting him an awkward smile as she shrugged his jacket off her shoulders. Lydia turned, placing the jacket back on the rack and reached out for the doorknob. Her fingers wrapped out it, the lock clicking as she turned it—but regret started to crawl up her spine. In a split second before she could change her mind, Lydia whirled around and reached out for Parrish. The distance closed in an instant, her lips meeting his in a passionate kiss. His strong hands held onto her waist, steadying her rocking form, as hers ran through the soft, dark tufts of hair on the nape of his neck. Her lips seemed to mold perfectly into his, sucking at his lower lip. Their tongues danced in a slow tango and Lydia's heart drummed in her chest, pounding against her ribcage as he literally took her breath away.
"And just between us," she murmured breathlessly as she broke the kiss. "I like being called your girlfriend."
His eyes widened at that, a grin so pure and so happy breaking out on his face. To hide her own, Lydia bit down on her bottom lip and allowed her legs to carry her out of his office. As soon as she opened the door, the group of deputies who had migrated from the break room to right in front of Parrish's door broke away. Deputy Cole picked up a random stack of printer paper on a desk and began to staple it while Deputy Jenkins just spun around, attempting to look like he was searching for something to do. An embarrassed flush crawled up her neck and Lydia quickly stalked away, refusing to look at them as they stared at her, no doubt ready to attack Parrish with what just happened once she was gone.
Girlfriend?
Lydia definitely liked the sound of that.