Chapter 2
He stood her up. The Stilinski boy had the nerve to stood Lydia Martin up and she's going out of her mind because of it. Lydia is not sure if she's angrier with him for not coming or with herself for actually expecting him to. Who does he think he is anyway?
She waited three hours. Three long, agonizing hours after the hour she had given him to get there. Why the hell hasn't he? She knew she was taking a chance with him but she figured he'd show up – or at least she hoped so. He's had a crush on her for years, for Christ's sake.
She's been pacing back and forth on her bedroom tensely for the last hour, trying to figure out why he'd do it. Logical reason is maybe something came up and he actually couldn't make it. Or his dad, the Sheriff, didn't let him. Still, doubt clouds her mind when her thoughts wander in a different direction. Maybe he isn't infatuated with her anymore and she missed her chance or, god forbid, he didn't enjoy himself in that closet. He had to, right? Because Lydia sure did and it's pathetic that she can't get him out of her mind because of 7 freaking minutes.
She doesn't have his phone number or his email, doesn't follow him on any social media accounts so there's not much she can do to track him down and ask for an explanation. At almost five in the morning, she decides against her own will to go to sleep. It's already Sunday; she has to even out her sleeping schedule or she'll regret it on Monday morning.
She wakes up around lunch and intends on spending the rest of her Sunday online. She decides to forget about him, forget that that happened, and she's doing a really good job of it until she's not. She's been chatting online with her shallow friends – yes, she doesn't have real friends, shush - about last night's party, posting pictures, liking pictures, finding out about the latest hookups and breakups when she comes across a photo of him. It's from last night, she can tell from his clothes, and he's smiling next to McCall, who she knows is his best friend, and a brunette named Allison - if Lydia is not mistaken -, all three smiling wide for the camera. It was Erica, a friend of one of Lydia's friends (so, more of an acquaintance to the strawberry blonde), who took the photo that is now on the blonde's Facebook profile for everyone to see and because Lydia's friend liked the photo, Lydia gets to see it too.
He's wearing the grin she has seen on him a few times before. Okay, she'll admit that she knew about the crush and she never did anything about it but Lydia is not blind. She has seen him before, checked him out a few times. Totally normal, okay? She just didn't really pay much attention, which is something she's definitely regretting right now.
Stalking – no, scratch that – scrolling through Erica's profile, there are more photos. Him and McCall pouring shots, another of him and the girls (Allison and Erica) where the bastard actually has his arms around their shoulders making his shirt lift up a little bit - which results in Lydia blushing involuntarily -, and a third photo of him with one of his arms around Erica's waist, just the two of them. This one makes Lydia inhale sharply. Stupidly, she should add. She doesn't know him. Why would it bother her? She closes her laptop a little harsher than she intends to and starts gathering some things so she can go through her notes. She is already way, way ahead of the rest of her class and she doesn't necessarily need to study, but it will distract her.
She ends up losing track of time. When she's finished, it's almost nine. Lydia runs downstairs to grab something light to eat before she goes to bed but something's bothering her. It's been eating away at her all afternoon and why would it, even?
Frustrated, Lydia ends her night curled up in bed with her laptop on top of her, scrolling down Erica's profile again and Lydia's not proud of it, might she say. She dares to check Stilinski's profile this time and she sighs in relief when she sees that his profile states him as single. But then again she also noticed Erica's says the same thing - not that she looked it up intentionally, mind you – so maybe they have a thing going on and that's why he bailed on Lydia.
She stays online for a little while finding out more about him, his friends. Lots of people seem to like him, something Lydia can't say she ever really paid attention to and god, she wishes she had. She has no real friends, her parents got divorced and hardly care about her since then, her boyfriends are a joke. Yes, she could have benefited from a little support. How things could have been different if she had made an effort to get to know someone like him.
Those are the thoughts she falls asleep with that night and wakes up with the next morning. And they don't leave her mind while she gets ready for school or on her drive there. She wanders through those high school hallways unsure for the first time in her life and doesn't stop near her "friends" to pretend that she cares for once. She just wanders around absent minded until she finds him talking to McCall and the brunette near the cafeteria. Pausing for a split second, she ponders what she can do, if she even should.
A moment later, she slowly starts walking towards them.