Okay, I totally planned this to be a one-shot, but I got so many people asking me to continue it, that I decided I would do one more chapter.

I hope you like it!

I don't own Teen Wolf.


Stiles slammed the front door, leaning his head against it. Frustrated, he banged his fist on the door-jam.

Why did he have to pusher her? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"You wanna tell me what just happened?" his dad asked from behind him.

"I'm a complete idiot," Stiles replied, turning around and leaning back against the door.

"You always have been when it comes to her," his dad shrugged, crossing his arms. "That's what happens with girls. What's different this time?"

He looked down at his feet, reluctant to tell his dad what just happened. Not when he barely understood it himself.

He pushed off the door and made his way to the kitchen to grab some water.

"Stiles," his dad said. "What's different this time?"

He followed Stiles into the kitchen, watching as Stiles filled a glass with water and drank deeply.

Finally, Stiles put the cup down. "Apparently, I'm not safe."

"What do you mean, 'not safe'?" his dad asked with narrow eyes. "Stiles, if there's a threat, I need to know-"

"No, not like that!" Stiles interrupted. "I'm not safe…for her."

The older man's brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"Yeah," Stiles replied, leaning his hand on the counter. "Aiden's safer than I am. Like…emotionally."

His dad's brow smoothed as he nodded slowly. "I see."

"You do?" Stiles asked. "Then can you tell me? Because I'm completely clueless here."

Sighing, his dad settled against the counter. "Do you know what being 'emotionally safe' means?"

"Feeling safe emotionally," he replied. "Kind of self-explanatory, Dad."

"Then why don't you understand?" his dad countered with a raised.

"Okay," Stiles nodded, admitting defeat. "What does it mean?"

"It could mean a couple of things, his dad started. "It can mean feeling safe with someone because you know they're not going to toy with your emotions-"

"But I've never toyed with her emotions!" Stiles interjected.

"Then that leaves the other one," his dad said.

"Which is…?"

"Some people get…scared when they feel strongly for someone," his dad explained. "They feel that if they get too attached, and something bad happens…" he sighed. "They're afraid of getting hurt."

"So the less you feel about someone, the safer you feel,' Stiles said.

"Basically," his dad nodded.

"That still doesn't make any sense," he mused. "I mean, sure she cares for me, but not like that. I mean, we're friends. We do research together, we're there for each other, but she doesn't feel like-"

Every time I kiss Aiden, I think of you

"Oh my God, I am an idiot." He ran his hands through his hair. He had forgotten she said that with all the 'emotionally safe' talk. How could he forget that? Wasn't that what started that whole conversation?

"Stiles, what?" his dad asked.

"I, uh…" he couldn't form a coherent sentence. "I…She, uh…she said…something. I – I need to – I need to go."

He went for the door, but was stopped by his dad's hand on his arm.

"You can't go now," the man said.

"Why not?" He had to talk to her.

"You can't talk to her now," he told him. "She's upset. Let her calm down, then you can try to talk to her."

"But-"

"Stiles." His dad's voice was firm. "Trust me on this. Push her too hard, and it will only make things worse."

Stiles looked at his dad, and knew that he was right.

"Okay," Stiles nodded. "I'll, uh, wait until tomorrow."

His dad let go and Stiles went back up to his room to another sleepless night.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Lydia walked to her locker, taking deep breaths through her nose. She was trying to stay calm, but she wasn't sure how long it would last if Stiles confronted her about last night.

Aiden was already at her locker when she got there.

"Good morning," he said with a charming smile.

"Morning," she replied forcing a smile herself.

He leaned down and kissed her, and Lydia saw the familiar flashes of someone else behind her eyes. The soft, chocolate brown hair, beautiful honey-gold eyes, long fingers tangling in her hair and caressing her gently…

Pulling out of the kiss, she opened her locker to check her lipstick.

"I gotta get to class," Aiden said as the bell rang. "But, I'll see you later?" He raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"Free period," she replied with a wink.

She watched him walk away before looking back in the mirror as the hall emptied out. When she was satisfied with her makeup, she shut the door and headed to class.

"Lydia!"

She stopped for a second, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as the source of the voice caught up to her.

"Not now, Stiles," she said. "I'm late for class."

"I know, so am I," he replied. "But can we talk later?"

"About what?" she asked as she started walking again.

"About last night," he answered like it was obvious. Which it was.

She pretended to think. "Oh, that? No."

"Wha – no?" he asked. "I think this is something we need to talk about!"

"No, it's not!" she snapped, spinning around and almost running into him. "You said you would act like it didn't happen!"

"And you said you couldn't!" he yelled back. "And honestly, I was kidding myself when I said that! I can't pretend like it never happened, Lydia! I just…it meant too much."

Looking away, she closed her eyes. It had meant too much to her, too. But that's exactly why she couldn't deal with it.

"And you know what I think?" he said, lowering his voice as he stepped closer to her. "I think it meant a lot to you, too. And I think that it scares you that it meant so much to you. And I even know why you're scared, and I get it."

She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "What makes you think I'm scared?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Because I know you. I know what you've been through. The last guy you really cared about, it ended with him being a homicidal, bi-pedal lizard and moving across the world."

She looked away again with a sigh. "Look, I really don't wanna talk about this right now."

"Then when can we?" he asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged, walking away.

"Lydia!" he called out. She kept walking, and he didn't follow.

"You know," he said. "You're not emotionally safe for me either!"

She slowed down, but she didn't stop. When she got to the classroom, she paused with her hand on the door. Looking back, she saw him standing there with his back to her, running his hand through his hair.

She took a deep breath to calm her emotions and went into class, leaving Stiles to his venting.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Stiles was in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

He understood that she didn't want to talk about it. He wasn't mad at her. He was mad at himself.

He knew she didn't want to talk about it, but he pushed her – just like his dad told him not to do –and now she was avoiding him. She had been avoiding him all freaking day.

Stiles should've been used to it by now. She had spent eight years ignoring him, not even giving him the time of day. He already knew how that felt. But this was different. Now she knew him, and spent time with him, and apparently had feelings for him, yet she was ignoring him like it was sophomore year all over again.

As the last bell rang, he saw Lydia dart out of class before anyone could say anything to her.

"Hey," Allison said, coming up to Scott and Stiles. "Do either of you know what's up with Lydia? I asked her if something was wrong at lunch, but she wouldn't say."

"No idea," Scott replied, pulling his backpack on. "She hasn't really talked to me today."

Stiles shrugged, not wanting to get into it. "She hasn't talked to me either."

It wasn't a lie.

"Hmm…" Allison said. "Weird. I guess I'll just have to ask her later, when she's ready to talk about it."

They said goodbye, and went their separate ways. Scott had to work, so Stiles headed home to do more research.

After searching for over an hour and not finding any new or helpful information, the doorbell rang.

He ran down the stairs to answer it, almost tripping over his backpack in the process.

"Dammit," he muttered as he opened the door. A petite, fiery-haired figure spoke before he could invite her in.

"What did you mean?" Lydia blurted out.

"What did I mean with what?" he asked, confused.

"You know what," she replied, putting a hand on her hip.

"No, I don't," he said. "You wanna come in?"

She stepped into the entryway and turned to face him as he shut the door. "What did you mean when you said I'm not emotionally safe for you? Because I know what I mean when I say it, and apparently so do you. But what do you mean when you say it?"

He looked at her as she watched him expectantly.

"I don't know," he started. "Maybe because I've had a giant crush on you since the third grade, despite you completely ignoring me, and the fact that I was willing to die for you when you wouldn't even give me the time of day."

She looked down, her face screwed up into several different emotions that Stiles couldn't differentiate from each other.

"Or maybe," he continue, his voice getting louder and more urgent with each word, "just maybe, it's the fact that there are time where I have yet another sleepless night, or another horrible nightmare, and I feel like it's all too much and I can't take anymore! But then I see you, and you smile at me and tell me good morning, and suddenly it all seems freaking bearable again!"

He paused, breathing heavily from talking so urgently. Lydia looked at him with wide, surprised eyes.

"Does that fit your definition of emotionally safe, Lydia?"

"No," she answered softly, shaking her head. "Not at all."

"Well that's how I feel!" he said, "and I don't care if it's 'safe'!"

She bit her lip, shaking her head. "You don't get it Stiles. I…it's…complicated."

"No, I get it," he said. "I understand this feeling perfectly. You know why? Because I grew up with parents who were the exact opposite of 'emotionally safe' by your definition, okay? They loved each other so much that it hurt sometimes. Even as a kid, I saw that. My dad would come home from work, and you could feel the love between them, Lydia. It was palpable. You don't think they were afraid of something happening? My dad's a freaking cop! I could see the fear and worry in my mom's eyes if he was even five minutes late without calling. But he wasn't the one who died." He took a deep breath as tears sprung to his eyes, as Lydia just watched him with a torn expression.

"When my mom died," he continued, his voice shaking with the emotion that came with the memories. "I saw my dad's reaction, okay? He – he almost self-destructed from the pain and the grief, Lydia. I saw the entire future that he had planned crash and burn in his eyes, and I could almost hear his heart shatter into a million pieces."

"Why aren't you afraid after watching that?" she asked thickly, tears forming in her eyes.

"Because," he replied, "no matter how much it hurt him to lose the one person he loved like that, he was still thankful of the time they got. He wouldn't go back and change it. He would rather have the little time they had together than be too afraid to even try."

"How do you know that?" she said.

"Because he told me," Stiles answered.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, she closed her eyes and tears fell. "I didn't really have that example growing up."

"I know," he said, taking a step towards her. "But it doesn't mean that you can't have it. Whether it's with me, or-" he took another deep breath –" or with someone else, you should have that. You deserve it, Lydia."

She looked back up at him, and his mind flashed back to the Winter Formal. The expression on her face was the exact same one she had when he told her that she looked beautiful. Surprise from the unexpected statement, and something else that he couldn't place.

"Really?" she asked, mimicking that exact moment, and he realized what that something else was. Hope. Hope that someone believed that of her.

Nodding, he took her hand. "Yeah."

"Good," she replied with a small smile. "Because you have no idea how much I want that."

"You should," he told her.

They stood there for a minute, looking at each other.

"Stiles," she finally said, biting her lip and looking at their hands intertwined. "I'm still scared…"

He let go and took a step back, trying to give her space. "That's, uh, that's okay. It's not something you can just get over, I – I get it –"

"No," she interrupted, "let me finish."

She took a breath to steady herself. "I'm still scared, but only when I think about the 'what-ifs'. When I'm just there, it's natural, it's easy. I don't have to try to be anything, I'm just me. But then everything comes creeping in, and I think, 'I can't get closer'. It would already hurt too much if something happened to the sweet, loyal, honest, quirky boy in front of me." She took a step forward. "I can't get closer and risk getting hurt that much more."

He nodded slowly. "No, no, I get it. I understand."

She rolled her lips nervously and took his hand. "I don't want to be scared."

"No one ever does," he said simply, not looking her in the eye. He knew what she was going to say, and he didn't think he would be able to look at her while she said it. He already felt like his heart was being crushed in a car compactor from the thought.

"Look," he interrupted as she opened her mouth to speak again. "I know what you're going to say, and it's…it's okay. You don't have to say it." He stepped back again, sliding his hand out of hers.

"Stiles," she said. "What are you doing?'

Still not looking at her, he took another step back. He tried to tell her that it was nothing, but he couldn't get his voice to work. So he just stood there, trying not to show his heartbreak.

"Stiles, what's wrong?" she asked.

He shook his head slowly, trying to keep the moisture in his eyes at bay.

"Stiles," she said urgently, closing the distance he had made. "Look at me."

She put her hands on either side of his face and turned it to her. "I don't think you know what I'm going to say."

Confused, he felt his eyes marrow slightly. "What are you going to say?"

"I'm scared," she started. "Because of what I'm feeling for you, I'm terrified. But you know what? I've been terrified before – I mean, with our lives, who hasn't – and guess what I did?"

He blinked and shook his head, trying to process what was being said.

"I persevered," she answered. "I pushed through it. And I've decided that that's what I'm going do right now. Because this is different than the other things I've been afraid of, and I know that if I just try and let go of the fear, that…" she paused, as if trying to find the right words. He put his hand on top of hers and slid his thumb over it without thinking. With a small smile, Lydia continued. "That we can have something amazing. So that's what I'm going to do."

Suddenly, he could breathe again. She said the exact opposite of what he thought she would, and he couldn't believe it. But there was one problem…

"And Aiden?" he asked.

"I ended it," she said. "During free period today."

"Why?" he asked.

She softened her grip on his face and stroked her thumbs across his cheekbones, sending a shiver down his spine. He looked into her eyes, and there was seriousness to them.

"Because I'm done with playing it safe," she finally said before pulling him into a kiss.

A heat ran through him, almost like a flame igniting as he gently grabbed the back of her neck. It wasn't needy like the night before, but there was just as much passion behind it. It was something stronger, more cementing.

Lydia pulled away first, and both of them were short of breath. They rested their foreheads against each other, their breath mingling in the small space between their lips. They just stood there holding each other, content.

After a few minutes, Stiles head a throat clearing. "So, uh, Lydia, are you staying for dinner?"

They jumped apart, and saw his dad standing in the front entrance, the door open. There was a mixture of surprise and awkwardness, but he was trying to his a smile.

Lydia looked at Stiles, and he shrugged, signifying that is was up to her.

"Sure," she said. "If that's okay with you."

"Of course," his dad replied. "I don't mind at all."

He closed the door and shrugged off his jacket. "I hope you don't mind pizza. I'm not much of a cook."

Stiles smiled. His dad could cook, but only out of a box. The last time he tried to make something from scratch was lasagna when Stiles was eleven. You would think lasagna wouldn't be that difficult, but somehow, he messed it up. Who knew that pasta could be soggy and hard at the same time?

"Pizza sounds great," Lydia said with a smile.

"Good," his dad said.

After asking her preferred toppings, and Stiles making sure he would order a salad, his dad stepped into the kitchen to order.

"I have to warn you," Stiles said. "He might be asking you lots of questions. You know, first dinner with the girlfriend and all…"

"Girlfriend?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, uh, yeah," he replied, suddenly nervous. "I meant, if you want, we don't have to, you know, put labels on anything, no big deal, you know –"

"No," she said with a thoughtful smile. "I like it."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered, taking his hand. "But wait until you have the first boyfriend dinner with my mom."

He couldn't help but break into a smile at the thought. He was Lydia's boyfriend. Lydia was his girlfriend.

"Lydia," he said, squeezing her hand. "I would do absolutely anything for you."

"I know," she said softly. Then she took a deep breath, standing up straighter. "Even the dreaded 'Mom dinner'?"

"Even the dreaded 'Mom dinner'." He smiled, squeezing her hand again.

She smiled back and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before going into the kitchen with his dad.

As he followed her, he knew that he would go to Hell and back for her. He would do anything and everything in his power to keep her safe and happy.

And he knew that it wasn't 'safe', but he didn't care. Because she was done playing it safe, and honestly…he never had.


What'd you think?