Hey guys, sorry for not posting in a while. But I'm back, and this might be my favorite chapter I've ever written. I so firmly believe that if Stiles and Lydia met in the circumstances of this story, that they would constantly be torn between constant annoyance with each other, and falling in love with each other. I tried to make the banter as real as possible, because I love how these two constantly have a battle-of-the-wits going on :) I hope you like it! Let me know. Things are going to get very interesting with these two!
Just when Lydia felt like her arm was going to be pulled out of it's socket, he stopped in his tracks. Lydia looked around in confusion, seeing nothing but trees surrounding them. "Uh...So is this the place? Because no offense but I could see this in my own backyard." Stiles wasn't even listening to her, looking around with a furrowed brow.
"Hmmm...I could have sworn it was right over here, right past that tree." He pointed at one of the trees and Lydia scoffed. "You mean that tree, the tree that looks exactly like every other tree?"
"Ha, ha. Very funny. Ok I'm almost positive that it's this way." He began pulling her to the right, and Lydia sighed under her breath. The cold was definitely starting to seep into her clothes, and she was wishing more and more that she had a warm drink in her hand.
"Ah ha! Here it is." He said proudly, pulling her through a line of trees. Lydia gasped as the area cleared, revealing a gorgeous lake. The water was surprisingly clear, the edges filled with lillypads. Giant trees with long, drooping branches were all over surrounding the water, along with others that had huge branches asking to be climbed. Across from the water, there was a small mountain perfect for hiking, with an overhanging cliff that overlooked the lake.
Bright green grass grew right up to the edge of the water, surrounding it and creating a path perfect to walk along. Lydia was still taking it all in when she noticed Stiles no longer beside her, turning to find him walking along the lake. "Hey, wait up!" She hurried to his side, frowning a bit as the grass became muddy. She was practically on her tiptoes, trying to protect her shoes as much as possible.
Stiles didn't even notice, his gaze sweeping along the lake with a far-off smile on his face. "Around Christmas, this freezes over completely. Snow piles up everywhere, and you can go out on the lake and walk around. It's the best. You have a while to see that, though, it'll be really warm soon for summer."
Lydia could picture it, the snow covering the trees, piled up to the knees. The lake frozen over, time standing still. She hated cold weather, but that was something she could definitely look forward to. "Well hey, we'll see if I stick around long enough to witness it. I have this super annoying neighbor that might drive me to packing pretty soon." She teased, smirking as he rolled his eyes.
"Oh come on, all I did was wake you up!" He said, sounding wounded. "Uh, excuse me? You woke me up, forced yourself into my home to eat dinner, and then forced me to walk around out here with you. In the past hour, we've already come close to getting lost, I'm freezing my ass off, and have to live with the knowledge that I don't even have a blanket to go home to. So thanks, Stiles, I just can't thank you enough!" She playfully shoved her elbow into his shoulder.
"Hey, hey! Easy there tiger, not when I'm walking along the edge of a lake." He said, trying and failing to hold back his laughter. Lydia raised an eyebrow at him, "Careful there, don't go giving me any ideas." She laughed along with him, unable to keep the huge smile off of her face.
Once they both had taken a moment to stop laughing, Stiles turned to her. "Well if it's any help, I formally apologize for all of my previous offenses. And if you really don't have a warm blanket waiting at home, we can stop by my place and I can give you one to borrow. I'll even let you pick the blanket out yourself, like a big girl." She didn't even notice his teasing, and she looked at him in pleasant surprise. "Really, you would let me borrow one? That's...That's really, really nice of you Stiles. Thank you so much."
He was clearly surprised by her response, and Lydia caught his cheeks flushing before he could manage to look away and hide it. She felt her own cheeks warm, and had to look away, gently biting her bottom lip. After a moment of silence, she looked back and knew she had to save them from the moment. "But hey mister, don't be getting any ideas. It's just a blanket. Don't expect me to go proclaiming my undying love for you from the rooftops."
Stiles finally broke into a teasing smile once again. "Oh shit, that's what I was going for. Just wait, I have one special blanket that I save for this exact situation. It's so soft, you'll be writing a sonnet about me by nightfall." They both chuckled, settling into a more comfortable silence, the moment saved. After a few minutes, Stiles pulled her by her sleeve until they were standing at the roots of one of the biggest trees she had ever seen. The branches were ginormous, and grew practically to the ground, perfect for climbing.
"Ok, now I'm going to show you the best part. Follow me." He said, climbing up a branch before Lydia could even get a single word in. Here she was, walking through mud, and now climbing up a tree. "This better be worth it." She muttered under her breath. Reaching up, she gripped a huge branch and followed him up. After what felt like forever, He finally stopped above her. "Ok, you see that branch to your left?" He pointed, and she looked at the branch he was pointing to.
"Yeah I see it...What about it?" She wouldn't sit on it, if that's what he was going to say.
"Sit on it." Lydia snapped her head up, her mouth falling open. How was he able to know exactly what she was thinking? It was starting to freak her out. "Uh, I don't think so." Looking down, she began to climb down.
"Hey, where are you going?! What do you mean no?!" He cried out in shock, reaching to gently grab her wrist. She met his gaze with a furrowed brow. "I mean no, you wanna hear it in Spanish?" He rolled his eyes at her, and let her pull her hand from his. "Oh come on, Lydia, live a little!" He stuck his bottom lip out, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Stiles, I am alive. And I don't need to sit on a wet tree branch to prove it. Thanks, but no thanks." She was about to continue down when his next words stopped her. "Hmm, good to know. My new neighbor is scared of quite a few things. Missing out on her beauty sleep, friendly neighbors wanting to have a friendly dinner, having small pebbles thrown into her window, muddy grass, wet tree branches..." His voice trailed off, and he eyed her with a look of boredom.
Lydia didn't even acknowledge the fact that he had indeed caught her earlier, trying to avoid the mud. She narrowed her eyes at him, pursing her lips until they hurt. He just stared right back, his expression unchanging. "Let me get this straight. You think I'm scared of a tree branch?" She said through clenched teeth. He raised one hand, studying his fingers. "Yep. Well, a wet tree branch if we want to go into specifics."
Lydia just glared at him more, unable to back down from the challenge. "I am not scared, Stiles. See, watch." She lifted herself up, falling back into the tree branch. It would have been extremely comfortable, since the branch seemed to mold perfectly against her back and thighs. But she gasped as water instantly soaked the back of her pants, and every inch of skin beneath them.
She shrieked, catapulting forward so quickly that she almost lost her balance. Stiles moved forward, catching her against his chest. She almost relaxed into him, until she felt him shaking and realized he was laughing. Pushing away from him the best she could without losing her balance, she scoffed. "You asshole! You knew that would happen, and nicely done because now I hate you." Ignoring his uncontrollable laughter, Lydia let herself down the tree.
Muttering to herself, she felt her own backside when she finally reached the ground. She let out a growl as she found that she was soaked, the entire back of her pants and of her jacket. Stiles continued to laugh above her, as he began to climb down. Crossing her arms, she turned on her heel and began walking without him back the way they came. She could feel her face flaming, with anger and embarrassment. Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, her foot sunk ankle deep into what Lydia already knew was mud.
She barely held in a furious shout, pulling her foot out and moving away from the muddy grass. Stiles' laughing continued behind her, and she huffed out a deep breath, gaining control. "Hey Lyds, I think you got some water on your pants-"
"Shut up, Stiles! And don't call me that!" She yelled, as he dissolved into laughter once again. "Sure thing, Lyds!" Of course she had to be walking in front of him, so he had a clear visual of her water soaked clothes. Stalking away faster, she turned into the trees. She got about fifteen steps before she stopped. This was the right way, right? Damn, everything looked the same.
"Hey, you with the strawberry-blonde hair. It's further this way." He said from behind her. She turned and walked back out the trees, past him, avoiding his eyes. Continuing to walk quickly, she held her head high. "Ah ah ah! Too far, too far." He called behind her. And that's how it went all the way home, Lydia stalking ahead of Stiles as he corrected her path.
By the time the trees cleared and their houses came into view, Lydia was miserable. It was still fairly cold out, and having wet clothes did not help one bit. Not to mention her underwear were...Not the most comfortable. And her nose was so cold that she couldn't feel it anymore. Without saying a word, she began to walk past Stiles' house and to her own. He cleared his throat behind her, "Aren't you forgetting something?"
She glanced over her shoulder, wondering if she had unknowingly dropped something. He gave her a light smile, gesturing to his house. "Don't you want a nice warm blanket to take home and cuddle up in?" She hesitated, wishing she could ignore him and close herself into her house. But dang it, a blanket sounded perfect. She could just grab the blanket and then go straight back to her house, no extra talking necessary.
She walked past him, brushing his shoulder, and stood at the back door of his house. "Well then, are you going to let me in?" She gave him an expectant look, waiting. He matched her expression, breathing deep. "I don't know, are you going to put away the claws?" She just narrowed her eyes again, refusing to back down.
"Stiles, open, the, door." She gave him her biggest fake smile, watching as his shoulders fell and he gave in. He moved next to her, pulling his key out of his pocket, muttering under his breath. He unlocked the door, and gestured for her to go in first. Just as she took a step forward, he pushed in front of her and stepped into the doorway. She gasped, as he stretched, leaving no room for her to go past him. She shoved him from behind, forcing her way in. "What a gentleman." She said accusingly, removing her shoes.
She tried her best to ignore the mud covering one of her shoes, not even wanting to think about it. Stiles walked further into his house, turning and winking at her. "Only for you, darling." He disappeared up the stairs, probably wanting her to stay behind and wait for him. Instead, she followed him up, studying the house as she went. It was very relaxing, with richly colored wood running through the structure, and homely furniture placed throughout.
Stiles opened a closet, pulling out about ten blankets. "Oh, perfect!" Lydia exclaimed, and Stiles jumped aside in surprise. She moved past him and instantly felt all the blankets, finding the softest one. "I'll take this one." She picked it up, and suddenly Stiles took it away. "Hey! I said you could have a blanket, but you can't have this blanket." He said. Lydia felt her jaw drop open.
"But you said, word for word, that I could pick one out! And I want that one!" She grabbed it back, and Stiles let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, fine, you can have that one. But you have to give it back. I'm not kidding." Lydia gave him a knowing look. "Oh, I get it. This is the blanket, isn't it? The one that will have me writing sonnets for you by nightfall?" But he didn't respond, simply reached out and touched it with his hand, a sad and bittersweet smile taking Lydia by surprise. "Something like that. It's just a very, very special blanket. So please promise you won't mistreat it. Okay?" He looked up at her, all teasing long gone, replaced by a look of pure honesty. Lydia felt her shoulders drop, all the prior fight in her gone.
"I promise. And thanks for letting me borrow it. Seriously, I really appreciate it." She offered him a smile, meeting his beautiful eyes. He smiled back, and the sudden intenseness threw Lydia completely off balance. One minute she hated this guy, or at least thought she did, and the next she felt the strongest connection with him. Neither of them broke the eye contact, until Stiles finally sighed.
"Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have had you sit on the branch. But you have to admit, it was fun. It's the perfect branch to sit on, and I knew it would be wet, but not that wet, so I really am sorry. Let me make it up to you. You can borrow a pair of my sweatpants, I'll make some soup while you change, then you can curl up on my couch, in this very blanket, and watch TV to your heart's content." He said, still giving her that incredibly honest smile.
Lydia felt her heart skip a beat. TV. Oh god, she hadn't watched TV in so long. And wearing a pair of mens sweatpants...Wrapped in a blanket...On a couch. She smiled even bigger at him. "Hand me some sweatpants, and show me where I can change." He smiled, and suddenly his face turned serious. "But hey, missy. Don't get any ideas. I'm not offering you my eternal love." He said gruffly, and Lydia almost choked on laughter. Stiles turned to walk away, but Lydia stopped him when she remembered something from earlier.
"How did you know?" She asked, her voice going quiet. She hadn't even meant for him to hear it, really. But he stopped and turned back to her, a confused look on his face. "Uh...how did I know what?" Lydia blushed a bit, realizing that now she had to tell him. "Back at the lake...You called me Lyds. My dad used to call me that, before he and my mom got divorced and he moved away." Stiles eyes widened in surprise, his gaze instantly growing intense. Lydia continued, her breath shaking. "And...You called me strawberry-blonde. All through school, I got teased for being a redhead and not having a soul. Before my grandma died, she used to brush my hair and tell me it was actually strawberry-blonde, and that I had the prettiest soul she had ever seen."
Lydia could hardly believe she had let the words escape her mouth, feeling more vulnerable than ever before. Her words were shaky, and she barely kept her eyes from tearing up. Stiles just stood there with a shocked expression, his eyes sad. But more than sad, it seemed like he understood her, and nobody had ever looked at her like that. It was silent, until finally Stiles gave her the sweetest smile she had ever seen and closed the distance between them. He pulled her in for a tight hug, crushing her against his chest. She smiled, settling in to him and wrapping her arms around his firm body. He smelled spicy, like a mix of flannel and autumn leaves.
"Are you okay with me calling you that? Lyds? And the whole strawberry-blonde thing? Because if not I will never mention either of them ever again." He said against her hair, and Lydia smiled against his shirt. "No, it's okay, I like it." She said quietly. They stayed like that for a long moment, before Stiles finally pulled away and smiled at her. She smiled back, still struck by how comfortable and natural everything felt with him.
"I'm gonna go grab you some sweatpants, and then I'll go make soup and coffee. Sound good?" He asked gently. She nodded, already missing his body heat, and watched as he gave her one more smile and then walked out of the room. She let out a deep breath the second he was gone, feeling her body grow weak. What was she doing? She couldn't let herself get too close. She wasn't ready yet. She had to be more careful. But something about the sweat coating her palms, and the way her heart was pounding, told her that keeping her distance from Stiles would be easier said than done.