26; A Misunderstanding
It was after lunch before she had a chance to see Allison and possible get the necklace. Their gym class that day was in the pool, she assumed that meant Allison wouldn't be wearing the necklace, meaning hopefully she could break into her locker and take it.
Henley quickly changed into her dark colored two piece swimsuits and a pair of blue jean shorts, then peeked around a bank of lockers and saw Allison standing in front of a locker. She saw her place her bag inside the locker then shut the door before turning to walk out of the locker room. She waited a moment for the room to empty out, then made her way over to the locker and opened it up.
She pulled out Allison's book bag, planning to open it and dig around inside, but before she could, she heard the sound of footsteps coming toward her, causing her to shove the bag back in and shut the door, right as Allison turned the corner and saw her.
"Hey." Allison said.
"Hey." Henley said back.
The two girls silently stood in front of each other, neither one knowing what to say first. There was so much Allison wanted to say, but didn't know where to begin. She had been rehearsing what she would say if given the chance, but this moment caught her completely off guard. She had only went back into the locker room because she forgot her towel, and now, she was face to face with a friend she owed the biggest apology to.
Thinking the brunette wasn't going to talk to her, Henley began to walk past her to leave the locker room, until Allison blurted out,"Henley, I'm so sorry." She turned around to face Allison as she continued,"You have every right to hate me and to never talk to me again-"
"Wait..." Henley interrupted. "I thought you weren't talking to me."
"No, I am... I mean, I wanted to, but I just- I never knew what to say." Allison explained. "I feel horrible about yesterday, about what Lydia did. I tried to call out after you, but you kept walking away. I thought you were mad at me or something."
"I just thought you and Lydia didn't want to talk to me because I went to Eichen." Henley said with a shrug.
"Henley, I don't care where you were or why you were there. You're my best friend, nothing is going to change that." Allison said honestly. "You were the first one to reach out to me when I was new here, you were there for me and I'm here for you. No matter what."
"Really?" Henley asked with a hopeful smile.
"Really." Allison said back with a chuckle. "I know I've been a horrible friend lately. I never knew you were in Eichen or I swear I would have visited and after the attack my dad took my phone so I didn't get any of your messages until yesterday when he finally gave it back since the school opened back up. He still didn't want to give it back then though or even let me come back to school-"
Before she could finish her explanation, Henley cut her off by throwing her arms around her, knocking her a little off balance, but she caught herself and let out a laugh as she wrapped her arms around her friend to hug her.
"I don't care. You don't have to explain." Henley said, stepping back and ending the hug. "I just really thought I had lost you as a friend."
Allison smiled and shook her head, then said,"Not possible."
Henley stepped forward to hug her again as she said,"I'm so glad to hear you say that." She pulled back, then added,"Oh, my God, I have so much to tell you!"
"Me too!" Allison exclaimed. A sad look appeared on her face as she said,"I broke up with Scott."
"I heard, I'm sorry." Henley said, grabbing her hands to comfort her, then the two girls sat down on the bench. "How are you doing?"
"Not good." Allison admitted. "It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do and sometimes I don't even know if it was the right thing, but I do know he is keeping something from me. I feel like everyone is keeping something from me."
"What do you mean?" Henley asked nervously, hoping she wasn't talking about her. She could understand more now why Scott was hesitant on telling the truth, she couldn't spill her secret either.
"Like my family... mostly my dad." Allison said. "I just have this feeling that he knows more about what happened here that night with the attack and what is going on around town."
"I learned recently that sometimes you can't trust your parents, sometimes one will lie to you for years without a second thought." Henley said, thinking of her mother. When her friend shot her a confused look, she added,"While I was in Eichen, I found out my mom has been lying to me all my life."
"About what?" Allison asked curious.
"It's a family thing. I can't really repeat it." Henley said as she nervously played with her hands, hoping Allison would accept that answer and not push.
"I guess every family has their secrets."
"It's starting to look that way."
"But I think maybe my aunt wants me to know the family secret." Allison said. "She gave me a necklace for my birthday and told me it was a family heirloom. She said if I wanted to learn about my family to look it up."
At hearing the word necklace, Henley perked up, then asked,"Can I see it?"
"Sure." Allison said as she stood up and went over to her locker to open it. She dug into her bag, then pulled it out and handed it to Henley. She recognized right away that it was the necklace Stiles wanted her to get from Allison.
She blew out a breath and slightly shook her head when she realized something else, he had lied to her. It couldn't be a coincidence that the necklace he and Scott needed just happened to be tied to Allison's family of werewolf hunters.
"I haven't searched much about the necklace, but Kate also told me about an old French legend... La Bete du Gevaudan." Allison said.
Before she could translate, Henley did. "The beast of Gevaudan, right?"
"Yeah. You know French?" Allison asked her, surprised.
"Un peu." Henley answered, telling her she knew a little. "I took French last year. Some of the words are still fresh in my mind, but the rest I don't remember, at all."
Allison opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say a word, they heard a whistle blow from behind them, causing them to quickly spin around and see their gym coach standing behind them.
"What are you two doing in here?" She asked. She pointed over her shoulder and clicked her tongue as she added,"Hit the pool you two."
Henley nodded her head as she and Allison stood up from the bench. While her friend was distracted by their teacher, she slipped the necklace into the pocket of her jean shorts. Not that Stiles deserved the necklace if he did lie to her, but it at least gave her a chance to confront him about it later.
As the two girls began to walk out of the locker room, Allison glanced over at her before saying,"So is there anything good going on in your life? With everything going on, I need some happy news."
"Well... I've been kissing Isaac." Henley admitted, then began to laugh when Allison let out a happy squeal.
She jumped up and down for a moment beside Henley, then grabbed her arm, before asking,"Are you serious? So what does this mean? Are you two together?"
"I honestly don't know." Henley answered with shrug.
"I'm sensing this isn't so happy."
"Yeah, probably more complicated than happy."
"Well, we have all class period to figure it out." Allison suggested.
"Good luck with that." Henley mumbled, knowing it wouldn't be easy to figure things out. She knew what she felt, she knew what she wanted, but she didn't know what he thought. Usually she could read him, but when it came to this, she was clueless. It was going to take longer than one class period to figure them out.
•••
After swim class, Henley quickly showered and changed back into her school clothes; a black skirt with a cut-out design at the bottom and a light color sweater with a black heart print all over. She grabbed her bag, pulling out her cell phone, and sent Stiles a short text, letting him know she had the necklace. She told him to meet her at her locker as soon as possible.
She was one of the first ones leaving the locker room, then walked down the hallway as fast as her black high heels would let her, making it to her locker within a few minutes.
While she waited, she pulled out the necklace, looking down at it and wondering what the story behind it was. How was it tied to Allison and her family? Why did Scott and Stiles want it?
Hearing footsteps coming toward her, she lifted her head and felt her eyes widen slightly when she saw it was Allison. She tried to slip the necklace into her bag before she saw it, but she wasn't fast enough.
"Oh, thank God, you have it!" Allison stated as she came to a stop in front of her friend. She took the necklace from her hand, then added,"I forgot you still had it. I thought I had lost it."
"No, nope, didn't lose it." Henley said. "I, uh, I was going to give it back to you later."
"Well now I saved you a trip." Allison joked.
Henley let out a short laugh before mumbling,"That's true."
"I'll see you later! I gotta get to class." Allison said, giving her a quick hug before rushing down the hallway.
Henley leaned back against her locker, breathing out a curse word, realizing how close that was, plus she hated having to lie to her best friend. She hated being involved with any of this, but now came the time to explain to Stiles what happened, then find out exactly what he wanted the necklace for; the truth.
With that thought in mind, she turned her head to the side when she heard the sound of running footsteps coming toward her.
Stiles skid to a stop in front of her, his breathing labored as he said,"Neck-Necklace? You got necklace?"
"Had." Henley corrected. When he shot her a confused look, she added,"I had it, but then Allison caught me with it and took it back."
"Damn." Stiles mumbled.
"Guess you'll need a plan B." She stated.
"You were plan B." He said back. "Plan A; was Scott asking for it, but Allison doesn't even want to talk to him. So now we need a plan C."
"Not we." She said, pushing away from the bank of lockers.
"What?" He asked confused.
"Not we, Stiles." She repeated. "I'm not a part of this anymore."
"Wh-What? Why?"
"Because I'm pretty sure you're lying to me." She said, folding her arms across her chest. "You don't need the necklace so Scott can win Allison back, you need it for a werewolf reason."
Even though her voice was low, he still shushed her and glanced around, making sure no one was listening in. He grabbed her elbow, planning to lead her to an empty room, but she shrugged him off, warning him not to touch her.
He rolled his eyes then gestured toward an empty class room off to the side. "Could you, please, just come in here, and talk to me."
"Fine." She hissed as she walked past him to go inside the room. He walked in behind her and shut the door, neither one noticing a certain curly hair, blue-eyed, boy down the hall seeing them walk into an empty room together.
"Hen-"
"You have five minutes, Stiles." She interrupted. She held up five fingers and added,"Just five minutes to explain and then I'm walking out that door."
"Five minutes?" He asked. "I'm not usually good with timed responses-"
"Five minutes." Henley reminded him.
"I can work with five minutes." Stiles stated as he flashed her a smile. He nervously played with his hands, then cleared his throat, before saying,"Okay, so, technically, I didn't lie. Scott does need that necklace to get Allison back. I just left out a few steps."
"Meaning you lied."
"Well, technically-"
"You're not going to get away with this on a technicality, Stiles." She interrupted. "You lied to me! And after I've told you I can't be involved with any of this."
"Okay, you're right, I did lie." He finally admitted. "I'm sorry, Hen, but that necklace can help get us closer to the alpha. That's the first part of the plan."
"You have no idea what you've done." She said, turning to take a few steps away from him, not interested in hearing the rest of the plan. She turned back around and added,"You have no idea what can happen to me if I help or if I get sucked into that world."
"That's a tad overdramatic, isn't it?" Stiles said with a chuckle, assuming she was exaggerating.
"No, it isn't, Stiles!" Henley exclaimed. "I made a promise that I wouldn't get involved, that is the only reason I was able to leave Eichen, and I'm not going back!"
"What happened to you in there?" He asked with a concern look.
"I learned the truth." She answered. "After being lied to all my life and now here you are lying to me as well, but not anymore!" She added as she turned to leave the room.
"What? Wait, what do you mean?" Stiles asked confused as he reached out to grab her arm, then quickly jumped back when she spun around and pulled her arm back.
"Next time you see me... don't talk to me!" Henley snapped. She took a step toward him and angrily added,"Don't call my phone, don't speak my name, don't even think of my name, because I can assure you, I'm going to forget your name."
She ignored him as he called out her name, asking her to wait a minute. He wanted to talk- to explain, he just didn't want her to leave angry. He rushed over to the door seconds after she slammed it shut, he jerked it open as the bell began to ring and the hall filled with students, causing her to get lost in the crowd.
He was starting to think the necklace plan wasn't going to work, and after realizing how mad he made Henley, he now wished he never would have asked her to help.
He still needed to find a way to find the alpha, he still wanted to help his best friend. He just needed a different plan. He needed to track the text Allison received that night, that would hopefully be a much better plan.
•••
Later that night, Henley walked across the parking lot, heading for the lacrosse field. Most of the town and fans of the opposing team were already there. It was the quarterfinals and excitement was in the air. If Beacon Hills won, and they had a good shot at it, then they would be going to the semifinals.
She stepped on to the lacrosse field and glanced around, looking for a familiar face. She saw Allison sitting in the stands with her father and aunt. She threw up her hand to wave at them, she thought about sitting with them until Kate turned to look at her, the look made her think she knew exactly what she was, but in a flash it was gone, making Henley wonder if she imagined it or not.
Henley sneaked a peek over at Kate again, seeing the older woman whispering with her brother, before they both glanced over at her, causing her heart to race as she wondered what they were talking about. Did Kate somehow know what she was and now they were discussing her or was she just being paranoid?
She quicken her steps, wanting to get out of their eyeline and almost slammed into a Beacon Hills High player. She turned her head, seeing that it was Scott, causing her to take a quick step back when he reached out to help keep her steady. Even though she knew the night before wasn't really his fault, she was still a little unsure about him. Plus with him being a werewolf and her being a fórsa, it was probably for the best that they didn't touch.
"Hey." Scott said, shooting her an apologetic smile.
"Hi." Henley quietly said back. She flashed him a tight smile then walked past him, until he called out,"Hey, Henley, wait, please."
"I should find a seat." She said, pointing behind her. "You know, before the game starts."
"I know, but I uh, I just wanted to talk to you for a minute." He said, nervously. "If-If that's okay."
"Look, Scott, whatever it is, I can't help." She said, assuming he needed her help with something she couldn't help with, with whatever 'big' plan he and Stiles had.
"No, it's nothing like that." He said back. Stiles told him before about how she didn't want to be involved with anything having to do with werewolves. "I wanted to talk to you about last night and-and apologize." He thought back to when they were in the woods, how drawn he was to her, there was a part of him that really wanted to hurt her, that wanted to take all of her stored energy, and he hated that. That was not the type of person he was.
"If I hurt you or scared you, I'm sorry." He continued. "That wasn't me last night, it was the moon and-"
"I know." She interrupted. "I know if you were in the right frame of mind, you wouldn't hurt me or anyone."
"So, friends?" He questioned with a hopeful smile.
"I don't know." She answered honestly with a shake of the head.
"Oh." Scott breathed out, surprised at her answer.
"Look, Scott, I'm not trying to be a bitch, but with what you are, I don't know if we can be." She explained. "I'm sorry." She added when she saw the look on his face.
She turned to walk away until he said something that made her stop in her tracks.
"There's a cure." He quietly said for only her to hear.
"Really?" She questioned as she turned back to face him, realizing what the big plan was now.
"Well, Derek said he heard of a one, but he doesn't know if it is true or not."
"For your sake, I hope it is true." She said sincerely. "Good luck, Scott."
She gave him a small smile, then without another word, turned and began to walk away. She glanced over her shoulder for a moment, seeing the dejected look on Scott's face before he began to put his pads on, getting ready for the game. She hated that she couldn't help or even be around him, it wasn't anything personal, but she couldn't chance something happening and they became connected.
Feeling bad, Henley turned her head away from Scott, then came to a stop when she saw Isaac. He was sitting on the team bench alone, putting his cleats on.
A genuine smile appeared on her face as she silently watched him. It seemed like forever ago when the two ate breakfast together, then stole a few kisses in an empty classroom.
She made her way over toward him, coming up behind him with a grin on her face. Remembering what he did to her earlier, she placed her hands over his eyes and leaned toward him as she whispered out,"Guess who?"
He instantly knew who it was, even before she spoke, he knew it was her. He remember doing the same thing at her locker earlier that day, he also remembered how she didn't want to kiss him in the hall in front of everyone, like she wanted to keep them, whatever they were, a secret.
Not wanting to play this game with her anymore, he reached up to remove her hands and mumbled out a greeting.
She tried not to take offense of his mood, chalking it up to nerves because of the game. She swung a leg over the bench, then sat down beside him as she asked him if he was okay and got a nod back in return. Next she asked him if he was nervous about the game, earning a quick shake of the head.
She blew out a breath, then turned to look at the field for a moment as she wondered why he was being so quiet with her. Was it because of the game or some other reason?
She turned back to look at him as she whispered out,"Hey..." She waited until he turned to look at her, before continuing,"Are you mad at me about something?"
"Nope." Isaac said, shaking his head.
"Right." Henley mumbled, not believing him. "Well, I just wanted to wish you luck, but obviously that was a mistake." She spat out as she went to stand up.
"Hey, wait..." He began to say as he reached out to grab her hand. As she sat back down, he looked over at her and continued,"I'm sorry for being a dick." Not wanting to get into the real reason right now, he gave her a shrug, before saying,"Maybe I am a little nervous."
"You shouldn't be." She said, flashing him a smile.
"Right, 'cause I'm kinda good." He said with a chuckle, remembering she told him that earlier that day.
"Yep, only kinda good." She joked, causing him to laugh. "But, I plan to cheer very loud for you, so hopefully that'll help. Or maybe this will help." She added as she stood up for a moment to unbutton her coat, showing him she was wearing the lacrosse shirt he recently gave her.
He smiled at seeing her wearing his shirt. She button the coat back up, then sat back down as he said,"Because of that, and knowing you'll be cheering for me, maybe I will be more than kinda good tonight."
"Maybe you will." She said back. "Just don't say you'll score a goal for me. That's pretty corny, Isaac."
"Uh, no. No I'm not scoring one for you." He said with a shake of the head. "I'm not, because you're terrible. Just the worst ever." He joked, causing her to laugh before playfully punching him in the shoulder.
When she went to hit him again, he grabbed her hand, holding it in his. She glanced down at the joined hands, seeing him run his thumb over the back of her hand, causing goosebumps to pop up on her skin.
"Hey..." He said, getting her attention. "I never did thank you."
"For what?"
"For being there for me last night. For letting me crash at your house-"
"Isaac..." She interrupted. "You know you are always welcomed at our house. You're family. You always have been."
She gave him a shy grin as she softly added,"But I have to be honest, I was a little disappointed this morning when I woke up and you were not beside me. It would have been kinda nice to wake up with you."
He ran his thumb over the back of her hand again and nodded his head, then said,"That would be kinda nice." Feeling confident, he shot her a wink and said,"Maybe next time."
"Next time?" She questioned as she shot him a look, a chuckle escaping her lips. "Who says there will be a next time?" She teased.
"You just said I'm always welcomed." He pointed out.
"Yeah at the house, but that doesn't always include my bed." She joked.
"We'll see." He joked back.
She opened her mouth to say something back, enjoying the flirty banter the two had going, but before she could say something, Coach Finstock walked over toward them, speaking to anyone who would listen as he called out,"Where the hell is Bilinski?"
"Bilinski?" Henley asked as she turned to look at Isaac with a laugh. "Since when is there a Bilinski on the team?" She joked.
"He means Stiles." Isaac explained. "No one cares enough to correct him though."
Henley laughed at the comment as she glanced around, looking for the player in question. When she didn't see him, she lowered her eyebrows in concern as she wiped her head to the other side, her eyes reading the numbers on each uniform, but not seeing his.
Turning back to look at Isaac, she said,"Wait, Stiles isn't here?"
"Nope." He answered, remembering he never saw him in the locker room before.
"But yet he's starting. He finally has a chance to start, but he's not here." She pointed out. Earlier at school she remembered him telling her about starting in the game that night and how excited he was. She couldn't believe he would miss a chance to finally play, making her worry about what could have happened to him.
"Nope." Isaac repeated, not seeing what the big deal was or why she even cared.
When she jumped to her feet, he looked up at her, asking her what she was doing. She glanced over at him, a pained look on her face, she didn't want to leave the game, she wanted to cheer him on, but there would be no way she could just sit in the stands without a care in the world when Stiles could be in danger. She knew he was trying to find the alpha, she couldn't help but wonder, what if he did find him?
"I got to check on something." She finally answered him.
"You're leaving?" Isaac asked surprised as he stood up from the bench.
"I'll be back. I can make it back. I'm really going to try to make it back." She reassured him. "I just have to check on-"
"Stiles?" He guessed. From the look on her face, he knew his guess was right, causing him to let out a scoff. "What is it about him? Why Stiles?" He tried to keep his jealousy at bay, but couldn't help it.
"What? What do you mean?" She asked confused.
"What is going on with you two?" Isaac questioned, confusing her even more. She stuttered out a few words, unsure how to answer since she didn't understand what he was asking. He cut her off as he continued,"Actually, better question, what is going on between us?"
"I-I don't- I don't know." Henley muttered, feeling caught off guard. "Isaac, I don't- I don't understand... What do you want me to say?"
"You know what, you don't have to say anything. Forget it." He said as he turned to walk off, until she grabbed his arm asking him to wait. "You know, I just don't get it. I'll see you two talking in the halls, right out in the open, then you go into an empty room with him. And I know what happens in empty rooms, I mean that's what you dragged me into... away from prying eyes. I mean, that is what you said, right?"
"Yeah, but, that's not how I meant it." She tried to explain, realizing he was taking it all wrong. "And trust me, if I'm in an empty room with Stiles, it's not to make out!"
"No, you know what, don't worry about it." He said. "You don't have to explain. I guess whatever was going on between us... it was a mistake."
"Isaac, that's not... Just let me explain-"
"Seriously, don't worry about it, Henley. You don't have to explain a thing." He interrupted. "I guess we were right the first time, friends shouldn't hook up."
"Isaac-"
"I got a game and you got to go, remember?" He said, interrupting her again. He ignored her as she tried to explain and walked over toward his teammates. He hated walking away from her like that, but he was getting a little tired of the back and forth. He knew what he wanted, he knew what he felt for her, but was unsure what her feelings were or where he stood with her.
He didn't want to just hook up with her, he didn't want to be friends with benefits or anything like that with her, he wanted something real with her, but when she pulled him into empty rooms, like she was trying to hide what they were, it was clear to him that she didn't want the same thing as him.
Henley stood on the sidelines, her eyes on Isaac as she wished she could go over to him, telling him how she really felt and fix everything between them. She was still a little confused on what just happened, but it seemed like a big misunderstanding. It seemed to her that he had the wrong idea or maybe he did really think everything between them was a mistake.
As a whistle blew, signaling the start of the game, she blew out a breath then turned to regrettably walk away while Isaac ran onto the field. She could hear the sounds of the lacrosse sticks hitting against each other and the roar of the crowd as she walked across the parking lot, further away from the game and further away from Isaac.
•••
Henley let out a groan as the call she tried to make went to voicemail. She tossed the cell phone onto the passenger seat, then turned on to the road that Stiles' lived on. Since leaving the game, she had been trying to call him, but every call went straight to voicemail, making her worry even more.
She rode around town, looking for his familiar jeep, then decided to drive by his house. When she didn't see his vehicle there, she circled back around and went back to the high school, unfortunately by then the game was over. She had missed everything, which she hated, she had really wanted to watch Isaac play. Plus, she had no doubt missing the game made things even worse between them.
Seeing something from the corner of her eyes, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Stiles' pull his jeep into the school parking lot.
She quickly turned the wheel, pulling in after him and parking behind him. She threw the door open and called out his name, causing him to jump in surprise as he turned to face her.
"Henley? What are you-"
"I've been calling you."
"I know, but I thought we weren't suppose to be talking." He stated, reminding her of what she told him earlier that day at school. "I was told not to talk to you again, remember?"
"Stiles, look, I'm sorry, okay?" She said with a sigh. "I'm- I was- there's so much shit going on and I took it out on you. I'm not trying to make excuses, but the last few weeks have been hell for me. I was sleepwalking, I had a wreck, I was shipped to Eichen; where I found out my mother has been lying to me all my life. I'm trying to forgive her for that, but it's hard, and I'm also trying to come to terms with what I am. I'm trying to lead a normal life- as normal as I can anyways, and trying to stay out of everything or it could be deadly for me." She paused for a moment, before she blurted out everything. She couldn't chance what she was getting out and becoming the latest rumor around school.
"Then you lied to me and I just lost it. It was like my breaking point, you know?" She continued. "But I know it wasn't fair to take all of that out on you."
Stiles nodded his head, accepting her apology. He thought about it for a moment, then said,"So, does this mean we are friends?"
"I left the game, Stiles. I missed everything." She said, gesturing around the partially deserted parking lot. "Instead of cheering on my friends, I left and I blew up your phone, I drove all over town, I went by your house, and all because I was worried. I think that means we are friends."
"Like Batman and Black Canary?"
"No. Never that." She said with a shake of the head. "And actually, now, you're making me rethink this whole friendship thing."
"Too late." Stiles said back. "You already said we're friends, you can't take it back."
Henley let out a chuckle, then turned toward her car, telling him she had to go. She was hoping to find Isaac and talk about the misunderstanding from earlier and apologize for missing his game. She hated how they left things.
"Wait..." He called out to stop her. When she turned to look at him, he added,"You're not going to ask?"
"I don't think I should." She said. She couldn't deny that she was curious to know what happened, but the less she knew the better.
"We know who the alpha is."
"Stiles, I don't-"
"It's Peter, Hen."
"Hale?" She questioned with wide eyes. "As in Derek's uncle?"
"Mm-hm." Stiles said with a nod.
"Well, at least now I know who to stay away from." Henley said.
"Yeah." He said, agreeing with her. He paused for a moment in thought, then said,"Wait, so that means, you were sharing dreams with Peter Hale. That's pretty creepy."
"It was creepy, as well as, freaky." She pointed out. "But thankfully it's over."
The two were silent for a moment, until he broke the silence and said,"Okay, so, are you ever going to tell me what you are or am I going to have to ask?"
"No." She simply said.
"Wha-wait... is that no to you're not telling me or no I can't ask?" Stiles asked confused.
"No to both."
He thought about her answer for a moment, his mouth opened and closed a few times, before he said,"So that means I can't ask-"
"No, Stiles, you can't ask." She interrupted. "The less people who knows, the better."
"Now I'm really curious." He mumbled as he wondered to himself what she could be. "Is it a dragon? Are you a dragon? A mermaid? Fairy? Wait is it-"
"Stiles!" She interrupted, trying to get him to stop guessing. "I'm not telling, plus it doesn't matter what I am, I'm staying out of all of this."
"Can you really do that though?" He questioned. "Do you think you can really stay out of it?"
"I have to. I don't really have a choice." She said, with a shrug. Sometimes she wished she could help, but she knew she couldn't. She made a deal.
She pointed toward her car and said,"Well, I should go."
"Yeah, me too." He said back. "I need to find Scott."
She nodded, telling him bye, then turned to walk over to her car. She slide behind the wheel, then reached over to grab her cell phone, feeling a little disappointed that Isaac hasn't tried to contact her. She blew out a breath, then sent him a text, asking if they could talk.
She started the car, then laid her head back against the headrest as she waited to see if he would text back or not. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling let down as the minutes ticked by.
When she finally heard her phone beep with a new message, she quickly sat up and checked it. It wasn't from who she had hoped for, but it was from someone she was glad to hear from.
She glanced at the text from Lydia, only seeing a broken heart emoji, and felt her own heart break for her friend. She knew what that symbol meant, it's what she would always send when she was upset and needed a shoulder to cry on. It also meant she needed a can of chocolate frosting, stat.
Henley put the car in drive then pulled out of the parking lot. After making a quick stop to buy a can of frosting, she continued to drive to the Martin's house. She used the spare key Lydia had given her and walked into the house. She went into the kitchen first, grabbing a bottle of Natalie's wine, then went to her friend's bedroom.
She lightly tapped on the door, then pushed the door open, seeing Lydia sitting in the middle of the bed. She looked up hearing the door open, fresh tears falling down her face when she saw Henley standing there. With the way she had been treating her lately, a part of her had feared she wouldn't even show up.
"I'm sorry." Lydia softly said.
"We don't have to talk about that right now." Henley said. "What happened?"
"Jackson did dump me." She answered as more tears filled her eyes. "It wasn't a joke."
"I'm sorry, Lyd." Henley said sincerely as she walked over toward the bed. She sat the can of frosting, a bottle of wine and a corkscrew down on the bedside table, then sat down beside the redhead. "What did he say when you talked to him earlier?"
"He said he's making big changes in his life and needs to get rid of dead weight." Lydia explained, her voice quivering as she tried to hold back a fresh round of tears. "I'm the dead weight."
"No, no, Lyd, you're not. You know how he gets sometimes. This has nothing to do with you, this is about him being an ass." Henley stated. She considered Jackson a friend, and he could be a good one, but when it came to being a good boyfriend to Lydia, most of the time he was a jerk. "Look at all the times before he has broken up with you for some stupid reason or another. You have put up with so much shit from him and you deserve better than that."
"He is an ass." The redhead said agreeing with her.
"A huge ass." Henley added.
"And I do deserve better."
"Way better."
"And I can't believe he had the nerve to ask me for his key back." Lydia said, getting angry about it.
"You didn't give it back, did you?"
"No."
"Good, don't give it back." Henley said. "Or if you do, you should shove it up his-"
"Henley!" Lydia exclaimed with wide eyes, a chuckle escaped her lips.
The brunette laughed along with her, then turned to the side to grab the can of frosting and the bottle. She turned back toward her friend, handing her the can as she said,"Here, this will make you feel better." Holding up the bottle, she added,"And I stole this from your mom. It'll help too."
"Mom will notice that is missing." Lydia pointed out.
Henley grabbed the corkscrew, pulling the cork out, then said,"And we'll do like we usually do... pretend we have no idea what she is talking about."
Lydia chuckled at the comment and took the bottle from her, taking a sip from it, then passing it back to her. She was quiet in thought for a moment, before softly saying,"I don't know what to do, Hen."
"We could always prank call Jackson." Henley suggested as she took a sip from the bottle.
"No, that's not what I meant." Lydia said, another chuckle escaped. "I meant in general. I don't know what to do."
"I'll tell you what you're gonna do..." Henley began to say as she held out the bottle. "You're gonna drink this and then you're going to stuff your face with chocolate frosting, you're going to cry on my shoulder if you need to, then tomorrow you're going to put on your favorite outfit, your hair and makeup will be flawless, then you'll hold your head high and make him regret breaking your heart again."
"Can we just skip to the crying on your shoulder part?" Lydia questioned as her eyes began to water.
"Of course." Henley said. She sat the bottle down, then leaned back against the headboard. She held out her arms, motioning for Lydia to come toward her. With tears rolling down her face, Lydia cuddled against her friend, burying her face in her shoulder as more tears fell.
She wasn't sure how long she cried, but once she felt like she couldn't cry anymore, she sniffed and wiped at her face, before whispering out,"I'm sorry, Hen, for the way I acted toward you."
"I told you, we don't have to talk about this right now." Henley said back. For now, she just wanted to help her through this breakup.
"Yes we do." Lydia argued as she pulled back to look at her. "We're suppose to be there for each other, like you are for me now, but when you needed me, I wasn't there. I turned my back on you."
"Why did you?" Henley quietly asked as she glanced down, nervously playing with the comforter on the bed.
"I'm not stupid, Hen, I know something is going on and I know somehow you're involved, that you believe in it." She began to explain. "But, I'm not ready to believe in it, and I know in order to believe in you, then that means I will have to believe in it."
She blew out a breath and shook her head for a moment, before quietly adding,"I don't even know if that makes sense, but I just know, I'm scared. I've been so scared lately and I don't know what to think."
"I've been like that a lot lately too." Henley said, understanding. "But once I learned the truth, it helped some. I mean, I'm still scared, but at least I don't feel so crazy anymore."
"I don't think I'm ready for the truth yet." Lydia quietly admitted. It was probably not the most healthy way of dealing with it, but she wanted to remain in denial a bit longer. She didn't want to think about the red-eyed monster she saw at the video store or how that same monster chased them all around the school. For now she wanted to push all of that out of her mind and just think about normal teenager stuff.
"And that's okay." Henley said. "When you are ready for the truth, you'll know."
"So do you forgive me?" Lydia asked with a hopeful smile on her face.
"Can I have all the wine?" Henley questioned as she grabbed the bottle, causing the redhead to laugh.
"It's yours."
"Then I forgive." The brunette said with a laugh of her own, feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had worked things out with Allison and now Lydia, she just hoped Isaac would reach out to her soon and working things out with him would be next. Then maybe she could finally live normally.
•••
A/N; Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to kalajmic, Mrs. IsaacLahey14, RHatch89, xxxRena, lilnightmare17, C. B. Weasley, sarah0406, elizaxbethx3, SquidaQdaloo and MsRose91 for reviewing.
Happy reading!
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