It's safe to say the rest of Scott's day is a lot more colourful, and Scott wouldn't be Scott if his mind hadn't already started working on returning a nice gesture to Liam. It had come as such a surprise as well, because even though they had admitted they liked each other, Scott hadn't considered that they would actually do something with that information. They had only know each other solidly for, like, what? Three weeks now? That's really fast for a friendship to develop.

Then again, was it really a friendship they had been building? Scott would be lying if he said that he hadn't noticed he cared an uncharacteristic amount about Liam, but with everyone constantly telling him he always seemed to care too much, he might have mistaken his feelings for something more platonic.

And if that were true, there was always one question left to answer: namely, could he date Liam? It would be the first time after Allison.

He rubs his temples before going back to staring out the window again. School's out and he and Lydia are in her car. She eyes him sideways.

"Are you okay?" she asks, trying to pay attention to the road in the meantime.

Scott hums. "Just…overthinking things, I suppose," he answers truthfully.

"About Liam?" Lydia guesses correctly.

Scott nods. "I can't shake this feeling like I'll be cheating on Allison if I date him."

Lydia nods understandingly, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel as they stop in front of a red light. It stays quiet until the light turns green.

"Why don't you talk to her about it?"

Scott frowns. "Who? Allison?"

Lydia hums. "Yeah. Just ask her if she would be okay with you dating Liam."

Scott's frowns deepens as he gives her a weird look. "It's kinda hard to get an answer, you know…"

"No, it isn't," Lydia disagrees, shaking her head. "I ask her things all the time."

Scott's jaw drops a little. "You do?"

Lydia hums again, but this time it's a bit more high-pitched. "This isn't the first time I've gone to visit her."

"I know, but…asking her…that…it just sounds awkward."

"I thought the same when Ms. Morrell suggested it to me," Lydia admits. "But in the end I tried it and it actually really helped."

Scott licks his lips. He sits up a bit more. "What, err..." He clears his throat. "What did you ask her?"

Lydia pushes her shoulder blades deeper into the driver's seat, straightening her back. A strand of her hair falls in front of her face and she tucks it back behind her ear.

"If it was okay to move on," she confesses softly.

Scott's eyes widen a little, the confession serving as another reminder of the fact that he clearly doesn't know everything about Lydia.

"How did she answer?" he wonders.

Lydia's eyes narrow as she remembers. "It wasn't anything big. Like, I didn't see her ghost or hear her voice or anything like that. I just…got a feeling."

"A feeling?"

"Yeah, a feeling." She sighs. "I can't describe it, but from the moment I felt it, I knew it was okay. That she'd want that."

Scott ogles her, dumbstruck. "When was all this?"

"Last year," she answers. "I think around October?"

Scott thinks for a while before everything seemingly falls into place. "Right after we met Kira and Malia?"

Lydia nods. "Yep."

"So…is that why you were so distant towards them at first?"

"Back then it felt wrong to hang out with them," she explains, "and, you know, to make jokes and laugh. Especially since they didn't know Allison, so she was never mentioned." She catches Scott's gaze. "It felt like cheating."

Scott nods, amazed by his friend's story. "I never knew that."

Lydia smirks. "You really didn't think you knew everything about me, did you?" she repeats her words from the week before.

That makes Scott snort. His friend truly was a mystery. Then again, she also wasn't mysterious. Scott knows that, if you ask Lydia the right questions, you can get to know a lot about her. He had learned that from Stiles. Maybe Scott had to admit that he had forgotten that lately, too busy with all of his own stuff going on. Then again, he could trust that Lydia would be fine on her own. She was strong like that. Scott knew that as well. He envied that in her, even. She always seemed like she could let her emotions flow openly and go with them, without feeling sad or guilty.

They arrive at the graveyard a short while later. Scott had only been there twice and apparently it hadn't changed much since his last visit. The first time he had been there had been at the funeral, obviously. The second time had come a couple of months later, when he was missing her too much. His mom had come with him and he had cried against her chest. Her hands had stroked through his hair and Scott had felt like a little kid again. Only that time, not like the helpless five year old, but like the baby his mother used to cradle. She had loved Allison as well and was stricken with almost as much heartache as Scott. To him, it was nice to have her share in his grief.

It's considerably cloudy for such a happy occasion as Valentine's Day. Lydia crosses her arms in front of her chest, hugging her coat tighter against her body as they walk across the gravel path. The wind is chilly, but it doesn't bother Scott as much.

People would say that Allison had been buried on a peaceful spot, but to Scott, the whole graveyard looks the same. It's almost as if a different air hangs around it; a soft bubble of light and serenity. To him, they could've laid her anywhere, because it would have been the same. It's a nice thought, but also a discomforting one, because it would mean that all the gravestones are equal, which they aren't, because there are different people under them, and different memories. It's sad to think that for every visitor, only one or two plots stand out, and the rest of them get neglected. Would those people mind that if they were looking down on Scott right now? Should he pause at every single stone and pay his respects?

He doesn't know.

Lydia intertwines her arm with his and Scott gladly lets her lead him.

After a while they stop. There's still a candle burning under the engraved script, Scott assuming that Allison's dad must still come here a lot. He swallows, and Lydia tightens her grip on his arm. She inhales a sharp breath, but Scott doesn't hear her breathe out. Her eyes close briefly as if she's making a silent vow. Scott is curious as to what she's mentally saying, but he doesn't want to invade her privacy and ask. So, instead, he copies her motion, closing his eyes as well.

The wind whispers through the trees, making the leaves – and Scott – quiver. The rustling sound is the only one he can hear. There's no hum of traffic, or whistling birdsong. There's just silence. A peaceful silence, Scott realizes. A shiver creeps down his spine when he realizes what people mean when they say someone's 'resting' here.

He is pulled out of his thoughts when Lydia finally exhales. Her red lips have stuck together, but she blows them open, parting them a little. After that, she opens her eyes, blinking rapidly. Scott's not sure if it's from the brightness of the light or because of tears.

She turns to look at Scott. There's a gentle smile on her face; a satisfied one, even. It makes Scott's interest grow. It appears as if she has just received some kind of closure, and Scott feels a hint of jealousy curling in his stomach. He wants closure. He wants to know that it's okay.

He turns to look at the headstone again, sighing as he reads the dates. Lydia stays quiet, granting Scott the space he needs.

He hesitates for a couple of minutes, opening his mouth and closing it again, until he finally tries to speak.

"Allison…"

He looks up at the sound of his own voice. For a split moment he thinks he's shouting, but it's probably just an effect of the stillness of the place.

"Allison, I…" He presses his lips into a thin line, before he continues. "I miss you."

Lydia tightens her grip.

"I miss you so much," Scott repeats. The words fall from his mouth and hit the ground in front of the grave, as if trying to hug and comfort the cold stone. Scott looks up at the sky for a moment, suddenly thinking he might not be able to do this. That he doesn't have the courage. It hurts too much, something Scott didn't think it still would. It has been a year, after all and, sure, he thinks about her almost every day, but he hadn't expected that talking to her would be this hard.

"I love you," he breathes. He sniffs, straightening his back a little. "I still love you."

Lydia nods, the motion barely visible.

"But…" Scott sighs. "But there's this boy…" He quickly wipes his nose when he feels it has started to run. "His name's Liam." His bottom lip gets caught between his teeth. He smiles a little. "But you probably already know that." He scoffs through his tears. The water that has started to blur his vision is noticeable in his eyes. "And I…"

The lump in his throat hurts. He looks at Lydia when he continues, "And I like him."

She smiles gently, putting her head on his shoulder comfortingly.

Scott returns the gesture, pressing his cheek against the top of her head for a couple of seconds, before he turns back to Allison. "But we…we never broke up," he says, bottom lip trembling. "So that means we're still together and I…" He huffs. "I don't want to…I don't want to hurt your feelings by dating him."

The lump finally dissolves into his stomach. Scott clears a hand through his hair. "So, if you could just tell me it's okay…" He scoffs at himself. "Or give me a sign, then I…"

But he doesn't dare to speak those next three words. Lydia notices this and she nudges him a little, encouraging him. Scott looks at her, tilting his head, asking her to stop. But she shakes her head, the smile on her face still as sincere and comforting. Scott sighs, his shoulders slumping down.

"Then I can move on…" he murmurs.

The wind rustles through the trees again. Scott listens to it, trying to see if he can make out her voice in it. But it isn't there. It's just air; a natural occurrence that doesn't carry souls of the lost ones. It's nothing. There is no faith, no afterlife, no religion that can prove otherwise. Allison is dead. She's gone. And Scott's pathetic for asking for confirmation that she can't give.

But right when that thought fades into the depths of his mind, a wave of heat washes over him. He's flooded by it. Goosebumps crawl over his body like tiny needles darting on his skin. Not just on his arms, but also on his legs, his feet, his shoulders, his fingers, his thighs, his chest, his back, his stomach, the top of his head. Scott looks down from the blow and notices the flame of the candle has ignited a little brighter. It sparks, casting a quick shadow across the stone. A wave of air thrusts against Scott's body and the fence behind him and Lydia screeches from being blown open. Scott's mouth is agape and he turns to look at Lydia.

He's about to ask her if she felt that too, seeking confirmation that he hadn't imagined it, that his conflicted mind hadn't just played a trick on him. But he doesn't have to, because she's still smiling, and Scott realizes that moment had been real. He feels close to freaking out, but a sense of hope and relief hits him with so much force that it almost makes him cry again. He covers his mouth with his hands and grins. God, he laughs, even, because this is a combination of really creepy and basically insane that he has never felt before.

Yet Scott has never felt such peace of mind in only a heartbeat. He finally understands what Liam means when he says he's feeling content.

Scott has to admit it's wonderful.