Hope you enjoy this chapter! So grateful for all of you reading and those that have given feedback! More fluff and core four fun!

I do not own Teen Wolf.


Lydia woke in the morning, feeling surprisingly refreshed even though she went to sleep late and her mind had been a little preoccupied with the weirdness of the evening.

Allison had seemingly been up for a little while, since she came in a few moments later with her hair wet from the shower and fresh clothes on.

She brightened when she saw the strawberry-blonde was up.

"Good morning, birthday girl! Happy birthday!" she said enthusiastically, squeezing her in a hug. "I just woke the boys up."

Lydia was surprised that it was after nine a.m. already.

"Um, do you think it would be okay if I jumped in the shower?"

"Of course! I told the boys you'd want to go first so they're going to wait until after breakfast."

Lydia smiled gratefully at her. Allison was a good friend and she barely knew her. She had a feeling her looking out for others was something she always did well.

Grabbing her things, Lydia headed into the bathroom to get ready for the day, feeling the first pinpricks of excitement brewing in her veins.


It took her some time to get ready, needing to blow-dry and style her hair and apply her make-up, but she didn't feel the need to go over the top. She really had no idea what they would be doing for the day so she took a more natural route and, once all of her stuff was put away, headed downstairs to find the others.

Stiles and Scott, still in pajamas and with bed-hair, were manning the stove and assumingly cooking up a feast.

Allison was sitting across the counter and the group was talking quietly.

It wasn't until Stiles spoke, well whisper-shouted really, that Lydia realized the tension in the room. "How could you guys not tell me?"

"We didn't want you to come charging back home. It would probably make everything worse." Allison told him wisely.

"Well, it would've been nice to know, especially since Derek decided to make a drop-in visit in the middle of the night and implied a hell of a lot in front of Lydia, who I now either have to lie to or skate around the truth…"

"What were you two doing outside anyways?" Scott asked.

Stiles looked down. "Just… talking."

Lydia tried not to smile. She was glad he kept their little celebration moment between them, as well as what might have happened had Derek not interrupted.

"You know you can't tell Lydia, Stiles. It's for her protection. You don't want her getting involved in this mess."

"Haven't I already? Bringing her here, with all of this shit going on?"

"We don't know that anything is going on yet." Allison interjected.

"You accidentally nearly shot Isaac in the head, and Scott is losing control of his abilities, and that's not something going on?"

"We're dealing, Stiles. The best we can. And you haven't had anything happen yet, right?"

"Not really. Some nightmares, but I don't think they're like what you guys are experiencing. It must be because you guys are here, close to it."

Lydia was only getting more and more confused. Allison nearly shot some guy? And what abilities was Stiles referring to that Scott had? And Stiles was having some sort of prevalent nightmares? What had being back in Beacon Hills have to do with it?

Scott leaned forward intently. "Maybe that's why I had such a hard time waking you up from your nightmare earlier. You were shaking the whole bed but I couldn't seem to get you to come back to reality. Are they normally like that?"

Stiles looked stressed. "Well, no, not usually."

"You're lucky Lydia was still sleeping. It sounded like you guys were practicing football drills in your room." Allison commented.

"Well I practically had to wrestle him down once he woke up—"

Stiles grew impatient. "Speaking of Lydia, can we change the subject? She is going to be down soon. It's her birthday. The least we can do is cut the shop talk and focus on making it a fun, no-stress day. It will be good for all of us."

"Do you still think we should stick with the earlier plan?" Allison asked, grateful for the subject change.

"I think that sounds like the most fun, yeah."

Lydia decided now was as good a time as any to come out of hiding and walked into the kitchen as if she hadn't been eavesdropping on their cryptic conversation.

Allison immediately turned and smiled brightly at the sight of Lydia.

"Hey! We were just discussing ideas for today."

Lydia slid onto the stool next to her, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible and also trying not to concentrate on how adorable Stiles looked with his hair that messy.

"I hope it's nothing too crazy."

"Guess that cuts out cliff-diving and crocodile wrestling…"

Lydia rolled her eyes at Stiles, meeting his for a second, and feeling a now-familiar thrill run up her spine. Based on the way his smirk melted into a soft smile, she wondered if he was remembering last night too. The good part, not the confusing part.

Lydia decided she would do what the rest of them were doing—push aside all thoughts about what mysterious thing was going on and focus on enjoying the day.

"Well, first things first, we'll need our energy, so eat up." Scott said, dishing pancakes out to both girls and passing over the bacon and eggs.

"I had no idea you two could cook." Lydia said as she dug through her food, not realizing how starving she was until the aroma from it all starting wafting into her nose.

"Stiles is the real pro. I mostly handle the easy stuff."

Stiles shook his head amusedly at the word 'pro' but Lydia was intrigued. She never would've pegged him for someone who knew his way around the kitchen.

No doubt catching her curiosity, or assuming it after getting to know her, he explained.

"Well, growing up with just me and dad, he usually worked long hours so I tried to make sure he at least had a decent meal to come home to or heat up later."

"He's actually pretty awesome at it. He's made stuff for me and Scott before. And he is more on his dad's case about eating healthy than his doctor is." Allison added teasingly.

Stiles looked a little pinker than normal now, and Lydia smiled into her pancakes.

She knew what Scott and Allison were doing. They knew how Lydia felt about Stiles, so they were trying to give her an opening to compliment him, while simultaneously helping her get to know him better and showcasing his positive attributes.

"That's impressive. I'm lucky if I can make cereal without screwing it up."

The other three laughed.

Allison patted Scott's cheek affectionately. "Same with this one."

"Hey, I make great mac and cheese."

The brunette put her hand over her heart. "My mistake. His mac and cheese is superior."

"And don't forget it, or else you're not getting any anymore."

"Fine! I'll deny you my desserts."

"Fine! I'll deny you drives on my bike!"

"That's fine, I'll deny you sex."

Scott closed his mouth grumpily at that and Allison giggled into him, now that he was on her side of the counter.

Stiles rolled his eyes while Lydia tried not to crack up. "This is the breakfast table. Can we keep it PG, please?"

Scott was rubbing gentle circles into Allison's lower back. "Sorry."

Lydia wasn't bothered, and she knew Stiles wasn't really either. Scott and Allison were cute together, and the way they were looking at each other made it obvious where their feelings lay. Lydia wondered if they'd be together forever. She didn't see teenagers that in love very often.

"So where are we starting with the activities today?" she asked as she picked up her dishes, and Stiles' despite his protests. "Don't give me that. You made breakfast. Only fair I clean up. Plus you need to shower."

He grinned at that, following her to the sink with Allison and Scott's, the pair of them too consumed with each other to notice.

"Is that your way of saying I stink?"

She leaned against the counter to block his access, raising an eyebrow in challenge at him.

"No. That's my way of saying I hogged the bathroom earlier, so it's only fair. But now that you mention it…"

Stiles' mischievous grin was her first indicator, but she didn't realize what his retaliation would be until she felt his fingers find her waist and begin their tickling.

"No! Stiles! Stop or else!" she screeched, trying to get out of his reach but failing miserably since he barricaded her in.

"Or else what?!" he laughed.

Not knowing how else to defend herself, she reached behind and grabbed the spray, flipping the water on and shooting a stream at his chest.

He backed up instantly, shouting in protest, and she shut off the water as she giggled into her hand. She had made a total mess, but the disbelief on his face was totally worth it.

She put it back in its slot. "I warned you."

Stiles shook the water out of his hair. "I really thought you were kidding about me needing a shower that badly."

Lydia didn't hear him though. She was too distracted by the sight of the thin burgundy t-shirt sticking to his skin, revealing a ripple of muscle on his abdomen.

She had never really considered Stiles being overly fit. He was obviously thin, but she hadn't really considered him 'athletic'. Now she knew he was actually hiding a swimmer's-type body.

Her lip got caught between her teeth as she let her eyes wander down his body, and they snapped back up to his face when she realized what she was doing.

"Sorry. I'll clean it up, I promise."

It took way more control than it should have to keep her voice from dropping an octave.

"I can help—"

"No, no, don't be silly. I've got it. It's just a bit of water. Go shower." she said quickly, turning to find a towel.

She felt another body approach from behind, and she turned to tell Stiles off again, but found Allison leaning down to help.

She was grinning, and Scott was gone.

"So… that was clever of you. I'm sure if you asked he'd be willing to show you his body."

Lydia groaned and buried her face in her bent knees as her new best friend laughed.


"Have you thought any more on what you might want for your birthday? I was thinking from me you could have a bunch of those clothes I have kicking around my closet, but is there something else you'd want?"

Lydia shook her head in disbelief at her as they sat cross-legged on the guest room bed and she watched Allison put a complicated French braid in her hair.

"I really don't even need that much. It's so generous of you."

"Hey, you might hate it all. But I was thinking you should come over later this afternoon for a bit. We could go through the clothes and maybe have some girl time, give the boys a chance to have some one-on-one video game time or whatever they do when they're together."

"That sounds awesome." Lydia told her sincerely, really meaning it. She couldn't remember the last time she had done that with someone.

Allison smiled proudly. "Good."

"You guys ready to go?" Stiles' voice came from the doorway, and Lydia automatically tucked her hair nervously behind her ear.

"Of course." Allison said, swinging her purse across her body and skipping out of the room.

Lydia was a little slower, and Stiles smiled as he waited for her.

"I forgot to say so earlier, but happy birthday."

Scott told her happy birthday before he headed into the bathroom to shower, and Melissa and the Sheriff said it to her as soon as they saw her, both on their way out the door. She hadn't even noticed that Stiles was the only one who hadn't yet that morning.

"Thank you, but you told me last night, remember?" she reassured him as they headed down the hall together.

He put his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, last night."

The wistful way he said it, as if he was reflecting on a positive memory, made her unable to hide the curve in her lips as they caught up with the others.

Allison was right about him being under her skin.


If Lydia was honest, not that there was much competition, it was by far the best birthday she had ever had.

After they piled into Stiles' jeep, they headed off to the nearby indoor rock climbing place, where Lydia was really grateful that Allison told her to pack a change of clothes, since she had leggings and a better shirt than the dress she was originally going to wear.

It ended up being a lot of fun, although she had only done it in gym class before, and the four of them were naturally competitive which made things interesting.

"You're taking your time." Allison teased Scott at one point, her several stones ahead of him.

He leaned back and cocked an eyebrow at her. "Maybe I'm just admiring the view."

She laughed and kept going, only to find him beating her to the top in the end.

"God, Allison, you took your time…"

With a smirk, she kicked at him and he slipped off of the wall, the harness needing to catch his fall as he sighed in defeat. She cackled from her spot at the top, smacking the buzzer with pride.

Stiles and Lydia were on an adjacent wall, competing here and there, but mostly they just talked while they climbed, covering topics like gym class nightmares and making fun of their friends.

At one point, when Lydia got especially high on one of the taller walls, and Allison, Scott and Stiles had already landed back on the floor, they dared her to jump from that height and fall into the pit of soft foam that was waiting at the bottom to soften any falls.

She wasn't exactly afraid of heights, but it was a long drop, so she was hesitant.

"Lydia, don't listen to them. You don't have to do that. Just climb down. Or we can lower you." Allison reassured her.

"No, it's fine." she called back, determined not to back down from a dare, however childish. She was stubborn and it seemed like the kind of day to welcome new experiences with open arms.

Letting out a tiny squeak, she released from the wall and descended into the fluff, giggling at the thrill as they exploded around her.

"Leave her!" she heard Stiles shout giddily, and she rolled her eyes as she saw Scott and Stiles racing to the locker room.

Allison helped her out. "How was that?"

"The absolute best." Lydia replied breathlessly, unable to stop grinning.

"You realize now we have to beat them at laser tag, right?"

"Oh hell yes. You're on my team."


The afternoon continued much like that, Lydia and Allison winning laser tag as promised, what with Allison's excellent hand-eye coordination and hunting skills. She knew how to strategize, even if she only ever hit moving objects for competition purposes. Or so Lydia assumed, despite the confusing conversations she had been eavesdropping on lately.

Their laser tag win had been awesome. Lydia had never felt so badass as she did when they stole Scott and Stiles' flag from their home-base and screamed in victory. Her and Allison's victory dance would probably be something she'd be embarrassed to do around anyone outside of their group of four.

Stiles and Scott sulked a bit at the loss, and then decided that, for bowling, it would be Scott and Allison vs. Lydia and Stiles.

"Don't worry, we'll smoke them. Scott sucks at bowling."

"How do you know I don't suck at bowling?"

"Do you suck at anything?"

Lydia didn't reply to that, worried he'd turn from tying his bowling shoes to see the stupid giddy look on her face.

Stiles was severely unimpressed when, after some whispered pointers from Allison, Scott managed to get a spare. His previous tries had all been gutter balls.

She looked far too satisfied with herself, and the way Scott was looking at her made it clear that he didn't want to know what they had exchanged.

"You guys are still going down."

"Stiles, you're not that great at bowling." Allison reminded him teasingly. She was about on par with him, so it's not as though there was a clear winning team yet.

But then Lydia stepped up to the lane and rolled her ball in a perfect line down the middle, knocking all of the pins down.

She shrugged as Stiles stared open-mouthed with the others.

"Huh, I guess I don't suck?" she said in fake-innocence as she plunked herself next to Stiles at the score table.

"That was kind of perfect form." Allison said in disbelief.

Lydia bit her tongue to keep herself from smiling too much at the positive attention. She forgot how thrilling it was to take people off guard.

"Okay, so, it's official. We're kicking your asses." Stiles said triumphantly as he dug into his fries.


Stiles and Lydia did manage to pull a win, but Scott and Allison performed admirably too.

Allison explained to the boys the plan for Lydia to hang-out at her place for a bit, and the knowing looks between the three clued Lydia into the fact that they had probably discussed it before she had joined them at breakfast.

Still, she played along like she was oblivious, because she knew they were enjoying the whole 'surprise' portion of her birthday, and she had zero complaints so far. Despite not having known most of them for long, she trusted them.

Allison's boutique collection of clothes actually ended up being pretty extensive, but even better, plenty of them didn't fit her right but fit Lydia beautifully since she was larger chested and shorter.

After trying on clothes, they painted their nails and mostly gossiped about typical girl things, something Lydia hadn't realized how much she had been missing. Allison inputted her number, and Scott's, into Lydia's phone because 'there is no way we're not hanging out all weekend and next time you visit'.

Eventually, the time came where they needed to head over to Scott's for dinner and the rest of the evening, and Lydia felt a jolt of excitement.

Birthdays in her world had always been a big party. A bunch of people she barely knew the names of, filling her house, lots of punch or games or whatnot. She never remembered much about them. Her parents would spoil her with a new designer handbag or fancy jewelry or new shoes. It wasn't anything like today had been like—it wasn't full of her laughing until her stomach hurt, or people bending over backwards to make her feel special or spend time with her. She felt more spoiled than she ever did, and despite the things Allison gave her, she hadn't received any presents yet. She hoped it stayed that way. They had all gone above and beyond already.

Arriving at Scott's, Lydia couldn't keep the disbelieving smile off her face when she saw the interior.

Balloons were hanging from the staircase railing, and streamers were crisscrossing through the entire house.

There was an explosion of confetti when she walked in the door, and she spat out the spare bits of paper.

"Really, Stiles?" she said irritably, laughing despite her attempt to sound annoyed.

He cackled, placing the confetti cannon on the table behind him. "Sorry, I had to. Welcome to your birthday party!"

"You guys are too much." she told the group, grinning. Melissa, John and Scott had now joined the entrance way.

Lydia suddenly spotted the few wrapped gifts on the coffee table in the living room.

"You GUYS! I SAID NO GIFTS!" she groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Melissa patted her affectionately on the shoulders as they walked further into the house. "But what's a birthday without gifts?"

"Seriously, I really appreciate all you guys have done…"

"So just suck it up and enjoy it. Dinner will be ready in fifteen." Stiles said with a grin, hooking an arm around her waist and guiding her into the living room. "Do you want to open gifts first?"

"I want to murder you in your sleep a little." she muttered under her breath. "I had hoped by me not giving you any ideas you wouldn't know what to get me and wouldn't try."

"I warned you… if you didn't give me anything, you'd end up with something you may or may not like. It's not my fault you didn't listen to me. You should know better. You know how stubborn I am."

"You're relentless." she said, meaning for it to come out with more malice, but instead her voice softened affectionately.

Sighing, but unable to keep her face looking stern, Lydia let her friends pass her gifts to open as she sat down on the couch.


It was an incredible night. Melissa had made homemade pizza and the most glorious vanilla bean cake with pink buttercream frosting. John and Melissa had gotten her an overly generous gift card to the Beacon Hills mall, with the hope that she and Allison might be able to use it on their planned shopping trip the next day. Scott got her some movies, having gotten ideas from Stiles and Allison, and Allison of course had generously given her the clothes that afternoon but had also wrapped a cute jacket she knew Lydia would go for after their first night together. It ended up fitting her perfectly.

She opened Stiles' last, whether that was everyone's plan or just the way it worked out, but she felt nervous butterflies fill her belly. As much as she was falling for the guy, she really didn't feel like they knew each other in the gift-giving sense. He understood her personality, she supposed, but he didn't know too much about her likes and interests, did he?

It was a small package, which meant jewelry, and she popped open the lid to find a sterling silver bracelet with hanging charms off many of the chain links.

There was a high heel shoe, her birthstone, a science beaker, a purse no doubt to symbolize her shopping habit, a paintbrush on a palette, ballet shoes, and a crown.

"It's beautiful." she breathed, embarrassed to find her voice more breathless than she planned.

She chanced a glance at his face, and saw him visibly relax, clearly having been stressed at how she would feel about it.

She couldn't stop staring at the bracelet in her hands, memorizing every charm. How had he managed to get so many things to represent her? Did she really share that much without realizing?

She was so distracted she didn't notice the others quietly leaving the room. Stiles stayed, still next to her on the couch, just as unaware that they were alone.

"How did you know about me being into art?"

He smiled. "I've seen you doodling during our study hang-outs. There's no way you haven't done more. And I've met up with you when you still have paint between your fingers or under your nails."

"Help me put it on?"

Stiles gently lifted the bracelet from her grasp and wrapped it around one wrist, clasping it in place.

She held her arm out admiringly, fingering each of the delicate pieces. It was stunning, and no doubt expensive. She would kill him later. For now, she couldn't stop the warmth from spreading through her whole body.

"Let me guess, the crown is because I'm a princess, right?" she asked, shocked to find her words jumbled by the sudden thickness in her throat.

Without her consent, there were tears beginning to slip down her cheeks. Today had just been so much. So much love and acceptance and happiness in such a short span of time. Today was easily the best day of her life.

Stiles reached out to wipe her cheek with his thumb. "You're a queen."

Her eyes flashed to his and she leaned up to kiss right next to his mouth, not quite brave enough to move over a couple inches.

She closed her eyes as she pulled away slightly. "Thank you. For today. For the gift. For… for everything."

Was there a way you could pay someone back for giving you the best day, the best weekend, of your life? Was there a way you could thank someone properly for opening up an entirely new world you hadn't realized existed? Was there a way to thank someone for showing you that you can be loved and important just as you are, that you don't need to hold back or change anything to fit in? You just have to find worthy people to pour your heart and time into.

She licked her lips and finally pulled back completely before she did something stupid. She didn't want to ruin today.

Flickering her eyes up quickly, she was grateful to see Stiles didn't look upset or weirded out by her gesture.

He simply squeezed her hand, rubbing over it with his other one, and she knew he was sending a thank you back in return. For what, she had no idea.

Correcting her throat, she realized that they were taking their sweet time and the others were chatting animatedly in the kitchen and her birthday wasn't for her to spend time with only Stiles. All of them put their time, money and effort into making her day special, and she was more than happy to spend as much time with each of them as she could.