Fluffy drabble. Cause I'm feelin all the Stydia feels.
Stiles walked out of his biology class and turned down the hall, headed towards his next class when he saw Lydia standing in front of her open locker. Stiles smiled as he watched the strawberry blonde taking book after book out of the shelf.
"You know Lyd," Stiles teased as he walked over and leaned his tall frame against the locker next to her's. "You're allowed to go to your locker in between classes. You don't have to carry around your books for the whole day."
Lydia rolled her eyes as she added a notebook to the ever-growing pile in her arms. "I'm not in the mood for this today, Stiles. See this?" She thrust a stapled-together packet of papers at his chest. Her Calculus test from last week, with an 88% written on the front in red ink.
"So? It's a B. One B isn't gonna ruin your future. It's not even gonna put a dent in your grade point average." He told her.
"It's not JUST a B. It's a low B. And I wouldn't be so upset if I deserved it, but do you know WHY I got that grade? Because I forgot to do an entire page. I just skipped right over it, didn't even notice, and left them all blank. I can do every problem that was marked wrong in my head right now, but it doesn't matter. I had a perfect grade in that class and now that's gone. And the teacher won't allow make-ups unless the test score drops your average a letter grade." She ranted without ever taking her eyes away from arranging the rows of books in her locker.
"So yes, this is a lot of books." She motioned toward the ever-growing stack in her arm, "But I can't afford to mess up in another class right now. And I'm on my way to Honors Chem and we're starting a new chapter that I haven't even had the time to read all the way through. And then I have two free periods before a huge test in AP Lit at the end of the day that's worth a fourth of our final grade. Which means that as soon as this period is over I'm heading straight to the library to study. No breaks, no distractions. So I don't have time to come all the way back to my locker. I just don't have time." She explained in one breath, her panicked eyes meeting his and beginning to shine with tears.
"Woah! Calm down." Stiles told her, gently grabbing her shoulder and forcing her to turn away from her locker and look at him. "We have ten minutes before the bell, just breathe. You have plenty of time."
Stiles dropped his backpack to the floor at his feet and gently took the pile of books out of Lydia's arms, setting them back on the shelf in her locker. Stiles's whiskey eyes took in the state of the young woman. Seeing for the first time, not the perfect woman of his dreams, but a scared, exhausted young girl. The shadowed bags beneath her eyes that her makeup couldn't quite conceal, the way the collar of her shirt wasn't perfectly ironed, and how her messy braid didn't look quite so intentional. The dry erase calendar hanging on her locker door overflowing with homework assignments and upcoming tests.
"C'mere." Stiles ordered, reaching his arms around her petite frame, pulling her to his chest. Had it been anyone else Lydia would have refused, thrown up a wall and acted as if everything was fine. But this was Stiles, he had seen her at her absolute worst and loved her anyway. So she closed her eyes and buried her face in his hoodie, letting his warm, familiar scent envelop her.
"Everything's gonna be fine." He told her, his chin resting on her head. "You can't keep expecting this much out of yourself. It's alright to mess up, to bomb a test, to sleep in, or forget to read a chapter. Those things don't matter. You take on so much more than any other high school student would even consider. And then you were thrown head first into the supernatural craziness of this town. You have to give yourself a break."
Lydia sniffled, listening to his comforting words rumble through his chest. "I just don't want to let anybody down." She whispered.
Stiles smiled and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead as he let her go, holding her at arm's length so she could see his eyes. "You're perfect to anyone that matters, remember?"
Lydia smiled back and nodded, turning to her locker mirror to check her makeup.
"Come on," Stiles said as he slung his backpack on his shoulders and reach around Lydia to pick up the pile of books in her locker. "Let's get you to class. AP Lit, right?"
"You're going to carry my books as you walk me to class?" Lydia asked with a smirk.
"Yup." He answered with a grin. Lydia rolled her eyes but followed Stiles down the hallway anyway.