This one's Last Kiss by Taylor Swift. watch?v=9H0sCw1lbX4 I hope you guys enjoy it!

Stumbled through the long goodbye,

One last kiss, then catch your flight,

Right when I was just about to fall

I told myself don't get attached,

But in my mind I play it back,

Spinning faster than the plane that took you...

"It's been way too long," Kira said, practically bouncing as she put the car in park outside of the café.

Lydia curled a strand of hair around her finger. She was opening her mouth to say more, something of agreement, when she saw Scott and Stiles through the café window, sitting at the usual table. The four of them used to double date here all of the time. When Scott had asked if they should meet up, Kira had been hesitant. Lydia insisted that they'd be fine. Now, she was having second thoughts. Stiles was wearing a King of the Lab T-shirt, a reference for Bones. She loved that T-shirt. She used to sleep in it all of the time. It was huge on her but it was a reference to one of the shows they both enjoyed for various reasons.

A quick flash of anger surged in her chest. Is he trying to make this hurt? But of course he wasn't. He just picked a T-shirt. There was nothing wrong with that. Lydia took a deep breath and nodded, slowly releasing the strand of hair still wrapped around her finger. "Yeah. Too long."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm sure." Lydia closed her eyes briefly and pushed the door open. Why didn't she pick a knock out outfit? Why did she have to show up in a regular sundress? She had so many things in her closet that she knew for a fact he loved. But no. She wanted him to get over her. She didn't want to knock him off his feet. Those days were gone.

She walked in the café with Kira, head held high, back straight. As she walked, her hair bounced around her and she wished she felt half as confident as she was trying to show.

Scott stood and greeted Kira. Lydia slid into her seat across from Stiles and reached over without thinking, plucking one of his fries from his plate. She realized her mistake and froze momentarily, hand halfway to her lips. His mouth twitched but he couldn't hide that spark of amusement from his eyes. Not knowing what else to do, she ate the fry.

The table broke into chatter almost instantly, everyone sharing stories from their adventures at college. Things were starting to feel almost normal, aside from the painful knowledge that when she wasn't casting stolen glances at him, she could feel his eyes burning into her skin.

But then Kira and Scott had excused themselves for a walk. And Stiles and Lydia fell into silence. Lydia stirred her milkshake, Stiles picked at his burger. "So," he said after what felt like years. "You're keeping up your GPA."

"Yeah. You know, it's easy to focus on studies when you're single."

The comment left them both shocked. Stiles jerked his head away in a wince, staring out the window. Lydia looked around the room desperately. Why did she have to say that?

"It was a pretty good year," she said finally. "How was yours?"

"Fine." His voice sounded tight. "It was fine."

Lydia could not have been more relieved when Maria, the café owner, came bustling by. "Maria," she said, waving. "Hi. How are you?"

The woman beamed. "Welcome back. I'm doing fine. I have to say, I'm surprised to see you two out together. Unless…." Hope sparked her eyes.

"No," Stiles said quickly. "No. Scott and Kira ditched us."

Maria eyed them. "No," she said finally.

"I'm sorry?" Lydia asked, puzzled.

"I'm not going to be a bridge so that you two can talk. You were friends before you dated, you were friends during, and I see no reason why you can't be now." Maria shook her head. "You two forget, I saw the four of you at least once a week all year last year. What you had is too special to let die. I won't help you." Her eyes softened. "It is good to see you kids. I hope I didn't speak out of place." She walked away. "I'll be back to check on you."

They sat in silence for a couple heartbeats. Then Stiles got to his feet and walked out. Lydia stared after him. He left her. He just left.

But then the door opened and Stiles came back in. He walked over and held out his hand. "Hi. My name is Stiles Stilinski. I've been too chickenshit to talk to you but we've gone to school together forever."

Lydia felt a small smile pull at her lips. She took his hand. "Hi. I'm Lydia Martin. You should've stopped being chickenshit and talked to me."

Stiles let a slow smile creep over his face as he slid back into his chair. "Maybe I was just afraid of getting hurt."

"Maybe you weren't the one in trouble."

"Lyds…"

"I didn't want to miss you."

"I know."

"Do you know what it was like when you left? You left the state, Stiles. To get away from me." What was she doing? They were doing so good. A fresh start. But it was all just pouring out of her. "I couldn't even pretend that it wasn't to escape me."

"Well what about you? You and your mom left for Christmas."

"I told you. We'd been talking about going to New York for a long time. It seemed like a good-"

"Bullshit," Stiles hissed. "You didn't want to see me."

"That's not true."

"We both know it is! Why don't you admit it?"

"Maybe I know how shitty it feels to be told you're the reason someone you love is leaving the state!" she shot back.

He flinched away from her. His brown eyes were hard as they stared back at her.

Lydia looked away, suddenly feeling hot tears pressing her eyes. "Maybe Maria was wrong. I don't think I can do this."

She heard a sharp intake of breath from across the table and then movement. Maybe he was leaving. Disappointment pricked her heart. Why didn't she want him to go? It'd be easier. She looked up. Sure enough, he was gone.

But no. He wasn't. He was a table away. He looked over, spotted her, and got to his feet. Then he came back over and rested a tentative hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I couldn't help but notice you looking upset. Can I just apologize for whatever douche hurt you?"

Lydia ducked her head, fighting a smile. "Stop trying to make this work, Stiles."

"That's crazy! How do you know my name?"

"Stiles."

"You recognize me from Biology."

"Stiles."

He slid two fingers under her chin, gently lifting her head so that she was looking at him. "Lydia Martin. We are playing a game and I need you to roll with me. We are eventually going to get this right. Understood?"

She smiled softly. "I hear you."

"You just had to say something other than understood didn't you?"

"Well, of course."

Her gave her a truly genuine smile, the kind that was sad, amused, and hopeful. The fact that she put that there made warmth flare in her chest. "Stiles Stilinski, you're a brat."

"I prefer stubborn ass," he said playfully, sliding across from her again.

Lydia shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Of course you do."

When Scott and Kira came back, Stiles had Lydia laughing so hard that she was leaning against the table, hand over her mouth. And Stiles was beaming so much that it looked as if joy was about to burst from him. As the four of them walked outside, Stiles looked over at her. "What if I drove you home?"

Was he serious? Lydia blinked. He had to be serious. Was he crazy? "I… Sorry," Stiles said, eyes widening.

"No," she said, surprising herself. "Why not?"

A slow, real smile spread across his face. It made her heart ache. "Really?"

"Yeah…"

Stiles quickly made his way to the passenger door of his jeep and pulled it open with a flourish. Lydia smiled and got in, wondering what on earth was wrong with her to repeat the same mistake. They drove in silence mostly. Awkwardness hit them again in the solitude of the car. They were really, truly alone together. This was a horrible idea.

As the jeep rumbled to a stop in front of her house, Stiles finally spoke. "Hey. Awkward or not, we did it."

She nodded. "We did."

"It's a step in the right direction."

"I suppose so." She opened the door and slid out. "I guess I'll see you around…"

He looked like he wanted to say something more but the moment passed and he nodded. "Yeah. See you." Lydia watched him for a second before shutting the door and going inside.

New York... be here.

But you're in London and I break down,

'Cause it's not fair that you're not around.

This is when the feeling sinks in,

I don't wanna miss you like this,

Come back... be here, come back... be here.

I guess you're in New York today,

And I don't wanna need you this way,

Come back... be here, come back... be here.