AJ looked up from the cup he was drying when Cora and Boyd walked in, chatting animatedly about something. Boyd stopped short and looked around, his mouth open.

"This is the coolest place I've ever been in." he said as they walked towards the counter.

"It's just a cafe dude." Cora told him.

"Hey now, let him compliment this place all he wants. Its a rarity." AJ said, looking up from his work.

"AJ, Boyd. Boyd, AJ."

"How's it going man?" AJ greeted, shaking Boyd's hand.

"I'll get us a table, you get us the drinks." Cora said, heading to the familiar table and settling in.

Boyd arrived a few minutes later, coffee cups in both hands. He glanced at the table and shook his head.

"You can't go anywhere without defacing public property, can you?"

He ran his finger over the CH on the table and Cora took a sip of her coffee.

"It's private property, sir. I've been here since the place opened and this has always been my table."

Boyd took a sip of the coffee and looked around at the quotes written on the walls.

"I should do this in my shop." he said. "I can use different rooms as different genres!"

Cora shook her head. "Life of the party, aren't you, Boyd?"

Boyd laughed and grabbed a book from a pile on the table next to them. He ran his fingers over the spine and read the title before looking at Cora.

"Speaking of parties, where did you disappear to a couple of nights ago?" Boyd asked, rifling through the book.

"I took a walk with Lydia."

Boyd leaned back in his chair. "Man, I still can't believe it. I mean, you two are complete opposites. The thought of you guys dating wouldn't have ever crossed my mind. How did it happen?"

Cora smiled. "Wrong place, wrong time."

"I haven't seen her around though. How come she didn't go to the movies with us yesterday?"

Cora thought back to the dark theater and she wished Lydia was there next to her, making some sort of sarcastic commentary.

"Did you guys have a fight?"

"No, she's just been busy helping Allison with the wedding."

Cora hadn't seen Lydia in nearly two weeks. Even a few nights ago, during the full moon, Lydia was on the back of her mind. She had texted the girl after that night a joke about her leather jacket but had only received a one worded reply.

Cora told none of this to Boyd but Boyd knew she was lying.

"Did you hear that Scott's and Allison are throwing a Halloween party?" Boyd said, knowing Cora needed a change of subject.

"I heard. Are you gonna dress up?"

"I might. I've always wanted to be Superman." Boyd said, his face lighting up like a little boy's. "And now, I finally have the right physique for it."

The doors opened and Cora turned her head to see Allison, Robbi, and Lydia walking in together. Boyd raised his hand and waved them over but Cora's eyes were glued onto Lydia who was doing an excellent job at ignoring her.

"Hey Cora." Robbi said, sitting down next to her immediately.

"How's it going Robbi?" Cora said, still looking at Lydia. Allison sat in between Cora and Boyd but Lydia remained standing.

"Whose your friend?" Robbi asked and Boyd held out his hand.

"I'm Boyd."

Robbi's eyes lit up in recognition.

"Allison was talking about you! You're the bookshop guy from Vermont, right!"

Boyd nodded and smiled. "I like that. The bookshop guy."

"Beats superman." Cora told him.

"Nothing beats Superman. Nothing Hale."

"What about Kryptonite?" Allison asked. Boyd narrowed his eyes.

"That was a cheap shot."

Lydia finally sat down next to Boyd and in front of Cora. The two didn't speak and Allison cleared her throat.

"So, Cora, did Boyd tell you about the Halloween party?" Allison asked, noticing the tension.

Cora nodded. "I don't have a costume."

"So what? Its just an excuse to get drunk and hang out anyway. All you need is a mask." Robbi said.

"I'm not a fan of masks." Cora said, looking directly at Lydia. "I don't like it when people pretend to be something they're not."

Lydia shook her head and opened her mouth but Allison beat her too it.

"Hey, Cora, wanna come with me to the counter and help me get drinks."

Cora spit back "Sure" and got up, walking with Allison and away from the group.

"What can I get for you guys?" AJ asked, leaning back. His co-worker had arrived and she was busy stocking the cups. More people were starting to walk in.

"We'll be right back." Allison said and led Cora past the counter to the bathroom.

"You know they don't serve coffee here, right?" Cra asked, leaning against the wall.

"What's going on?" Allison asked.

Cora shrugged, avoiding the taller girl's eye.

"You two are acting like children."

"I'm acting like a child?" Cora said, poking a finger into her chest. "She's the one that's been avoiding me for like two weeks!"

Allison shook her head. "There must be a reason why she's not talking to you."

"Yeah, she's irrational and weird."

"You have to talk to her."

"I've tried!"

"A few texts doesn't count."

Cora shook her head and left the bathroom. The two headed back to the table where Robbi was on her phone.

"I can't do it tonight! I'm working, you know that."

"Whats going on Allison asked?"

"Louise is asking Robbi to babysit." Lydia asked.

"You don't understand, why can't you just-"

Robbi sighed and Lydia tapped her shoulder. "Just tell her you'll do it and I'll babysit for you."

Robbi looked at her cousin and mouthed "You sure?"

Lydia nodded. "Don't tell her it's me or else she'll say no."

Robbi faked a sigh and said "Alright, Louise, I'll do it. Bring her at 7."

She hung up and patted Lydia's hand, smiling. "I owe you a coffee."

"Why won't she let you babysit?" Allison asked.

"Cause she's dating me." Cora said. Lydia's jaw tightened and she looked away towards where AJ was talking to another customer.

"Oh, is this like a homophobic thing?" Boyd asked.

"No, I think its just cause I'm trash, Boyd." Cora said, looking straight at Lydia.

Lydia kept ignoring her.

"You're not trash." Robbi said quickly.

"You're recycling." Boyd added, grinning.

Lydia opened the door of the house to find Robbi and Kaylie looking at her.

"Hey kid." Lydia said, nodding at her. Kaylie stared at her with big brown eyes and didn't say anything.

"Alright, just go in to the living room for a second, bug. I'll need to talk to her for a second."

Kaylie slowly walked into the house, backpack in one hand.

"She's in a bad mood. Her mom promised her they'd spend time together but-"

Lydia sighed. "What am I supposed to do?"

Robbi shrugged. "Haven't you ever babysat before?"

Lydia shook her head. "I'm an only child."

"Well, she's gonna need some sort of entertainment or something. Just play games with her and stuff."

Robbi took off a few minutes after that and Lydia took a deep breath before walking into the house. Kaylie sat on the couch, tiny legs not even touching the ground, and staring up at her. The book Cora had given her sat in her lap.

"Have you had dinner yet?" Lydia asked.

Kaylie nodded. Lydia sat down next to the small girl and pointed at the book.

"Do you want to read something?"

Kaylie shook her head and kept staring at Lydia. Lydia took a deep breath and fished out her phone.

"You need to help me." Lydia said, standing up and walking towards the kitchen.

"What is it?" Allison asked, slightly out of breath.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just..."

Lydia heard Scott's voice in the background and groaned. "Shit, sorry...I'll call back when you're not in the throes of passion."

"We were just jogging, Lydia." Allison said. "Malia and Kira are here too. What's wrong?"

"This child hates me."

"Then why did you agree to babysit?"

"I thought it would be fun. I've always wanted a little sister. But all she's doing is sitting there. You need to come over here and help me out."

There was a silence and all Lydia could here was crackling on the other line.

"I'll be there soon."

There was rapid knocking on the door and Lydia opened it excitedly, ready to thank Allison for coming. All she found was a red cheeked Cora who burst into the hallway, looking around.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lydia whispered, blocking Cora's way before she could go to the living room.

"What's wrong?" Cora said, still turning around and looking for any signs of threat. Her claws weren't out but her eyes were glowing.

"Besides the crazy women in my hallway, nothing!" Lydia said. She couldn't stop staring at the golden in Cora's eyes, having never seen them in the light before. Her eyes looked like golden honey.

"What are you doing here?" Lydia asked as Cora's eyes faded into the dark Lydia was used to.

Cora leaned back, running a hand through her hair. She was wearing her eyebrow piercing and when she looked at Lydia, that eyebrow rose.

"You didn't know I'd be coming?"

"I thought that seemed obvious from my panicked words."

"Allison said you needed help."

"I did need help but-"

Lydia came to the realization the same time as Cora.

"Well, now that she's wasted my time, I'll be leaving."

Lydia bit her lip to keep herself from saying anything but as Cora opened the door and walked out into the night, she called her back.

"Cora!"

"What?"

"I need your help. Kaylie doesn't like me. But she seemed to like you. I was wondering if you could entertain her for a while. Just until she falls asleep."

Cora tried to say no. She swore she tried. But she took one look at Lydia and realized that she would've walked to the end of the world if Lydia asked her to.

Kaylie looked up from the open book as Cora walked in, followed by Lydia.

"Hey Kaylie." Cora said, sitting down next to the girl. Kaylie beamed and Cora's eyes brightened when she saw the book.

"Hey, who gave you that?"

Kaylie giggled and pointed at Cora. "You did!"

"What? Nooo...it wasn't me."

Kaylie nodded. "Yes it was!"

"No, no, I'm sure it was Tickly."

Kaylie scrunched her face and Cora faked a gasp.

"Oh come on, Kayls! You're telling me you've never heard of Tickly?"

Cora held up her hand and jutted out her lower jaw. "I am Tickly!"

She began to tickle the five-year old and her delightful screeches rang out loud in the living room. Lydia stood at the doorway, watching and beaming as the two played.

"Alright, alright." Cora breathed after a minute. "Since you bought the book, you want me to read you something."

Kaylie nodded enthusiastically, her auburn pigtails going up and down.

"What do you want me to read?"

Kaylie flipped through the pages for what seemed like ten minutes but Cora sat patiently by her side, not rushing her.

Finally, Kaylie pointed to a picture of a lion.

"Ah, one of my favorites!" Cora said, holding the book and clearing her throat.

"I am writing these poems

From inside a lion,

And it's rather dark in here.

So please excuse the handwriting

Which may not be too clear.

But this afternoon by the lion's cage

I'm afraid I got too near.

And I'm writing these lines

From inside a lion,

And it's rather dark in here."

She finished and looked across the room to Lydia who looked down at her feet.

Kaylie clapped after it was over with Cora taking a dramatic bow to accompany the applause.

"You wanna read another one together?"

Kaylie nodded. "Yeah, with voices!"

"Voices are crucial, you're right."

After half an hour of that, Kaylie closed the book.

"Are you tired?" Cora asked the girl.

"No. Can we watch TV?"

Cora turned to Lydia who looked up from her phone.

"Well, can we?"

Lydia smiled. "Of course. In fact, I'll pop the popcorn."

When Lydia came back with the popcorn the lights were off and Cora had the remote in her hand. Lydia sat down next to Cora, extra conscious of how close they were. She knew Cora was to. She knew Cora could almost smell her nervousness.

The movie was about a girl with impossibly long hair falling in love with an impossible man and living an impossible adventure. Lydia loved it. Cora tried not to. As the movie went on, Cora could feel Kaylie's head resting on her side and she nudged Lydia.

"Should we leave her here?"

Lydia shook her head. "Robbi's coming to pick her up in a couple of hours. Just put her in my bed."

Cora gently lifted the tiny girl and took her upstairs, Lydia following closely behind. She set Kaylie down on the bed and covered the girl with the blankets.

Cora looked around the room before she left, noticing her jacket was hanging from the chair. Lydia followed Cora's eyes but the dark-haired girl left the room before she could say anything.

"Thanks for tonight." Lydia replied as Cora headed towards the door.

"I didn't do it for you." Cora said angrily. "I did it for Kaylie. I figured with you as my babysitter, I'd be bored out of my mind too."

Lydia took a step back. "Whoa, what's with the hostility?"

"Hostility is better than apathy."

"Apathy? What are you talking about?" Lydia asked nervously.

"Do not pull that shit with me, Martin. You're too smart to pretend you're dumb. For the past two weeks, I've been trying to talk to you, to text you. And it's been so fucking hard not seeing your stupid face, you know that. You can't just go around borrowing people's beanies and jackets and never talk to them again. You can't leave me in the lion's mouth."

"You don't get it!" Lydia said, her voice breaking. "You think it's been easy for me. Do you have any idea how confused I've been feeling since that party? I don't like being confused, Cora. It's an unfamiliar feeling. I'm in the lion's mouth too! So don't you dare tell me I'm apathetic when I've never been so scared about caring in my entire life!"

Cora blinked rapidly, watching as tears sprung in Lydia's eyes. She moved forward slowly until she was only a foot away from the girl. She raised a hand and brushed her finger over Lydia's necklace.

"You kept the necklace."

Lydia smiled even though the tears kept coming.

"Of course I did. It's a gift from a werewolf. These things will be worth a fortune."

Cora grinned and raised her hand to cup Lydia's cheek. She wiped a stray tear and Lydia closed her eyes.

"For what it's worth, Lydia..." Cora began and Lydia opened her eyes.

"For what it's worth, I'm not confused."

"That's the first time you've said my name." Lydia told Cora, before leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss the girl.

Lydia pushed Cora a few steps back into the wall, pressing herself tight against the taller girl's body.

Neither was sure who was the first to open their mouth or deepen the kiss. Lydia was sure that the groan came from Cora, a deep guttural sound that made her stomach feel warm and full of fireworks. Lydia was sure that this was the best first kiss she ever had, especially with a werewolf.

Cora was sure that this tiny redhead had completely confounded her and that the warm lips she was feeling against her own was a feeling she never wanted to forget. Cora was sure that the stars were calling her name.

Every voice Lydia had ever heard in her head seemed to shut off. All that was there at this moment was a tall, lanky girl with an eyebrow ring and a soft smile. All that was there at that moment was the two of them, inside the lion's mouth.