Begin Again.
Lydia sat in her parked car, turning the key in the ignition over and over again. She'd pulled over fifteen minutes ago. She kept turning the key but the car wouldn't start.
"Fantastic." She sighed.
She got out of her car to check the engine, although she didn't actually know what to look for. She wore a floral dress with a cardigan, black tights, and black heels. Her long hair was curled and she was just driving back from visiting her mother. She knew the closest town was Beacon Hills, and it was only a mile. She knew she'd have to walk. She wasn't happy about it. She grabbed her purse, keys, wallet, and phone from her car and started walking. She walked in to the sheriff station about thirty minutes later. The clerk was on the phone as Lydia walked up.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm just… having some…" the clerk returned to her phone call, pretending to listen to Lydia. "car trouble…". Lydia was frustrated with the woman. Just then two handsome young deputies walked in and one immediately noticed Lydia.
"Hi. Can I help you?" His eyes were sparkling brown and showed genuine concern. His brown hair was combed but slightly messy from the wind, and he had brown moles all over his face. He was seriously cute.
"I hope so, since she can't seem to care."
"Here, come in." He walked her back to his desk. "Have a seat. Would you like some coffee?"
"Sure. That'd be great."
"Hey, dad, could you bring a cup of coffee over here, please?" He called to the sheriff.
"Sure, son. How about a few donuts while you're at it?" he immediately noticed his dad's sarcasm.
"I'll get the coffee then. Excuse me, ma'am."
He walked back a minute later with a hot cup of coffee.
"How do you take it?"
"Two sugars."
He emptied two packets into her coffee and sat back down in front of her.
"Here you go, beautiful. So what's your issue tonight?"
Lydia took a sip of the coffee, her red lips staining the mug.
"I'm just…having some car trouble."
"Do you live around here?"
"No. My mom lives about an hour from here, I was on my way home from visiting her."
"Gotcha. What kind of car trouble are you having?"
"It started making a weird noise and I pulled over and parked and then it wouldn't start. I don't know much about cars."
"Hmmm… how far down the road is it?"
"About a mile."
"Let's go."
As they rode back in his cruiser, he started asking questions.
"So how old are you?"
"I'm 23."
"Oh nice. Me too. What do you do?"
"I'm a waitress."
He chuckled. He suddenly felt superior to her, and she noticed it immediately.
"I'm getting my PhD in Microbiology."
He looked shocked… and impressed.
"Wow. Nice."
"Thanks."
They reached her car and he fumbled around in her engine for a couple minutes.
"Yeah, I actually don't know much about cars either."
She smiled. He was charming, sweet, and not to mention, pretty cute too.
"Awesome." She laughed.
"What did you say your name was?"
"Lydia."
"I'm Stiles. Let's head back to the station. I can call you a local mechanic if you want to stay in town for the night."
"Is there a motel?"
"Nope. If you want you can hang out with me at the station."
She smiled thinking about it. She knew what he was doing. And it was working.
"Sure." She agreed.
The two spent the night sitting at his desk drinking coffee and he occasionally went out to get them food. He was working on reports while they told each other about their childhoods and embarrassing stories. They told each other their favorite movies; hers was The Little Mermaid and his was Star Wars. They laughed the entire night, like it was a perfect first date. When the sun came up, he drove her over to a mechanic's shop, rum by his friend Derek. He stayed with her the whole day, although he was tired. Around 4 pm, her car was ready, and she could finally go home. But she didn't want to. Her car was parked next to his. She stood leaning on her car, and he leaned on his.
"I guess this is it." She said sadly.
"I guess it is."
"Thanks for staying with me."
"Thanks for not knowing how to fix your car."
"Thanks for not knowing either."
"Will I ever see you again?"
"I only live an hour away. Of course you will." She said with a smile.
"Good."
They shared a hug. Lydia didn't want to let him go, and he didn't want to let her go. They started to let go when they looked at each other and kissed. It was a perfect moment. The kiss ended and she put a small piece of paper in his shirt pocket and backed away.
"See you later, Stiles." She smiled.
"Bye, Lydia." She drove away and Stiles stood there for a moment thinking about the past 18 hours of his life. He knew she was special, and that this wasn't this wasn't the end of their love story.