Hi all :)

I'm going back to Uni this week, so the updates will probably get a little further apart, but I promise two weeks worst case scenario. I've already finished chapter four, but it's going through editing etc. There are also other completed/started chapters but they come later in the story (I know, I'm one of the freaks who doesn't write chronologically all the time). I'm hoping to have it finished soon. The current official chapter count is 16 and everything had been planned in detail.

On another note, where did you all come from? My views jumped from like 200 to 600 in ONE DAY! You're all amazing, anyways. I send my love. Thanks to all of you if you've gotten this far. Extra thanks to reviewers :) My family's been telling me I look like I've been dumped into a vat of toxic waste because I'm glowing so much, so know you've made me happy and motivated.

Also, I wanted to let those of you who are wondering about the M rating know that in the later chapters there are things which require that rating. But to those of you who want callous smut, I'd stop reading now. Stiles loves Lydia, and even though any sex he has would be incredibly hot, I don't believe that he would rush through it without making sure the other person feels loved. So yeah. That's all I have to say. For those who wanted it, the playlist is below. I normally put it on shuffle.

Stydia Martinski Playlist:

I Won't Be Left by Tegan and Sara

Wake Me Up by Ed Sheeran

More Than Anyone by Gavin DeGraw

I Lay My Head by Fallulah

Primadonna Girl by Marina and the Diamonds

Just a Little Bit by Kids of 88

Strong by London Grammar (This is my favourite band, just in case you're interested. They have a full album coming out later in the year :D)

Holding a Heart by A Girl Named Toby

Starstruck by Parade of Lights

A Little Taste by Skyler Stonestreet

The Scientist by Coldplay

Girls Like You by The Naked and Famous

Also, a note for Thiswasmade4me and anyone else who is having trouble with the larger paragraphs: I actually use better formatting in my original documents, but when I upload the files for editing/publishing, they change themselves back. I do spend some time changing them and making sure everything's readable, but not all the settings in Word are available on :(. The larger paragraphs have bigger line spacing if you zoom in- I wear reading glasses and I find that when I zoom in, I don't need them as often, so you could try that.

III

Seniority

Stiles had never been one of those people who gradually woke up. Sure he could doze, but he was always either aware or he wasn't. Stiles never did anything by half. So when he woke up on the first day of Senior year, he jerked awake with all the aplomb and horror attending school deserved. It took him ten minutes to muster the courage to get out of bed and ten more to get out of the extremely soothing warm shower he followed his sleep with. When he did eventually get out, he towelled off his hair and body, grabbed fresh briefs, a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a long-sleeved checked shirt and some tennis sneakers and tugged them on before heading downstairs. After some nice, greasy bacon and fresh scrambled eggs, Stiles felt a lot more human. Mostly because he had just eaten about half a pig and two potential chickens, but, hey, survival of the fittest and all that. He wasn't allowed the coffee most people resorted to because of his ADHD, but a nice glass of OJ helped him swallow his morning dosage of Adderall and then it was back upstairs to brush his teeth and grab his backpack and school supplies before locking the house and getting into his Jeep.

Some days it was so easy to believe that none of the crazy stuff had ever happened and that all Stiles needed to do was to go to school and pretend that he wasn't a loser. It was only eight in the morning, but the Californian summer heat was already permeating Beacon Hills. Stiles wound his window down and pressed play on the stereo, turning it up loud enough to hear over the rush of the wind, but low enough so that it wasn't obnoxious. The song that came on was a well-known favourite, and he tapped his hands idly on the steering wheel as he neared the intersection that lead to school. Driving into the parking lot, he took the first spot he saw, knowing that getting a better one was unlikely, and reversed into it to save himself time and effort later in the day. He did a time check (20 minutes until home room), grabbed his stuff from the passenger seat and got out of the car, pressing central locking. He then walked straight into the school, heading for the office to get his schedule and locker assignment. When he'd received his packet from the lady at the desk, he found his locker number and code, keying it in and shoving several spare notebooks, pens and highlighters into the space. His lacrosse locker was the same as last years and his kit was in his car so Stiles would get that after school before practice started at 3:45. His mental checklist finished, he texted Scott.

just got my schedule. stuffs in my locker. are you around?

It took Scott about thirty seconds to reply.

in the office. locker number 352. meet me there.

Stiles re-shouldered his bag and pocketed his phone before winding through the corridors to get to Scotts locker. Scott was already there when Stiles reached him, and turned to smile at Stiles before moving a few things around and shutting his locker.

"Hey, man. How's your schedule looking?" Scott asked him.

"It's manageable. If I don't start in Lacrosse and abandon my multitude of friends and extracurriculars I think I'll do just fine," Stiles said sarcastically. Despite lacking attention, Stiles was a straight A student. He had developed an excellent method to cope with his condition- half an hour per subject requiring work until all subjects have been attempted, then thirty minutes of a relaxation method, then back to the beginning and rotate until all work is finished. It worked surprisingly well as long as Stiles kept up with his medication and kept his stress levels low. However, breaks were sometimes notorious for being diverting, especially if it were more than an innocent game of Call Of Duty.

Scott laughed and shook his head before sighing, "I'm glad yours is fine. Mine's okay, but I'm going to have to spend some strictly platonic time with Allison to get all my work done. I've been here ten minutes and I already have Senioritis."

"I feel you, bro. I probably would have graduated early except for Lydia still being here. And I had to tech your dumb butt a few things too," Stiles joked.

"So, who've you got for homeroom? I've got Thomas. She's okay," Scott asked him.

"Jinx," Stiles said, smiling and heading toward the classroom indicated on both of their timetables.

"How have things been? With Lydia I mean," Scott clarified. Stiles took a few seconds to answer, drawing in a breath. The tentative friendship that had formed between them last year had left Stiles very confused. They got along (when Lydia wasn't being a bitch and Stiles wasn't being obstinate) and were well matched in both brains and interests. Stiles had discovered that Lydia was more than a little obsessed with anime, and kept a secret collection stored in her room. The summer had been a revelation. Stiles was only more attracted to her after getting to know her a little better. But she kept her cards close to her chest at all times.

"Good. We haven't had a screaming match yet, so I'm assuming that she likes me at least a little bit. But who wouldn't? It's the Stilinski charm," Stiles told Scott, who nodded in agreement and smiled. They entered the classroom just as the tardy bell rang, and took the only available seats in the second row. The teacher checked off their names, and started noting down the seating arrangements. Stiles looked up at the clock and reminded himself that this was his last first day of high school, ever. He smiled over at Scott and turned his head back to the board and started reading notices.

Stiles shut his locker. The morning was over and he had forty minutes to relax and have something to eat. His fast metabolism had long since processed the bacon and eggs he had eaten, and it was growling for something substantial to fill it up. Stiles entered the cafeteria and took his spot in the lunch line, choosing one option from each of the allotted sections. His tray ended up with a pasta dish, a bottle of water, an apple, a bag of crisps and a pudding. Handing his money to the lunch lady, Stiles checked to see if his friends had arrived yet. None of them had, so Stiles chose an empty table next to a window and plonked himself down into the low chairs provided by the school. He uncapped his water and took a sip, before starting to consume the pasta. Two or three minutes later, he was joined by Allison, who told him that Scott was buying his lunch. Allison opened a paper bag she had with her and started to eat her salad.

"How's your day going, Stiles?" she asked between bites.

"Not bad. I've already done a lot of the reading for the subjects I had this morning so not too much homework. What about you? Regretting the transfer to the AP classes?" Stiles replied as Scott sat down and started eating.

"Not yet. I haven't had English yet today, though," Allison laughed.

"I'm sure you'll do amazingly," Scott told her, smiling.

"Thanks," Allison blushed and took a sip of the juice Scott had bought for her. It was at that moment that Lydia dropped her lunch tray rather heavily onto the table next to Stiles and sat down with a frown marring her face.

"Are you-?" Stiles began.

"No I'm not okay! I just spent ten minutes in the principals office being told that the school wouldn't let me take my Arabic correspondence class because they have a policy on languages here. Apparently wanting to improve the political situation with the Middle East makes me a terrorist!" Lydia fumed. "He's a fascist pig! It's not because of the language, it's because I'm a girl and he doesn't think women deserve an excellent education," she declared, finishing her rant with crossed arms and a pout to rival Lindsay Lohan. Scott opened and closed his mouth, clearly not sure what to say. Allison smiled sympathetically and reached across the table to touch Lydia's shoulder.

"And we didn't think this place could get any worse," Stiles said sarcastically. Lydia slid her glare sideways and he quickly back-pedalled.

"No, no, wait- I just meant... Hey, what if you did it via college level credit?" Stiles actually cracked a smile, and Lydia raised one perfect eyebrow, telling him silently to continue.

"Yeah! We can all access classes at the local community college. You've already completed over half the requirements for Freshman year, so why don't you minor in a language? You can get your accreditation through the community college. Just apply for an language subject and do correspondence through them. That way the school can't stop you, because they can't prevent kids from taking college level courses as qualifiers!" Stiles said, a hopeful smile on his face. Lydia's frown had changed from annoyed to deep thought and her face slowly smoothed out into a smile.

"You know, Stilinski, that is not a bad idea at all. In fact, if I hadn't heard it come out of your mouth, I would have sworn it was mine," Lydia told him, and promptly started eating her lunch. Scott and Allison were staring between Lydia and Stiles who were now both calmly eating, seemingly content.

"So... Lydia? What's your work load like?" Allison asked, and the conversation began to flow again. Both Stiles and Lydia had smiles on their faces: one of pride, one of hope.

It was 5:45 p.m. Lacrosse practice had ended half an hour ago, and Stiles was freshly showered and dressed, his hair still slightly damp. Sheriff Stilinski was off shift that afternoon, and Stiles was not interested in the third degree about colleges and the SATs. Stiles was taking refuge in the least used room in the whole school- the library (which was open 'til nine on most weeknights). The corridors were quiet, and the only discernible sound was Stiles' footsteps and the jangle of the keys and coins in his pockets. Pushing the doors open, Stiles was surprised to see a petite figure with a cloud of strawberry-blonde hair seated at one of the tables. Lydia had slipped off her shoes and was curled up in the chair with a book in her lap and headphones in her ears. She was obviously very concentrated in on the equations she was working on, and Stiles had no wish to scare her again, so he moved slowly into her line of sight and tapped her on the shoulder, so that she knew someone was there before he asked for her full attention.

"What are you doing here?" Stiles asked, as Lydia was pulling out a headphone.

"Having hot sex in the stacks. What does it look like I'm doing, Stilinski?" Lydia snarked. Stiles held up his hands in the universal gesture of 'don't shoot'. Lydia sighed and apologised, "I'm sorry. Look, I've had a rough afternoon I'd rather not talk about so can we drop it?"

"Of course. No problemo. Drama ignored. No questions for Stiles," Stiles said. Lydia's lips quirked up slightly at the corners, and she turned back to her work, but left one headphone out of her ear, silently letting him know that she accepted his presence. Stiles plonked himself down in the seat opposite her, and took the books he needed out of his bag, along with a pen and a highlighter. He set his phone on count-down to employ his study strategy and placed it onto the desk next to the pile of study materials. Opening his Physics textbook, he took the highlighter and started to take notes, occasionally switching to the pen and noting questions in the margins that he intended to research and answer later.

Stiles had moved through three subjects when he felt eyes on him. He looked up to see Lydia staring at him and biting her lip, for once not concealing her expression. She looked to be weighing up something in her head.

"What is it?" Stiles asked.

"Nothing. Your study method is so strange. I kind of wonder how you get anything done," Lydia replied, fascination and confusion in her voice.

"It's the ADHD. If I rotate often enough, my mind never gets bored and I can study whatever. It's more of a prevention method since I'm already on Adderall, but it's always helped." Stiles hadn't told anyone apart from Scott that he was medicated for his ADHD until Lydia had asked him over the summer how he was so patient. He had been caught off guard by the question; most people just assumed he had grown out of it. Stiles had never minded being ADHD. Honestly, it actually made keeping fit easier as he always had a lot of energy, so running and sports became a good distraction when he needed to just turn his brain off for a while. His father had made the decision to put him on Adderall after his mother had died. Stiles had started rotating between different harmful activities- pacing, moping, crying- in ridiculously fast succession, and Sheriff Stilinski had wanted his son's moods to even out so he had a chance to heal. After starting the meds, though, Stiles' concentration had improved tenfold, and he started excelling in his classes. Stiles had made the decision to stay on the Adderall himself, because he liked being able to learn and concentrate, but there were days which were more consuming than others. So, Stiles had developed the system he was using now. It helped him to not dwell on anything by switching his focus regularly. The method was more for self-preservation than anything.

"Huh. Interesting. But you can focus on one thing for a longer period of time?" Lydia asked, the keen mind of a mathematician working analytically as usual.

"Of course. I'm ADHD, not mentally ill," Stiles said sarcastically. Lydia nodded, not offended in the slightest and returned to her work.

An hour later it was nearly closing time, and Stiles and Lydia were the last two there. The librarian was giving them furtive glances, as if she could get them to go just by sheer will alone. Stiles knew that he wouldn't have enough time for another rotation, so he was reading through the notes he had taken in Physics, just to make sure he understood what was going on. He was so immersed in his work, he didn't hear Lydia standing up from the table and putting books into her bag. She had called his name twice before Stiles realised what was happening.

"Sorry, Lydia. I was reading the notes on nuclear thermodynamics and I got confused and then I didn't hear you," Stiles babbled, quickly chucking his books into his bag without stacking them, zipping it up and shouldering it.

"It's fine, Stiles," Lydia said, turning and wandering towards the double doors, the high heels she had been wearing earlier back on her feet and clicking with each step. Stiles gave the librarian a quick smile and hurried to catch up with her. They walked in silence through the corridors of the school, both heading to the parking lot. They had reached the front stairs when Lydia finally broke the silence.

"You know, Physics isn't that hard," she told Stiles.

"Not for you," Stiles replied.

"Not for anyone. You just need a good teacher," Lydia disagreed.

"Well, why don't you teach me?" Stiles joked.

"I could, you know. In fact, be in the library tomorrow at seven and I will," she decided as the reached her car.

"Seriously? Why would you do that?" Stiles asked, shocked, but still remembering to open her door for her after she pressed the unlock button on her keys.

"Because you need help and I can help you. Besides, Stiles, we're friends. So if I do you this favour, you owe me one. And I like having people in my debt. Makes it a lot easier to get expensive birthday presents," Lydia quipped, lowering herself into the driver's seat.

"Whatever you say, Lydia," Stiles said, shaking his head and smiling. "I'll be there."

"Seven sharp. I don't like to be kept waiting," Lydia said, and then reversed out of her parking space and headed out into the town. Stiles laughed incredulously, staring after her. He shook his head and started toward his car. He wasn't going to turn down extra time with Lydia or the chance to improve his grades.

"Two birds, one stone," Stiles whispered to himself as he climbed into his car and headed home. Even the thought of his father waiting up to harass him couldn't stop the smile from forming on Stiles' face.