Authors Note:

Hi guys :) I know this is being posted pretty late at night, but technically it's still Monday, so I'm on schedule. Thanks again to all my reviewers. I only have one request, and that is: if you are an anonymous reviewer, can you please be more imaginative with your pseudonyms. Maybe it'll even give me a character idea for another story (and yes, that means that this probably won't be my last Teen Wolf fanfic ;) ).

I'd really love to get up to 10 reviews on this chapter by next Monday, but that doesn't mean I won't post the new one if I haven't achieved that. I'd just like to break my record of eight, set by Adrenaline vs Dopamine (Ch. 4).

If you're planning on reviewing, I'd love to hear:

What you think of the dialogue?

Do you think this is realistic in terms of their relationship?

What is your favourite part of my writing?

What is your least favourite part of my writing? (not structure, like actual traits of the text- vocab, grammar, sentences etc.)

If you could add one thing to the story, what would it be and why? (don't say sex scene because there is going to be one, just not yet)

Cause, believe it or not, these are things I struggle with every time I write a chapter.

Enjoy the chapter.

xxx

E.G.

V

Two Steps Forward

It had been a week and a half since Lydia's Hallowe'en get-together, and Stiles was eating his words about the so-called 'dream couple'. It seemed that two days later, Scott and Allison were having a huge fight. Since Isaac had obviously told Scott that he didn't want to hear about it, Scott had elected Stiles the head of his complaining committee. Stiles had already put up with a week of Scott whining about the argument, which was mediocre compared to Stiles' emotional conflict about his relationship with a certain redhead. Apparently Allison had not told Scott that their usual sex routine on Tuesday nights would not be happening that week due to her period. Scott had not taken it well, despite being raised by Melissa in a single parent household, where a woman rained supreme. The long and short of it was that Allison was annoyed at Scott for not being sensitive when she was emotionally compromised, and Scott was annoyed at Allison for not telling him in advance, because he had had to lie to his mother for nothing and would have to spend several hours out of the house in order to make the lie look legitimate. It was only a lover's spat, but it had been going on for to long, and nothing he said was making any difference. Stiles secretly was on Allison's side. Though he sympathised with Scott, he hadn't had a mother around to ask about the strange changes in his female friends once they hit puberty. His incessant Googling had yielded some interesting and disgusting results, but even someone as poorly educated as Stiles knew not to upset a woman on her period. To be honest, the things he had read had both traumatised him and given him more respect for females. They were incredibly strong.

To be honest, though, Stiles was more annoyed that he had not been able to spend time with Lydia. He had only seen her twice after school in the past week, and even then he had only been able to stay for an hour or so before Scott messaged him about wanting to do something. Stiles had gotten to the point of no return last night, and had told Scott that he couldn't take any more of the complaining. Scott had- admittedly- taken it pretty well, but Stiles still felt bad about ditching his best friend. However, spending time with Lydia was definitely worth it. Stiles was meeting her in about half an hour and he was already running late because he had stopped to buy coffee and snacks. It was seven p.m. (the time they had agreed to meet) and Stiles' stomach was growling. He had had Lacrosse practice that afternoon, but Lydia also needed to keep a doctors appointment at five, so they had decided to meet after their usual time so that they both had time to go home and organise themselves. Stiles had showered, dressed, spent 30 minutes surfing the internet and then left, before remembering that he hadn't eaten dinner. He had made the fastest stop he could, grabbing something for both himself and Lydia, then getting back into his car and driving as fast as he could without being dangerous or breaking the speed limit to badly.

Stiles pulled into the parking lot, parked as quick and as close as he could, before grabbing his belongings and the food, locking his car and sprinting into the school and to the library. He was panting by the time he pushed open the double doors, but attempted to catch his breath as he wandered over to the table where he and Lydia usually sat. She was there, as usual, but the scowl on her face told him that she was unhappy with him.

"You're late."

"I am so sorry. I left the house at six-thirty, but then I remembered I hadn't eaten- and I didn't think you would have either- so I went to Starbucks and got us something," Stiles said, placing the bag in his hand on the table as a kind of peace offering. Lydia opened it suspiciously. She pulled out two fresh muffins, a bottle of orange juice, her favourite drink (pressed apple and rhubarb juice) and two small bags of crisps.

"Cranberry and white chocolate. My favourite. How did you know?" Lydia asked suspiciously, picking up one of the muffins. Stiles quirked up one corner of his mouth.

"Lydia, I've known you for more than half my life. If you seriously think that I don't know what you like and what you don't, you don't give me enough credit," Stiles answered. Lydia carefully pulled back the wrapping of one of the muffins and took a small bite, chewing. As Stiles watched, the small creases of frustration erased themselves from Lydia's brow, and knew he was forgiven. He sat down quickly and pulled out this weeks Physics notes ready for review. Lydia was on her third bite of her muffin and about to take a fourth, but when she saw Stiles opening a book she put the food down and placed her hand on his arm.

"Can we please not talk about school? With all the time I've spent avoiding listening to Allison complaining this week, I'm two weeks ahead in my school work. I just need to discuss something other than Scott or mathematics," Lydia confessed, blatantly using his weakness for her big, green eyes against him.

"Well, if you don't want to talk school, what do you want to talk about?" Stiles asked, closing his book and pulling his half of the food towards himself.

"Anything. You choose," Lydia replied, grabbing her crisps and her drink.

"You could tell me about your obsession with anime. I didn't believe you when you first told me. How are you even interested in that stuff? How do you even have time?" Stiles questioned, opening his crisps and tilting his head, indicating she could start whenever.

"Well, when I was little, I met this guy called Kanatsu," Lydia began, and as she told her story, Stiles both smiled and laughed in the right places, enjoying the time they were spending together.

"Come on, man. It's just a party. I really need to have some fun," Scott wheedled.

"I already have plans tonight," Stiles said firmly, trying to rebuff Scott's fifth attempt today in securing his company as a wingman for tonight.

"What could be more important than enjoying a party full of booze and women?" Scott asked, clearly not picking up what Stiles was putting down.

"I missed English yesterday, and I need help catching up. Allison isn't speaking to me because she knows you'll try to get me to communicate with her, and you're not in AP. That leaves Lydia who was nice enough to offer to help me tonight. So, no. I love you buddy, but you're going to have to suck this one up." Scott sighed. He knew Stiles was right, but it would take more than that for him to admit it.

"Fine. Look, I'm going to be late for class. If you change your mind, text me," Scott told him, and turned away, leaving Stiles at his open locker. He sighed, and then closed the door, zipping up his backpack and hoisting it onto his shoulder. He hated that Scott was suffering, but his friend still hadn't apologised to Allison. Once that happened, everything would be over. The problem was getting him to see that. Stiles just made it into the classroom as the tardy bell rang, and started to concentrate on school work. No point getting behind in another class when he really needed to spend some time with his best friend.

Stiles had left practice that afternoon and made his way back inside the school. He and Lydia had arranged to meet at six, but when he turned into the hall where the library doors were, he saw a large, bright yellow piece of paper taped to the door. The lights that normally shone through the glass in the doors was absent, and- as Stiles got closer- he realised that the place that both he and Lydia had come to rely on was closed for the day. The paper only confirmed Stiles' suspicions.

"Looks like we won't be studying tonight," Lydia's voice made Stiles jump and he then realised that he hadn't heard her approach. Stiles turned to find that he was looking down at a much shorter Lydia than he usually saw. He quickly realised why he hadn't heard her approach.

"You're not wearing heels," Stiles said, dumbly. Lydia snorted and Stiles' mouth opened in shock.

"If I wore heels all the time, Stilinski, I would have serious arch problems. Besides, I'm not actually opposed to flats. Heels are just becoming of my legs," Lydia said, examining her feet in the shoes she was currently wearing. They were flat, expensive-looking and bright turquoise.

"Right. Obviously," Stiles said, not very subtly trailing his gaze up her legs. He shook away the thoughts that she looked incredible both in and out of heels, and then caught back on to his earlier train of thought. "So what are we going to do about my English deficiency, then?"

"I guess we'll just have to wait until Monday night," Lydia said. "Come on, let's go. Last time we were in the school this late a dark druid tried to kill me, and I'm definitely to pretty to die."

"I'll walk you to your car," Stiles said. Lydia shrugged, then turned and began to walk back the way they had both come. Stiles sighed and followed her, disappointed. They wound their way through the corridors and out to the front of the school. As they descended the steps an idea struck Stiles. He ran it through quickly in his head and came to the conclusion that it was the best of his options for spending time with Lydia. They had almost reached Lydia's car before Stiles had formulated his question.

"I'll see you on Monday, then," Lydia told him, and went to open the driver's side door.

"Wait," Stiles said. Lydia turned back to him with raised eyebrows. "Why don't we study at my place? It's pretty clean, my Dad's out tonight and I really need help with English."

Lydia's brow furrowed. She was obviously concerned about this decision. Her teeth came out and chewed slightly on her bottom lip, thinking intensely.

"Please, Lydia?" Stiles asked, widening his brown eyes and using his full skills in creating a resemblance to a Labrador puppy.

"If you stop staring at me like you're constipated, then I'll do it," Lydia said, turning back around and getting into her car. Stiles snapped back into a normal face quickly. Lydia turned on the engine, and then rolled down her window.

"You do realise that you have to get into your car to study at your house, Stilinski?" she asked, obviously amused. Stiles nodded and turned quickly, walked to his car and unlocked the door, before getting in and pulling out of the parking lot behind Lydia. Lydia Martin is coming to my house. To study. With me, Stiles thought. Logically, he knew that she had been there before and that nothing was going to happen, but his fourteen year old self was cheering for Stiles' success at fulfilling the fantasies that hormones had only encouraged. Stiles shook the thoughts from his head and paid more attention to where he was driving. Soon they would be focussed on English, and that was enough.

Stiles was calmly reading over the notes that Lydia had handed him fifteen minutes ago. She had already taken him through the basics of the assignment that he had missed out on hearing explained and he was now doing a catch-up on the work that had been done in the lesson he missed. They had been sitting at the Stilinski's kitchen table for almost an hour, and Lydia was currently finishing her first draft of the assignment. Suddenly, Stiles head a loud gurgling noise coming from Lydia's vicinity. He looked up to find her cheeks pink with a blush and one tiny hand resting over her stomach.

"Was that you," Stiles asked, shocked that such a tiny girl could be so hungry.

"No!" Lydia exclaimed, turning back to her notes and trying to hide her face with her hair.

"Well, it wasn't me, and our refrigerator hasn't made that noise since Dad had it fixed a few months ago, so it must have been you," Stiles said in a teasing voice.

"Fine. Maybe I didn't have time to eat after school today. I had something to take care of," Lydia confessed. Stiles smiled. He put down his notes and crossed to the refrigerator, pulling open the door and looking at the contents.

"How does chicken parmigiana, mashed potatoes and salad sound?" Stiles asked Lydia, as he started grabbing stuff and putting it on the bench, ready for preparation.

"Oh don't worry about it, Stiles. Honestly, I'm fine," Lydia said, looking conflicted. Stiles snorted and shook his head.

"Lydia, it's dinner, not a proposal of marriage. Besides, I'm getting hungry too, and Dad'll need something to eat when he gets home from work. So, just let me do this," Stiles told her. Lydia still looked doubtful, but she nodded reluctantly and stood up to help.

"Don't even think about it. Lydia Martin doesn't do menial labour. Just finish your work and I'll have dinner on the table in about forty-five minutes," Stiles said, and started a flurry of peeling and chopping while Lydia looked on. As she lowered herself back into her chair, Stiles caught sight of the small smile forming on Lydia's face, seemingly against her will. He smiled to himself too, happy knowing she was going to be feeling better soon.

Lydia had insisted that she help set the table, but Stiles wasn't worried about that. He was serving some of the food onto two plates. The parmigiana's were perfectly golden, the potatoes were creamy and smooth and the salad... well, it came out of a bag, but it was the thought that counted. Stiles carried their plates over to the now ready table, and set one in front of the chair Lydia was residing in. He quickly put his own down before topping off their water glasses from earlier and sitting down.

"Well, dig in," Stiles said. He chuckled at Lydia's gaze at her plate, picked up his own knife and fork and watched Lydia intently. Lydia carefully cut a section of her parmigiana off and put some salad and potato on her fork too, daintily lifting it to her mouth and chewing. She looked up from the first bite with her eyes sparkling. It made Stiles' chest feel like a balloon- expanded and warm. Elated with Lydia's nonverbal response to his cooking, Stiles started to eat his own meal. Ten minutes later, the first rush of eating wore off and Lydia, curious, asked him where he had learned to cook. Stiles sighed. This was a topic he usually left alone because it was so sensitive for both him and his father. Stiles didn't have many exceptional skills, but those that he did have he had learnt from someone who was no longer around. Stiles knew that- after everything that had happened over the past year- he could trust Lydia. But he didn't want her to feel like she had upset him. He loved his mother, and even though talking about her was a little painful, he knew that this was how she was remembered.

"From my Mum," Stiles said, honestly. Lydia put down her knife and fork and touched Stiles' forearm with her hand.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea," Lydia said sombrely, gripping his arm slightly.

Stiles shrugged, "It's okay, Lydia. It's her way of being around now she's gone."

"I know it's not the same, but I kind of wish my dad had tried to leave something behind like that. It's just me and Mum now, and I don't really have anything that stands out as just his. It's nice that your mum could leave that with you," Lydia said, giving Stiles a small grin. Stiles chucked and nodded, before a sober look came over his face.

"My dad didn't like it so much when Mum first died, though. I freaked out. Like, lentils and tofu freaking out. I kept force feeding him health-food. He was pretty good about it, though. Still is. The leftovers will be a huge treat for him, tonight," Stiles reminisced. Lydia's small smile was still in place, but she retracted her arm and lifted her glass.

"To Mrs. Stilinski. Gone but never forgotten," Lydia toasted. Stiles looked shocked, but mimicked her actions. They clinked their glasses together and then both drank deeply, thanking the one who had gone before them for her legacy.

That was only the first of several working dinners which occurred between Stiles and Lydia. Neither commented on the change in their relationship. Both smiled more and looked forward to the evenings they spent together.

Two weeks later, Stiles was at his locker fishing out his giant Chemistry textbook. Because his locker was so close to the AP Chem classroom, he refused to carry it around. He and Lydia usually met there, and walked into class together. He heard her telltale footsteps (her heels always, always clicked) and he closed his locker before turning to give her a small smile. She returned it.

"Got your book? 'Cause I swear if we're late again I'm going to kick your ass, Stilinski," Lydia threatened. Stiles waved the book at her, and re-shouldered his backpack.

"Right here. No more tardy's for Lydia Martin," Stiles joked, and Lydia shook her head before smiling anyway.

"You know it's been Allison's fault for accosting me for bitch sessions between lessons," Lydia said in complaint.

"It's cause you've been busy on her free evenings," Stiles said, referring to the time they'd spent together studying and eating. Though, Lydia couldn't cook very well, so usually in the case of time spent at the Martin residence, pizza and Chinese take-out were staples. If he was being honest, ever since that first dinner, the two of them had been spending even more time together than usual, because their houses- unlike the library- didn't have a closing time. Usually they met at six-ish and ended at nine, but now their houses were an option, they met at six and finished at ten or eleven at night, parting only to sleep. Stiles had become accustomed to spending time with Lydia, and had cooked her more than one meal that week alone.

It was then that Stiles spotted Scott and Allison walking down the hallway together. They were doing the kind of PDA that usually made him want to vomit. Instead, he only felt sadness. Lydia had spotted the pair as well. A small sigh escaped Stiles' lips and he turned back to Lydia.

"I guess this means the dinners are over," Stiles said with a sad smile. Lydia's telltale forehead crease was forming as her pretty, green eyes narrowed.

"What are you talking about Stilinski? The reason we couldn't see each other was because Scott and Allison wanted to spend time with us. Now they're back together they'll want to see us even less than they did before the trouble in paradise. It's like another honeymoon period. Unless my company offends you all of a sudden or something?" Lydia replied snarkily.

"No. That's not what I meant. I just thought that since we don't have to spend time at each other's houses to get away from the fight, we could go back to the library," Stiles explained quickly. Lydia's frown smoothed out slightly.

"Okay, Stiles. I'm going to let you in on a secret here. And you tell no one, understand?" she asked.

"Zipped, locked and key thrown away," Stiles told her, miming the actions. Lydia stilled his arm and looked at him.

"You know that I don't have many real friends. But I actually consider you one now. So if you want that to continue, you are going to need to continue to prove that you're worthy of my friendship. That includes occasionally spending time with me in a social context, occasional shopping trips and the dinners. If you're still interested?" Lydia sounded confident, but somehow the last sentence came out more like a question than she was intending. Stiles smiled.

"Don't think you can get rid of me that easily, Martin. You'll have to kill me before you could make me voluntarily abandon the dinners. Although, with cooking skills like yours, I might just die anyway," Stiles joked. Lydia uncharacteristically pushed his side playfully and they both turned in sync to greet Allison and Scott who had reached them.

"Hey guys. So, we made up. We both realised we were being stupid," Scott said, looking into Allison's eyes and smiling almost hard enough to make Stiles forget the annoyance he had gone through in the last couple of weeks.

"Well, it's about time," Lydia said, and Stiles laughed. Scott and Allison headed off to Chem 104 and Stiles and Lydia shared a smile before walking down the hallway together to AP Chemistry.

Stiles was so content that even the Coach yelling at him that afternoon in practice couldn't dampen the warm glow that had formed in his chest. Lydia was obviously happy too, because when she pulled her front door open for him two hours later, Stiles could smell Nachos- one of his favourites. He dropped his heavy backpack next to the door as per usual, and followed Lydia into the kitchen with a big smile on his face.