"Please don't make me go."

Lydia finishes typing her text to Stiles assuring him that yes, for the millionth time we are on their way before she glances over at the brunette pleading with her.

"We're only two stops away from where we need to get off and we're already late because you won't quit acting like a child. You're coming."

Malia groans too loudly and throws her head back, thwacking it dully against the train's dirty window.

"Stop acting like this is the end of the world," Lydia says, rolling her eyes. "Things didn't end that poorly with you and Kira. I don't know why you're trying to avoid her so thoroughly."

"Things ended so poorly," Malia shoots back, crossing her arms over her chest and hunkering down in her seat. Her jacket bunches up adorably around her cheeks and Lydia laughs as the train jerks to a halt.

"You guys broke up in high school, I'm positive she's over it."

"We didn't even really date how could we have—"

"You two were absolutely dating! You held hands in the hallways and made out underneath the bleachers and passed love notes in class just like couples do."

"Well so did you and Alli—"

Malia stops herself before she can say it. Lydia's heart goes cold and a shudder rolls up her back that she hides as the train moves forward.

"Sorry," Malia mutters, sinking even further in her seat and refusing to look at Lydia. "I didn't—I know—Sorry."

Lydia takes a deep breath in through her nose and exhales evenly, forcing her heart to stop aching and resume its normal pace. She reaches out a hand and sets in on Malia's bare knee, squeezing slightly in forgiveness before she pulls her hand back to her lap.

"Look, we're going to this show and we're going to drink and have fun and you're going to be nice to Kira because I'm one hundred percent sure that she's forgiven you for breaking up with her at graduation like an asshole because that girl is a fucking treasure. Okay?"

"Okay," Malia says, meekly.

They sit in tense silence for nearly four solid minutes before Malia gains the courage to speak.

"So, does us going to this show mean that you've changed your mind?"

"Changed my mind about what?" Lydia asks, standing as the train begins screeching to a halt. Malia follows, a wide smile spreading across her face.

"Changed your mind about your soulmate."

Lydia frowns and rolls her eyes as the train stops and the doors open. Together, the girls exit onto the dirty platform and begin heading briskly for the exit.

"Changed it from what to what?"

"Do you like him? I mean you text him all the time—"

"He texts me all of the time."

"But you text back all of the time!"

Lydia pushes through the turnstile and heads up the stairs to the outside, a freezing blast of wind shooting down and blowing her curled hair back from her face. She pulls her jacket closer, cursing herself for wearing a skirt that is seasonally too short and leggings that are way too thin. They turn right, starting the two blocks towards Deucalion's.

"I can talk to him without dating him."

"Right. But do you like him?"

"I like plenty of people that I don't intend to date."

"But do you like him like him?"

"I am not in elementary school anymore, Malia, I don't 'like like' people."

"Do you adult like him like him?"

"I'm not responding to this ridiculous line of questioning anymore."

Malia giggles and skips forward, wrapping her warm hand around Lydia's freezing fingers.

"Fine, fine, I'll stop," Malia says through her grin. "Just don't hold back if you like him like him, okay?"

She squeezes Lydia's hand for emphasis and Lydia finds herself smiling.

"You know me," She responds shortly as the two round the corner and come into view of Deucalion's. They make it within thirty feet of the entrance when Malia rips her hand out of Lydia's and lets out a strangled whine.

Kira stands awkwardly by the door, half-hidden in darkness while her eyes dart around and she shuffles her Nike-clad feet to keep warm. She looks almost exactly as Lydia remembered her from high school, from the long dark hair to the tattered leather jacket hugging her shoulders. As Kira sees the two girls approaching, a smile breaks across her face, only faltering slightly as she glances towards Malia.

"Sorry we're late!" Lydia exclaims, stepping forward and pulling Kira into a hug. Kira responds clumsily, but enthusiastically, her arms hovering wildly over Lydia's back before she finally gives in and wraps her arms around the redhead's waist.

"It's okay!" She laughs, pulling back. "I'm so glad you called! This should be fun, right? I think it'll be fun."

She lets out a nervous peal of laughter before her eyes slide to Malia, standing stiffly behind Lydia.

"Hey, Malia," Kira offers, her smile just a little too tight. Malia responds with an equally strained smile and a limp wave. Lydia looks between them and shakes her head.

"Let's head inside where it's warm," She says, heading for the entrance. The other girls quickly follow, making sure not to touch as they crowd together through the door.

Deucalion's is just as dirty as Lydia was expecting. The large room is lit only with blue spotlights and a string of half-broken, blinking Christmas lights tacked over the bar and the arch in the back wall that leads to the bathrooms and the band storage area. A low stage dominates the left-hand corner of the venue, the floor sagging slightly under the weight of the instruments and a group of skinny teenage boys wearing pants three sizes too small who are screeching unintelligible words while producing a cacophony of off-beat noise. A large billiards table is set up close to the bar and several people milling around are perched on the edges. Despite the no smoking laws, the smell of stale smoke and spilled beer permeates the structure. A high table is on their immediate right, behind which sits a muscular man with a passive scowl on his face. A golden triangle glows against his black skin, nestled at the hollow of his throat. He does not look up at Lydia as she approaches, his eyes focused instead on the phone in his huge hands.

"Cover charge is $15," He yells over the blare before Lydia can speak.

"Uh…we're on the list?"

The man slowly looks up and his eyes fall on Lydia's Mark. He smirks, leaning forward with a pen in hand and crossing three names off a dirty sheet of paper in front of him.

"So you're Stilinski's girl?"

Lydia bristles.

"I'm a girl that knows Stilinski," She shoots back, her lips pursed. He laughs shortly and holds out a bright pink wristband. Lydia holds her wrist up and he attaches it there for her.

"Yeah, he said you'd be like that."

"Like what?" Lydia asks as he puts wristbands on Kira and Malia.

"Ask him yourself," He says, gesturing behind her with a jerk of his head.

Lydia turns and finds Stiles emerging from the back of the building, his eyes roaming the crowd. When he catches sight of Lydia, a crooked smile blossoms across his face and he raises his hand in greeting. As he strides over, Lydia plants her hands on her hips and frowns at him. The band on the stage abruptly finishes playing, the lead singer muttering a thanks into the mic before they begin unloading their equipment off the stage. There's scattered applause.

"What have you been telling people about me?" She asks when Stiles gets close, her ears ringing in the sudden silence.

"I see you've met Boyd," Stiles says, waving at the guy behind the table.

"What have you been telling people about me?" Lydia repeats.

"No—nothing!" Stiles exclaims, holding his hands up. "I haven't said anything, I swear!"

"He said you'd be a firecracker," Boyd says behind them. Lydia hears Kira giggle. "Now will you guys move?"

The door has opened and a gaggle of high schoolers all wearing heavy make up and Triskelion t-shirts have filed in, glancing nervously around the crowded bar with awkward smiles. One of them stares at Stiles with her mouth hanging open, clearly enamored by his long eyelashes and the tight V-neck that he is somehow pulling off. Lydia reaches out and taps Stiles on the chest, pushing him slightly. He takes the hint and back pedals, guiding Lydia and her friends over to the bar. A girl about their age with long, wavy blonde hair puts a beer down on the bar as Stiles approaches, smirking at him. Stiles takes it with a nod and turns back to Lydia.

"So introduce me to your friends," He says, raising the beer and taking a sip without breaking eye contact. Lydia feels a flush across her chest as she watches his lips wrap around the glass of the bottle, but she quickly pushes it away as she turns to the two girls standing awkwardly next to each other.

"This is my roommate, Malia Tate, and our friend Kira Yukimura."

"You're Kira the guitarist?" He asks Kira, an easy smile across his face.

"Er—yeah! Yeah, that's me," Kira says, smiling nervously.

"Very cool! I'll go grab Scott and introduce you!"

As he turns to leave, Lydia grabs him by the back of his t-shirt and pulls him back. He flails a bit as he spins around, spilling beer up his arm.

"What about my free drinks?" She asks, ignoring his frown.

"Oh!" He leans over and obnoxiously waves a hand at the blonde bartender, who is serving drinks on the other end of the bar. She sees him waving and dramatically sighs, stomping over.

"What do you want, Batman?" She asks. Stiles laughs sarcastically at her.

"Look, Catwoman, I need a favor," He says, pointing at Lydia. "I need you to give this beautiful girl here drinks on my tab, but just this beautiful girl. Not her two friends. Just this beautiful girl, okay?"

"Oh, so just that beautiful girl?" The girl repeats, pointing at Lydia.

"Yes, exactly, just this beautiful girl," He puts an arm around Lydia's shoulders quickly, his hand ghosting over her before he pulls back. He begins to walk towards the back of the building again, throwing up a finger gun and winking.

"Thanks, Erica!" He shouts over the growing noise of the crowd as he goes. "I'll be right back!"

"So, beautiful girl," Erica asks as soon as Stiles disappears into the back room, a wolfish smile across her face. "Would you like to buy your friends some drinks?"

Lydia laughs as she takes a seat on the worn stool in front of her. Malia takes the stool on her left while Kira sits on her right.

"I would love to!" Lydia says. "And you know, I think we've got expensive tastes tonight."

Erica nods with a wink.

"Got it," She laughs, turning and pulling down four dusty bottles from the shelf. As she comes back, Lydia sees a golden triangle shining on her chest, partially hidden in her cleavage.

"Are you with the guy at the door?" Malia asks, seeing the Mark as well.

"Yeah, that's my Boyd," Erica grins down at the glasses as she artfully pours in layer after layer of liquor. "We've been together 20 years now."

"Holy shit," Malia says. "So you two've been together since, like—"

"Since elementary school, yeah."

"Oh! That's…wow. How do you…?"

"How do you know Stiles?" Lydia asks over Malia, cutting off Malia's questioning. Erica finishes the tall drinks with a flourish and drops cherries in each one before sliding them to the three girls across from her.

"I went to high school with him and—"

"Scott! Look, look Scott!"

Stiles returns, bounding over to the group of girls and standing excitedly next to Lydia. Scott trails behind him, looking slightly embarrassed at Stiles's behavior but a friendly smile across his face. Scott's cute in a puppy dog kind of way, Lydia decides as she takes a large gulp of her drink, with earnest eyes and a leather jacket that is a size too big for him. Stiles gestures wildly at Lydia, his beer gone.

"Look Scott, it's Lydia! Lydia is here. Look, Scott, look."

Scott laughs, reaching out to shake Lydia's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Lydia," He says before turning to Erica. "You know how he gets after two beers why did you give him another one?"

Erica smiles wickedly.

"It was his third."

She sets a drink in front of Scott before dancing down to the other end of the bar. Scott takes it with a laugh and a shake of his head as Lydia turns to Malia and Kira to introduce them.

"These are my friends, Malia and Kira."

When she turns back around Scott is staring openly at Kira, his mouth slightly ajar and his eyes wide. He catches himself before Kira does, jamming his lips together and angling his beer to the two girls in greeting as Stiles dances back over to stand by his side.

"You're Kira the guitarist?" Scott asks Kira.

"Scott, it's Kira the guitarist!" Stiles says loudly over him, pointing to Kira.

"I…guess I'm Kira the guitarist?" Kira responds, her cheeks flushing as she drops her gaze to the drink she's nursing between her cupped hands.

"Very cool, I hope you like our sound," Scott says, smiling widely.

Lydia turns away from their conversation to focus on Stiles, who's balancing on his heels a few steps away as he sways in time with the '90s alt song that's begun playing as the band on the stage takes away the last of their instruments. As he catches Lydia's eye he bounds forward to her.

"Hey, do you wanna head to the back and meet Derek and Isaac?" He asks in one breath.

"We can't," Scott interjects, clapping a hand on Stiles's shoulder. "We've got to start loading our stuff."

"Oh yeah!" Stiles says. He points with both hands at Lydia.

"You guys wait here and we'll send Braeden out to you, okay?" He says.

"Who's—?" Lydia starts to ask, but Stiles and Scott are already weaving through the crowd, Stiles holding two thumbs up.

Lydia turns to Malia, who is downing her drink. She finishes with a toss of her hand and pulls the cherry out of the ice at the bottom of her empty cup, popping the whole thing in her mouth.

"They seem nice," Kira says tentatively, turning to Lydia.

"Stiles is infuriating," Lydia responds, taking a long sip from her drink. Malia pulls a tied cherry stem out of her mouth and sets it down on the bar, then leans forward towards Kira and grins.

"I think she likes him," She says.

"Like, like likes him?" Kira asks.

"Oh my God," Lydia groans, spinning her stool around to face the stage.

Stiles emerges from the back, a bass drum held aloft over his head while a brooding guy with a jaw like cut steel brings out a hi-hat and a guitar. Scott comes next, mounting the small stairs with his arms loaded with amps. A curly blond trails behind him, hauling an effects pedal with a bass slung over his back. As they turn and head back to get more gear from the back, a girl in expensive Italian boots trots out from the space. As Broody Steel Jaw passes, she reaches a hand out and smacks him squarely on the ass. He turns his head quickly to her, his eyes catching the spotlights from the stage and flashing blue. She winks at him and he laughs, pressing a quick kiss to her temple before he disappears in the back. The girl looks up the bar, her eyes landing on Lydia. She starts to walk towards them.

"Are you Lydia?" The girl asks when she gets close enough.

"Are you Braeden?" Lydia replies. The girl laughs.

"Yeah, that's me," Braeden says. "Do you three want to come stand near the stage?"

"Er…sure!" Lydia says, hopping off of the stool and grabbing her drink from the bar. Malia quickly follows, her drink already gone. Malia takes Lydia loosely by the wrist as Braeden motions for them to follow her through the growing crowd. Kira hooks her fingers under the belt fastened loosely at Lydia's waist to stay close. The alcohol has begun working its way through her and Lydia smiles wide at the feeling of Malia's warm fingers against her skin and the pressure of Kira presence behind her. A loud boom sounds from the left as Triskelion begins sound checking their instruments. Lydia begins to laugh as they squeeze past the tightly packed mass, the sound swallowed up by the shriek of Scott's guitar.

Lydia ends up shoulder-to-shoulder with Braeden and Malia. Kira stands on the other side of Braeden, her empty cup held awkwardly in her hands.

"So who are the other guys?" Malia asks Braeden, almost leaning over Lydia to ask. On the stage, Stiles assembles his drum set, stumbling over wires as he goes. He looks behind him and finds Lydia in the crowd, grinning widely at her. Feeling brave, Lydia raises her cup to her lips and winks at him over the rim. His face flushes pink and he drops one of his cymbals with a crash. Lydia laughs as he turns back to the drum set, the back of his neck red.

"That one's Isaac," Braeden says, pointing at the blond with the bass. "And the guy with the permanent frown is Derek."

As if he could hear them, Derek turns to the crowd and finds Braeden at the front. A smile ghosts over his face before he slings his guitar over his shoulder and steps up to the mic, shouting "CHECK" to test the noise. Beside him, Scott does the same. Lydia notices the shining gold Mark on Derek's neck and turns to Braeden, scanning the exposed skin and finding the matching Mark peeking out from under her collar.

"Where'd you meet him?" Lydia asks, angling a head towards Derek.

"Work," Braeden says shortly.

"Ah," Lydia responds awkwardly, nodding and draining the last of her drink.

"Nothing as romantic as meeting on the subway," Braeden adds, smirking. Lydia groans.

"Has he been telling everyone about me?" Lydia groans.

"Not everyone," Braeden says, smiling. "Just everyone who will listen."

"Even if you think you don't like like him, he definitely like likes you," Malia laughs into Lydia's ear. Lydia opens her mouth to respond, but she's cut off as Stiles unleashes a thunderous drum roll. She jabs an elbow into Malia's ribs instead.

Scott steps up to his mic and a cheer ripples out from the audience, no one screaming louder than the group of teenage girls from before. Isaac begins plucking a few lonely chords, the low thrumming ringing out through the air. He pauses, his last notes hanging heavy in the air, then in a sudden rush everyone else joins in. The noise is rough, almost feral, and Lydia finds herself swinging her hips in time with the frantic beat. Beside her, Malia crows and raises her arms above her head. Scott is yelling words into the crackling mic, the ropes of his neck muscles straining under his tan skin. Derek steps forward and roars, his teeth bared. In the back, Stiles is putting his long arms to use, his hands a blur as they bounce across the drum set. Isaac is jumping in place erratically, but he soon drops to his knees as he furiously pounds on his bass. Braeden shouts out the lyrics along with Scott, her head thrown back. Lydia lets a yell rip out of her, feeling wild and happy and free. Then, as quickly as it started, they end the song with a crash. Lydia cheers with the rest of the crowd, applauding loudly. She catches Kira staring up at Scott with stars in her eyes. Malia is laughing excitedly as she claps. She looks over at Lydia and swoops in, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. Lydia giggles. Malia winks.

Triskelion knows how to keep the crowd moving. Scott wails out songs about heartache and full moons and existentialism. At one point Isaac peels off his shirt and tosses it behind him, revealing a black spiral-shaped Mark on his side. The teenage girls scream so loudly that Lydia worries her eardrums will burst.

"Every fucking time," She hears Braeden growl beside her.

After 14 songs, Scott leans close to the mic with a wide smile. His face shines in the light. In the back, Stiles pushes his damp hair back away from his forehead, exhaling. He looks exhausted, but happy. He winks in Lydia's direction. She rolls her eyes, but can't help the smirk that spreads across her lips. Her limbs are hot and loose from dancing and alcohol, her chest flushed.

"So…hey," Scott says, his voice gravelly after an hour of screaming. The crowd yells back.

"It's been pretty incredible sharing the stage with this guy right here," He continues, swinging his hand out to gesture at Derek. The crowd cheers again as Derek nods his head, a smile fighting its way onto his face.

"But like they say, all good things and shit," Scott laughs, strumming a few notes on his guitar. "So this is our last song."

They start in again, even faster than before. The fans know this song, they're already singing along before Scott can get the words out. Even Malia seems to know most of this one and she's shouting out the lyrics into Lydia's ear, her hands on Lydia's shoulders as she jumps in place. Lydia's hips jam into the stage as someone stumbles into her from behind. She's laughing—deep, shaking laughs that rise from her belly to vibrate through her chest and out her smiling mouth. She loves this feeling: the pulse of the music, the press of the crowd, the hot energy surrounding her as the crowd surges forward. Scott is giving it his all, his eyes jammed shut and his fingers sliding down the neck of his guitar as he pours himself into the mic. Stiles is hovering over his seat, legs working frantically as he crashes down onto the cymbals. Derek is yelling harmonies with Scott and Isaac has pulled his bottom lip into his mouth as he sinks down once again to the floor. They finish with a lingering last note and Scott singing over the silence, mourning words flowing out and over the crowd. He finishes mid-word, pulling back and dropping his head, letting the buzz of the amps fill the space as the sound of the guitars cease. They sit quietly for two full seconds before the applause erupts. Lydia joins in, cheering along loudly with everyone else as the boys unplug their instruments and start hauling things off the stage.