"Flight 315 to Sacramento International Airport will be boarding in fifteen minutes. Please check the notice screens for your boarding gate."
Lydia barely listened to the automated voice bellowing from the overhead speakers. She already knew said information and she was far too excited to be paying enough attention. In less than 20 hours, she'd be home with her family and friends. The anticipation conquered over the tiredness she was beginning to feel.
Reaching her boarding gate, she settled down on one of the chairs and placed her bag on the floor. Searching through it, she pulled out her tablet and swiped the screen. Her heart fluttered lightly as she studied her wallpaper. She looked into the eyes of Stiles Stilinski and herself staring back at her with bright and happy smiles. Stiles in a tuxedo, herself in an elegant green prom dress. Lydia would never forget that evening or the events that led up to it.
"So, prom's in a couple of weeks." Stiles broke the silence he and Lydia had fallen into as they left the school and made their way to his jeep.
"Stating the obvious a little, Stiles." Lydia raised an eyebrow as they both walked down the steps towards the parking lot.
Stiles rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to know your plans."
Lydia exhaled as she thought about it. "Well, to start with I was gonna put on my sweat pants...then order some Chinese and find a film or a documentary to watch on Netflix."
Stiles paused and watched Lydia continue walking. "Wait, what?"
Lydia spun round and took at Stiles' shocked expression. "Oh, of course! How could I forget? I'll have to stock up on plenty of ice cream."
"You're seriously not going to prom?" Stiles frowned.
"Nope." Lydia turned back around and continued their walk.
"The Lydia Martin isn't going to the last ever prom?" Stiles caught up with her and waited for an explanation.
"I'm not too fussed if I'm honest, Stiles. It doesn't really interest me."
"Are these words coming from your mouth?" Stiles blinked. "The Lydia Martin I knew a year ago would already have found the perfect dress and the heels to match, and she would be scanning through the never-ending list of boys who have asked her to go with them, picking out ones that would be the best candidate."
"Stiles, I don't know if you've realised, but I'm not the same girl I was a year ago." Lydia smirked as they approached the familiar rusty jeep.
Stiles sighed as Lydia opened the passenger door. "Yes, I'm aware of that but...Lyds."
Lydia hopped onto the passenger seat and turned to Stiles.
"Lydia, it's prom."
"Stiles, seriously. I don't want to go." Lydia muttered as she placed her bag on the back seat.
"Why not?" Stiles frowned, leaning against the open passenger door.
"Because...I just don't feel the same about it as I used to. Aiming to be best dressed, searching high and low for the best prom date, spending hours and hours perfecting your make-up and making sure every curl in your hair is prestige. It's so much effort just for one night of standing in a room with a bunch of people I genuinely don't speak to."
Stiles had no answer. He glared at the strawberry-blonde before leaning off of the door to allow her to close it. He stood there for a moment before moving around his jeep. Lydia inwardly rolled her eyes and wound down the window before the brown-eyed boy reappeared once more, resting his arms on the now open window.
"I'm not taking that as an answer." Stiles stated.
"And why is that?" Lydia raised an eyebrow, only half amused.
"Because. I cannot stand the thought of you sitting at home in your far too large burgundy sweater watching a documentary you've probably seen four times with a take-out resting next to you that would probably give you a nasty stomach while the rest of us get drunk dancing to really bad chart music, creating memories that'll last a lifetime."
Lydia pursed her lips as she studied the boy before her. His eyes glistened with hope and he had that annoying smirk spread across his face, as if he thought he was going to win her over.
"There won't be alcohol at prom, Stiles."
"There will be before hand, and at the after party."
"And I threw that sweater out."
"Because it was too big?" Stiles smirked.
"No, because you managed to put a very large hole through the back of it while trying to sow up a much smaller, tinier hole."
"I was just trying to prove to you that I'm not all that useless."
Lydia smirked. "Get in the jeep."
Stiles rushed around to the other side of his jeep before opening the door and jumping in. Slamming the door, he placed his keys in the ignition and allowed it to roar to life before turning to Lydia. "We're going to prom."
Lydia raised her eyebrows with a playful smile on her lips. "We?"
"Yes." Stiles nodded before swallowing. "You're coming to prom with me."
"Out of all the offers I've had in my time, Stilinski, this has got to be the most romantic gesture."
"You're using sarcasm against the most sarcastic person in the whole of senior year." Stiles rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Lyds."
Lydia peered at the brown-haired boy before spinning in the seat so she was leaning against the door. She crossed her legs and placed her hands on her lap. "Say I did come with you..."
Stiles' expression lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Hypothetically."
His expression faltered and he flared his nostrils in annoyance. "Alright, hypothetically."
"What would be your plans for the evening?"
"Well..." Stiles' fingers danced on the steering wheel. "A year ago, when I had that creepy crush on you, I had planned to pick you up in a limo with the money I didn't have, get down on one knee as you opened your front door and hand you a red rose."
Lydia bowed her head as she attempted to hold in her laughter. Stiles saw and sent her a glare.
"I'd take your hand and lead you to the limousine, introduce you to Enrique the driver then open the door for you like a gentleman. We'd sip on champagne and you'd be totally impressed with my charm and call me a gentleman. We'd arrive at the school and there would be a red carpet especially for you from the limo to the doors. I'd walk you up to the doors, and in the halls, Scott would be ready to throw red rose petals over us given that I pay him fifty bucks for wasting his time, then we'd enter the prom, dance to your favourite songs and by the end of the night you would have fallen in love with me and we'd live happily ever after."
Lydia was speechless. She wanted to burst with laughter and embarrassment.
"You can laugh if you want."
She roared with laughter, covering her mouth with her hand. Stiles couldn't help but laugh with her, partly because of how embarrassing his younger self was, and mainly because he adored watching and hearing Lydia laugh. Not the small chuckle she'd sometimes let out, or the fake laugh when Kira would tell a bad joke, but the genuine laugh where her nose would crinkle and her mouth would open wide, revealing her perfectly white teeth.
Lydia cleared her throat and looked up at Stiles, a smile still plastered on her face. "Although that sounds...romantic and wonderful and so incredibly similar to the stereo-typed teen movies, I'd love to hear what present Stiles would do."
Stiles scanned Lydia's bright eyes and wide smile before exhaling. "Well, I'd pick you up in my jeep."
Lydia raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry, I'll give it a good and thorough clean before hand. Then, we'd drive to school listening to a shitty CD that Scott burned for me two years ago, we'll park up and drink some of the Jack Daniels I'd have hiding in my tux, then I'll link your arm in mine and we'll enter the school. Scott will not be there to throw dead petals over us..."
Lydia let out a giggle.
"And you'll get to see me perform my greatest and most embarrassing dance moves, we'll take lots of pictures that you will eventually put up on your wall, and by the end of the night you'll fall in love with me and we'll live happily ever after."
"Stiles, seriously."
Stiles smirked. "At the end of the night, I'll turn to you and ask you whether you regret not staying in and watching Netflix all night long, reheating the take-out that you failed to eat all of because your eyes are bigger than your stomach."
Lydia grinned at her best friend. It was such a comforting feeling knowing that Stiles knew so much about her. She watched him drum lightly against the steering wheel, knowing he felt all kinds of awkward.
"Stiles."
He turned to look at her.
"I give you full permission to ask the question." She smiled at him with her head tilted.
He was hesitant for a moment. "Is this still hypothetical?"
"No."
"Terrific. Lydia, would you go to prom with me?"
"Stiles Stilinski, I'd be honoured."
Lydia studied the proud smile that Stiles was sporting in the picture. She scanned over the arm wrapped around her waist and the ridiculously wide grin she was wearing herself. When you looked at the picture of the pair of them posing in front of a sparkly and flowery display, it looked so cheesy and typical. But Lydia knew the events behind that photo, the memories she had made with Stiles and the pack, and really, in hindsight, it was typical and it was a cheesy night. But it was the most normal night they'd had in a very long time. And Lydia treasured it and the memories that came with it in her heart.
She brought up the Skype app and clicked on Stiles' name. She hit the call button and waited for him to answer. It was 4 o'clock in the afternoon at Sydney airport, where Lydia currently was, so she knew Stiles would be in bed waiting for a text or a call from her to say she was boarding the plane.
Stiles answered after a few seconds, and Lydia's tablet screen flashed up with his tired-looking face.
"Evening, miss Martin."
"Afternoon, Mr Stilinski." Lydia beamed. She had Skyped, texted, called Stiles once or more a day ever since she left Beacon Hills, but every time she did, she was over the moon to hear his voice and see his face.
"Airport bound?" Stiles asked, sitting up in his bed.
"Correct. Ten minutes till I board."
"Finally, the day has come." Stiles grinned, ruffling his hair.
"You're very much incorrect-"
"I know you're getting here tomorrow, smart ass." Stiles smirked. "How was your day?"
"Apart from the rest of the packing and saying good-bye to everyone at the lab, it was a nice day."
"Are you sad?"
"A little, I'm gonna miss them all but I'm more excited to get home to you guys." Lydia smiled.
"I knew you couldn't stand to be away from me for that long." Stiles smirked.
"Shut it, Stilinski. I could say the same for you."
"Me? Nah, I've been fine. I was actually hoping you would stay out there longer..."
"If I could jump into this screen and thump you, I would." Lydia rolled her eyes.
Stiles grinned cheekily. "I have been counting down the days ever since you left, Lydia Martin. I even have a countdown on my phone."
Lydia grinned. "That's more like it."
"Man, have I missed that smile."
"We have Skyped almost every day, Stiles."
"Yeah, but it's not the same as it is in person. I mean, don't get me wrong; I've loved the selfies of you standing in front of the opera house, or the absolutely exquisite nudes I've received from you in just your lab coat-"
"Everybody in a ten feet radius can hear you, Stiles." Lydia mumbled, holding back the laughter.
Stiles' eyes widened. "Did anybody hear?"
"I don't think so. Except for the Chinese guy sitting two chairs down from me. But I'm pretty sure he doesn't speak English and he may have fallen asleep."
Stiles grinned. "I can't wait till you're here, Lyds."
"I can't wait to see you, Stiles. I really can't." Lydia mumbled. "I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you like crazy. We all have. Beacon Hills just isn't the same without you." Stiles pouted. "Scott and Kira wanted to throw a surprise party for you."
Lydia pulled her eyebrows together.
"Don't worry, I told them that it wasn't the greatest idea considering you'd be returning from a sixteen hour flight."
Lydia exhaled. "Thank you. Oh, that reminds me. Did Scott ask Kira?"
"To move in with him? I'll let you guess."
"Oh god, he messed it up didn't he." Lydia sighed.
"He called me up the next day in a mess of words saying he took her out to dinner and handed her a key. She asked what it was for, he said it was to his apartment. She asked why he was giving her his key, he then realised he hadn't cut another key and had to ask for it back. Kira being Kira got all confused and Scott being Scott got all tongue tied but eventually, after finishing their meal then driving over to the other side of town to get a key cut, she has successfully moved in."
Lydia laughed. "Wow. I can imagine it all perfectly."
"They're now discussing on getting a cat." Stiles raised his eyebrow.
"God, those two really are idiots in love." Lydia shook her head with a smile. She looked up from the tablet screen as a voice called out from the speakers above. Everybody near her began to gather their things and head for the boarding gate.
"Is that you?" Stiles asked.
"I believe so." Lydia looked back down at the screen. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"I'll be at the airport waiting." Stiles smiled. "Have a safe flight, Lyds."
"Thank you. Good-bye, Stiles."
"Bye, Lydia."