Archive of Our Own ^beta

‘Consider outer space. From the time of the first NASA mission, it became evident that being in space has a profound effect on the human psyche. During the first Gemini mission, some thought was actually given to the notion of sending up a man and a woman together,’ Stiles prattled on to Caitlin, a cute girl who just tipsy enough to be willing to talk to him. She also didn’t go to his school which was an added bonus. Well, Stiles supposed, it wasn’t his school anymore anyway.

‘Really?’ she asked. He wasn’t entirely sure if she believed him, but she was intrigued and that was enough for Stiles to continue on with his well practised speech.

‘A cosmic Adam and Eve, bound together in a sophisticated nerve centre at the head of the largest, most powerful known rocket, its giant thrusters blasting into the dark void as they hurtled towards their final destination: the gushing wellspring of life itself.’ Feeling confident that his speech was working he finished with a line so smooth, he was sure no one could resist. ‘How would you like to have a sexual encounter so intense it could conceivably change your political views?’

A loud thwack echoed in the night sky, as Caitlin's hand met his face. Okay, maybe Scott was right about that line. Rubbing his jaw in an attempt to ease the sharp pain, He muttered ‘I’ll take that as no then,’ as she stormed off the to the dance floor (if you can call the middle of a field a dance floor).

Walking to the forest, he turned his back on the party. Like him, most of his cohort would be leaving for college in the next few days. Most of him was happy to leave Beacon Hills behind, however there were a few things he’d miss. And one of them was following him over to the outskirts of the party.

‘I told you it wouldn’t work,’ Scott said, with a smile.

‘Can’t blame a guy for trying,’

Handing him a lukewarm beer, Scott asked him ‘You okay?’

‘I’m more emotionally wounded than anything,’ Stiles sighed. ‘I’ve just gotta accept that it’s gone, I’ve lost it. I reached my sexual peak, and it was lost on Heather junior year. And it was only three times. Senior year looked so good, but nothing.' Sighing, he concluded his rant with 'I’ve past my prime,’

‘Trust me, you’re not past anything yet. You’ll get to college, and there will be all these amazing, complex women, and you’ll have no problem getting with at least one of them,’

‘Aren’t they just the same women I’m at school with now?’

‘But they’ll be college girls,’ Scott said with a laugh, gently nudging him. ‘It will be fine, trust me,’

‘I’m going to miss you, Scott,’ he said sincerely. There were a lot of things he hated about this fucking town, but Scott? Not one of them. Not even close.

‘It’s your own fault, you could be staying in California with me,’

‘Yeah, because I really want to be stuck here forever,’

‘We’ll text, Skype, call, I’ll even write you a letter if you want me to, bro,’ Scott said, flashing an award winning smile.

‘I really am going to miss you,’

‘Me too,’

Dear Scott,

I know you were just bullshitting me when you said we should write letters, but I don’t think my previous messages have got across how much I hate it here.

The girls are exactly the same, still not interested in me. The only naked bodies my dorm room have seen are those of men. This doesn’t mean my room’s not getting any action, it’s that it’s all my roommate Danny's doing.

There is this one class (and by class, I mean girl) that seems interesting. Super hot, super smart, super not into me. But I’m sure she’ll come around in the next, five, maybe ten years?

I don’t really know what else to say, by the time you get this letter we’ll have spoken at least 10 times since then. And people wonder why we don’t send letters anymore?

Love,

All the best?

Fuck you?

Seriously how do you sign off a letter?

Stiles

College wasn’t exactly like what Lydia Martin had imagined it would be. She thought it would be full of liked minded individuals who just wanted to learn. However, it was really the same people she went to highschool with, just from different towns, in different states.

Sometimes Lydia got annoyed that she always seemed a few years older than the people around her. She was the first middle schooler to get invited to a high school party. The only freshman asked to senior prom. She’d grown out of college parties by senior year, and now there was nowhere to go. Being too young to drink legally and too smart to want to go to a frat party made life boring.

Half listening to Ms. Blake rattle on about ‘As the dog returneth to his own vomit so does the fool to his folly,’ she was resenting the english credit she had to take. She thought creative writing would be the easy option, she was wrong.

Hearing someone come into the classroom she turned her head. Stiles. He’d already tried to hit on her once. She supposed he was somewhat attractive, but if the average populous wasn’t mature enough for Lydia, Stiles Stilinski sure wasn’t.

‘Sorry I'm late, but there was this big problem… and I'm late because of it,’ he said, moving his way to a seat. She was halfway through rolling her eyes when she realised the seat next to her was free. Please don’t sit next to me, please, she silently begged. However, he clearly didn’t hear these cries and if he did, he ignored them.

As Ms. Blake finally got on topic, she started taking notes. Vary sentence structure. Experiment.

‘You sure take a lot of notes,’ Stiles whispered, leaning over her desk. Shooting him a glare, that was always good at scaring freshmen out of her way at high school, he retreated.

She tried to not notice him, to continue on with her note taking, and pay no attention. However, he got out his phone and started looking on Facebook. Who does that? He must have payed so much to get here, why waste it by checking out cute girls on Instagram?

Luckily, Lydia didn’t seem to be the only person who noticed.

‘Mr. Stilinski?’ Ms. Blake asked, walking over to his desk. ‘I know what an important part the internet, and women apparently, play in your daily life. But would you mind if I take a moment of your time?’

Ugh, couldn’t she throw him out the class or something?

‘Go ahead,’ he replied, with a smug grin on his face.

‘I really enjoyed your paper,’ she said. A look of disbelief and arrogance washing over his face. ‘The Werewolf Whose Only Problem Was Lacrosse. It was interesting, a new take on a classic genre. However, whatever whimsy your piece had, it was lost beneath the marginal grammar, creative spellings and what I hope is chocolate,’

Secretly pleased over Stiles incompetence, she couldn’t help but give a smug grin.

‘Now, Ms. Martin.’ Straightening up at her name, she was ready to hear how well she had done, and really put Stiles to shame. ‘You are quite the opposite. You express your ideas very clearly, but it’s so… dry. Loosen up, Lydia. You’re eighteen not forty. Sleep when you feel like it. Eat food that is bad for you! Talk to people whose clothes are not colour coordinated! Have sex on a hammock! Life is the ultimate experience. You have to experience it… in order to write about it.' Getting to the end of her spiel, she finished with 'You and Stiles could learn something from each other,’

Yeah, like Stiles could teach her anything.

Walking out of class with her new friend Allison, the only one at this school that seemed to really understand her, she said ‘What does she mean I have to live life? My boyfriend was lacrosse captain! I was prom queen! When I was sixteen I got attacked by a dog at the winter formal and had to stay in hospital for a week! Not many people can say that!’

‘I don’t think you should be bragging about that. It sounds pretty traumatic actually,’ Allison replied as they walked out the building. She can’t actually remember what happened, so her parents like to pretend it never happened. This just made Lydia more stubborn to never forget.

Shrugging it off, she said ‘I lost nine pounds because of it,’

‘Traumatic experiences aside, that’s not really what Blake was aiming for in live your life.’ Lydia was perfectly happy with her life, she knew wanted to win a Fields Medal by the time she was thirty, she had no time to distraction. ‘It’s college, Lydia. Experiment a little!’

‘Is this your way of coming onto me?’ she asked, only half joking. This was only met with a pointed stare.

‘What about him?’ she asked, pointing over to the group of boys playing football. At first she didn’t know which one she was talking about, but as he turned around it became immediately clear.

‘Stiles?’ she asked in disbelief. Both girls had stopped walking now, and were staring out onto the field.

‘Yeah, I think he’s cute. Especially his ass,’

‘Allison!’

‘What you don’t?’

‘Maybe if you find men who wear shirts that say ‘stud muffin’ cute.’ Which she didn’t. Much.

Clearly feeling the eyes of the girls, the ball came shooting in their direction. Stiles came running (if you could call it running that is) over to pick it up.

‘You’ll have to forgive me, football’s not really my sport,’

While Lydia was rolling her eyes, Allison entertained him by asking ‘What is your sport,’

‘Lacrosse,’ he said with a smirk, before running back over to his team.

A knowing smile washed over Allison’s face. Lydia had a type, and that type was lacrosse player.

‘Stop, thinking what you are thinking,’ Lydia replied, poking her friend’s arm.

‘He plays lacrosse,’ she sang. Thankfully, the gym was in sight.

Moving over to the doors, and leaving Allison behind she called out. ‘You’re delusional,’

‘So are you,’

Aiden and Ethan were kicking Stiles and Danny’s asses as football. In their defence they were both lacrosse players. Anyway, what kind of twins go to college together? It’s a time for freedom.

‘Wait a second, we need a team meeting,’ Stiles said. It was mostly because he didn’t want to embarrass himself anymore than he already had in front on Lydia.

Stiles wouldn’t call himself the one for crushes, however there was something about Lydia that intrigued him. Yeah, she was super hot, strawberry blonde hair and all, but it was something else that he liked about her. He could just imagine what she’d be like if she let her hair down (metaphorically of course, as it was always meticulously curled). If she were to take Ms. Blake’s advice, and loosen up, live a little.

He was pretty sure it was just a fantasy, but that didn’t stop him from trying.

‘Forget it,’ Danny said, noticing Stiles checking her out. ‘She likes the intellectual type,’

‘So? I’m intellectual and stuff,’

‘You’re flunking english, it’s your mother tongue and stuff,’

Flunking english… ‘Danny, you’re a genius,’

‘I knew this, but how?’ Danny asked, but it was too late as Stiles was following Lydia to the gym. ‘Stiles, where are you going? We’re in the middle of a game here! Stiles!’

Following Lydia to the swimming pool, he waited until she made her way of the changing room. Waiting a whole ten minutes, he started to wonder if she’d noticed him and doubled back in an attempt to lose him. But that didn’t really sound like Lydia’s style, she’d probably just ignore him.

Finally, she walked out the changing rooms. He took a couple of seconds to appreciate Lydia in her bathing suit. It was hardly the male fantasy of a bikini, but still more skin that Stiles was used to seeing. And with her hair up a ponytail, it left her neck entirely exposed. A neck he really wanted to trail kisses up.

Get it together, Stilinski.

Giving a small wave to catch her attention, she walked past him. He knew she saw him, they’d made eye contact and he stuck out like a sore thumb in his clothes.

‘I’m flunking english,’

Barely turning around, she gave him an ice stare. Her eyes scanning his body, and he was sure it wasn’t the the favourable way he had done to her before. ‘Nice swimsuit,’

However, she continued on, placing her towel on the side of the pool, before jumping into the water.

He decided it was time to put the only skill he had into good use. And that skill was bullshitting.

‘If I fail english, I’m out of here,’ he started. Following her along, from the side. ‘Dad will be pissed off and disappointed. It’s only my Dad. My Mom died when I was twelve. So I won’t have a long grace period, three months maybe. I’ll have to get a job. Now, job prospects are thin in Beacon Hills. If I’m lucky I’ll get a job at McDonalds. Spend the next 50 years, of my sad miserable life dealing with people who treat me like shit. I’ll turn to alcohol fast, just like my Dad did. You know, after my Mother died,’ she wasn’t responding so he tried to play the dead mother card yet again (sorry, Mom).

‘And one day they’ll find me face down in the gutter, dead! Disgraced! It will all be because of you! Because you wouldn’t help a dying man!’

Suddenly, he flung himself in the water. The sharp crash of the water against his skin. Shit this is cold, why don't they have a heated pool?

Finding his feet, he stood up. At least Lydia had stopped swimming now, so it accomplished something.

Looking up at him, she took a few deep breaths. He had no idea, if she was going to say yes or murder him herself.

‘If I say yes, will you stop will you leave me alone?’ Yes. As he nodded his head excitedly, she narrowed her eyes. ‘You just want help right?’

‘I mean Ms. Blake said we could help each other,’

‘I’m not going to have sex with you on a hammock if that’s what you’re thinking,’

‘We can work up to that.’ Her face dropped, and he was genuinely worried for his life. ‘Kidding.’ Unless of course she was up for it.

‘We can meet at the library tonight at eight,’

‘Tonight?’ Her eyes narrowed further than he thought was physically possible. ‘… Is perfect for me, see you then,’

Smiling, he got out the pool. As he walked away from the pool, shoes squelching and he wondered if jumping into a pool fully clothed was worth it.

Changing outfits for a fifth time, Stiles wanted to make sure he looked good for this. It may not be date, but if this went well there could be dates in the future.

‘How does this look?’ He asked Danny, referring to the plain white shirt he was wearing.

‘Fine,’ he said not even looking up from his laptop.

‘Come on man, you’re gay you should be giving me fashion advice,’

‘Yeah, gay stereotypes will really make me want to help you,’

‘Just answer, would you lower your standards for me?’

Finally, Danny looked up from his laptop. ‘It’s better than your ‘I Support Single Moms' shirt’,’

‘You said anything is better than that shirt,’

‘Exactly.’ Sighing, Stiles decided to settle on it.

‘How's this for an opening line: Did you know that Nietzsche died of syphilis?’

‘Too obscure,’ Danny replied. Accepting  that Stiles was going to keep talking either way so he might as well humour him.

‘How about: Did you know that Shakespeare died of syphilis?’ Gathering up his stuff, he throw it all in his bag. He was strangely nervous for tonight, usually he didn’t get that nervous, getting rejected a lot he developed a hard skin. But he felt like he had a lot resting on tonight. ‘She’d probably know it wasn’t true,’

‘You could just, not use a line?’

‘Do you not know me at all?’

‘I wish,’ Danny muttered under his breath.

‘Love you too,’ Stiles called out, as he left the room.

Stiles was already five minutes late, typical. Lydia, hearing her phone buzz briefly wondered if it was Stiles, before realising he had no way of knowing her number. Seeing Jackson’s face flash up on screen, she smiled. She probably shouldn’t be taking this phone call right now, but if Stiles was going to make her wait, she’d make him wait.

‘Hey, babe,’ Lydia whispered down the phone. It was a Friday night so few people were here, but she still wanted to keep it quiet.

‘You coming over for christmas?’

‘Of course. Think I’m going to leave you alone with all these UCLA girls?’ Lydia replied. ‘It’s just my parents said they’d only pay if I flew to one of them. It’s the one thing they’ve ever agreed on,’

‘So, how are you going to get here?’ Jackson asked. Growing up with as much money as he has, he couldn’t imagine going anywhere not on a plane. Truthfully neither could Lydia.

‘They have a ride-share Facebook page. It’s hardly ideal, but getting to spend christmas with you would be worth it,’

Finally, she could see Stiles walking over towards her. ‘I have to go now. But first can I ask you a question?’

‘Yeah.’

Glancing over at Stiles, who was now sitting now next to her, she dropped her voice an octave lower and asked ‘Do you ever eat food that’s bad for you?’

‘No, that’s how people get fat and die,’

Smiling to herself, she replied ‘Thought so. Love you, bye’

‘Me too,’ he replied, before she hung up the phone.

‘Who is that? Your lawyer?’ Stiles asked.

‘One day,’ she replied. ‘Now show me your paper, so I know what I’m dealing with,’

Handing it over, chocolate stain and all, she scanned through it. She had no idea what Ms. Blake was talking about. She didn’t see the whimsy or the appeal. Why do a classic genre, and make his biggest problem sports? He could have at least added a star-crossed love affair for romance, or some a pack of alphas to add something scary.

Lifting her head up, he asked ‘So?’

‘It’s a mess. There’s no punctuation, it’s all one sentence. Not to mention the story has no solid basis. You mention alphas, betas and omegas, but never fully explain them. What happens if an alpha dies of natural causes? You mention the different ageing process, but never explain how it is different!’

‘It’s fiction! It doesn’t matter,’ he exclaims, stretching out and placing his feet on the table.

‘It does matter, you readers will be too busy asking questions, to care about your already thin plot,’ she said, before pushing his feet back off the table.

‘Look, what do you say we blow this off and go exploring? Nothing gets done on a Friday night anyway,’ he said getting up and taking her bag with him.

‘You were the one who wanted us to study together!’ she called out. However, it was a futile effort as he’d already left with her stuff. Sighing she silently (okay, not so silently) cursed him, while getting up and taking the stuff he left with her.

Following him through the hall, she saw him pass through a door that said ‘Roof Access. Not Admittance.’ If he thought he was going to scare her off he was wrong.

Climbing up the stairs she shouted out, ‘We’re not allowed to be here, you know,’

‘It’s America we’re allowed to be anywhere,’ he hollered back from a floor above, his words echoing around the stairwell.

Finally, they made it outside. Immediately she shivered, the cold December air hitting her skin. Glancing over at Stiles, she noticed he was doing the same.

‘You’re not from New England are you?’

‘Northern California,’

‘Me too,’ she replied. She had no idea they were from the same area. It almost made her like him more. Noticing for once he was paying more attention to something other than her or his phone, she followed his gaze up the sky. It really was beautiful.

‘There’s Ursa Major, the Big Bear,’ he said his hands pointing outwards. She tried to follow his gaze, but it all looked like one big mess to her. One big, beautiful mess. ‘To the north there is Cassiopeia,’

‘That's Cassiopeia?’ she asked, moving closer to him, trying to follow his eyesight more closely. ‘She was the mother of Andromeda,’

‘Who?’ Stiles asked, turning to her in confusion.

‘Cassiopeia!’

‘I just know the names,’ he shrugged. ‘But there’s Andromeda just next to Cassiopeia,’

‘Cassiopeia boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. So, Poseidon chains her to a rock and sacrifices her to a sea serpent. But Perseus saves her at the last minute,’

‘He’s up there too, next to Andromeda,’

Staring at the sky for a minute longer, she sighed and admitted ‘I can’t see anything, it’s all just dots in the sky to me,’

It always used to anger her as child, she’d read these stories about all these great heroes, and was told she could see them if she just looked up. However, when she looked up she saw nothing. She wanted to see it all so badly, but no matter how hard she tried she just couldn’t.

Leaning down towards her, so his head was next to hers, he reached out for her hand. ‘Do you mind?’ he asked. Shaking her hand, she moved her arm with his. His hand clasped around hers. His hand may be ice cold, but her body suddenly felt like it was radiating heat.

‘Cassiopeia’s easy. She’s five dots, that sort of make a zigzag shape,’

‘From where she was hung upside down,’ she added. His hand slowly guided hers. And for once she saw it. It wasn’t much, just five points the sky. But finally she saw something up there.

‘You see it?’ He asked, a smile forming across his face, showing her he already knew she had. Nodding her head, they both moved apart instinctually.

‘You know a lot about astronomy,’ she said, trying to fill the silence.

‘I only know what they look like,’ he scoffed, for once not being arrogant. ‘You on the other hand, know the history. That’s the impressive stuff, trust me. How do you know what anyway?’

Shrugging she said ‘I know classic and archaic latin, so I learnt a lot of the myths in the process,’

‘Shit, that’s so fucking cool.’ Smiling, she looked back up the sky. Maybe Stiles wasn’t so bad.

‘Lydia, I’ve never met anyone like you before,’ Stiles started, his voice suddenly changing. Turning back towards him, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

‘Usually, when I meet someone new, I feel awkward and shy. But with you it's different. I feel I can talk to you. You know what I'm thinking. We speak each other's unspoken language. We have an emotional connection… a tether even,’

‘What the fuck are you going on about Stiles?’

‘Lydia… I love you,’ he said leaning in for a kiss. Immediately she pushed him back with everything she had and he hit the floor.

‘Asshole!’ she shouted, picking up her stuff.

‘I’m sorry!’ he called out, as she made her way out the door.

‘No, you’re not.’ Flying down the stairwell she wasn’t sure who she was more disgusted at. Stiles, for trying it on her, or herself for actually believing he had any depth whatsoever.

If she didn’t hate, Stiles Stilinski before. She sure did now.

Finals were only a week away and instead of studying like he should be doing, Stiles was sitting outside his dorm room, listening to his roommate have sex. Not in a creepy, perverted way, in a wallow in all mistakes, I am a failure way. Stiles was always a last minute cram kind of guy and he still had a week left, so he wasn’t too worried yet.

Feeling his phone buzz, he reached into his pocket and answered it.

‘Do you know what you’re going to be doing for winter break yet?’ Scott asked.

‘I don’t know.’ They could only afford for him to go back for Thanksgiving or Christmas, Stiles picked Thanksgiving.

‘Well, I do you’re coming to California,’

‘You know I can’t afford it,’

‘Three days in Beacon Hills for Christmas. Then we go to my roommate’s beach house in Palm Springs,’ Scott said, sounding excited. He’d clearly thought it all through.

‘Sounds like a great idea, but I still can’t come,’

‘There’s also someone here I want you to meet.’ Stiles assumed he meant his new girlfriend, Kira. Typical Scott, athletic, attractive college freshmen with all the freedom in the world and he gets a girlfriend one semester in. ‘She’s a friend of Kira’s. And being the excellent best friend I am, I have been telling her all about you,’

‘Thanks, man, but really I can’t come,’

‘Are you near your laptop?’ Scott asked. Groaning, he was technically near it.

'Sort of,'

'Go get it, you need to see something,'

‘I’m doing this for you, Scott,’ he said, while getting up. He briefly knocked on the door ‘I’m coming in boys. I mean it’s nothing I haven’t seen before, right?’ He immediately made a beeline for his desk, picking up the laptop as fast as he could. However, when turning around he saw more of Danny and Ethan than he ever wanted to see. ‘Maybe not,’

Finally, he made it out. Whatever Scott wanted to show him better be worth it.

‘Do you have it?’ Scott asked.

Settling back down on the ground, he opened it up. ‘Yeah,’

‘Okay, go onto Facebook look my most recent pictures. Find Malia Tate,’

He didn’t have to go through many pictures to find her. She did look familiar, he had already seen her in photos before. Clearly her, Scott and Kira hung around together a lot. ‘Is she the one whose hair is always changing?’

‘That’s the one.’ He could practically hear Scott beam. He didn't have to look long to see she was really fucking hot, no matter what hair she had. He assumed the short hair cut was the latest style. ‘Now she was home schooled her entire life, so she’s pretty… experimental,’

Experimental sounds promising, but he wasn't sure if it was enough to travel across the country for.

‘I’ve told her all about you and… she’s a sure thing,’

‘Sure thing, like will definitely have sex with me no matter what? Like that kind of sure thing?’

‘She told me herself. I was just telling you about her and she said she’d have sex with you,’

Part of Stiles wondered what Scott had told her to get this reaction, but most of him was too busy fantasizing about her already.

‘Just get here by the 22nd, before she goes for her summer abroad, and your drought will be over,’

Finals were over and Lydia was finally free. In just four days she’d see Jackson once again. Waiting outside her dorm, her ride finally pulled up. It wasn’t ideal that she had to ride with strangers, but it was all she could afford. She didn’t know much about them, just that it was a man and women, the man was called Derek Hale and she couldn’t actually find anything on the women. And she tried.

Rolling down the window, she could finally see the women. She was definitely attractive, but in a kinda scary way. ‘You Lydia?’ she asked. Nodding her head, the women added ‘My name is Braeden,’

‘Braeden what?’

‘Does it matter?’ she replied.

‘I guess not,’

Giving a half smile, Braeden nodded her head in the man’s direction. ‘He’s Derek. You can put your stuff in the back, then we can go pick up the other guy,’

Quickly putting her suitcase away, she slipped in the back. She wanted to get these few days over with as quickly as possible.

A few minutes later they pulled up outside another dorm. From her angle she couldn’t see who it was. She just wanted to make sure he wasn’t a creep.

The car door opened and she could finally see who it was. Fuck.

‘Lydia, Stiles. Stiles, Lydia,’ Braeden said not even turning around.

‘I knew I should've taken the bus,’ she muttered.

‘What and wind up next to some sleazebag?’ he asked. Seeing the look on her face, he amended himself. ‘And wind up next to some sleazebag you don’t know?’

‘You two know each other?’ Braeden asked, finally turning around.

‘We’re old friends,’ Stiles replied never taking his eyes off her.

‘We're not old friends. We're acquaintances. Very distant acquaintances.’

Finally Derek spoke up. ‘We really don’t care.’

After travelling twelve hours, they’d made it Detroit. Stiles had never been to Detroit before. Well, technically they were half an hour out of Detroit, but still he was counting it. It was a shock that he and Lydia hadn’t killed each other yet. While brushing his teeth ready for bed, he gave himself a pep talk. It was mainly him telling his subconscious to not get hard over night and wake up with morning wood or talk in his sleep (especially not if that talk is sex-related talk).

Spitting out his toothpaste, he made his way out the bathroom and over the the bed. He wasn’t going to lie, Lydia Martin looked just as good with no make-up in pyjamas than she did all put together.

Getting under the covers next to her, she finally looked up from her book. ‘What do you think you are doing?’

‘I’m going to bed,’

‘Not with me you're not,’

‘I’m not going to bed with you. I’m going to bed, in a bed you happen to be in, also,’

Staring him down, she threw her book to the side in frustration and said ‘You’re sleeping on the floor. I worked out a schedule,’

‘I didn’t agree to any schedule,’ he pointed out, as she got up out the bed.

‘Fine, I’ll sleep on the floor,’

‘You don’t have to sleep on the floor!’

‘Do you intended to sleep on the bed?’ she asked, her hand placed on her hip like an angry school teacher (that was one for the fantasy list).

Nodding his head he replied ‘Yes,’

‘Then I intend to sleep on the floor,’ she replied, pulling the pillow he was resting again out from under him.

‘Shit.’ His hand rubbing the back of his head, as a sharp pain hit him. With a tense smile, she stole the blanket and started making a bed on the floor.

He could hear Braeden mumble from the other bed. ‘Do they ever shut up?’

‘What does she see in him?’

‘They have a very twisted relationship,’

It was 8 am and they’d already been traveling for half an hour. Lydia, was trying to get some more sleep after a terrible night’s on the floor. Fucking Stiles.

Hearing an incessant crinkling noise, she turned around to glare at Stiles. He was eating the most fluorescent, disgusting processed piece of what one could barely call food.

To make matters worse, he then pulled out a beer (one that must be lukewarm at best). But his insanity didn’t stop there. Next, he was pulling out a pen, and forced a hole through the bottom of the can. Covering the hole with his lips, he moved the can upwards. When he was upright, he pulled the cap. Chugging down all the beer in one go, he crinkled the can up when he was finished.

Staring at him in equal parts disbelief and horror, all she could muster was ‘Nice breakfast,’

‘It’s protein, good for you.’ Rolling her eyes she tried to ignore him by looking out the window.

However, the next car that passed had some immature boy waving his naked ass outside the window,

Hearing Stiles break out into hysterics, made her roll her easy so hard, she was afraid they might fall out. Suddenly he leaned over her, invading her personal space completely, to roll down the window and shout out ‘Woohooo!’

‘You would think that’s funny,’ she muttered.

‘So what if I do?’

‘It’s ridiculous,’

‘So what if it is? Does everything have to be sensible all the time?’ he spat out the word sensible, as if it was poison on his lips.

She could hear Derek mutter ‘They’re at it again,’ but at this point she was too angry to care.

‘Haven’t you ever done something just because you can? Haven’t you got shit-faced drunk, made a complete fool of yourself and had a good time anyway? Just have sex on a fucking hammock, Lydia!’

She could tell him the first (and only) time she got drunk was when she was thirteen at Seth Greenwich’s seventeenth birthday party. Or that she’d gone skinny dipping at fifteen on a dare. However, she thought telling him these things would give him too much power. Instead she said ‘You know nothing about how spontaneous I can be,’

‘Prove it then,’

‘Alright, I’ll prove it,’

Lydia had no idea what came over her. It was nothing like she’d ever done before, and she’d done more than people at this stupid school had given her credit for. But she just wanted to prove Stiles wrong so badly. She wanted to do something that would shock him and make him shut up for good. So, she pulled up shirt and flashed her breasts out the window.

Stiles Stilinski had seen Lydia Martin’s breasts. He had a suspicion she wasn’t wearing a bra, but he wasn’t certain. He tried not to think about it too much, he wasn’t a total scumbag. But now that he’d seen them? He couldn’t stop thinking about them. They were fucking perfect. Not marred by the scars across her body, not that her scars took away from her beauty in any way. He had no idea how she got the scars, but against his hardest thoughts, it made her want to know her even more.

He could vaguely hear the words ‘indecent exposure’ and ‘driving so as to endanger’ from the policemen that had pulled them over. But he has more important things on his mind.

Well, that was until he could see Derek throwing his bag out of the trunk.

‘Hey!’ Stiles shouted getting out the car. Lydia quickly followed him. ‘Come on, Derek! You can’t do this! You can’t leave us here!’

‘Watch me,’ Derek replied, slamming the door shut.

‘I’ll do anything!’ Stiles shouted, but it was fruitless, Derek had already started driving away. Immediately turning around, he shouted at Lydia. ‘This is all your fault!’

‘Mine?’ Lydia shouted back in disbelief.

‘YOU FLASHED YOUR BREASTS!’

‘YOU MADE ME!’

They both stared each other down for the next few minutes. Finally Stiles sighed and said ‘There’s a town up there, we can hitch,’

‘Isn’t that illegal?’

‘It’s illegal to stand by the side of a major road and solicit rides, but you can do on the entrance to a highway,’ he replied, matter of factly. ‘Anyway, this road isn’t very busy I’m sure we’ll be fine,’

‘How do you know that?’

‘I looked into it, but I thought it would take too long,’ he replied. The look of disgust on Lydia’s face was clear.

‘People don’t hitch anymore, Stiles,’

‘Well, what do you suggest?’

‘You can hitch,’ she replied, before picking up her suitcase and adding ‘I’m going to walk,’

‘It’s twenty miles away!’

‘Don’t follow me then!’ she called out, as she walked away. Stiles spent a moment considering his options. Sighing, he slung his bag over his shoulder and followed her into the distance.

After walking for about five miles, Lydia finally let herself take a break. She just wanted to get to LA and she had no idea how she was going to do that. She had no service, she knew no people in this part of the country, and the only companion she had was the person who put in her in this predicament the first place.

After a few minutes, Stiles dejectedly sat down next to her. She briefly considered getting up to show him that she hadn’t forgiven him, however she was too tired. They both sat in silence for the next few minutes, both too tired to fight.

Feeling a nudge at her shoulder, she turned to look at him offering her some of his potato chips. They were fluorescent orange, and not something she’d normally eat, but she was starved.

‘I’m still angry at you,’ she said, taking a handful of chips.

‘Didn’t doubt it for a second.’

They continued that way for another five minutes, nothing between but the crunch of the chips. Seeing Stiles get out his cell phone, she said ‘There’s no reception,’

‘Doesn’t hurt to try,’

‘Who would you even call?’

‘Why do you have to be so negative all the time? How do you suggest getting there? Walking the next the 1900 miles?’

‘Look, we’re not going to get anyway if we keep shouting at each other!’ she shouted at him, she was aware of the hypocrisy of the statement.

Sighing, Stiles raked her fingers through his hair. ‘So, what should we do?’

Pulling out her planner, she read through the travel plan Braeden gave her. For someone who looked so badass, Braeden was actually a very organised person. Lydia liked that about her.

‘Well, we were going to stop overnight in Des Moines, Iowa. Which is probably our best bet for a bus stop that can get us to LA,’

‘That’s another 200 miles away!’

‘We can hitch,’

‘I thought you said people don’t do that anymore,’

‘They might for a pregnant women,’

15 minutes and half the contents of her suitcase later, Lydia had a baby bump.

‘What do you think? Nine months?’ she asked looking up at Stiles. Stiles stared back at her in disbelief, this was a fucking great idea, one he would never have thought of.

‘This is such a good idea, I might kiss you,’

‘Please don’t,’ she replied, before adding ‘Anyway it hasn’t worked yet,’

‘But it will,’

Rolling her eyes, she said ‘We need a plan,’

‘I thought this was the plan?’

‘What’s our history? How long have we been together? We need a story!’

Seeing a car in the distance, Stiles said ‘I don’t think we have time to plan,’

By some miracle the women who picked them up, Marin, was going to Des Moines herself. She said she was going to some new age-y convention (these were Stiles words, not Marin’s).

‘What are you going to call them?’ Marin asked.

A look of confusion washed over Lydia’s face, before she remembered she was pretending to be pregnant. Stiles tried to save her by saying ‘I don’t know,’ however Lydia said ‘Kristen,’ at the exact same time.

Lydia went on ‘We’re having some disagreements. Stiles doesn’t think we should name her, until we see her,’

‘What if they don’t look like a Kristen?’

‘All babies look the same, Stiles.’ They were both taking the phrase ‘fight like a married couple’ to heart. Stiles briefly wondered if they were married, she didn’t have a ring so no. Or maybe the swelling got too much so she had to take the ring off. No, Stiles thought, I’ve have probably proposed multiple times, and she’s just turned me down.

‘You’ll feel differently when she’s yours,’ Marin told her.

As Lydia placed a hand on her belly, for a second he almost believed that she was pregnant, despite the fact he was the one who made the baby bump (and not in a fun sex way). Sighing, she looked out the window and said ‘I hope so,’

No one said anything else the rest of the journey.

Finally they had made it to Des Moines, they had a motel room, he’d witnessed Lydia eat McDonalds and he’d just had a shower. From this perspective life didn’t entirely suck. Throw in the sex he was sure to get at the end of it, and his christmas might be alright after all.

Seeing Lydia, already in her pajamas, sitting on the bed, he asked ‘Did you get the bus tickets,’

Sighing she replied ‘Well, there’s no direct buses from here to LA, so we have two choices. First, take at least six connecting buses to get there, which will take us about five days and set us back an extortionate amount of money,’

‘Or?’

‘We could try our luck at hitching, until at least Colorado and catch a bus from there,’

‘Second one,’

‘I guess I’ll be pregnant a little longer,’ she said, looking back down between her planner and her phone, planning their route to LA. As much as he hated her sometimes, he was glad he was on this trip with her. She had the brains to get them out this situation, Stiles wasn’t entirely sure what he brought to it, however he knew it was safer to travel in a group.

‘Okay, it looks like the best place for us to get a bus would be from Denver, which is 672 miles away, a bus leaves from Denver to LA, at midnight everyday,’

‘This sounds like a math SAT question,’ Stiles commented, this was only met with a glare. Clearly this wasn’t the time for jokes.

‘Since we’re hitching and don’t want to travel by night, I doubt we’ll be able to get there by tomorrow,’

‘But we can get there by the 22nd?’

‘What is it with you and the 22nd?’

‘I just need to be there before then to meet somebody,’

Narrowing her eyes she nodded and said ‘It’s got one transfer but we should get there at 10:15pm 22nd of December, is that good enough for you?’

Ideally he’d have more time for sex, but since beggars couldn’t be choosers, he just said ‘It’s great.’

Looking round the room, he tried to find something to do. They didn’t really have much choice, and it was only ten and even with an early start, he really didn’t want to start sleeping. Or start a fight over who was sleeping where.

‘Do you want to do something?’ he asked her. He really wanted her to say yes, they could spend the next few hours mindlessly watching TV in silence with her, but if he wanted to do that he could stay with his dad.

Narrowing her eyes, she asked ‘What do you have in mind?’

His eyes searched the room for something exciting, and he eyes settled on a can of beer.

‘I can teach you to shotgun a beer?’ The look of disapproval on her face was clear. However Stiles had recently learnt something about her, she doesn’t step down from a dare. ‘You scared?’

‘Fine,’

With a boyish grin, he grabbed a can of beer and asked her for a pen. He went back into the bathroom to fetch a towel.

‘Why are going in there?’ Lydia asked, sitting up on the edge of the bed now.

‘To get a towel,’

‘You don’t use a towel,’ she said indignantly.

Walking back into the room, towel in hand, he said ‘Yes, but I am a trained professional, you are a beginner,’

Rolling her eyes, she took the towel off him and placed it on her lap. Sitting down next to her, he started to narrative what he was doing.

‘So, first you take your beer and your chosen appliance, we’re using a pen,’ he said, punctuating his words with his pen. ‘Then, you poke a hole into the bottom of the can, big enough to fit your mouth around.’ Looking up at her mouth for a reference point, he saw how intently she was listening to him. He thought she was going to enjoy this.

Throwing the pen to the side, he carefully handed her can, not letting go until he told her ‘Now listen to me, it's very important. In one swift motion, cover the hole with your mouth,’

‘Is that your usual technique?’ she asked, with a wicked smile on her face.

‘Stop distracting me, this is important,’ he replied. ‘Lift the can upright, and when it’s at a ninety degree angle, pull the cap. All the beer will flow down your throat in two seconds,’

As she braced herself, he finally pulled his hand away from her. She muttered ‘I can’t believe you convinced me to do this,’ before letting her mouth cover the hole.

With almost expert precision, she moved it upright and undid the cap. In the first second he was convinced she could down it all, and succeed in shotgunning beer straight away. However, in the next second, beer came shooting out her mouth. Immediately dropping the can, beer went all over the floor. And a sound that was completely alien came from Lydia’s mouth, a laugh. He wasn’t sure it was something Lydia was capable of doing. But it was so beautiful he wished she did it more often.

As Lydia lay back on the bed, still laughing, Stiles grabbed the towel and joined her, both in laughter and in lying down.

‘You did amazingly for a beginner,’ he said, as he started patting up the beer from her face.  ‘I’m surprised you swallowed so much,’

‘I’m sure you say that to all the girls,’ she replied, her voice wavering as she tried to catch her breath.

‘Just you.’ Her hand moved up to stop him patting her face, but when they touched she stilled. Their eyes met, and the lightness that was just in the conversation had left. Now, all he wanted to do was kiss her. And not in the usual way, not because he wants to kiss someone and he thinks he had managed to convince a girl to kiss him, but because he wanted to kiss Lydia.

And then Lydia blinked, and it was all over. Moving her hand away, she said ‘I forgot, I need to check something,’

They both awkwardly sat up, and as Lydia reached for her phone, he decided to go to the bathroom. Even he was covered in beer.

Once he was in their he decided to splash some water on his face. Get your act together, Stilinski, he told himself.

However, he did decide that after all this he’d be nice to her. ‘Listen, tonight I'll sleep on the floor,’

‘I don’t think so,’

‘Look I don't want any arguments from you. I mean, it's only fair. Last night, I slept on the bed…,’ he stopped when he opened the door and saw Lydia on the phone.

‘Jackson, I don’t think so. It’s taking me longer than expected, but I should get there by 22nd,’

His stomach clenched. She has a boyfriend, she doesn’t really care about you, Stiles. Suddenly he needed to leave this room, being stuck here with her was the last thing he wanted.

‘I'm going for a walk.’

‘Why?’ Lydia replied, moving the phone away from her face.

‘It's too stuffy in here.’ And with that he left.

Stiles had already been gone and hour and a half. Lydia said she wouldn’t worry until it reached two hours. She didn’t know if she should worry at all. He was an adult, an adult that she doesn’t even like. So, why should she worry?

It’s just because it’s safer with someone else, she thought, yeah, that’s probably it.

Ten minutes later, Lydia heard a rattling at the door. Holding her breath, she silently prayed it was Stiles and not some serial killer coming to murder her. However, that fear soon turned to anger as she saw Stiles stumble in.

‘Where the fuck were you?’ she asked, already knowing the answer since he smelled like a distillery. However, Stiles was too drunk to care about (or even notice) her question. ‘And why do you three empty beer cans?’

What she assumed was meant to be a smug smile washed over his face. Really it looked more like he was about to have a stroke. ‘Jackson maybe, like, perfect, or whatever,’ he slurred ‘But can he do this?’

He then proceeded to throw his beer cans in the air and attempted to juggle them, at least that’s what she thought he was doing. It was quite hard to tell. When the last beer can hit the ground, he said ‘You impressed?’ as he lay down on the bed.

‘So impressed,’ she replied, rolling her eyes, but it was lost on him as he had instantly fallen asleep.

Sighing she picked up the pillow, she briefly considered smothering him with it, but she supposed it was almost sweet.

Moving to the floor she let him sleep on the bed, it wasn’t because she was being kind she just couldn’t move him off herself and she didn’t want to sleep next to someone who reeked so badly. Or at least that’s what she told herself.

‘I feel like shit,’ Stiles said, as they made their way through Nebraska. They hadn’t had as much luck as they did yesterday. It was already three and they’d taken rides off of four different people.

First there was Peter, who took them until they hit Nebraska. Lydia was glad when that one was over, he creeped her out. He looked at her too much, for too long. Next was Kali, Lydia quite liked her. She didn’t talk much, and gave off badass vibes. But, Stiles didn’t trust her because she didn’t wear shoes, he thought it was ‘unnatural’. Then there was Kate, who wouldn’t have been too bad if she didn’t keep coming onto Stiles. As far as she knew, she was her pregnant girlfriend, plus she was too old for him. Lastly Matt, who was actually going to Colorado himself and they thought they’d hit the jackpot. That was until Stiles accidentally opened the cage to Matt’s pet lizard and they got kicked out.

‘Maybe you shouldn’t have gotten drunk then,’ Lydia pointed out.

‘Maybe it’s all the walking,’

‘You said yourself we could walk along when it wasn’t a major road.’ She could hear Stiles mumbling something under his breath. ‘Anyway, you’re the one who wants to get there by the twenty second,’

‘I know,’ said as if he was a sulking child. Tired of his bullshit, Lydia stopped walking and started getting out her phone and planner. ‘Wait, why are we stopping?’

Ignoring his question, she prayed for 3G, clearly the world was taking pity on her in this moment. ‘Well, we’ve traveled almost 300 miles, it should be enough. I saw there was a turning for a town about two miles away, so let’s head towards that?’

‘Words have never sounded so sweet.’ Lydia just rolled her eyes.

‘Come on, if we’re walking the rest of the way, I do not want to be stuck in the dark,’

‘I can’t believe this town only has one restaurant,’ Stiles said, after they’d ordered. It was one of those super fancy restaurants. Everything was under candlelight and they were ‘sir’ and ‘madam’. There was an actual piano player, playing actual live music. He felt like he stepped back fifty years. ‘And I can’t believe I had to wear a tie. I can’t believe you had a tie!’

‘It’s one of Jackson’s christmas presents, so if you get anything on it, I will strangle you with it,’

‘Surely that’s just adding to the mess,’ Stiles smirked. He thought it was a pretty shit present, but apparently it was something Jackson wanted. Why she’d want to be with an eighteen year old who wanted a tie was beyond Stiles.

‘He’d understand,’ she said taking a sip of her drink. ‘He played lacrosse actually, so you may have played him before,’

‘Who was he?’ He wasn’t too familiar with the other team players. Unless she was talking about…

‘Jackson Whittemore,’ Shit. He’s a first rate asshole and could definitely kick his ass if he felt like he was moving in on his girlfriend. Which he wasn’t. Currently.

‘Not shit?’ He said, hoping his surprise sounded happier than it felt. ‘I played for Beacon Hills! My best friend’s Scott McCall!’

‘So you were the ones, who beat my boyfriend last year. I almost broke up with him over it,’ she smiled. Stiles might have been wrong, but he thought she liked the fact he’d played for a team that beat him.

‘If you were only dating him because he was lacrosse captain, can’t be that good a relationship,’ he pointed out.

‘We’ve been through a lot together,’

‘Like your scars?’ She instantly stilled, her eyes searched around the room, trying to avoid him. He didn’t mean to say it, it just came out. It made sense to him, it was a piece of the puzzle fitting in. However, he should have kept it to himself. He never seemed to know what was an appropriate thing to say. Scott was usually there to keep him in check, but this past semester without him as left him floundering.

‘Yeah, like my scars,’ she said, more to her fork than Stiles. They stayed in silence for a few minutes, either knowing what to say. Sighing, she finally spoke up. ‘I got attacked by a dog, during winter formal sophomore year,’

‘I’m sorry,’

‘It’s fine. It’s just something that happened, I can barely remember it. It’s like a dream. I remember going onto the school field, but I don’t remember how got there or why I went. I don’t even remember it happening, just the fear, and a moment of searing pain. I vaguely remember being in Jackson’s arms, but I don’t know if I can actually remember it or if it’s just what people told me happened.’

Letting out a breath, she took a second to compose herself. He’d never heard her talk so personally about herself before. She was more than happy to talk about herself, but it was always different. It was about her boyfriend, or award she got, at most it was what she saw herself as in the future.

Continuing on she said ‘I just have these scars now, but it’s fine. Most people don’t get to see them until we get close, and if they care about then… we’ll they’re an asshole,’

‘That is until some dickhead gets you angry enough to flash strangers?’

Smiling, she finally meets his eye again. ‘You are the flaw in system. You saw them before I liked you. You didn’t care, but you’re an asshole,’

‘But you like me?’ He smirked.

‘Sometimes,’ she said, a wicked smile forming across her face. It was one of his favourite types of smiles Lydia had. It was a smile that had an air of superiority around it (like most of her smiles) but it was also teasing, with a sparkle in her eye. ‘Now I’ve shared something, you should too,’

Usually when people ask him that question, he knew that they had a specific thing he wanted to share. His mother. However, he didn’t think Lydia was like that. But, he didn't know what else he had to share. ‘Like what?’

‘Like,’ she started, her eyes scanning the room for inspiration. He didn’t know what she saw, but he knew she had an idea, as her eyes lit up. ‘How did you get into astronomy?’

‘Well, when I was a kid, my parents always took me on camping trips. My Mom grew up on a farm, so thought I should spend more time in the great outdoors or whatever. And it was the first camping trip we went on after she died,’ he scanned her face when he said that, but her face didn’t change. It was a curious understanding, he liked it. ‘I think he’d thought it would cheer me up, but in reality it just made me miss her more. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t stay in the tent any longer, so I went outside. And it was totally dark, like couldn’t see two feet in front of you dark. There was only one thing you could see, well millions of things, really,’

‘The stars,’ she said, filling in for him. In way that he usually found annoying, but right now it just felt like they were in perfect understanding.

‘There were more stars out that night than I've ever seen since. And believe me, I've looked. So, I’m standing there looking at the sky, and I’d never felt more lonely or more small. I felt so insignificant, but I liked it you know? Like in the scheme of things my problems were nothing. And I thought to myself that out of all the planets out there, there has to a boy just like me.  He might be blue, or scaled, or with two heads, but still he’s just like me. One who’s on a camping trip, and his mom’s just died, and he can’t sleep and so he’s looking at the stars. Looking at me. And I decided I wanted to meet that guy,’

‘So, astronaut’s the plan?’

‘Fuck no, do you know how much math it takes to get there?’

‘I’m a math major so,’ she shrugged.

‘Really?’ he replied in shock, this girl keeps surprising him. ‘I thought you’d be like a classics major or other boring dead shit,’

Rolling her eyes, she said ‘That’s just a hobby,’

‘Maybe you’ll be the one to go to space,’

‘Maybe,’

‘Remember me when you get there,’

Lying in bed all Lydia could think is how ready she was for this adventure to be over. There were some nice moments, she didn’t like walking or standing around for hours, only to have talk to strangers about a pretend baby when she wasn’t walking.

Stiles slipped into the room, and walked over to pick up a pillow and make a bed on the floor. ‘You don’t have to sleep on the floor,’

‘What?’ he replied, clearing not believing what he was hearing.

‘You don’t have to sleep on the floor,’

‘Are you sure?’. Lydia arched an eyebrow, when did she say anything without being sure?

He got into bed next to her, and the both lay there awkwardly staring at the ceiling, neither knowing what to do. Lydia rarely did anything without knowing exactly what to do. She did everything with confidence and competence. Sharing a bed with someone should be nothing. But it somehow wasn’t.

‘How’s your lawyer?’ Stiles asked breaking the silence.

‘Excuse me?’

‘Jackson.’ Oh yeah, him.

‘He’s fine,’ she replied. Not really knowing, she hadn’t checked on him since Iowa.

‘What’s he like?’

‘You know him,’

‘Barely. I don’t know the important stuff, like what beer he drinks or is he funny. Does he make you laugh?’ The way he asked that question made it sound like the most important thing in the world. 

Truthfully the answers to those questions were, Jackson thought beer would make him fat and he didn’t think he’d ever intentionally made a joke in his life. So, instead she said ‘He’s everything a girl looks for in a guy,’

‘He sounds perfect,’ he said, it wasn’t a compliment but it wasn’t an insult either. It was a fact that made you mildly sad. Like, ostriches spend four months alone every winter or the 50 Hertz whale that spends it’s life alone.

‘No one’s perfect,’

‘Goodnight, Lydia,’ he replied turning over immediately and turning the light out. Lydia spent a moment staring at the back of his head, how he even had moles on the back of his neck, how is hair was still slightly damp, before whispering ‘Goodnight, Stiles,’

Stiles had had this dream before. It starts the same every time. He’d be in a beach house. Scott, Kira and Scott’s roommate had gone out, and he was alone. Apart from Malia. She’d be somewhere in the house, he just had to find her. It would be a different place every time.

Sometimes she’d be in the pool, in a tight bikini that left little to the imagination. Or maybe she’d be on the bed in a silk nighty that showcased every inch of her tan legs. She could be on the sofa, completely naked. Where ever she was, she’d be ready, willing and most importantly waiting for him.

Walking through the house, he could hear the sound of water running, the bathroom. When he got there, the room was full of steam so he couldn’t see her just yet. He could see her silhouette, her general outline, just enough to tease, not enough to enjoy.

Sliding back the doors he finally saw her.

Lydia?

Light streamed into their room, waking Lydia up. There was a warm pressure all over her body, as if her arm had fallen asleep. Wiggling her fingers to check, she realised it wasn’t asleep.

Slowly she opened her eyes, taking a second to adjust to the slight, and saw a distinctly masculine arm. It was a nice arm, she didn’t think she’d ever noticed before. But now she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop.

Weirdly enough she liked being in Stiles arms. They weren’t clammy or sweaty, but provide a comforting warmth. Jackson wasn’t one for snuggling.

She could feel Stiles waking up behind her, his face moving against her hair. She moved around to see his face. For a second they were looking in each other's eyes, and it was nice. She didn’t even have the slightest compulsion to kill him, which rarely ever happened.

It seemed to take Stiles a second to realise whose body his arms were wrapped around. The second he did, he withdrew as if she was poison.

‘I didn’t try anything, I swear,’ he said jumping out of bed.

‘I know,’

‘You were clearly on my side of the bed, and I was asleep so,’

‘It’s fine, Stiles,’

Nodding his head as if he didn’t really believe her, he said ‘I’m just going to go out onto the balcony,’

Dork.

‘I can’t believe we made it,’ Lydia said as they were in the line for the bus. ‘I can’t wait to fall asleep and wake up in LA,’

‘It’s almost a day long trip,’

‘I’ve been walking for miles, and sleeping on shitty motel room beds for the past few days. I could sleep for weeks if you let me,’

As they got closer to the front on the line, Stiles overheard how much it would cost. $189 dollars. Shit.

‘You know, I’ve been thinking and I might just hitch the rest of the way,’ Stiles said.

Lydia immediately turned around on her heels, ‘What?!? I thought you were the one who needed to get there by the 22nd,’

Sighing, Stiles decided to just tell the truth. ‘I don’t have the money,’

‘I’ll pay for you,’ Lydia said without a second of thought.

‘I can’t let you, it’s almost $200!’

‘It’s my Dad’s money and you can pay me back when we get to school,’

‘I won’t forget this,’

‘Yes you will, that’s why I’ll be there to remind you,’

She didn’t know how long she’d been asleep, but she didn’t think it had been more than a few hours, she could tell it was still dark. She nestled further into Stiles to try to get back to sleep. He’d started this before, so why couldn’t she now?

Just as she was drifting back off, she heard a muffled voice say ‘So what’s in a California?’

She didn’t think much of it until she heard Stiles reply, ‘A girl,’

Stiles was going for a girl? She’d always thought it was a family thing, and he was stopping in UCLA for a friend.

‘What’s wrong with her?’ the voice asked, she assumed he was talking about her.

‘She’s got a boyfriend.’ The other man let out an understanding sound.

‘What’s she like, your girlfriend that is?’

‘I don’t know.’ He doesn’t know? ‘I’ve never met her before,’

‘So you’re going across the country for a girl, you’ve never met?’ This man sounds, nice, I like this man, Lydia thought.

‘My best friend, Scott, set it up. It’s meant to be a sure thing or whatever,’

‘A sure thing? Like no questions asked, no strings attached… No guilt involved. A sure thing.’ He said, sounding impressed. Nevermind. Lydia didn’t think she’d ever been more disgusted in her life. ‘I’ve never had one. I gotta say I’m jealous,’

Lydia moved her head off Stiles shoulder, and let it rest against the window. Even if it was less comfortable, it made her feel less sick.

Lydia hadn’t said a word to Stiles, since she fell asleep on the bus. Twenty-two and a half hours, and nothing.

As they got off the bus, Lydia spend ahead. ‘Lydia, where are you going?’ he shouted out. ‘Hey, Lydia! Wait up!’ but still nothing. ‘Come on, Lydia, you haven't said two words to me since Colorado!’

‘See you around,’

‘That’s it?’

Lydia suddenly stopped and turned around, clearly fuming. ‘It’s that what you want? No questions asked? No strings attached? No guilt involved?’ Shit, she knew.

‘Have fun with your sure thing,’ she sneered, before turning around. Her fiery red hair, practically whipping in her face as she stormed off into the distance.

Lydia was still angry at Stiles when she saw Jackson. It took all the fun out of their reunion.

‘And here’s my dorm, it’s pretty shitty and small, but Dad said he buy me my own apartment next year,’ Jackson said, even though he had a room alone unlike her who had to share. Not that she minded sharing. ‘You don’t need to put your stuff anywhere do you? We’re leaving for a the beach in a few days anyway and I didn’t want to move my stuff,’

‘It’s fine,’ she replied, not really listening to what he was saying. ‘Do you have anything to drink?’

She knew he was answering her, but instead she just looked out the window. She could see a party, she wondered if Stiles was there. Or maybe he was already having sex with that girl. She shouldn’t care, she knew she shouldn’t, but she did.

‘Lydia?’ Jackson said as if he had already repeated himself, he probably had.

Turning around she said ‘Let’s go to a party,’

‘Why would we want to do that?’ Jackson asked, as if she’d suggested they move to a swamp and have ten children. They’d always shared similar opinions on partying. Young to start, young to stop. They liked wine tasting and whisky and cigars. Only now had she realised just how pretentious that was. They’re eighteen, they’re allowed to like partying.

‘Just for an hour,’

Even as Stiles walked through the party he didn’t feel like being there. He didn’t feel like having meaningless sex and he definitely didn’t feel like donning a Hawaiian shirt. Who throws a Hawaiian themed party in December anyway?

Finally, he found Scott. It was easy as he was the only person in the world to look good a Hawaiian shirt.

‘Stiles!’ Scott shouted when he saw him, his entire face lighting up as he wrapped his arms around him. ‘Welcome back to California, man! I can’t wait for you to meet Kira and Malia, they’re coming together,’

‘I don’t know if I can do it, Scott,’ Stiles said, as they made their way over to the drinks.

‘Do what?’ Scott asked, handing over a can of Stiles favourite beer.

‘Have sex with Malia,’ Stiles said. It felt like the last thing he wanted to be doing. He just wanted to sleep.

‘You came all this way though,’ Scott said sounding a little disappointed. ‘Do you want a relationship? I can see if she wants one!’

‘Scott, it’s got nothing to do with her or you,’ Stiles sighed. He didn’t know what it had to do with. ‘It’s a moral issue,’

‘That’s my line,’ Scott laughed, before seeing how much this was weighing on Stiles. ‘Look, it’s fine we’re going to have a great winter break at the beach, this was just one night. It’s no problem.’ But still he felt stupid, for coming all this way and not even doing what he came for. Scott glanced over his shoulder and said ‘But you’re still going to have to meet them, she’s here,’

Stiles assumed he was talking about Malia and Kira. But through another door, he saw the last person he’d expect, Lydia. Lydia and Jackson.

Suddenly, he no longer felt guilty for this business with Malia. Lydia had no right to be angry at him, she was with Jackson anyway.

‘Actually, I change my mind. I’m not being unfaithful to anyone. I could use a torrid night of cheap, meaningless lust,’

He glanced back at Malia and Kira, who were making their way through the party. Malia was wearing a red string bikini top, and a straw skirt. Very hot, but possibly impractical for later on. Kira on the other hand was one of the few girls wearing a Hawaiian shirt, he quickly realised that she and Scott were wearing matching ones. They really were as adorable as they looked on Facebook.

Kira greeted Scott with a kiss before introducing herself. ‘You must be Stiles! I’m Kira, and this Malia.’ She said Malia in a very knowing way.

‘He’s cute,’ Malia said, as if he was standing two feet in front of him.

‘I told you,’ Scott grinned. Looking across the room his eyes found Lydia again, she dancing this time.

‘Why don’t we dance?’ Stiles announced, in an uncharacteristically confident way. The rest of the group nodded in agreement and paired off onto the dance floor.

‘I love to dance,’ Malia said, and Stiles could see that. She danced without care, and could tell that this was attracting attention from other people in the room. However, this didn’t stop him looking at Lydia and admiring the way her red hair shone under the tacky disco lights.

Malia danced as if she had never danced before, each new song an exciting adventure. Lydia danced as if she had heard them all before. Neither way was better or worse, but Lydia’s caught his eye more.

He needed to get out of here and psych himself up more. ‘Do you want a drink?’

She couldn’t believe he was dancing with her. The eyes of the room where on her, who’d want that? Not Lydia. Sixteen year old Lydia, maybe. But not this Lydia.

She tried not to look at them, to act as if she didn’t care. Because she didn’t. However, she couldn’t help herself turning around just once, and she saw him making his way over to the drinks table.

‘I’m going to get a drink,’ she shouted to Jackson.

Standing next to Stiles at the table she said. ‘She seems nice. She has lovely skin.’ And so much of it. She tried not to take her frustration out on the girl. She was probably nice, she seemed to be having fun which was more than Lydia could say.

‘Would Jason like anything?’

‘Jackson,’

‘Or does he not drink? Is it too common for him?’ Stiles sneered, not knowing how accurate he was.

‘Jackson’s twice the man you’ll ever be. He’s hardworking, he’s driven, he’s-‘

‘Housebroken?’

‘Lydia,’ Jackson said, she didn’t even notice him come into the room. ‘Do you know him?’

‘No,’ she said, grabbing Jackson’s hand as she did so. Pulling him away from Stiles she added ‘Come one, Jackson let’s go to bed,’

‘Careful she hogs the blankets,’ Stiles called out.

Incapable of not rising to the taunt, she turned back around and shouted back ‘You snore!’

‘Not tonight I won’t,’ he replied, walking over to his ‘sure thing’ and taking her hand. Not wanting to see where this lead she pulled Jackson out the party.

‘He doesn’t even know that girl!’ she vented as they made their way back to Jackson’s dorm.

‘How do you know him?’

‘It was all set up by his friend! He thinks love is something you can order on the phone like pizza!’

‘How do you know do you know he snores!’ Jackson shouted, but Lydia continued on, ignoring him.

‘He thinks he knows all about the stars, but he didn’t even know Cassiopeia was the mother of Andromeda!’

‘How does he know you hog the blankets?’

‘He thinks you can eat beer and cheeseballs for breakfast!’

‘How do you know what he eats for breakfast?’ His voice was so loud now she couldn’t ignore him. ‘You slept with him didn’t you?’

‘No!’ Lydia scoffed. There were multiple reasons why she would never.

‘But you wanted to.’ She wanted to say no. The word was on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn’t. ‘So, you’re leaving me for him?’

‘Not for him,’ she replied weakly. Right now the idea of Stiles sent her sick to her stomach, but she also realised that if he made her feel this way, Jackson probably wasn’t the one for her.

‘But because of him… Great, nice to know you like losers,’ he sneered. In this moment she had no idea what she ever saw in Jackson.

‘I’ll get my stuff from your room and leave. It’s a good thing you didn’t let me unpack,’

Somehow Stiles made it back to Malia’s room. Despite the odds he got here in the end, and now he had no idea what to do. I wonder if Lydia and Jackson are having sex right now?

‘Do you want to have sex now?’ Malia asked. Scott was right this girl was blunt, it was refreshing yet slightly disconcerting. He liked it.

‘Can we just talk for a minute?’ He replied, his motivation to sleep with Malia was like a roller coaster.

‘So, you and Scott played lacrosse together?’ She asked. Stiles just nodded her head. This was probably the most awkward experience of his life. It reminded him of that viral video ‘strangers kiss for the first time’ or whatever. They both knew it was going to happen, they both just stood there awkwardly until someone made the first move. ‘Is it that girl?’

‘No!’ he practically shouted. ‘It’s nothing, and especially not her,’

To show her just how not about Lydia this was, he leant forward, their lips crashing against each other.

Stiles didn’t think he’d ever been more nervous for class before. And that was saying something.

Seeing Lydia walk into the classroom he felt the wind knockout of him. He knew she was coming, hell he planned on it. But now she was here, he knew it wasn’t just his imagination. She was every bit as beautiful as he remembered. His feelings hadn’t disappeared over winter break.

As Lydia was much a lemming as everyone else, she took her usual spot next to him. He could tell he was still getting the cold shoulder.

Ms. Blake soon started talking, and Stiles spent the entire class checking on the clock. Come on, Ms. Blake, do this for me.

‘Now lastly, we have a surprise today, from a very unlikely source, Mr. Stilinski.’ He could see Lydia tense at her words. Biting his lip, Ms. Blake continued on. ‘It’s called The Sure Thing,’

He didn’t need to listen to the words, he could recite them off by heart if he didn’t feel like he was going to throw up.

The Sure Thing by Stiles Stilinski

Tonight’s the night, he thought, as he stood in the corner pretending to have a good time. He would meet her tonight. All his pubescent life he had dreamt about her, 5’7, nubile body that danced without care, soft tanned skin. She was blunt and up for anything. She was in every way the girl of his dreams.

To arrive at this moment he had travelled vast distances and endure many hardships such as poverty, starvation and killer lizards.

From across the room he saw her. She was perfect. He knew nothing about her, and she didn't know much more about him. It was exactly how it was supposed to be.

Reaching her room, the lights were soft, and the moment was right. It was his ultimate dream. It was his only dream.

However, he soon realised his shallowness wasn’t just in his skin, but in his dreams too. The real dream is one you don’t see coming, ones that you have work for. Not a carefully constructed meaningless fling.

The real dream is a laugh you have to work for so hard, and to only get when you don’t try at all. Not a laugh that’s precursor to something else.

The real dream is 5’3, with pale skin and who did everything with purpose. She was truthful and did only what she deigned to do. She was in every way his dream girl.

It would not be tonight.

Lydia wasn’t entirely sure what she just heard. Turning around she said ‘You didn’t sleep with her?’

‘She wasn’t my type,’ he replied, with a sheepish smile. A smile she didn’t know he had in him. ‘What about Jackson?’

‘We broke up,’

‘That’s too bad,’ he said, eyes flicking to her lips. Most of the class was still in the room, but Lydia couldn’t help herself. She leant over her desk, and their lips touched.

Warmth spread through her body, as his hand moved up to cup her face. Smiling against his mouth, their mouths opened wider. Her tongue sliding against his, as his hands lazily slid down her body, his slender fingers dragged against her skin, sending shivers down her spine, making her press herself further into him. Pulling his hair, they became more greedy, both trying to touch more, get closer, as if they use together if they just tried hard enough.

Hearing a cough, they broke apart, to see a disapproving Ms. Blake staring at them. ‘If I knew the story would have led to this, I might not have read it,’

Quickly, the both stood up. ‘It won’t happen again,’ Lydia said.

‘I’m not making that promise,’ Stiles said with a shit eating grin, so Lydia (lightly) whacked him with her notebook.

‘You don’t get to decide that,’ Lydia replied, as they walked out the classroom.

‘I kinda thought we’d bicker less when we got together,’ Stiles mused.

Pulling him by his jacket into an alcove, she wrapped her arms around his neck ‘I can think of one way to make us stop bickering,’