Emotional Tethers

Chapter 3 - Mornings With Her

As both finished breakfast, Stiles quickly went to change, as Lydia made sure she had everything. The pictures around the house made her long for that. A happy family. Because before her death, was Stiles and his mother close. And if hurts Lydia that she rarely saw either of her parents. Although she lived with her mother.

"Lydia," Stiles said as he came down.

Lydia looked at him as he pulled her in closer for a hug, holding her tight against his skin. Lydia threw her arms around his body, as it was a natural instinct to her. She didn't care how long they knew one another, it just seemed right to do all of that. To be... Friends with someone she has loved for so long.

"Thank you for last night. I needed it," Stiles said.

"You're welcome, Stiles. But we have to get to school now. I just saw Allison's 17 miss messages. I think she and Scott are worried cause I wasn't at home," Lydia said.

"Okay, let's go then," Stiles sad.

Both grabbed all their belongings while they went out of the door. Lydia jumped into the Jeep while Stiles smiled and instantly started it. The drive wasn't far, but Stiles needed music. He had put on a song from SYML while Lydia smiled. He could see that it was her favourite kind of music. She knew the song so well and sang along with every lyric. Lydia had a beautiful voice, Stiles thought to himself. But he never thought of that before. He never even knew her name before last night. And suddenly her name was all over his mind.

"Lydia!" Allison said immediately embracing her best friend as soon as Lydia stepped out of the Jeep.

"You scared the crap out of us," Allison said as Lydia saw how Scott was right behind her.

"Would've been nice to get a phone call or a message back stating you were okay. You weren't at home. Where were you last night?" Scott asked.

"She stayed over at my place. She fell asleep and I didn't want to wake her. So, she just slept over," Stiles said as Lydia got bumped aside.

"Jackson Whittemore, do you want me to kill you now or later?" Stiles asked as Jackson looked back at them.

"Have a nice... What the hell are you wearing?" Jackson asked.

Suddenly, Scott and Allison also realized it. Lydia was wearing some of Stiles' old clothes. Scott immediately sensed trouble coming. with Jackson it was always difficult to know what he would do, but this time Lydia had more than just Scott backing her up.

"What does it matter what she's wearing?" Stiles asked.

"Okay then, Dumbass. Let me ask you it like this - who's clothes are you wearing? Certainly not yours," Jackson said.

"What about you just leave her alone? Come on, Lydia. We've got to get to Chem," Stiles said taking her hand and guiding Lydia away from Jackson.

"We used to date," Lydia whispered to Stiles.

Now he knew why Jackson always picked on Lydia.

"Luckily, you dumped him because he isn't worth you. I've got your back. Just like you had mine last night," Stiles said.

Lydia smiled at the sweet gesture. She didn't know if he were only nice or if he genuinely thought they could be friends, but she wasn't against it. When they had to sit down for chemistry, Stiles decided to sit down next to Lydia instead of Malia. It felt right. And with lunch they sat together as well as all their classes that they had together.

"What is going on with you and Stiles? And why are you wearing his clothes?" Allison asked.

"Scott dropped me off at his place to work on the project. We didn't do it though. We talked a bit and I quickly realized he didn't need to work on the project. We spoke about his mom, and he got emotional. After that we had decided to just watch Star Wars and I fell asleep in his arms. This morning I showed and ate at his place. And he lent me some of his old clothes to wear," Lydia said.

"Nice job. He noticed you," Allison said.

"Thanks to Scott, yeah. And I don't know if it is because we have a project to work on or something else. I'll be okay. He's talking to me. I'm no more the teen girl who he doesn't notice. I'll be good," Lydia said.

"What's going on with you and my neighbor? You could barely remember Lydia's name yesterday and now she slept over at your place and she's wearing your clothes. What does that mean?" Scott asked as he and Stiles were getting ready for lacrosse.

"Something happened that caused me to think that she isn't that bad. She and I were at my house, drinking coffee, before we would start with the project when we started talking about our parents - her father and my mother. I got emotional and Lydia suggested we leave the project for a different night. We watched Star Wars and she fell asleep in my arms. That's it. She woke up the next morning, showered and I borrowed her some of my old clothes because otherwise she would be late for school. We both would," Stiles said.

"I'm glad you remember her name and that things are different. Maybe now we can all be friends," Scott said.

"We'll see. For now, I can't even tell if anything will happen. She's a nice girl and she was there for me when I needed someone, but that isn't to say we will become best friends," Stiles said.