I'll Be Your Bat-woman (complete)

9. Call me Alice, I think I'm falling

Stiles POV:
Lunch rolled around and Scott gave Allison his blackmail apology. They forgave each other and have a movie date tomorrow, Friday. Meanwhile, Scott and I got ready for the first lacrosse game of the season.

"You invited Allison right?" I asked Scott.
He stares at me. "Yeeeeees..." He draws out suspiciously.
"Okay." I continue putting on my lacrosse gear.
"Why do you care?"
"No reason." I shrug. And that was the answer. I don't know why I asked if Allison would be there, Scott was the one that had an interest in her.

"Lydia's going to be there if that's what you're actually wondering." Scott smirks and I avoid the temptation to whack him with my lacrosse stick.
"Why would I care if Lydia shows up?"
"Because I think you're starting to like her."
I scoff. "Hardly! I do still have to return her jacket though."

Scott grabs his stick and helmet then we leave the locker room, heading towards the field. The bleachers are half filled as we join the other players on the field for a warm up. We head to the back of the line of players where they threw balls at the goalie.
"Why would I like Lydia?" I ask.
"Because you're actually talking to her after two years of ignoring her."
"Maybe I want to be friends with her again."
"You said, and I quote 'being friends with the red head is social suicide'."

I roll my eyes. After my new found popularity, I was a jerk... I was still kind of a jerk but it was slowly disappearing. Scott flings the ball at the net and I move up in the practice line. I take the ball in my stick and throw it at the goalie. After a few more minutes at shooting goals, coach blows the whistle and we all gather around him.

"Greenburg! Get in here!" The boy drags behind as Coach starts his speech. "Listen up! Due to recent complaints from concerned parents, the first half of the game our benchers are going to play. Jackson, Lahey and Captain Stilinski, you'll be sitting out. Now get your asses out on the field!"

I furrow my brows. I was sitting out? Jackson angrily throws his gloves to the ground as the three of us take a seat on the benches, a place I hadn't sat since the one game I tried to play sick.
"We've been benched, boys." Isaac sighs and Jackson's jaw clenches as he purses his lips.

"Aren't you usually out on the field?" Lydia plops down on the empty bench to the right of me, eyes glued to the field.
"Act like you don't come just to see me play." I smirk and she scoffs, turning towards me.
"No I come to support Allison while she supports Scott."
"Ohhhh... Makes sense."

I glance at her as her eyes return to the game.
"By the way, I need your phone." I say.
"What for?"
"I never deleted the blackmail. Are you even aloud to be sitting down here with us?"
She digs in her pocket before producing her phone and placing it in my hand. "No but what's Coach going to do? He's too busy yelling at what's-his-face."

I stare at the background on her phone, a picture of her and Allison wearing goofy sunglasses. "You're right, he yells at Greenburg all the time."
"Greenburg is his first name?"
"No one even knows his first name but there's a possibility that it's 'stupid' because that's often what Coach calls him."I say, unlocking her phone.

I get to her photo album and immediately delete my pictures. Just as I was about to give it back to her, I thought, why the hell not?, and began scrolling through her photos. There were lots of pictures of her and Allison doing weird things  like attempting to help each other do a handstand, or wearing tons of scarfs. I smile to myself and glance over at Lydia to make sure she's still watching the game.

My eyes return to her phone. The smile on my lips only grew brighter at the sight of her sitting behind the dugout wearing a Mets jersey with her parents. The rest of the pictures were completely random: screen shots off of Pinterest, some of her dog, a couple of little kids stacked on top of her that I can only assume are cousins. One photo in particular strikes me though. I stare at it for a few moments before looking at Lydia whose eyes were still fixed on the field.

I grab her left hand out of her lap and push up the sleeve of her jacket so I can see her arm.
"What are you-" she doesn't finish the sentence as she sees what I'm doing. I run my thumb over the three tiny scars on her wrist. She yanks her arm out of my grip, pushing her sleeve down and I stare at her.

"I used to see a shrink, you know." She says.
"When did you-"
"Summer before freshman year. I haven't done it since but my parents insist that I keep on seeing my counselor. I refuse." She cuts me off.
My mouth drops open slightly and I glance at Jackson and Isaac who sit at the other end of the bench, critiquing the players on the field.

"Here's your phone." I say, slipping the device back in her lap.
"You saw the picture of when the cuts were fresh... Didn't you?"
I cringe at the word cuts. "You should delete them." My voice is quiet.
"I think about that sometimes. I like to keep them though. Remind myself that it wasn't worth it.... I'm not depressed anymore if that's what you're thinking."
"Anymore?"

She sighs and turns towards me.
"I was... I'd lost all my friends... practically spent the summer alone."
I chill runs through my body. I was one of her only friends and I had ignored her that summer. And the next school year.

"I-I'm sorry." I say and she smiles. Smiles. After all she just told me, she wasn't the least bit upset about the situation.
"I'll tell you what," She pulls her phone out of her pocket once more and my eyes land on her screen. She goes into her camera roll and goes to the picture of her bloody wrist. "Since I'm too much of a wuss to delete it, you do it." She hands the phone to me and I hesitate before pressing the small trash  can icon. The picture disappears and I grin.

"Thank you." She says, smiling. My heart falters and I sit up straight, confusion crossing my mind. Did I really just stop breathing because Lydia Martin smiled at me?
I grab her wrist again and I can feel her tense up at my touch. None the less, she doesn't take back her arm, she just continues to watch the game. I rub my thumb over the scars and think back to the moment before Scott and I stepped onto the field. My mind races around his words. I think I was starting to fall for Lydia.
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Authors note:
Short chapter but #sadface!  What do you think about Lydia's little summer of depression? I basically put that in there because later on it becomes important so sorry if that surprised anyone😬
Stiles is finally starting to fall for Lydia though!!! AH! I'm so excited! I get random ideas for certain chapters and so I have half of the up coming chapters already written in my notes app😅
Stay tuned, Stydia shippers!
Comment, read, enjoy!
-Chloe