Touched by the Fear

[13]

Lydia tilted her head to the side, giving her a comforting smile. "I'm sure he'll be fine," she told her gently. "And it's terrible what happened but he's alive. Thinking about it all day won't make you feel any better. Trust me, okay?"

Sighing, she nodded slowly. "I guess you're right." Shifting the tray she held, Hollis looked around the cafeteria that was quickly filling up. "Where should we sit?"

"Usual place is good, right?" Lydia asked with a shrug.

Hollis scanned the room, taking in the tables and the people that occupied them. Her eyes landed on a table with two occupants: Scott and Stiles. With a grin, she turned to Lydia. "Let's sit there," she said, nodding in their direction.

Lydia raised an eyebrow as she followed her line of site. "You're kidding, right? Why on Earth would I sit there?"

"Allison will be sitting with Scott so...why not?" She ignored the look on her friends face and gently nudged her forward. "Come on."

Narrowing her eyes, she threw a glare her way. "I hate you," Lydia said sourly.

"No you don't." Hollis laughed, which earned her a smile from Lydia.

"Fine." She sighed as she grudgingly looked across the room. "Let's go."

The girls crossed the room to their table, catching the end of their conversation.

"...We'll figure this out," Stiles said confidently.

"Figure what out?" Lydia asked and took the empty seat beside Scott.

"Uh...Homework. Just homework," Stiles replied, throwing a surprised look at them.

"Well, when you figure out Algebra or Chem let me know." Hollis placed down her tray on the table before taking the seat beside Stiles.

"You're behind in math, too?" Scott asked.

"More like hopelessly lost," Hollis answered. "That and Chem are just...," she trailed off, shaking her head.

"If you need help, I mean, I can help. You know, if you want," Stiles offered.

Hollis turned to him, a smile stretching across her lips. "Yeah, that'd be great actually. Thanks."

"Yeah, sure. No problem," Stiles said, nodding.

"I thought Allison was joining us," Lydia interrupted, directing a small glare in Hollis's direction.

"I'm right here," Allison said, appearing beside the table. She waited until Scott removed the backpack from the seat then sat down. "Thanks. Did I miss anything?"

Hollis shook her head. "Not really. Just talking about math and chem," she said, wrinkling her nose.

Allison made a face. "Glad I missed that conversation."

Hollis laughed and looked up when a few people showed up at their table, filling the remaining seats quickly. When Jackson showed up, she rolled her eyes and knew that all hopes of having a normal lunch were gone. She ignored the small conversation that took place between him, Danny and another lacrosse player. But the next thing that Danny said peaked her interest and she looked towards him.

"So they're saying it's an animal attack. Probably a cougar."

"I heard mountain lion," Jackson said.

"A cougar is a mountain lion," Lydia corrected, rolling her eyes. She glanced around the table, to see that everyone's attention was directed at her. A confused expression crossed her face then as she looked towards Jackson. "Isn't it?"