Howl 2

Untouchable - Part 2

I wasn’t thinking straight as I pushed my way through the students, marched across the hall, and nearly sent Jackson rocketing through the air by the magnitude I yanked him from Lydia, “Get away from her!” I took a stance in front Lydia to shield her from him, “Is this how you get what you want? By treating the people that care about you like shit?”

He looked as if he wanted to pick an argument with me as well, but Jackson pulled back his words and only stared at Lydia and me with absolute fury on his face. At last, he huffed and stomped off. I nodded, thinking of how that showed him. But my satisfaction was short-lived when a sob shook through Lydia and she took off in the opposite direction.

I stood baffled and turned my head from side to side, staring at their backs as they fought their way through students to put more distance between each other. I couldn’t care less about Jackson - his ego will save him. But Lydia… she’s been broken and out of her mind since she was dumped. It wasn’t certain what she’d do after this fallout. And if she did something bad to herself, then I would be on me since I’ve seen her last.

I groaned inwardly and willed my feet to go after her. Typically, she would head for the girls’ room and locked herself in one of the cubicles. I awkwardly gave a faint knock on the door and thought about what I’d say. This wasn’t the same as comforting Erica. This was Lydia Martin, the person I told Stiles I wanted nothing to do with.

“Lydia?” I started and listened to the muffled sobbing coming from the other side, “Are… are you okay?”

Damn, it felt wrong being this sincere to her.

“Go away!”

“In case you haven’t noticed, this is a public bathroom. I can be here if I want to.” I silently rolled my eyes, “And I’m going to ask you again, are you okay? That looked like a pretty heated argument back there.”

Her cries echoed through the room and bounced off the tiled walls, “He said I ruined everything! And I don’t even know what that means… I haven’t talked to him since the formal, I didn’t ask him to save my life, I gave him space… why is he doing this to me?”

Oh man. I was so unprepared for this. I cast my eyes at the ceiling and chose my words carefully, “You know, Lydia, you and I are the smartest girls in this school. So why did it take you longer to figure out what an asshole Jackson is? People like him can’t have nice things without taking them for granted.”

“Are… are you saying that… he took me for granted?”

“Obviously!” I rested my hands on my hips, “If you ask me, you’re much better off without him. Look what he did to you. You had to play dumb to boost his ego, you have to dress flashy to compliment his appearance, he belittled you, he flirted with other girls behind your back, he tried getting it on with your best friend, and then he had the nerve to dump you over a text.” I scoffed when I realized again what an asshole he was, “So, yeah, I think he took you for granted.”

I expected her to cry louder when the realization hit. But instead, the door of the cubicle creaked open and I was met by a red-eyed, puffy-faced, lip-quivering Lydia. This was the most vulnerable I’ve ever seen her. Every wall of perfection she had ever built up, ever fake mask she had to hold up, was gone. Lydia Martin was just another normal, heartbroken teenage girl who didn’t know why certain bad things happened to her.

Shit, I was experiencing feelings.

Disgusting.

“What do you suppose I should do?” She squeaked.

And I was also not prepared to play Dr Phil. Quick, what did Stiles say to me yesterday? Something about bras and sex? That wasn’t relevant now. I pursed my lips, “Well, showing Jackson that you don’t need him to get by is a good way to start. Just ignore him. Be the confident, talented, stylish, smart Lydia you always are, just minus the asshole. You’re no one’s French Poodle. You can take your own walks.”