The last few weeks had proved to have strengthened the pack. The younger ones were welcomed with open arms as they figured how to blend in with the rest of the pack. Along with Liam and Mason came Brett and Grace, both werewolves. Brett because he believed Scott would be a good Alpha to follow (and a little bit because of Mason, not that he would admit it just yet) and Grace because of Brett. She had known him for years and he'd always been like her big brother, so wherever he goes she follows right behind.
Grace is so beautiful that Lydia wants to die at the cuteness. She's two years younger like the boys, and she's blonde, her wavy hair just a little shorter than Lydia's, and small but very spry. She's fierce, so of course Lydia likes her. On the other hand she's very, very naive, something that Lydia can't say she was at her age, and she has no family but Brett. That's why Lydia sort of takes her under her wing, looking out for her.
And Mason is a good kid. Lydia likes him. It's not like he had that much time to wrap his mind around all things supernatural when he went to check on her a few weeks ago at the school and ended up fighting a berserker, but still he stood beside her. And he's smart and a very good influence on Liam, who is a little cocky for her taste. Much like Jackson, she knows. Still with a far better character, that's for sure.
Despite the age gap between both generations of the pack, they all fit together. They all have something to teach and something to learn, and that's why they are all spending so much time at the loft. Not only Derek has a lot of books and maps to help them with research, it is still the larger place for everyone to hang out and meet.
Lydia arrives at the loft right on time. Derek's car is not parked outside, so she figures he must be running late. She lets herself in, just like the rest of the pack always does; his door is always open. When she enters, she finds Mason and Stiles sprawled on the couch playing video games.
Perfect, she thinks in disdain.
She smiles as she waves hello and explains that she's just waiting for Derek, who should be home soon. Mason smiles back and Stiles waves at her distractedly. Lydia was already feeling uneasy, so she excuses herself to go to the bathroom.
While in there, Lydia locks herself in and checks herself in the mirror. Even after her breakdown with Scott last night, she managed to pull herself together in the morning. She's Lydia Martin, she can't afford to look bad so she opted for a simple black skirt and a white top, a red cardigan and black heels. Her hair is half up, half down, her curls falling to her right over her shoulder. Her makeup has been getting smoother through the years, revealing her natural beauty. She's just wearing a mild shade of red lipstick and mascara to highlight her eyes.
Deep down she knows that it's how Stiles likes her better, not that he notices anymore. Yet, Lydia's grown to like herself more like that too.
He's not yours, he's not yours, she mumbles in her head.
Supporting herself with both hands on the sink, she closes her eyes and zones out for a bit. It has become her mantra lately, to constantly remind herself that she can't have someone who's already taken. Even if he wasn't, how could she be so selfish as to have him when he had years ahead of her of pinning over someone who didn't even know he existed?
Lydia focuses on her breathing, relaxing as soon as she hears someone screaming at the boys because his living room is a mess. Thank God, Derek's here. She opens her eyes, checks herself on the mirror one more time and leaves the bathroom.
"You're late," she says to Derek flatly, a small smile on her lips.
"I'm sorry. Traffic. Scott and Kira will be here in a few minutes. I'll need Scott, so maybe you and Kira could have lunch together?" He asks.
On the couch, Stiles pauses the game, finding the conversation strange. He hadn't even realized that Derek and Lydia were being civil to each other, let alone that they had been getting closer lately. "What are you and Scott up to? I really don't feel like leaving this couch, let alone the house."
Derek purses his lips, retorting "I don't remember inviting you to come along." Mason takes this as his cue, escaping to the kitchen to get some popcorn. He's been around long enough to know that they are about to argue.
Stiles frowns. "Scott goes, I go. We're kind of a package deal."
"You're not coming." Derek then turns to Lydia, smiling apologetically. "Sorry. Come on." He places a hand on her back, leading her to the stairs but Stiles is seemingly not finished.
"You need to tell me where you guys are going and what it is that you're going to do." He's almost crawling on the couch now, unable to stay still. "Wait, am I not supposed to know what you and Scott are up to?" Derek senses Lydia's anxiety at Stiles incessant babbling, so he gestures for her to go upstairs but she stops waiting for him, and so Derek turns around to face Stiles with a deadly gaze. Stiles freezes instantly.
"Do you ever shut up? God, I don't know how Malia puts up with you."
"Next time you can ask her." He quips quickly. "I'm sure she'll love to hear, yet again, about how her cousin dislikes her boyfriend and how you still don't trust me. It's getting ridiculous."
Lydia flinches at the word boyfriend, but Derek keeps looking at Stiles. "Well, you keep doing that, you're just helping my case. And if you must know, it's Braeden related. I don't have to share my love life with the world, let alone you," Derek lies easily. Turning back around, he frowns. Stiles can easily get on anyone's nerves. "Let's go before he opens his mouth again or I might have to punch him," he mumbles to Lydia.
"I heard that," Stiles shouts from the couch.
Lydia loses it. "Shut the fuck up, Stiles!"
In truth, she's not sure which of them is more shocked. Stiles looks at her like he doesn't understand what just happened, Derek kinda wants to laugh, surprised, and Lydia has the urge to cover her mouth with her hands, but she doesn't. Mason is near the kitchen door, a bowl of popcorn in his arms, feeling like he's watching a movie and got in just in time for the good part. "God, you never shut up," she shoots at him. It's not right of her to be mad at him, but she is. She can't help it.
And Derek can smell her now, her angst starting to show in her muscles as she clenches her fists. "Lydia, come on. Let's go upstairs."
Stiles stays put, frozen in place as if reality is dawning down on him. Lydia climbs the first three steps but has to stop. Her knees are still hurting from yesterday. Looking down to make sure that she's not bleeding, she supports herself on Derek's shoulder. He looks down too.
"Your knees... From yesterday?" He asks. Scott had filled him in.
She swallows and nods. "I fell and scraped them. It's embarrassing, really," she offers, giving him a small smile. So Derek knows too, she thinks. Somehow she's comfortable with that.
"Well, are you okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine. But I don't know if I should make it all the way up." She's afraid the wounds – which are a little more noticeable than she'd like - will reopen and take more time to heal.
From the couch, Stiles snaps out of his trance. "Lydia, are you hurt?" Poor choice of words, she thinks. He gets up and starts walking towards them, but she directs him a gaze even deadlier than Derek's. Stiles stops, blushing hard. His words are more of a whisper. "I was just gonna see if you're okay." Very, very poor choice of words. She doesn't answer him.
Instead, Derek helps her down the stairs. "I'll be back in a second", he mutters glancing over at Stiles, and disappears to the upper floor. Lydia goes stand by the window, focusing her eyes nowhere specific. She can feel the tension arise, but she can't cry. You will not cry, Lydia.
Stiles doesn't dare make a move on her, so he ends up returning to the couch, stealing Mason's popcorn and stuffing his mouth with a hand full, mumbling something unintelligible and resuming the game.
Derek comes down not two minutes later carrying a few books that he hands to Lydia. He turns his look to the front door abruptly. "Scott's here."
Sure enough, a few seconds later, Scott and Kira appear in the loft. Scott makes a face. "What the hell happened here? There's so much tension in the air..." He looks at Derek and then at Stiles, who refuses to return his gaze. It's Lydia who answers.
"Derek can fill you in later. Kira, lunch?"
"S-Sure," Kira stutters, taken by surprise by Lydia's immediate need to leave. "I'll text you later," she says to Scott, kissing him.
Before leaving, Lydia turns her attention to Derek briefly. "Thank you."
Looking her in the eyes, he gently squeezes her shoulder and smiles kindly, a rarity for him. "I'm here if you need anything. Just know I don't offer often."
She smirks. "I might call you later, then." On her tip toes, she kisses his cheek, not minding that everyone is looking at her. Looks like she just found a new friend and she could use a few.
Wrapping her arm around Kira's, they leave the loft. She still manages to hear Scott yell at someone "Dude, what the hell did you do?!"
xxxxxxxxxx
As they drive to Eichen House in Derek's car, Derek tells Scott what happened back at the loft. How he knows that Lydia is aware that he knows about her feelings and hasn't made a scene about it, and how she snapped at Stiles (not that he can argue with her there) and how Stiles didn't react much when it happened.
Neither Scott nor Derek know what to make of it. Something is different about Stiles' behavior lately.
"He obviously still cares about her. You should have seen his face when she told him to shut the fuck up. It's like he had just woken up from a dream only to learn that his life's a nightmare. And he blushed, like really blushed. I actually thought he was gonna cry." Derek says, a little amused. "But he didn't fight back, and that's not like Stiles."
"Yeah, I guess. And Lydia?"
"I think yesterday took a toll on her, talking about her feelings with you. She wasn't as put together today as she typically is. That's probably why she lost it." Derek is still awestruck with the banshee. She changed so much through the years and having her trust him took Derek by surprise. How times have changed.
Scott is afraid to admit that things have been off lately. "We haven't been together much this last few weeks, me and Stiles. He's always with Malia and won't call me as much. I figured it was because there's no big bad guy around, and because he was trying to enjoy his time with his girlfriend. I mean, it's Stiles. The guy doesn't get laid much, you know?"
Derek shifts uncomfortably on his seat. "Need to know, Scott. Need to now."
Scott laughs. "Sorry, dude. But that's where I'm getting at. He always shares too much, so why be so quiet now? It's not like him. Something is definitely wrong." Scott doesn't want to admit it, but in a way it feels like he's losing his brother. Not Nogitsune-like, but more like a bridge between them that insists on keeping them farther apart. He knows that both of them having a girlfriend at the same time would have its impact on their relationship; he just wasn't expecting it to be like this.
It can't just be it though. There's got to be something else.
As they approach the mental institution, Derek only mutters "We'll figure it out."