˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ "Stay the hell away from Liam."┆彡
Asher was with Scott and Stiles in the Sheriff's Office as they tried to explain the dead pool to him.
"So, the Walcott's were the first. At least the first that we know about. Four murders. Sean, his brother, and their parents. They were killed by a professional assassin called The Mute." Stiles explains.
"And he had no mouth." Asher added. "Wish I got to see it."
"Moving on, his weapon of choice, a military tomahawk." Stiles continued. "But then The Mute was killed by Peter Hale after he tried to blow up Derek with a Claymore mine."
"Which, as we know, the amazing Deputy Parrish disarmed." Asher nodded, getting a weird look from Scott. "What? He's cool."
"Next was Demarco." Stiles said. "He delivered a keg to the party at Lydia's lake house. And got decapitated outside his car."
"I knew that dude had a familiar scent." Asher grumbled to herself.
Usually, everyone would start getting annoyed with Asher's add on's, but they were grateful for her this time. She was lightening the mood.
"And then last night, twenty-three-year-old Carrie Hudson." Stiles finished.
"It's a dead pool." Scott spoke up for the first time. "A hit-list for supernatural creatures." He unfolded the printed out paper with the names on it. "This is only part of it. The rest still has to be decoded."
He set it down on the desk, Stilinski grabbing to look at his closer. "Who found this list?"
"Lydia did." Asher recalled.
Stilinski looked up at her. "How?"
"She wrote it." Stiles answered.
"Actually she transcribed it without realizing she transcribed it." Asher corrected.
"Banshee?" Stilinski asked.
"Banshee." Stiles nodded.
"Beautiful." The Sheriff groaned. "Alright, what are these numbers next to the names?"
"We're getting to that." Stiles said. "First, you need to know that the code was broken with a cipher key."
"Wait. You mean, like a... Like a key word?" Stilinski questioned.
"It was actually name." Asher said.
"Allison." Scott added, eyes glancing down.
Everyone got quiet for a moment, Stilinski nodding slowly.
"Her name broke a third of the list." Stiles continued.
"And now, we think there's two other cipher keys." Scott said.
"Which will give us the rest of the names." Stilinski nodded. "Okay. So, how do we get the cipher keys?"
"Same way we got the code." Asher told him.
--------------------
(italics are a flashback)
"Lydia." Scott says.
Asher sat off the side next to Lydia. Stiles, for some reason, had given her his hoodie, so she wasn't shirtless anymore. She was grateful. Grateful that she wasn't freezing anymore, grateful that no one could see how much weight she had lost, grateful that Lydia no longer gazed at her a little longer than usual.
The aforementioned redhead leans against the record player, dried tears still upon her face. She messes around with the needle as she tries to hear something else, but she doesn't.
"She's been at the lake house all weekend trying to find the other two keys." Stiles adds.
Behind them, sit Kira and Malia. They were waiting to see if Lydia had found anything, but Kira was getting worried and Malia was getting impatient. How long can you sit there and watch your friend play around with a record player before you want to go home? Malia and Kira could tell you.
Asher had a permanent frown on her face as her eyes stayed on Lydia. She couldn't care less about how long they'd be there, how many time Lydia adjusts the needle. She didn't care. All Asher cared about was Lydia.
After getting particularly frustrated one time she reset the needle, Lydia felt a body press into her side. She didn't look away from the record player, but she knew it was Asher. The lioness didn't wrap her arms around her or anything, she just sat there with her side pressed into Lydia's.
It had been a while, Asher still pressed into Lydia and the other two still sitting, somewhat, patiently behind them.
Malia looked over at Kira and gave her a subtle nod, getting one back along with a tight lipped smile. The two stand up and walk over to the girls on the ground.
Kira gently places her hand on Asher's shoulder to lean over her. And just as Lydia goes to adjust the needle again, Kira carefully takes it and stops it. She backs away, giving Asher space to stand up.
"Come on, love." Asher mumbled, not even realizing what she was saying.
Lydia gripped Asher's outreached hands and got to her feet, staring down at the record player in longing.
"You'll figure it out." Asher assures, voice still low.
--------------------
"You didn't know about Demarco or Carrie did you?" Stilinski looks up from the crime scene photos on his desk, his questioned aimed at Scott and Asher.
They each gave him looks that told him they didn't.
"What about these other two names on the list?" The man asks. "Uh, Kayleen Bettcher and Elias Town. They werewolves, too?"
"I don't know." Scott shakes his head. "But Deaton said the nemeton would draw supernatural creatures here."
"Here being Beacon Hills? Or Beacon County?" Stilinski questioned. "The population on Beacon Hills is just under thirty-thousand."
"And dropping." Stiles said.
Asher rolled her eyes. "And you say I'm the one that isn't good at contributing to conversations." She mutters.
"But if we're talking Beacon County, then you're looking at closer to five-hundred-thousand." Stilinski continued, giving the two of them scolding looks. "Look, how many werewolves, banshees, werelions, kitsunes, and whatever the hell else is out there are we talking about?" He sat down in his chair.
"Well, Sheriff, werelions are hard to come by, so for now... You're stuck with me." She winked at him.
Stilinski shook his head. "Wonderful."
Asher chuckled.
"And what happens if the next cipher key uncovers not thirteen names but one hundred?" Stilinski asks, back on topic.
"We don't think there'd be that many." Stiles denies. "There's a limit."
"Because of the numbers." Scott points down at the paper.
"We think once we decode the names, the numbers will all add up to one-hundred and forty-two." Asher adds.
"One-hundred and forty-two what?" Stilinski furrows his brows.
"Million." Scott answers.
Stiles reaches over and pulls the list towards him. He has an uncapped marker in his hand and uses it to write down K next to all the three digit numbers and M next to all the two digit numbers.
Stilinski pushes himself to his feet, staring down at what his son was doing in confusion.
"One-hundred and forty-two million dollars, Dad." Stiles says when he finished, pushing the paper back to him. "Stolen from the Hale Vault and is being used by someone to finance these murders."
"Someone who wants every supernatural creature in Beacon Hills dead." Scott adds in.
"So, the coded list goes out. And somehow these professional assassins get that list." Stilinski lists.
"And a cipher key." Stiles reminds.
"And then they go after the names on the list." Stilinski continues. "They being killers with no mouths, tomahawks, thermo-cut wires that can take your head off."
Asher nods along. "Yeah, it's bad."
"Let me see." Stiles says, digging through the crime scene photos. "Carrie was also stabbed. What's this mark?"
"We're not sure yet. We're waiting on the ME's report." The Sheriff answers, his brows furrowing. "There's one other thing I don't get. How did the new assassin know that Demarco was going to be at the lake house?"
"Everyone knows he delivers kegs to teenagers for a little extra cash." Scott says.
"Ah." Stilinski narrows his eyes.
"Well, not everyone, I guess." Asher purses her lips, raising her eyebrow at the man.
The man ignored her taunt. "So, whoever ordered that keg killed Demarco."
"Yeah, it was someone at the party." Stiles nodded.
"It was mostly freshman, though." Asher said. "So, there's a fifteen year old out slicing people's heads off?"
--------------------
"Kira, I really don't want to." Asher grumbled a few mornings later, burying herself impossibly deeper into her bed.
"Well, I don't care. You're getting up, and you're going to school." Kira stood with her arms crossed.
She took a quick glance around Asher's room, eyes darting across all the movie and music posters, framed pictures that covered her walls and desk, tapestry's that made the room darker, and a mirror than lean in the corner. It was exactly how she pictured it, just a few things off. Kira's eyes landed on a discarded skateboard peaking out from under her bed before moving onto a pile of, she assumed, full sketchbooks beside her desk.
She sighed and turned back to the girl in the bed. "Asher, get out of bed."
"No." Asher responded.
Kira rolled her eyes while she took a few steps closer. She fumbled around until she found Asher's ankle under the covers and yanked.
Asher let out what sounded in between a yelp and a groan as she was pulled out of bed and onto the floor. The girl hit the ground with a thud and stared up at Kira.
"I hate you." She grumbled.
Kira grinned. "Be lucky I decided to come over and not Stiles. He probably would have dumped water on you."
Asher rolled her eyes because she knew the girl was right. "I still don't want to go."
"And I still don't care." Kira chuckled, holding a hand out for her to take.
Asher reluctantly does so, getting pulled to her feet. "Since you rudely dragged me from my slumber, can you grab me a shirt from the closet?"
Kira nods, walking over to the closet across the room. She flipped through a few of them before grabbing a large black t-shirt with the BOWIE logo onto it. Kira smiled and turned around. "You like Bowie?"
Asher looked up from where she was buckling her belt around her waist, a pair of baggy blue jeans now on. "Yeah, why?"
Kira threw her the shirt. "I took you more for a AC/DC or Metallica fan."
The lioness laughed, discarding her previous shirt and pulling the new one over her head. "And who said I wasn't? Hell, I even listen to Taylor Swift and The Spice Girls."
Kira stared at her with a dropped jaw. "You do not."
Asher shrugs. "I like pretty much anything."
"Oh, I should've gotten you a Spice Girls album for your birthday instead of the new pair of doc martins." Kira winced playfully as they started out the room.
"Maybe next year." Asher grins.
--------------------
Asher sat on the table next to Lydia as they and Malia sat in the art room. They thought painting/drawing would help the banshee figure out the next two cipher keys. Malia leaned over Lydia's shoulder as the redhead sat in front of a canvas.
Lydia held the pencil tight in her hand, reaching out towards the canvas every now and then. The led hovered over the paper, but she always pulled back.
Asher just watched the girls, legs kicking under her. She tapped her fingers on her thighs, being as patient as she could be.
"Please stop hovering." Lydia said.
Malia paused. "I'm not hovering, I'm waiting. Draw something. Write something."
Asher raised her eyebrows. "I think if she knew what to draw, and or write, she would have already."
Lydia gave a tilt of her head in agreement.
"Well, we need to know who else is on that list." Malia continued.
"You mean, you need to know if you're on that list?" Lydia corrected.
"If someone's coming to take my head off, then, yeah, I'd like to know." Malia said.
"I dunno, the surprise is fun sometimes." Asher smirked.
Lydia gave her a look.
"Just saying."
Lydia reached her pencil forward again, the item once again hovering just barely over the paper. Her hand was shaking slightly as she took a deep breath. Lydia jumped.
"Can you please just sit down?" She snapped.
Malia sighed and did as she asked.
"You're making me nervous." Lydia added.
Malia lowered herself into the chair at the table. "Sorry."
"Want me to go out and get you a tea? I know they calm your nerves a little." Asher asked, tilting her head.
Lydia met her eyes. "You just want an excuse to leave."
"No! I want to be here with you, but I also want your hands to stop shaking." Asher corrected.
Malia eyed them. They had a weird scent around each other, the same scent her and Stiles had, and the same Kira and Scott had. She knew.
Lydia sighed. "I'm okay, Asher. Thank you."
Asher hummed in response. "'Course."
Malia pulled a book they had towards her, flipping it open.
"Asher, I can't do this if you keep staring at me." Lydia said softly, eyes opening.
"Sorry, Red." Asher pursed her lips and looked down at the book Malia was flipping through.
Malia sat up straighter as Asher looked towards her, a look of realization on her face.
"Lydia." She called.
And the redhead, who finally made contact with the paper, jumped. A streak of the led marked the paper as she took a breath. "What?" Lydia opened her eyes.
Asher tried to turn her head as much as she could to see what Malia was looking at, but it was't working very well.
"Oh, my God, what?" Lydia asked when Malia didn't answer.
Malia moved the book over for Lydia to see, which also caused Asher's attempts to get worse. She still couldn't see the damned thing.
"Maybe we need help." Malia said. "From another banshee."
Lydia looked down at the picture with a sigh. "Meredith."
Asher and Malia trailed after Lydia as they left the art room, now roaming the halls.
"Eichen House says Meredith can't have visitors without permission from a family member." Lydia tells them as they walk down the stairs.
"That's not gonna be easy since her whole family's dead." Malia says.
"Wonderful." Asher nods.
"Okay, maybe we go back to the art room?" Malia suggests. "Or music room?"
Lydia stops them in their tracks, turning around to look at the girls. "I'm not plucking piano strings for two hours waiting for some supernatural inspiration."
"Fine. What else do banshee's do?" Malia questions.
Asher looks down with a shake of her head. She liked Malia, she truly did, but she was terrible with social cues.
"You think I know?" Lydia asked rhetorically.
Malia shrugged.
Lydia inhaled deeply. "I can't turn just this on. I'm not like you guys." She started to take a few steps closer to them, making Asher frown. "I don't have claws, or glowing eyes or super senses. I just have voices in my head."
People were looking at them now, which annoyed Asher. She scowled. "You guys want to keep staring, or do you want broken noses?" She snapped.
And they all looked away.
Asher turned to back to Lydia, seeing her face get red a little and her eyebrows frowning. The redhead turned on her heel and walked away. Without sparing Malia a glance, Asher trailed after the girl.
"When this is over, I swear to God, Lydia, I'm gonna buy you tea everyday." Asher said.
--------------------
"I'll meet up with you guys later, I need to do something." Asher told the girls, getting confused nods.
She walked after and angry Liam and a pleading Mason as the two exited the building. They were headed out towards the prep school bus that just pulled up.
"Brett!" Liam called.
Asher walked up next to Mason, giving him a look.
"Ah, here we go." Was all he said.
Liam walked up to one of the prep students, Mason following. Asher stood back, watching in case this Brett kid, or Liam, did anything stupid.
"I just wanted to say..." Liam's breathing was heavy and his jaw was clenched. "Have a good game." He held his hand out for a shake.
Asher raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Brett laughed, his teammates joining in. Asher quickly came to the conclusion that this was Liam's old school and his old friends.
"That's cute, Liam." Brett laughed. "Is that what they told you to say in anger management? Apologize and everything's fine? You demolished Coach's car."
Asher was starting to getting annoyed, now. She was known to get a little too angry sometimes, but she didn't have the option of therapy to help. She was a runaway, broke, and a werelion with control issues, so yeah. Therapy was a no go. Asher clenched her jaw as she watched the interaction. She also felt a sense of protectiveness for Liam. This seemed to happen for everyone she met, really, she was an incredibly protective person, and now that she was a lioness, it just worse.
"I paid for it." Liam argued.
"Yeah, you're going to pay for it." Brett threatened. "We're gonna break you in half out there. And it's gonna be all your fault."
Asher started towards them, seeing blood drip from Liam's palms as she was halfway towards them. She crossed her arms across her chest, staring up at Brett. Before she could say anything, Scott and Stiles ran forward.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Scott said, pulling Liam back. "Let's go."
"Hey, what's going on, prep students?" Stiles smiled, standing beside Asher. He glanced down at her, knowing that expression all too well. "Welcome to our little public high school. How you doing?" He held his hand out, but no one grabbed it. Asher got more angry. "Stiles. That's a firm handshake you got there. Uh, we're very excited for the scrimmage tonight. Uh, but let's keep it clean, alright?" Stiles kept talking. "No rough stuff out there. Alright, see you on the field."
Stiles walked away, but Asher stayed there staring up at Brett. She glanced away for a moment to see Scott and Stiles leading Liam away, but she looked back to the boy in front of her.
"What?" He asked.
"Just a little warning. Now, I won't personally be there tonight, but if I hear that you did something unnecessary to Liam, I'll find you." Asher said.
Brett laughed again, because what as a five foot three girl gonna do to him?
"You can laugh all you want, I couldn't care less. But if Liam gets hurt, in a way not needed for the sport, watch out." Asher continued. "Now, it was nice to meet you, I'm Asher, see ya." She grinned, giving them a salute before starting to walk off.
"Yeah, okay." Brett scoffed.
Asher stopped in her tracks. She took a deep breath, trying to stop herself. But, she was known to get a little too anger, wasn't she?
So, Asher stomped back towards Brett. She kicked his knee, waiting for him to stumble before moving to the space behind him and kicked the back of his knee. Asher then stood back up fully, staring down at him. She crouched down next to him, voice low. "Stay the hell away from Liam."
And then she decked him in the nose.
Asher pushed the door to the boy's locker room open, the sound of her fingers snapping back together echoing throughout the room. She saw them letting a soaking wet Liam go and he slid to the floor.
"Why is there blood on your hand?" Stiles pointed.
"Oh, don't worry, it's not mine." She answered casually.
Before Stiles could pester her more, Scott spoke up. "That car you smashed. I thought you said it was your teachers?"
"He was also my coach." Liam said, glancing around at the people around him. "He benched me for the entire season."
"What did you do?" Scott asked.
Liam looked down with a shake of his head. "Got a couple of red cards."
"Just a couple?" Stiles asked sarcastically.
Asher sent him a glare. "Stiles."
Scott took the better, more gentler approach, and crouched in front of him. "You gotta be honest with us. What else happened?"
"Nothing." Liam answered. "I got kicked out of school. They sent me to a psychologist for evaluation." He admitted.
Asher bit her lip, looking down at him in somewhat understanding. "What's it called?" She sighed.
"Intermittent Explosive Disorder." Liam recalls.
"I.E.D.? You're literally an I.E.D.?" Stiles pressed. "That's great. That's great, you gave superpowers to a walking time bomb."
Asher walked over to him, grabbed his wrist and pulled him off. She knew they'd be able to hear her, but she didn't care.
"Stiles, if you don't shut up and stop making fun of the kid, I'm going to break your knee." She threatened.
"He could go crazy!" He whisper shouted.
"You think he's the only one around here with anger issues?" Asher narrowed her eyes at him. "He's just the only one diagnosed."
Stiles rolled his eyes.
"So, either shut up, be supportive, or-" Asher started.
"Or what? You're gonna break my knee?" Stiles scoffed. "Yeah, whatever. Threaten me all you want. I don't care. Hurt me, and you're just proving to everyone that you're the same Asher that was trying to kill Derek. The bad guy."
Asher froze, staring at him. "What?" She muttered.
Stiles paused, seeming to realize what he said. "No, wait, I didn't-"
Asher felt tears burning at her eyes. She was angry, but not at him. Angry at herself for letting her wall break down at the thought of her old self. Her alpha pack self. She shook her head and walked away, heading for the door.
"Asher?" Scott questioned as she stomped back towards him and Liam, Stiles trailing after her.
"Gotta go meet Lydia and Malia. Good luck with the scrimmage." Asher said shortly before turning to Liam. "If Brett says something about getting punched in the nose, it was definitely me."
"Asher, wait, I'm sorry." Stiles still tried, but she was gone.
Since he was focused on Liam, and not listening to them, Scott looked up at Stiles with a confused expression. "What did you do?"
--------------------
Asher met up with Lydia and Malia much later than she left the school. She went home first, flopping onto her bed and accidentally falling asleep. She woke up to a phone call that they found Meredith and she was at the station. Then Asher went to a coffee shop, got her one, Lydia a tea, and since she didn't know what Malia liked, Asher got her a hot chocolate.
Now, Asher walked through the station with a drink carrier in her hands as she looked for her friends. She found them outside the Sheriff's office talking with the man.
"-a minute I'm going to have to call Eichen House and let them know that she's here." Stilinski was in the middle of a sentence when she walked up.
"Hey, what'd I miss?" Asher asked, catching their attention.
"Meredith's in there, and apparently we don't have long with her." Malia answered.
Asher nodded, pulling the hot chocolate from the carrier. "For you."
"What is it?"
"Hot chocolate. Didn't know what you liked." Asher shrugged.
Malia took a sip, smiling when she pulled the cup away. "Thanks.
"Mhm." Asher nodded.
"Give us an hour." Lydia offered the man.
"You got fifteen minutes." Stilinski said bluntly.
Lydia sighed and lead the other two into the office, giving Asher a nod as a greeting.
Asher set the drink carrier down on Stilinski's desk, turning back around to see that Parrish joined them.
"Ask what you need to ask." Stilinski sighed with a wave of his hand.
Lydia held her phone out in front of Meredith, who was now sitting on the couch. Meredith glanced between the girl and the phone a few times before hesitantly taking it from her grip.
Asher watched from where she was leaning against the desk, obviously alert and on edge. It wasn't like Asher thought Meredith was a bad person, but she wasn't stable and Asher didn't trust her so close to Lydia.
"Meredith, aren't you gonna answer it?" Lydia asked.
The girl got her her feet slowly. She leaned in close to Lydia's ear, which caused Asher tense up. From an outsiders POV, you'd think she was jealous. But Asher was just protective.
"It's not ringing." Meredith whispered.
She moved away and sat back down on the couch. Lydia let out a breath, slightly annoyed.
Lydia crouched down in front of the other banshee, looking up at her. "Meredith, you came here to help us, remember?"
"You called me." Meredith said as if reminding her, a smile on her face.
"What do you mean I called you?" The redhead asked.
"I heard you." Meredith whispered.
"Meredith, can I ask you a question?" Parrish took over.
She nodded.
The Deputy couched down beside Lydia. "When you need help, when you need to find something, is there someone you reach out to? Maybe someone you call?"
"It depends." Meredith tilted her head. "Different people for different things."
Asher thought she sounded like a criminal, but she stayed silent.
"So, maybe there's a number that can help us?" Parrish asked. "Someone we can call."
Meredith looked down. "Yes."
"Would you be okay telling us?" The man continued.
"Yes." She nodded.
Lydia gently took her phone back as Meredith started talking again. "It's two, four, three, six."
Asher furrowed her brows when she stopped. Meredith smiled around at them, happy she was helping.
"Mer, we need a few more numbers." Malia spoke up.
"No." She denied. "That's the number."
Asher could tell Lydia was starting to get frustrated. She pushed off the desk and took a few steps forward.
"Phone numbers are ten digits." Malia tells her.
"That's the number." Meredith repeated.
"Meredith, phone numbers always have ten digits." Lydia said, voice filled with desperation.
"That's the number." She repeated again.
"Meredith..." Lydia snapped.
Asher grabbed her shoulder, telling her to stand up. "Come here."
Lydia followed. Asher rested her hand on her lower back, rubbing it. Lydia let out a sigh as Stilinski walked over.
"I think that's the best we're gonna get." He told her.
Lydia shook her head. "No. There has to be more." She whispered.
Stilinski furrowed his brows as Lydia jerked back to face Meredith.
"What's the rest of it, Meredith?" She barked. "Hmm?"
Meredith didn't say anything.
"Just concentrate!" Lydia yelled.
"But that's the... That's... That's the number."
"Just concentrate."
"That's.. That's the number." Meredith said again, eyes red. "That's the number."
Lydia dejectedly turned away and took a few steps. Asher followed after her, grabbing her wrist. Lydia looked at her.
"We'll figure it out, Lydia, I promise." Asher said.
Lydia looked like she was gonna cry. "What we can't? I don't want to fail." She said, barely audible.
Asher pulled Lydia into a hug, holding the back of her head. Lydia's arms snaked around Asher's waist, face burying into the girls neck.
"You won't be able to do anything if you keep pushing yourself. You have to let it come to you, okay?" Asher mumbled.
Lydia nodded against her.
"That's the number!" Meredith shouted.
Asher and Lydia jumped, turning to look at the banshee.
Lydia was now sitting down at the desk, tea in front of her as she rubbed her eyes. Malia stood beside her, staring down at the paper on the desk. Asher leaned against the desk again, hands clasped together.
Malia grabbed the paper with the numbers written on it and crumpled it up. She threw it back on the desk, eyes landing on the phone. Her eyes went wide.
"Lydia, what if it's like algebra?" Malia asked.
Asher looked over in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Lydia looked up.
Malia turned the phone around to face Lydia. Asher pushed off the desk and stood beside the redhead.
"What if the numbers are actually letters?" Malia continued.
Lydia realized what she was getting at, reaching over and grabbing a pen and notepad. She copied down the letters that matched with the numbers before matching them up completely.
"Oh, God..." She whispered.
She circled A, I, D, E, and N on the notepad. Asher could have swore her head was going to explode from the sudden headache she got from this. Lydia grabbed her laptop, opening it as soon as it touched the desk. She let the code fill the screen as she waited for the keyword spot to appear. And once it did, Lydia typed it in.
AIDEN
Malia leaned over her shoulder, but Asher just stepped away with her arms crossed over her chest. Lydia hit enter and names filled the screen.
KATE ARGENT 12
NOSHIKO YUKIMURA 5
JOANNE MCLAUGHLIN 1
STEVE GRACE 1
TOM HILL 1
BRETT TALBOT 1
RICHARD BENEFIELD 250
JACK MARSLAND 250
JOY WALDROP 250
CHERYL CALIX 250
JORDAN PARRISH 5
Seeing that last name, Asher took her step back forward.
Asher pulled a chair up next to Lydia. The two stared at the screen, talking every few minutes.
Lydia jumped and shut the computer with a gasp as Parrish walked in. Asher jumped, too, but it was barely noticable.
"Sorry, I was just seeing if you guys were okay." He apologized. "You need a ride home?"
Lydia glanced out the window, meeting eyes with Malia who was on the phone. She gave him a polite smile. "No, uh, we'll be fine."
"Asher?" He asked.
"No, I'm okay, thanks." She nodded.
Parrish nodded with a tight-lipped smile before slowly closing the door as he left.
Lydia opened the computer again, eyes landing on his name. Asher looked over at her and let out a sigh.
"This is gonna be hard to explain." She said.
Lydia met her gaze. "Yeah."
--------------------
Asher knocked on Lydia's window later that night. She couldn't sleep, and knowing Lydia, she probably couldn't either. Asher knew she slept better in the comfort of her friends, but she slept the best in Lydia's presence.
A minute later, the window creaked open. Lydia stood there in her same clothes from earlier, but her hair was down.
"You couldn't sleep either?" Lydia asked softly, stepping to the side and letting Asher drop in.
Asher shut the window behind her. "No."
Lydia nodded and silently walked back to her bed. She got in and rested against the pillows. Lydi looked up to see Asher standing there awkwardly.
"Sit down, weirdo." Lydia said.
Asher chuckled, rounding the other side and climbing in next to Lydia. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Lydia spoke again.
"Are you staying the night?" Lydia looked over at her.
Asher shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe, if that's okay?"
"It's more than okay." Lydia said. "I like having you here."
The lioness met her eyes. "Really?"
Lydia nodded. "Really."
Asher smiled softly.
The redhead then got out of bed again, walking to her closet. "I'm gonna change into some pajama's. Do you want some?" She asked.
"I'm good." Asher hummed.
Lydia scoffed and threw clothes at her anyway. "You're not sleeping in jeans."
Asher laughed and got up. "Thanks."
She went to the bathroom and changed into the clothes Lydia let her borrow. It was a baggy black t-shirt and a pair of exercise shorts. Asher stood there for a little bit, not wanting to walk out to Lydia changing.
"You can come back now, Ash." Lydia called, as if reading her mind.
Asher walked back out, her previous clothes in hand. She set them down on the floor to where she could get them in the morning. "Hey, why do you have this shirt? It's not your style?"
Lydia looked over at her. The redhead was now wearing a pink pajama shorts and a white tank top. "Oh, it's actually Scott's. He let me wear it once and I never gave it back."
Asher chuckled. "Of course you didn't."
Lydia climbed back into bed and got under the covers. She held the other side up for Asher, the girl getting in. Asher lay on her back, not wanting to make Lydia uncomfortable.
"Stop acting like a nun, Asher." Lydia chuckled and rolled on her side to face her.
"I don't want to make you uncomfortable." Asher said, head lolling to the side to look at her.
Lydia smiled. "I'm not uncomfortable. I'm probably my most comfortable around you, actually."
Asher's eyebrows pinched together. "Really? Why?"
Lydia faltered. "What do you mean why?"
"I- I mean, I've done a lot of things, Lydia. I almost killed you and Stiles, tried to kill Derek, I watched Deucalion do so many things and never stopped him. Hell, I skipped my father's funeral, I threaten to kill people everyday, Lydia. I'm not a person to be comfortable around."
Lydia frowned. How could she think that about herself? Asher was probably her favorite person, and she definitely wasn't a bad person.
"Stop." Lydia said bluntly.
"Stop... what?" Asher asked.
"Stop saying things like that. You're a good person. You weren't in control that day in the woods and Stiles kept making it worse. You thought Derek killed your dad, it was justice. You trusted Deucalion, and you were probably scared of him. No one blames you for not doing anything. And that man? You haven't told me the whole story, but I know he was an abusive asshole, so who cares? And you're just protective." Lydia defends everything Asher just said.
Asher looks away. "I'm not a good person, Lydia." She whispered, hands covering her face.
Lydia reached over and pulled her hands away, making Asher look up at her. Lydia was now sitting up, hovering over Asher. "Stop saying that. You are a good person. I'll keep saying it until you believe me, and I'll keep saying it even after you do."
Asher stares at the girl like she just hung the moon and stars for her. Asher stares at her like she was the only girl that existed. And to her? Hell, Lydia might as well of been the only girl ever. Asher came to a realization in that moment.
She's in love with Lydia.
The redhead settles back down beside her, not knowing Asher just made one of the biggest realizations of her life. But, she didn't show it.
Lydia didn't hesitate in pulling Asher close, arms wrapping around her waist and chin resting on her head. Lydia was usually the little spoon, the one being held, but with Asher it was different.
Asher let the realization roll off her back as she held Lydia just as close. Her head resting against her chest, just below her neck. Her hands gripped Lydia's hips and they just layed there.
"You're the best person I know, Asher." Lydia mumbled. "Please just think about my words."
Asher didn't say a thing. She was too scared she blurt out how in love with her she was. Instead, Asher's hands gripped Lydia's hips tighter and she nuzzled into her neck.
"Goodnight, Ash."
"Night, Lyds."
And the two girls go to sleep holding each other. Like it was the most casual thing.
They don't bring it up when they wake up even more tangled up in the morning. They don't say anything to anyone else. And if Asher climbs into Lydia's window more often after that?
Well, that's their business.
--------------------
bre says things;
i promise reya will make more appearances soon. i came to the conclusion of what i'm gonna do with her character and she's gonna stay the rest of the show!! it's just hard to stick a character in here right in the middle of everything that's going down lmao
ashydia being soft gfs when they aren't gfs>> will they get tg this season? next season? who knows....
added a bit of a scydia moment, bc they're the most underrated friendship and i love them.
don't forget to vote and comment!
thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed!!