𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐄 | 𝐬.𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐢

9 ➵ Ben and Jerry's is the Best Medicine For Sadness

When Michelle came out of the school, Tiana had gotten back into the car. "Do you mind taking me back to Tara's so I can change? I want to visit Lydia at the hospital to see if she's alright. I can hardly stand in a hospital wearing this, can I?"

Michelle shrugged her shoulders. "No, I'll take you straight to the hospital. It's fine if you're in your dress. You might want to put your shoes back on when you go inside, but I'm sure looking like an angel in a hospital - while ironic - is beautiful."

Tiana didn't have it in her to protest, so she allowed Michelle to drive to the hospital. "I won't be long. Just about ten minutes, maybe."

"Take as long as you need." Tiana headed up to the floor she'd been told by the receptionist that Lydia was on, the elevator doors opening and she stepped out. Jackson was stood outside Lydia's room, looking in through the window. Stiles was sat down on a chair in the hall, looking down at the floor in concentration.

Tiana could sense a deep sadness from them both, and she winced as it hit her. How can I feel these things?

Tiana walked over to the window, standing next to Jackson. "Is she going to be okay?"

Jackson shrugged. "I don't know."

"Have the doctors said anything about her condition?" She questioned. Jackson shook his head. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Things like this take time to recover from, but it's possible. Just try to stay positive. Lydia's strong, she'll pull through. I'm sure of it."

"Thanks." Jackson nodded. It was odd how they were getting along now, of all times. Tiana was pretty sure that if she was staying much longer, they'd eventually go back to bickering, but at least at the moment, they were getting along.

Tiana felt a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped, turning around to find the Sheriff. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Tiana nodded, following the Sheriff away from the window that looked into Lydia's room. "Were you friends with her? That girl in there?"

"Not exactly. I'm still worried about her though. I tend to do that. Worry about people I hardly know. I don't even really know her very well. I haven't even really talked to her."

"Alright. Well, Stiles told me that you were the one to warn him that she was in danger. Care to explain?"

There was yet another question Tiana couldn't answer truthfully, or easily. "Since that night we were all trapped in the school, I've been feeling really paranoid and scared. Like this constant fear that I'm being watched, like I'm always in danger. I assumed it was the same for the others. I can't be alone for very long without getting terrified that something's going to happen to me. So I guess when Stiles told me she was looking for Jackson and I saw Jackson inside, I realised Lydia was alone, and I felt like she was at risk of being hurt. Like I always thought I was. It sounds crazy, I know. It's just a weird thing that my brain did. Do you understand, though?"

"Yeah, totally." The Sheriff nodded. "You know, you should probably head home. You're leaving tomorrow, right?" Tiana nodded. "Yeah, you should get some rest. Big day tomorrow."

"Okay, will do. Bye Sheriff. And in the likely situation I don't see you before I leave tomorrow, thank you. You've been great." Tiana walked away, sitting down in the seat next to Stiles. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Listen, I - I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being so nice to me while I was here. Even if I was a total bitch to you sometimes. I mean, I snapped at you, I shouted, I slapped your best friend - I kissed your best friend. Well, not technically. He kissed me, but he explained everything to me about how he didn't mean it and he was just worked up over everything. And if he didn't tell you about this, then I'm so totally sorry you found out from me. But anyway, that was not the point. What was the point? Ah, right. Yes. I'm sorry for being a bitch. Thank you for being so nice and such a great person. If you're ever in Oregon, give me a call. It would be nice to see a friendly face back there. I might come back sometime to visit Michelle and Tara and James, so I'll probably see you again. But in the meantime, goodbye, Stiles. You were really great." She hesitated, but leaned over and placed a kiss to his cheek. "Thanks for everything."