Falling For You | Stydia in Reverse

Chapter Five

I was still smiling as I walked out of biology the next day. I couldn't help it; Stiles Stilinski had called me beautiful. I hadn't imagined he would ever have even said hi to me, it felt as though last night had been a dream. As I opened my locker Jackson came up to me and leaned against the locker next to mine, an agitated look on his face. "Hi," I say, still not being able to hide my glee.

"Hey," he replies, although he spits the word out as though it's poison that fills his mouth.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you've been ignoring me the last few days."

"No I haven't!" Despite being defensive, I have to admit it takes me a little while to remember the last time I'd hung out with Jackson. "Look, I've been really busy," I admit after a long, awkward pause.

"With Stilinski?" Jackson says it in such an accusing tone, as if it's a sin for me to be around Stiles. I think of lying, of making up an excuse as to what I've been doing with my time, but instead choose to change the topic.

"I'm free tonight, how about I buy some crappy pizza, rent a crappy movie and we can have a crappy time," I smile.

Jackson looks at me for a moment, as if contemplating how to respond, before smirking and responding "well as long as you don't rent 'The Notebook' again, then it really will be a crappy time." I laugh in response as Jackson's eyes shift from mine to Coach's, "I'll see you at six," he says as he walks off.

I finish piling my textbooks into my bag and shut my locker. As I turn to leave I hear a voice call out to me. "Lydia." It's Allison, and she struggles in her platform boots to run over to me. "So, what happened between you and Stiles after Scott and I left last night?" She asks, an expectant look spread upon her face.

"Nothing," I reply, attempting to stop myself grinning from ear to ear. "He has a girlfriend." There I go again, using that same excuse.

"Oh come on, something must have happened; you can't get that happy look off your face!"

"He called me beautiful," I look down as I say this, knowing how insignificant it must seem to someone who probably has boys calling her beautiful every day of the week.

"That's awesome!" Allison's dimples deepen as she looks at me excitedly. "You really like him, don't you?"

"I've actually kind of been in love with him since the third grade," I laugh at this confession, I couldn't believe I was opening up to a girl I barely knew.

Allison looks as though she's about to say something as Stiles walks over to us, his hands hooked under the straps of his backpack. "Hey Allison," he nods to her. "Hi Lydia," he gives me his signature smile that makes my legs feel numb. "What have you got planned for tonight?"

"Just hanging out with Jackson," I lean back on the lockers in an attempt to look casual. "What about you?"

"Tonight's kind of a big night for me." Stiles runs a hand through his hair nervously.

"Oh really?" Allison looks over towards me with a smile.

"Yeah, its Malia and my anniversary, I'm going to tell her I love her for the first time."

I have an awful sinking feeling, as though my heart is weighing down into my stomach. Speaking of my heart, I can literally hear it pumping in my ears, and I try not to shake as I feel anxiety take over. "Good luck, Stiles," I manage to choke out, though it doesn't feel like I've said it myself, as though some entity has taken over my body and has had to speak on behalf of me. "I've got to go," I turn and leave before I get a reply, not being able to be around Stiles any longer. I rush to my car and dump my bag on the passenger seat, pulling out of the school parking lot as quickly as possible. I could just imagine Allison following me, wanting to talk things over and not taking no for an answer. But for once I didn't feel like talking. I let my breathing slow as I wind down a window and feel the cool breeze touch my skin. I convince myself that Stiles calling me beautiful was nothing but a mere compliment from a friend, that of course he would still want to be with someone as perfect as Malia. As I look down to turn on the radio I notice the time reads 5:45. I push all thoughts of Stiles from my mind and head for the video store.

***

I arrive at Jackson's house a little late, but that doesn't seem to bother him. He's just happy that we can hang out, he reckons. Jackson's parents work late, so we have the whole lounge room to ourselves. Jackson passes me a plate as I flop down into the comfy leather couch, crossing my legs as I rest the plate on my knee. I pass Jackson the DVD I had chosen, Die Hard. Action wasn't really my type of movie, but it was Jackson's. Plus, I figured there would be no romance in Die Hard, and watching two teenagers fall in love sounded like the worst thing possible to me right now. Jackson opens the DVD box and sighs as he looks inside.

"What's wrong?"

"They've forgotten to put the DVD in." He shows me the inside of the box, which indeed has no disc in it.

"You've got to be kidding me," I sigh, frustrated.

"It's alright; I'll go sought it out. I'll be back in ten minutes," he says as he looks for his car keys. "Save me some pizza," Jackson adds as he shuts the front door.

I pull a rug over me as I switch channels repeatedly, staring bored at the flat screen because nothing looks interesting. Suddenly I hear an inaudible man's voice yelling, even though the TV volume is quiet high. I turn the volume on mute as I attempt to listen to the voice, which sounds near, as though it could be coming from the house next door. The yelling stops only after the sound of smashing glass can be heard, which makes me jolt out of my chair and rush to the front door. I look out into the now dark street to notice a car exiting the driveway of the house next to Jackson's and taking off down the street rapidly, leaving dark tire marks on the concrete road. I step out into the front yard, curiosity getting the better of me as I notice that the door to the house where the yelling came from has been left open. "Don't do it Lydia," I scold myself. I can't help it though, as I look around and notice nobody around I walk across the lawn and into the house next door.

The home is old looking and dark, the floorboards creaking under my feet as I notice the only visible light is coming from the kitchen. As I enter the peeling green wallpapered kitchen I look around to notice that two half eaten meals remain on the table, as if the owners of the home suddenly vanished into thin air. As I step forward I hear a crunching noise under my shoe, looking down to see shattered pieces of glass spread across the right hand corner of the room. "I shouldn't be here," I remind myself, turning to leave the house. I'm stopped by a noise coming from underneath the kitchen floor. It's a soft thumping at first. "Hello?" I call, breaking the one rule I'd learnt from horror movies, you never call out hello, unless you want to die. I bang my foot three times on the floor, waiting for a response. Sure enough, after a moment of silence I hear a thumping noise in response, louder this time. It's coming from the basement, I determine.

I wander around the house until I find the steps to the basement, taking a flashlight that sat on the edge of a nearby table as I make my way down the rickety old steps, gripping the railing tightly. I call out again, not being able to see anyone in the crowded dim room. There's a banging again, this time it makes me jump slightly as I notice an old refrigerator with chains surrounding it jolting up and down, as if something is held hostage inside. I cautiously step over to the white box of metal, lifting the lid as high as it would go with the constraint of the chains and peering inside. I jump back as I see what is inside. There is a boy, about my age, huddled inside, his head dripping with blood. "Who's there?" The mysterious boy calls out after a second, the terror evident in his voice.

"I'm Lydia," I respond, before realizing he wouldn't know who I was anyway. "I'm going to get you out, give me one second." I go over to the small dusty window and look out, cursing silently as I note that Jackson's car hasn't returned. I look around me for anything I could use to smash the chains, realizing that even if there was something I wouldn't have the strength to break the boy free myself.

I grab my phone from my jacket and scroll through my contact list. I had no idea who to contact, who could help me in this situation. The phone stopped scrolling on the letter S, with the first name coming up being Stiles. I had no time to think of his date with Malia, I didn't know how long before the boy's captor would return. "Hey, Lydia. What's..." Stiles began.

"No time to talk, I need you to meet me at the blue house next to Jackson's, it's an emergency," I whisper.

"Umm, yeah. I'll be there as quickly as possible."

"And Stiles, bring a crowbar, we're going to need it."