words are empty air ➳ stiles / isaac [1]

1.04 » finding lydia

"RUN FASTER!" shouted Magnolia through exasperated breaths. "We need to get there before she leaves the scene!"

"We're not all cross country stars like you Maggie!" Stiles shouted back. He was barely keeping up with Scott and Magnolia's pace, and breathing much harder than either of them. Maggie found it amusing that they had barely even run a quarter of a mile since exiting Stiles's jeep. They'd decided against parking near the crime scene so they (hopefully) wouldn't get caught.

The red and blue lights of indistinct ambulances and police cars could be seen beyond the trees. As soon as they got close enough to see, they crouched behind a large bush. The back doors to the ambulance were wide open, all the red visible to anyone passing by. Magnolia's stomach flipped as she saw all the blood.

'No' she thought. 'Please don't let this be Lydia's doing.'

Two EMT's carried the unfortunate corpse in a cot to the replacement ambulance.

"What the hell is Lydia doing?" asked Stiles.

"I don't know," replied Scott.

"What kept you from doing that? Was it Allison?"

"I hope so."

"Do you need to get closer?" questioned Stiles.

Scott sniffed the air a little, trying to catch a scent. "No, I got it."

"I just need you to find her, all right? Please... just find her," Stiles begged. The look in his eyes screamed desperation. It stung, just a little bit.

"I will," promised Scott. He nodded at them and ran off into the woods, hoping to catch the scent. Stiles and Maggie stared at the crime scene for a moment, torturing themselves but they couldn't look away. After a moment, she sat down with her back against the large bush. She looked off into the wooden abyss, calming herself.

Magnolia blinked slowly, taking in the beauty of the darkening sky. The sun had already set and there were only a few rays of sunshine visible emerging from the horizon.

That's when she saw it.

An orange flower in the middle of the woods, growing near the roots of a magnificent tree. Maggie approached it curiously.

"What's wrong?" asked Stiles. He had noticed Maggie stand up but didn't know why.

"Come here please," she chirped curiously. Stiles walked around her and they both crouched down in front of the flower.

"Maggie. That's a flower."

"I know," she responded.

"Okay. So?"

"Don't you see it Stiles? There's a flower in the middle of the woods. It's freezing and I haven't seen any flowers in bloom. Isn't it a little weird?"

"It's unusual, but not weird-weird. Not all flowers grow at the same time."

"I guess I'm getting supernaturally paranoid," Maggie admitted. Stiles chuckled, gazing at Maggie in a way neither of them noticed.

"Pretty sure we all are. I will say though, it's so bright it's almost radiant."

"Right?" she agreed. "It look like that flower that gave Rapunzel her powers."

Stiles gave her a funny look, raising his eyebrows.

"You know, from Tangled?"

Stiles smiled. "I know, but staying young isn't exactly one of our biggest worries right now."

"You're right. Let's go help look for Lydia."

As they stood up to leave, almost simultaneously, both of their eyes met with Sheriff Stilinski's.

"Seriously?" the sheriff asked, clearly annoyed. Stiles and Maggie looked at each other and knew they were in for it.

The three walked back to the crime scene, Magnolia and Stiles feeling slightly disturbed walking by all the blood. Crime scene cleaners were already mopping and scrubbing the ambulance.

"What do you two think you're doing? Today's been busy enough without chasing both of you around."

"I'm really sorry Mr. Stilinski," Magnolia apologized. "This was all my idea."

Stiles stared at her in a way he never had before. He knew she hated lying, but after Scott had become a werewolf, she'd gotten pretty good at it. Her puppy dog eyes could convince anyone.

"We went to Kate's funeral because I wanted to support my friend Allison. But her family kept the funeral strictly closed to anyone who wasn't immediate family. That's why we had to keep our distance, but Allison knew we were there."

Sheriff Stilinski sighed, but nodded in comprehension. Just like Stiles had suspected, she was winning his dad over.

"Then, when we heard there was an accident," Magnolia continued, "We had to come. We wanted to make sure Lydia wasn't anywhere near here." Magnolia's voice cracked and tears filled her eyes. "I just want her to be safe."

"Lydia?" Stiles breathed. Maggie turned to look at him, wondering what he was doing interrupting her Oscar-winning performance. "Lydia?" he asked even louder. "Lydia!"

Magnolia and the sheriff looked to where Stiles was staring. Standing there was indeed Lydia, in all her naked glory.

"Well... isn't anyone gonna get me a coat?" she asked through chattering teeth.

Stiles tried to take his dad's police coat off his back, but ended up on the floor, in shock from seeing Lydia naked.

"Jesus..." Sheriff Stilinski muttered. "Yup, here you go."

As he handed Lydia his jacket, Maggie picked a very disoriented Stiles off the ground. She laughed a little at his lack of balance, relieved that Lydia was okay. She ran over to hug her, but the question lingered at the back of her mind: Was Lydia the one who had killed the person whose blood was splattered all over the road?