Pulling up in the driveway of his house, Stiles couldn't focus on anything else. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the way Lydia had looked at him when she had said those words.

He roughly turned the engine off and pulled the key out of ignition then slammed his fist on the steering wheel.

When she had said those words to him, no matter how much it hurt, he knew that something wasn't quite right. The first clue was that she whispered the last part of her sentence. But when she looked up at him, and he saw in her eyes...her beautiful green eyes, a lot of negative emotions.

The look she had given him was pleading, desperate almost. While making eye contact in that moment, he had seen all the hurt, the fear and anger in hers. Though the most important emotions he had seen in her eyes was hesitation and regret.

He wasn't stupid, he knew exactly why she had said those words. As much as she wanted to be his friend, Jackson just wouldn't allow it, and she wanted to please him. It was the easiest answer.

Oh boy did it break him though. The moment her eyes met with his, was the moment his heart shattered. Seeing the blood dripping from her nose from the supposed accident, her red eyes and tear stained puffy cheeks....for him it was a worse pain than anything he could ever imagine. He was so tempted to just turn around and go back the whole journey home...but he didn't want to push any boundaries.

He instantly snapped out of his thought bubble when his phone buzzed with a message. Pulling the phone out of his pocket, he unlocked the screen and tapped on the message notification.

Stiles...it's me, Lydia. Jackson isn't here now and there's something important I have to tell you about what I said tonight. I don't wanna do it by text so if you could either stop by or maybe meet me tomorrow morning before school then that would be great x

Reading her message, his mind raced with endless possibilities. Though no matter what she had to say to him, it confirmed one of his suspicions....there was indeed something more to it.

No way in hell did she mean what she had said with the look on her face which had told him otherwise. Sticking the key back into the ignition, he started the engine up and immediately pulled out onto the road after checking that there were no cars coming.

He was eager to find out what she wanted to say to him.

************************************

Lydia anxiously paced back and forth in the hall way. It was mid day and so her mom was at work instead of home, which was a relief since she didn't want to have to explain anything or her bloody nose that she had only just managed to stop from bleeding.

She hadn't received a text back from Stiles and was beginning to think that maybe he was ignoring her. After all, her words probably hurt him, so she wouldn't blame him if he wanted nothing to do with her.

Though she was absolutely sweating about telling him the truth, which is why she had tried getting her point across to him with a look as she said those words. But clearly by the way he walked off and slammed his jeep door shut when he left, he didn't get the hint.

So now she felt as though she owed him an explanation.

Jumping half into the air as a knock at the door startled her, she quickly went answer it. Pausing briefly to get rid of the clammy feeling of her hands before opening the door.

"Stiles..." She breathed.

"You said you have something important to tell me." He greeted nervously.

"Uhh...yeah, come in..." She invited and peered outside to make sure that no one around was watching. She did not want to get into even more trouble with Jackson.

He accepted her invitation and stepped through the doorway and into the house.

It was the first time that Stiles Stilinski had ever set foot in her house, and if Jackson had anything to do with it then most likely the last too.

She did have to question her sanity though. The one thing that was bugging her was why she tried to hard for Jackson, and why she was trying too hard to please him and keep the relationship afloat after everything he had done to her.

It made no sense. She had always been a smart girl who played dumb just so that she wouldn't be mercilessly teased by those who considered smartness to be a flaw. For Lydia though, she knew that it would most likely be her downfall.

She quickly shut the door behind him and then led him to the privacy of her overly pink bedroom, once again closing the door behind him.

"Soooo...what's the secret agent meeting about?" He teased sarcastically, trying to lighten her mood.

"What I said earlier...there was more to it but I couldn't say it because you walked off and Jackson stopped me from saying the next part...so I decided to save your number and inform you that way." She explained, leading to a confused look from him.

"But won't he find out that you're talking to me if he sees my name in your phone?" Stiles questioned.

"Not when you're saved as this..." She answered showing him her phone screen.

On the screen was his number, but the contact title didn't say his name, instead the words Grandma Helen was what was written.

At first he chuckled at the name and then he looked at her and raised an eyebrow, for a moment she half flinched thinking that he was going to start yelling at her.

His facial expression returned to the  natural look as he realised that he had unintentionally frightened her.

"Grandma Helen, really?" He laughed.

"Sorry...I couldn't...it was the best option." She scrambled to answer, fear present in her eyes.

"It's okay...please don't cry. I'm not going to...I'm not mad, oh on the contrary actually, I find it hilarious." He clarified and watched as she instantly began to relax.

"Oh.." She mouthed in response.

"Now go ahead and say what you need." He green lighted her.

"Stiles I...I want to be your friend, but I understand if you hate me now after what I said. As you know...or saw for yourself, Jackson doesn't like me talking to people that he doesn't know or like which kind of limits me. Can we please be friends and keep it below the radar?" She requested.

Her voice came out more mousey than she would have liked, but she couldn't help it with the silent anxiety that was flooding her mind causing her body to tremble ever so slightly.

"That's just it Lydia! Why do you follow his orders?" Stiles asked straight up.

"I...I don't know. He scares me. I can't exactly break up with him and be free." She answered, her voice breaking.

"Why not?" He questioned.

"Because part of me still hopes that he will stop and start acting how he used to towards me." She answered, letting herself fall onto her bed and pulling her knees up to her chest to rest her head on.

"He's not worth it Lydia." Stiles stated.

"You don't know that." She cried.

Now he felt guilty for pushing her to answer his questions. Seeing her break into a thousand pieces right before his eyes didn't sit right with him and instantly he had to fix it.

Taking a seat on her bed beside her, he extended his arm and pulled her into his side, which only made her cry harder. He didn't say a single word, he knew the best thing to do was just comfort her as while she let it all out.

That's what a good friend would do. No matter how they felt. They would put their own thoughts and opinions aside and just be there. Even though he could see it in her face...

The hope and love for Jackson was slowly slipping away from her.