When it rains at an airport, right after the sun goes down, perhaps it was suppose to be creepy. The way the water hit the roof, creating a eerie tapping sound that you might accociate with someone tapping at your door, taunting you even though you both know they know how to get in. Or maybe the many people, finding their bags, dashing out to the rain for their cars or taxis, was worse. Holding your breath, ready to watch them slip on the tears of mother nature. The chatter is what scared most, he'd assumed. Listening to every conversation at once, having them all run together like a wave from one of California's largest oceans.

But maybe, if you were Eli Foxx, non of that scared you anymore after what you've seen.

Eli, spending the last month of summer in Sweden with his dad, waited outside under the thin covered area, a brown and beige plaid jacket held tight around his arms. His mom was working this Sunday, offering to swing by and grab him. But the airport was an hour and a half away from Beacon Hills, putting her off the job. Eli insisted he'd find a way back, saying he'd call Stiles, the sheriffs son. Adeline knew Stiles well by now, after spending so much time with his father, after all.

What Eli didn't expect was to not see the familiar blue jeep. He'd missed it, secretly. He missed being smooshed in the back with Liam and Malia, how it always seemed to shut down before they reached the destination. Eli was taken off guard when he saw a royal blue Toyota Prius, driven by the one and only, Lydia Martin.

"Hey there." Lydia rolled the window down when she rolled up next to him, a grin across her lips. Lydia, as she always was, looked the same. She'd taken care of her skin over the summer so it wouldn't get damage with early wrinkles or sun spots, kept her hair healthy and trimmed, most definitely sticking to the same deep rose lipstick. Eli, on the other hand, did look a big different when she rolled the window down to take a look at him. His skin had a bronzed glow to it, his hair grown out a bit more then usual and seemed a few shades lighter, almost honey like, rather then it's usual chestnut brown, still having the faint strawberry tint in certain lighting, and while he didn't wear lipstick like she did, his lips had a shine to it. A chapstick, chocolate flavored.

"You're not Stiles." Eli smirked as he looked through her window. "Sorry, i'm not suppose to take rides from strangers. That's safety 101, Lydia, I can't believe you don't know this. I'm so disappointed in you."

"Get in before you make me late." she cracked a grin, leaning over and opening the door for him. Eli loaded his three bags into the backseat before getting into the front, pulling the door shut. Lydia turned the heater on more for him, looking over with a grin. "How was Sweden?"

"Sweden was good." Eli nodded as she began to drive off, leaving California's airport in the rearview mirror. "Now i'm just ridiculously jet lagged and never wanna get on a plane again after spending fifteen hours on one."

Lydia reached over and rubbed his head. "Well, stay away, junior year is tomorrow and you don't wanna be too tired before the days over."

"Summer went by too quick." Eli said honestly, his bag rattled from the backseat when they hit a small bump in the road, the rain beating down on the car. He looked over at her as she drove "I didn't even get to go see horses with you again."

Lydia cracked a grin his way. "At least we still have our watching watches."

Eli looked down at her wrist, then to his. "We do."

"How's your dad doing?" Lydia asked, knowing that was the main reason he didn't wanna spend any entire month in his home town. It was sprung on him last minute too, after spending the first two months in Beacon Hills with all his friends. Going to look at horses with Lydia, Star Wars marathons with Stiles, hosting summer school study groups with Mason, teaching Liam how to skateboard, bringing Malia to all his favorite restaurants so he could convince her that deer wasn't her favorite food, and having Scott give him private lacrosse practices. But when the final month of summer came, he had to head out to Sweden, leaving his friends just as Kira had.

"Annoying but doing better, so I guess I have to be proud of him for that." Eli shrugged, pressing his hands under his thighs. "My new step mom tries so hard to have a relationship with me though. And she's sweet, and I like that she's trying, but just give it a rest, you know? I see them, like, twice a year, we don't need to be close."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that for a while." Lydia reassured him, taking a turn off the highway to a less busy road. "Now you just have to worry about how terrible junior year is and how many AP classes you'll have."

He through his head back onto the seat with a groan, looking over at her again. "I might have to drop my study group."

Lydia laughed. "Well, I saved all my notes if you need them."

"Malia!" Eli called as the elevator doors opened, immediately seeing her at the end of the hospital hallway. Her head turned, a grin spreading across her face. "You cut your hair off?"

"When'd you get back?" she asked, meeting him in the middle in a tight hug. He wince when she squeezed him. "Did you bring me anything?"

"I did." Eli pulled back, pulling the backpack off, Lydia saying she'd drop the rest off tomorrow morning before school. Eli reached inside and pulled a snow globe out, the capitol of Sweden, Stockholm, printed in 3D letters on the inside. "And, listen."

Malia pulled an odd look as he twisted it upside down, sitting it up again as the snow glob began to play a twinkling noise. "Cute, right?"

"Cute." Malia grinned as she took it. She took a sniff of the air. "Lydia picked you up?"

"Yeah, did she tell you?" he asked, leaning on the nurses counter.

"I can smell her." Malia shook her head, nodding toward him. "Usually all I smell on you is Caramel and cinnamon, except when you wear that cologne I stole from you. But at night you smell like Lavender. Now you smell like strawberry's."

Caramel from the conditioner he used, cinnamon from the altoid he'd pop in his mouth after every class. Whenever he'd wear the cologne Malia now had, Pour Homme by Bottega Veneta, it usually masked the conditioner unless you were close enough. And Lavender at night, because he washed his sheets in it.

Eli grinned. "So, have you heard anything?"

Malia sighed. "No, not yet. They still want me to go do the thing at the school but I don't wanna unless I know i'm gonna be a senior."

"You are gonna be a senior. We studied for months together, and you came to all the study groups." Eli reassured her quickly, a nod to his head. "And if you're not, which you will be, the worst that will happen is you get to be a junior with me."

Malia gave him a smile. "You're gonna hate junior year."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Eli asked with a crazy look. "I'm only taking three AP classes, I should be fine."

"Malia, if- oh, look at the swedish fish." Stiles came around the corner, Scott behind him. "Good, you're back, you can convince your mom to not stay the night every night."

"They're staying overnight together now?" Eli gave a disgusted look. "Gross, I told you not to let this happen!"

"I tried." Stiles rose his hands in surrender. Scott grinned, putting an arm around Eli and rubbing his shoulders. "Malia. If you were going away and I told you 'Don't worry, go have fun.' What would you think I was talking about?"

"Fun like bowling? Or sex with other guys?" Malia asked curiously. Stiles looked back at Scott with an 'I told you so' look.

"Okay, yeah. Now i'm worried." Scott dropped his arm from Eli's shoulder and pulled out his phone.

"Did you have fun in Sweden?" Malia turned to Eli with a raise of her eyebrow.

He hesitated. "Is this a question like the one we just answered?"

Malia only rose an eyebrow.

"No, zero fun, absolutely no funny at all." Eli shook his head and made a face. "Not even a little taste of fun. Nothing."

"Yeah, obviously, we know." Stiles waved him off. Before anyone could speak, the paramedics rolled a man past them. He's been unconscious with a clear head injury.

"Hey, mom. Where's all this coming from?" Scott stopped his mother before she could follow after them.

"A jackknifed tractor-trailer on 115, caused a major pile up." Melissa said quickly before following after the stretcher.

"Okay, okay, there's only one way back into Beacon Hills from the airport." Stiles spoke up, looking over at Eli. "How did you get here so quick?"

"Lydia went the other way, through a town over and looped around." he shook his head. "It took longer but there wasn't as bad of traffic."

"She's probably already on 115." Scott exhaled.

"Kiras never gonna make it." Stiles had a sense of panic and sadness in his tone.

Scott waited a second. "I can get her. You guys head to the school, Lydias probably already there. We'll meet you by midnight. Eli, Liam's on the third floor, go check on him please and we'll find you tomorrow."

Eli turned to Malia. "Are you gonna be okay? With the moon?"

"I've gotten better, yeah." she nodded her head quickly, short cut hair barley moving when she did so. "I don't think you'll have to be with me anymore."

His heart sank slightly. "Oh. Yeah, yeah, that's great."

"Yeah." Malia nodded with a small exhale, eyebrows rose. "See you in the morning?"

Eli nodded his head, passing her with an odd feeling in his chest. Sure, her being able to control herself on her own was great, a huge accomplishment. But not needing him anymore? It kinda made him miss the times she'd almost rip his head off every full moon, but at least she needed him. Maybe that's all he wanted. Her to need him.

•

kylie speaks

seasonnnnn fiveeeee
whoop whoop!!