The Wild Side | Stiles Stilinski | One

31 - Plan C For 'Cousin'

"I'm gonna kill him."

"No."

"Seriously, I am going to kill him. I'm going to rip his stupid, sharp jaw off of his stupid, thick skull, and I'm going to use it to bludgeon him to death until they legitimately cannot identify his stupid remains."

"Disgusting. No."

"I mean, does he seriously think he can get away with this? He can't get away with this! I am not gonna let him get away with this! If he thinks he can just manipulate everyone into giving him what he wants—oho! Absolutely not! I'm gonna make sure that he gets nothing. I don't care if he gets himself killed! If that delusional motherf—"

"Scarlett, now you're not even making sense."

I sighed, planting my face into my arms on the table.

Lydia and I had skipped the rest of the day. She'd cried through half of history, and by the time she'd stopped, we were both too exhausted to focus on school. Well, Lydia was exhausted; I was bloodthirsty. Staying at school meant I ran the risk of running into Jackson, and as soon as I saw his face, I was going to claw it right off—werewolf or not.

I think seeing me as angry as I was forced Lydia to compose herself. And when Lydia composed herself, she forced me to compose myself. I herded her into the van, and we'd ditched Econ to get coffee instead.

"Honestly," Lydia scoffed, swirling the remnants of her latte. "I appreciate that you're ready to go to war on my behalf, but there is no need to be this dramatic."

"Are you kidding me?" I lifted my head from my arms, incredulous. "Lydia, Jackson—"

"Is a useless, immature has-been. He's not even the lacrosse captain anymore. Dating the co-captain just doesn't have the same ring to it."

"Lyd..."

"And it's not like his grades were anything to be proud of. Plus, the whole Abercrombie and Fitch look is so middle school. He's a simpleton."

"He's also a complete and utter douchebag who doesn't care about anyone but himself."

Lydia frowned at me over the top of her cup. "Weren't you the one telling me it wasn't worth getting upset?"

"That was different. That was—I didn't want you getting upset. I am still allowed to crush him like a bug."

"Please. If Jackson wants to cause a scene by breaking up with me at school, then he's obviously in desperate want of attention. I'm not giving him that attention, and you are not stooping to his level."

"...can I stoop to his level a little bit?"

"No, Scarlett," Lydia rolled her eyes, but I still caught her feeble smile. "Now, come on. I need to get you back to the van, and I am not getting caught up in school traffic."

She stood up from her chair, flattened her dress, fluffed her hair and, after leaving a considerable tip for the barista, stalked out of the café like she owned the place.

Despite the face she was putting on, I knew Lydia. I could see how every word was being calculated in her head before passing through her painted lips. I could see her hands shaking slightly, the way they gripped the steering wheel tighter than usual. I caught the occasional waver in her voice, heard the pitch just a smidge too high. These were things other people wouldn't notice, people who weren't her best friend. Lydia never wanted to show weakness, not to the public, not to Jackson, and sometimes, not even to me. I knew she needed time to compose herself, time alone to think things through. So when she dropped me off behind the van, I climbed out without argument, and let her speed away without asking where she was going. Even Queen Bee Lydia Martin deserved the privacy of a breakdown.