Begin Again|| stydia

3

The car ride was awkward to say the least. We listened to Taylor Swift sing in the background about love we both didn't have. We talked a little but not much. I wasn't really used to having friends. I guess I kinda just forgot what it was like.

"So did what you did there help?" I turned to look at him. "What?" He quickly looked away. "Never mind its kind of personal you don't have to tell me if-" I giggled. Now it was his turn to be shocked. "Why are you laughing?" I shrugged. "You're the first person to ask me that since I got back to beacon hills."

"Really?" He asked his eyes going wide. I nodded. "Yep. Not Allison, not Scott, not even my parents." Stiles gave me a look. That look. You know that one you give a puppy with three legs. "Stop." I said. "Stop what?" He said. "Looking at me like that." I whispered. "Sorry," he said. "I'm just not some sociopathic asshole." I looked down. Ironic. "I care about you, you know?" We were silent for awhile after that.

"Mostly just talking." I could see he was looking at me out of the corner of my eye but I didn't look back. "Looking for patterns in what he would do, patterns in his behavior leading up to it. That helped with structure. I went to group every day. I spent a lot of time with the animals or painting. It helps with trust." He stayed silent.

I felt like I had scared him away like the rest of the world. Like I was just some crazy girl who was only a shadow of who she used to be. That's how I felt about myself at least. Not in the self pity way, I just felt it was a fact. I wasn't that girl anymore. I love that girl. She was confident, outgoing, smart. This girl. The one I am now. She's cautious, reserved and she doesn't really know who she is but she would never let someone hurt her like that. No matter how much she loves him. That I do know.

Stiles finally broke the silence. "I'm sorry, by the way." He said. "I'm sorry for what he did, what happened to you." I sat frozen still. No one had told me that yet besides the girls at group. I was sorry for them too, but coming from Stiles it just seemed different. "Thank you." I said. He nodded. "Of course."

I turned up the radio. "You belong with meeeee!" I started singing extremely off key. Surprisingly, he didn't turn it off. He didn't call me annoying or slam my head into the window. He sang with me. I thought that was pretty fucking amazing.