Well, There's A First For Everything

· 1st Time Lydia Says 'No!'

· 1st Time Lydia Says 'No!'

"They have a point," Lydia said wistfully.

Stiles glowered in her direction, he wanted to do or say something mean but the best he could come up with was to squeeze her hand hard enough she squeaked and pulled away.

"Ow," she smacked him on the belly. He laid on the Jeep floor with his feet propped up on the wall crosswise. She sat with her legs over his midsection and her back leaning against the rear door.

"They're just saying these things because they care," she said, starting to tap her foot, and when he noticed he rubbed soothingly along her calf.

"They're just judgmental jerks," Stiles pouted.

"No." Lydia glared over at him seriously and kicked out of his hold. She moved around to kneel beside him and regarded him, "have you seriously not thought about this? My mom could make sure you failed or repeated a grade if she were feeling sadistic that week. My dad has pull with pundits and politicians, he could make sure your dad never got reelected into office. And what were you thinking of doing when our chemistry class ends? If you keep fake failing to validate our assignment there is no way we're going to be in the same classes next year."

"You have put a lot of thought into this," Stiles said in a small voice, the whites of his eyes were perfectly visible.

"I think of it every morning." Lydia said and sighed. Looking around she took in the surrounding and smiled back at him tenderly, "I think of it all the time, when I go through each door and with each step. I think of it each time I get out of bed, and I tell myself 'no. Not today.'"

Stiles looked up, his gaze softened and he reached to touch her face gently. Stiles was loathed to admit it, because since their beginning each smile of Lydia's meant the world to him but he had put off thinking of the consequences. He stopped short and touched her collar instead, tugged at her dress strap because it was close but not hurtfully intimate. He asked finally, "So what do you tell yourself when you end up in here instead?"

Leaning forward she kissed his head, then glided around to sit right beside him and answered "I tell myself I'll say 'no' tomorrow."

"You are a brilliant negotiator," Stiles chuckled softly and reached down for her hand. "Don't you worry for your sake?" at that she shrugged, dismissively. "You liar."

"What do you want me to tell you, Stiles? A half-dozen scarier things to drive you away," Lydia shook her head. He felt like he could hear the fissure sounds of each individual hair trace against his collar when she leaned onto his shoulder.

"Tell me one thing they hold over your head, then. Just one, so I don't feel as bad," Stiles whined, turning his head so that she had to lean back and look directly at him.

"Fine." Lydia leaned up and kissed him, intimately, short and sweetly. When she pulled back her bright eyes were raw with emotion and bore through his dark eyes. And she admitted honestly, "It terrifies me what they could do to my boyfriend."