Parallels | Dylan O'Brien

12 - The Truth

Los Angeles 

-Dylan O'Brien-

Sunlight comes through the window behind the couch, shining directly onto Lydia's face. Her head is still resting on top of my chest, as if we hadn't even moved throughout the whole night. She looks so peaceful, so angelic. And then to think I thought she was the devil before. I let my eyes scan her face and let my senses wake up slowly. Only then I notice the smell in the air. MMH. Pancakes. My eyes wander over to the kitchen where I find Justin. He's in his underwear and just a t-shirt, and for some reason, I don't find it weird. The girl next to me grunts and moves a little. No, please, don't wake up. She breathes in, her nose against my shirt and it causes shivers down my spine. I watch her as her eyes flutter open and her fingers get a grip on my shirt. The moment her brain has woken up too, she shoots up. Her eyes are small and her cheek looks a bit red from lying on top of me.
"Morning," I greet with a smile.
"Morning," she says, still not completely awake.
"Aw, you guys are up," says Justin from the kitchen, "Good, 'cause breakfast is ready." Instead of being excited about breakfast, Lydia groans and plops down on my chest again. I chuckle at how adorable she is when she's grumpy. "Come on, Lyds. I made you your favorite," Justin tries again. Lydia turns her head towards the kitchen, but her head stays on my chest.
"Blueberry pancakes?" she mumbles, a sparkle appearing in her eyes.
"No, banana pancakes," she sits up now when he says that. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion.
"Blueberry pancakes are my favorite, Jay," she tells him. I know Lydia's favorite pancakes are banana ones, but that's the Lydia I know. Apparently, this Lydia isn't a fan of the banana variety.
"Since when?" Justin asks.
"Since always," replies Lydia. She gets up from the couch and steps closer towards the kitchen where Justin still was. I have to do something, before Lydia gets a breakdown again about nothing adding up anymore.
"Alright little diva," I interfere and get up too, "We'll go and get you some blueberry pancakes then," I say, grabbing my shoes and putting them on my feet before leading her towards the door by her lower back.
"But what about my pancakes?" Justin questions as I open the door.
"Eat them," I shout back and close the door behind us. We walk in silence, but I can tell Lydia has a couple questions. I drive to the closest take out diner and order her blueberry pancakes. We sit down in a booth to wait for our order. We're silent, but my mind goes wild. I think of what to say to her right now, of how to tell her the truth about the universes. I think of how our Lydia would've reacted when she heard what had happened, and I wonder if she's okay with it. I wonder if this Lydia will be okay with it.
"Blueberry pancakes," the man says, putting a brown bag on top of the counter. I walk over and grab the bag, Lydia in tow. We had paid when we ordered, so we could just walk out of the restaurant and get back to the car.
"Why didn't Justin know my favorite pancakes?" she whispers to herself. I don't think she wants me to answer, neither do I know what answer to give her.
"I... don't know," I reply and I can see her look at me from the corner of my eye. "Maybe you used to love banana pancakes before the whole concussion thing," I lie again and it feels like I'm stabbed in the stomach. I hate lying to her. She looks so disappointed, so confused and scared.
"Can you cut the crap about the concussion? I don't know what's happening, Dyl, but I'm certain it's not a concussion," I immediately shut my mouth when she snaps. I have to tell her. But how? How does one explain someone came from another universe and somehow ended up here? How her uncle actually is still alive, but lives here, and the uncle from this universe actually died when he travelled to the other. It's all so complicated and improbable. The rest of the ride is silent, but I take her home. To her home.
"No," she then says, "Please, take me to your place? I don't want to be around Justin today," her voice sounds vulnerable, like she's about to break out in tears. "I don't care if you're gone the whole day, I just can't be around that apartment right now." I simply nod and drive off again.
"I'm not going anywhere today," I then tell her, "I have a couple days off before I start filming again." She nods, unable to speak. We stop talking now, letting the silence consume us until I park the car in front of my flat. The both of us get out. Every step closer to the door makes my heart race faster and faster. I have to tell her. I have to explain everything somehow. Once inside, Lydia takes a chair at the dining table and starts eating her blueberry pancakes. For a moment, I consider leaving her and going to my room to sleep and think, but when I see her sitting there, so vulnerable and sad, I decide not to. I join her at the table and take one pancake for myself. She smiles at me, as if the pancake had given her instant happiness.
"What are we going to do today?" she then asks, her mouth full.
"I have to clean the flat, actually," I tell her, looking around the room to see how messy my flat is. "Can - Can I help?" she questions and I'm surprised. Why would she want to help me clean?
"Yeah, sure," I reply and finish the pancake. So does she. We both smile now before getting up and going to my bedroom. I have to start there.
"You really do need to clean," Lydia tells me, a chuckle leaving her mouth.
"Yeah, I'm aware of that, thank you," I say, chuckling too. She plops herself onto my bed, and I just know she won't be helping much. But I don't mind, I can do this myself. I start grabbing dirty laundry from the floor and putting it into the laundry basket.
"Do you get tired of the whole acting thing, ever?" she asks me. I don't look up to her, and instead I keep cleaning.
"I get tired," I reply honestly, "Like it's exhausting, but I don't think I'll get tired of it, you know? I love all the different projects and playing different characters and stuff. Every new opportunity is a whole new life. A new character to get used to, new cast mates, new crews. It's different every time," now I look up at her and see her wrap a piece of string around her finger. She doesn't look at it, instead, she looks around the room. For a second, she stops and reaches for something on my nightstand. It's a picture of me, Lydia and my sister at the high school graduation. Oh no.
"Why is Julia on this picture? And why am I?" she asks, completely confused. The red string still hangs from her finger as she studies the frame. "Did we know each other?" I lick my lips as I try to find a way to tell her the truth. I need to. She deserves to know. The laundry basket I'm holding, I drop and I walk towards her. I take the frame from her hands and sigh.
"I have to tell you something," I start, "You were right when you said it wasn't a concussion you had," she looks at me with sad, curious eyes and it makes me even more nervous. "It's going to sound really crazy, but that night you ended up in San Diego was the night you were switched. With your parallel self. The Lydia on the picture, she's in your universe right now. The one where you came from." Her eyes grow sadder the more I speak.
"Do I ever get back?" she asks and I'm shocked she straight-up believes me.
"Yeah, I'm not sure how. Your uncle does. Something about a full moon or something," her eyes wander off to somewhere behind me. "Hey," I capture her attention again as I grab her hand and start unwinding the string on her finger, "You'll get back, okay? I know it. And look, if you wanted to, I'd find out a way to get you back home right now," I keep my voice low, as if I'm telling her a secret. When the string has come off her finger, I drop it next to her on the bed. "Do you want me to find a way to get you back right now?" I ask, silently praying she says no.
"No, you don't have to," she whispers. Tears are brimming in her eyes, I can tell.
"I'm sorry I lied to you," I whisper now too.
"It's okay," she says and we both smile. "Can we ... watch a movie instead of clean your place?" she then asks when I want to start cleaning again. "I just want to distract myself for a bit," I nod and take her to the living room with me. We sit down on the sofa and as if on automatic, she crawls closer towards me with her head on my chest. Something in me makes me feel at home, comfortable. It's like I've known this feeling forever.

The rest of the day, we stay like that: cuddled up on the couch, watching Teen Wolf. I don't think she made it home that day. We had lunch and dinner while watching the series and when we got to season 3B, the season where I get to play void Stiles, we fell asleep. It's going to be a habit, falling asleep on the sofa together.
It's only when I wake up around six am that I decide to put her into my bed. Somewhere more comfortable than the sofa. I carefully carry her into the room and lay her down. I go back on the couch and fall asleep again. With a happy, but tired heart.