"You came back." He was grinning as soon as Lydia stepped into the cafe alone. It was a lot busier than it had been earlier in the week, Stiles scurrying around from table to table taking orders and getting rid of empty coffee mugs. Every table was occupied, even the one back in the corner by the restrooms was taken by a lady with a bad perm and a laptop. Lydia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, still standing in the doorway, not sure what to do. He passed by her again, a few small plates along his arms as well as several cups hanging from his fingers. He came back, sighing but still grinning as he began to untie his apron. "You're awfully shorter than I remember."
She chuckled. "And you're extremely tall."
He shrugged, folding his apron now. "Five-eleven." Stiles led her to a table he had earlier cleaned off, pulling out a chair for her to sit before disappearing towards the coffee makers. She checked her phone out of nervous habit.
Text from Allison: how's the date with Mr. Badass going?
"Red velvet hot cocoa, right?" He appeared causing Lydia to jump at his voice. He laughed and set the drink in front of her, remembering her order from a few days before. She bit the inside of her cheek at his fidgeting; leg bouncing under the table, eyes flickering around the cafe as he took a sip of his coffee and hummed.
"So?" Lydia couldn't help staring at the line of ink going from his jawline and down beneath the collar of his shirt.
"So I guess this is the part where we take turns asking each other questions." He responded.
"Nervous?" She pointed to his tapping fingers.
"ADHD." He drank some coffee. "Hopes? Dreams? Goals?"
"Choose one."
"They're all under the same category: future." He laughed.
So she complied. "I'm not sure...currently a non-decided major at MIT." Her eyes caught on his arms, only just now realizing he was wearing a t-shirt unlike the other day with his button up. Stiles, of course, caught her stare.
"I'm guessing the next question is tattoo related?" He smirked. She blushed and nodded, completely caught.
But, of course, he was used to it and laid his arms across the table for her to see. Muttering, "have a look" he watched with a soft expression as she scooted her chair in closer and leaned in.
"How many?" She asked.
"Too many. . .you like them?"
Lydia never even looked up. "I love them." It was like playing eye spy.
The Celtic Gods he had revealed first were still there but now a whole environment surrounded them. Constellations, Roman numerals, tiny daisies, a bottle of poison.
"Do you like larger scale or smaller ones?" She asked him, taking his hand in hers to count the tattoos on his fingers and knuckles. An eye, a rose, the moon, and a crown rested on his left hand. A diamond, spiderweb, a star, and the letter M etched into his right.
"Smaller. They're more intimate. I'm guessing you don't have any tattoos?"
She answered quickly, eager to get her question out. "None– what's the M for?"
He admired the way her thumb ran over the small calligraphy on his wrist.
"It was for an ex." He admitted. He caught her eyes flicker up to his. "Does that bother you?"
"No." she leaned back in her chair as he returned his arms to his sides. "Family?" Lydia took a drink from her cocoa.
"Dead. Yours?"
"Stubborn." She wondered what had happened to his parents. His siblings? Lydia bit her lip in thought. What else could she ask without it getting more personal than it just had. She was too curious though.
"This might be rude but what happened?"
He knew it was coming. "My mom got sick, my dad...well, that's another story for later."
"You aren't scared easily, are you?" His voice was low, interested. She shied and shook her head. He twirled his lip ring using his tongue, her blush causing him to smile and the word 'cute' came to mind. An annoying little ring went off from somewhere below the table causing Stiles to roll his eyes and groan. "Breaks over." He stood. "Sorry, uh, the date was short but you're welcome to stay until my shift is over. We could watch a movie at my place?"
She rose her brows, checked the time before watching as he put his apron back on. "If this is a one night stand kind of thing you should know I'm not that type of person."
Stiles attempted to contain his laughter. "Me either, Red."
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"It's small–"
"It's cozy–"
"It's small." Stiles cleared his throat and set his keys on the side table near the door, nervously glancing over his shoulder at the tiny girl trailing behind him. Lydia tucked her hair behind her ear. She usually never did anything like this, especially with someone who looked as intimidating as he did. Yet here she was in the doorway of the apartment of some guy she didn't know who was as hot as he was scary.
"I have mace." She blurted, immediately feeling heat rush to her cheeks.
Stiles grinned, laughter in his chest. "Good, that's good. Make yourself comfortable, anything to drink?"
"Water would be great." She placed herself delicately on his deep blue sofa. It was a cute place, yes cramped but it had personality. Stacks of books and movies and Xbox games and an old box television on an even older TV tray. The couch squeaked when she moved and he lamp to her right dimmed slightly before flickering back to its full brightness.
"Hey Stiles, I'm–" a third party entered the room as Stiles left the kitchen and entered the living room again with Lydia water and a bag of popcorn. "A girl?"
"No, a cat." Stiles rolled his eyes and sat next to Lydia, both of them looking over the couch at their guest. "This is my room mate Scott and this is Lydia, cute girl from the cafe." The way he said it so casually made her bite her tongue. Scott smiled and waved them goodbye, muttering something under his breath only Stiles seemed to hear. He scoffed and turned on the tv, beginning to twirl his lip ring like he had been before. They chose a James Bond film, taking turns dipping their hands into the popcorn for the next hour and a half. When the credits rolled the two had yawned, Lydia rubbing her eyes before telling him she had to go.
"Okay, well text me when you get home so I know you're safe." Stiles opened his front door for her.
She smiled. "I will."
"Promise?"
She nodded and smiled wider if possible. Quickly, he stepped forward, cupping her cheeks before bringing their lips together. She was completely taken by surprise but had to admit he was a damn good kisser.
Separating with shaking breath, Lydia still had a grip on his arm, looking down where her thumb was resting on one of his tattoos.
"One more thing." She looked back up at him, the boy grinning widely.
"I know, I'll tell you about one." He laughed and took a step back. With a smirk, Stiles lifted the corner of his shirt up to reveal a bird of some kind. "My mother liked canaries. We went to this bird place, right before she got really bad, where you walk inside a huge cage of birds and feed them... It's like they all had sixth sense. You know every canary in that place must've come to her."
"That's amazing." Lydia whispered. He dropped the end of his shirt, leaned against the door frame.
"Text me when you get home safe." He reminded her.
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Authors note:
PART TWO CAUSE YOU WANTED IT.
Comment, read, enjoy!
-Chloe
