DRIPPING DARKNESS

Ch-20: A call from Scott McCall

"Hey, it's Stiles and you miss me! Leave a message" *BEEP*

Lydia in her shining blue Toyota, drove through the peacefulness of 77 Massachusetts Avenue, on a gentle sunny morning. The weather was very lovely, and the sporadic chirping of birds further lifted the mood adding to the autumn ambiance.

She knew she was back in beacon hills for a reason. But her going to MIT was definitely not one of the reasons for that. Even though Scott promised her that she could go back to her life as soon as everything would be normal again.

But nothing was normal about that town, was it?

Nothing was ever normal with Lydia's life...was it?

She was supposed to inform Scott about her arrival in Beacon hills which she still didn't do. She was supposed to go to Stiles's house and make their strategies about their next plan against Monroe.

But who was to Blame? That past incident with Stiles at the restaurant was a hindrance to all of it. She still had PTSD from that day.

At that point in time, Lydia was pretty sure every plan with Scott was already in action except she was not being a part of it.

It was supposed to be her first day at MIT. 

She glanced at her wristwatch every few seconds, to ensure if she would make it there on time. Every time she tapped on that boy's contact number, it linked back to the same prerecorded voice message. 

Over the last few tries, that voice had been getting on her nerves.

"Stiles! If you don't pick up your phone this time, I swear to god I'll kill you."

Lydia pushed her strawberry blonde hair out of her face, steaming up. She gathered her last ounce of patience and tapped on the contact again.

"Hey, it's stiles and you miss me! Leave a message" *BEEP*

She sighed after cutting the line and then tossed her phone carelessly to the passenger seat feeling disconsolate.

After a while, she felt the need to push her foot on the brake pedal after being glad to see the black and bulky iron gates of her dream university. For her, those were not just the gates of the university campus, but the gates that gave her radiance of hope, hopes of her future.

Lydia however, wouldn't be entering M.I.T as a college freshman. Along with an IQ of 170, she had enough credits from high school to skip two years of classes and enter the university as a junior. That was Lydia fricking Martin after all. She was not simply smart, she was even way beyond a genius.

She parked her car outside the campus and got off, with a blend of hope, excitement, and anxiety on her mind.

She was contented that she could make it up to here all by herself but the anxiousness on her first day there seemed to seize that. Before walking in, she took a look at her reflection on the windowpane of her car and took a deep breath to muster up some courage.

All of a sudden, her straightened strawberry-blonde hair became prey to a gentle wind, blowing through the campus, which messed it up. While fixing her hair, she glanced at the joyous faces of students who were making their way for attending the orientation and walking inside the giant multi-storied building, while chatting away with their friends.

She realized it was going to be the start of a new life. A new beginning. The beginning, the scholarly, book-addict, erudite Lydia once craved for, was finally coming to life.

But of course, the transition wouldn't be as easy as she thought before, as she was about to leave behind her hometown, her family, and of course, those weird high schoolers, who would singlehandedly juggle with their academic career and the supernatural world and still manage to pretend the next day, that nothing happened. Literally nothing.

Yes. She did miss her high school friends a lot.

Why did it feel like it was like 2-3 months that she had neither been in touch with Beacon Hills nor its supernatural teenage population? Why wouldn't her mind let go of the thoughts of her friend Malia? The one who would crack weird jokes.

Why couldn't she forget about Scott? The one who would constantly worry about the safety of Beacon Hills and his friends, and Why wouldn't she let herself free from that distinct, mischievous, and magnetic smile from Stiles Stilinski? which would occasionally come and light up her mind like a Christmas present, invigorating her mood.

She tried but couldn't get over it. The nostalgic daydream, that cold, hollow feeling, of leaving behind things that once she used to care for, with her heart and soul was holding her back.

Besides, It was the memories of her past that sustained her, that carried her to through the challenging times of loss, and reminded her that loving and caring for things was important and worthwhile.

"I can do this..."

She tried to console herself from all those heavy and uncontrollable forces in her mind holding her back, before taking a deep breath.

The second she stepped forward; her phone rang.

She turned down on the screen, expecting a call from Stiles, but to her surprise, the caller ID read "Scott McCall"

***