Lydia didn't know when it all started. Hell, she didn't even know how it started. But sure enough all the tell-tale signs were there. Her heart sped up whenever he was around. Her witty remarks weren't as quick to match his sarcastic ones. His voice sent a wave of relief through her veins whenever she was frightened or panicked. She would trip over her words and get them all jumbled up. She found herself thinking about his eyes all the time. Those stupid brown eyes of his held so much feeling that she felt captivated by them. She saw the concern in them and whenever they were locked onto hers, she felt her stomach flutter. And worst of all, she knew exactly how many moles dusted his pale neck and face. She was undoubtedly falling for Stiles Stilinski.

At first, she told herself it wasn't true and spent every ounce of energy denying it. She chalked it all up to the loss of Aiden. Sure, she didn't necessarily love Aiden, but his absence was a hell of a lot more permanent than Jackson's, making the scar a little bit deeper. She needed a wall, someone to lean on, someone to talk to. A rock would have been better but after Alison... even Scott wasn't that strong. And naturally, he offered before she even asked. And he was there for her through every second of it.

Whenever she needed him, all it took was a call and a 12 minute wait. She'd wait at the door for him and he'd listen to her. Or let her cry. Or just be there to make it easier. She knew it was selfish, using him like that, but it was too comforting to turn away. And sometimes even after he helped her, he still wouldn't leave. They'd talk for hours and she found herself growing fond of the way he threw himself into a conversation, using his limbs as some sort of advantage on getting his point across. She'd stare at his hands a lot, watching as his long fingers never really stopped moving.

And slowly, she got better. They all did. But Stiles didn't stop coming over. It became routine. And she was faced with the truth.

So she told herself to shove it as far back in her mind as it could go. She couldn't brush it off anymore, so she would ignore it. Each and every time they were together, it was staring her right in the face. So she merely avoided the problem. If she pretended it didn't exist, maybe her feelings would go away. She blamed her lack of verbal skills on sleep deprivation. Of course she couldn't talk articulately when she got less than six hours of sleep a night. She blamed the calming effect of his voice on the basis that they were friends, and that he had been by her side through the craziest times. Of course she found comfort in his voice. She blamed her interest of his eyes on the fact that their color was very unique. His eyes weren't muddy like most brown eyes. They had flecks of gold in them that intensified them. Of course she'd be intrigued by them. And she blamed the memorization of the exact number of moles on his upper body on the coincidence that, of course, it was her favorite number.

But the façade came crashing down when Malia sauntered up to the two between physics and calculus, asking Stiles oh so casually to be her date to the spring formal. And as he agreed with a kind smile, Lydia felt her heart smash into pieces and there was no pretending that she didn't have feelings for the boy.

She told him she'd be right back, putting on a smile before turning around and walking towards the office. Her heart - sorry, the remaining pieces of heart - were pounding in her throat and her brain was screaming a thousand different things. Her chest physically hurt and her stomach felt like someone took it and flipped it right upside down. She just concentrated on her steps, taking her mind off the pain she felt.

'Left, right, left, right, come on Lydia, you're almost there.' Somehow, she managed to make it to the office, put on her last fake smile, and ask the secretary to be excused for the day. And then she was in her car, tears running and occasional sobs coming out as she let herself feel as stupid as she felt. 'Did you expect him to still like you, after he's seen you at your worst? Did you really expect him to wait for you, he's been waiting since the third freaking grade Lydia! You were stupid to think he wouldn't get bored, to think you hadn't put him off for too long. Well now you've done it.'

She found herself at Beacon Hills Cemetary with a bouquet of flowers. She had been here quite a few times in the past weeks, but she found herself turning left instead of right at the fork of the entrance. She didn't know exactly where she was going but she had an idea. She had seen him this way last time he had brought her.

She found what she was looking for and plopped down onto the ground, not really caring whether the grass stained her skirt. She knew she'd be here for a while. She took in the words carved into the marble headstone.

CLAUDIA STILINSKI

"Beloved wife and mother, always remembered and cherished"

"Hello. My name's Lydia. I'm not sure if Stiles has told you about me, but he really used to like me." She said, looking down at the bundle of flowers. "And I say used to because I'm not really sure he does anymore. But that's not why I'm here." She looked back up at the words and felt sadness pang her nerves.

"I've seen pictures of you. He doesn't talk about you much. It's not cause' he didn't love you or anything, it's just... He just... he still hurts about it. I can tell. He told me about you once. It was the only time. He kind of just opened up like a flood gate and let it go. I'm really sorry I never got a chance to meet you. You sound amazing. You're probably wondering why I'm here. I just wanted to talk to you. I just uh... I wanted to thank you. That sounds kind of weird because I never knew you, but you raised Stiles into a wonderful person. You'd be so proud of him. He's been nothing but kind and thoughtful to me from the first day we met. He's always there for me no matter what, and I know I'm not the only one. He's there for Scott too. He's just such a good guy, you know? Those are so hard to come by, trust me.

"His dad definitely helped raise him too because he'll do anything to protect the people he cares about. Don't get me wrong, it's a great quality and it's one that makes Stiles who he is. I've lost count of how many times he's protected me. He's even saved my life and I'm unbelievably thankful for that. The problem with Stiles is that he just doesn't think of the consequences. He doesn't understand that throwing himself into danger to save someone else is just so... so stupid! You probably know this, but recently we almost lost him. He was trying to protect us, but he didn't realize... he didn't realize that even though he didn't care if he got hurt... we'd be devastated. Actually, he's the one who taught me that.

"A while back, he told me that death doesn't happen to you. It happens to the people around you. It happens to everyone left standing at your funeral, wondering how they're going to pick up the pieces and carry on. I didn't understand it at the time, but after I lost someone really important I uh... I kind of figured it out. And when I thought about standing at his funeral, I couldn't do it. He's the one who's gotten me through everything. Tell me, how do you just go on when the person who's gotten you this far is gone? How do you live after that? Thankfully, he's still here, but it just... it made me realize how I feel about him.

"I brought these for you. They're kind of just to thank you, again. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have your son to help me. He's truly such an amazing friend and I'm really sad you're not here to see it. The girl that ends up with him is going to be the luckiest girl in the world. Which reminds me... I picked these out. There's two different kinds. There's peach roses and white gardenias. Well um, the peach roses are supposed to signify gratitude. And the uh... the white gardenias mean something I'm not quite ready to say out loud but I think you know what I'm talking about." Lydia finished her long improvised speech, wiping at the few tears that had spilled over. She didn't think it would feel so relieving.

"God I adore you." Lydia whipped her head around to see Stiles there with glassy eyes, staring at her with absolute admiration.

"Stiles? Wh-What are you doing here. How long have you been there?" Lydia said, rubbing her eyes and trying to make it seem like she wasn't just crying about him and her and everything else that seemed to be wrong.

"Well, you never came back. So I got worried." He admitted, taking his hands out of his pockets and stepping closer to where she sat. Lydia felt embarrassed by the whole situation, focusing her eyes on the flowers she had laid down at the base of the gravestone. "So I asked the secretary and she told me you signed out. She also told me you sat in your car for a good five minutes before you left." He leaned back on his hands and looked at her, trying to get a reaction. He got none. He sighed and sat up, resting his arms across the top of his knees.

"You never answered my other question."

"Okay, I've been here long enough. I figured you'd come here, but when I saw you over here, I was surprised. But then I saw the gardenias and I knew."

"You knew what?" She asked, finally looking up at him and immediately regretting it when his stupid, stupid eyes locked with hers.

"Lyds, my mom was a florist." Her eyes widened and she tried to get to her feet as fast as possible but he was quicker.

"Stiles, let me go!" She yelled, trying to break out of his hold and run away. She came here for some sort of resolve, for some sort of closure, and she was going to end up leaving even more heartbroken and embarrassed.

"Lydia, stop!" Something about his tone made her stop thrashing and listen, looking up at him. "Have you not been here the entire time? Look, I am in love with you Lydia. Ever since the first time I saw you across the playground I knew I had to have you. I didn't know you then but now? If three years ago somebody had told me that I would be best friends with Lydia Martin I definitely would not have believed them. But look at where we are now. You can be tough and strong and you can put up an act around everybody else but I know the real you Lydia. I've seen you, vulnerable and exposed, terrified even. I have seen everything you try to keep bottled up and trust me Lydia, there is not a single part of you that I am not in love with. I want you, all of you, and don't try and tell me I don't know what I'm getting myself into because I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm merely cutting my ten year plan on making you fall in love with me down by two." He confessed, moving the hair that the wind blew behind her ear.

"Then why would you say yes to Malia?" She asked quietly, not wanting to get her hopes up.

"Because she's a friend and I didn't really want to hurt her feelings!" He really was a good guy. He was too good, and she knew it. She shook her head and pushed his arms away, trying to stalk off to her car only to have him grab her hand again and pull her right back. "Look I'm sorry but I didn't think you'd want to go with m-."

"Why do you want me huh? Why not her? She's easy and it's not complicated and she didn't make you wait eight fucking years just to realize what was standing in front of her! I didn't even realize it Stiles and it took her like two seconds! And don't even get me started on how you've been there for everything. You've seen me at my worst and yet you still want me and I just don't understand how?" It was all the truth.

"God dammit Lydia! I love you and I want you, only you! What's so difficult to accept?" Stiles said, waving his arms about getting exasperated with the strawberry blonde. When she didn't answer he just took a step closer, lifting her face to look up at him

"I don't deserve you." She whispered, her eyes closing. It was the truth. He was too good of a guy and she couldn't be that selfish.

"Too bad." Stiles said. He didn't even give her a second to think before his lips crashed onto hers.

Lydia's mind completely blanked out and her heart started beating a hundred miles per hour. His lips were so soft against hers and she couldn't think of anything except how right it felt. She felt one hand on the small of her back, bringing her towards him while the other cupped her cheek gently. Her body went on autopilot as she kissed him back, trying to pour just a fraction of what she felt for the brown eyes boy into it. Her every nerve was oversensitive and she was convinced none of it was real. She was the first to pull back, looking up at him with pure wonder.

"I think I love you too Stiles." She whispered as he ran his hand through her hair.

"Guess it's not a secret anymore." Stiles said with a smirk. Lydia just rolled her eyes and shoved him away, looking down at the bundle of flowers and the headstone again. She felt Stiles arm wrap around her shoulder and pull her in tight against his body. She didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around his waist. It just felt so natural to her to be with him like this.

"How was I supposed to know your mom was a florist." She muttered. He knew she wasn't looking for a real answer.

"Hey mom, this is the girl I used to tell you about. She's something, isn't she?" He said, pressing a kiss to Lydia's hair. Lydia didn't really want to leave but it was starting to get dark and cold, and she hadn't eaten all day. They didn't really feel the need to say goodbye as they turned to leave, breaking away from each other to head to their separate cars.

"I'll meet you over at your house in a little bit!" Stiles said as he walked towards his Jeep. "I just gotta do something first, then we'll order pizza."

"What do you have to do?" Lydia asked confused as she unlocked her car door. She leaned her arms on the roof of it as she watched him clamber into his beat up blue vehicle before the engine roared to life and he stuck his head out the window.

"I have to tell Malia that I can't go to the formal with her anymore because I have a girlfriend!" He shouted before speeding out of the parking lot, not giving her time to argue it (not that she would have anyway). She smiled, shaking her head as she got in her own car and drove off towards home. The town was quiet as she drove through the streets.

She still couldn't wrap her head around it. She had somehow fallen for Stiles. Out of all the guys in that town, she just had to fall in love with Stiles. But the truth is someone had seen it coming long ago. "Ali... you were right." She whispered. She had a feeling her best friend heard her, wherever she was, and that for all Lydia knew, she probably had something to do with it too. No matter what, she had Stiles now. She didn't have to lie and pretend anymore. Granted, he would probably insist they do something stupid like make it Facebook official and there was no doubt in Lydia's mind that he would drag her down the hall hand in hand tomorrow to show their new relationship status off to everyone, but honestly, she wouldn't have it any other way.

A.N.- So to start off I just want to clarify that white gardenias typically mean secret love (according to the majority of flower sites I got my research from). Second, that was just a fluffy one shot I threw together. I originally wanted to make it shorter and just be Lydia's monologue to Claudia but I got carried away. This is actually my first Teen Wolf piece but I'm dying for the season premiere tomorrow (technically tonight, T-minus 24 hours).

For future interest, I'm either going to make an actual Stydia multi-chap or a collection of one-shots depending if I get any feedback.

Well I hope you enjoyed. And fellow Stydia shippers, maybe if we pray hard enough, Jeff Davis won't completely ruin three (and a half, technically) seasons of build up!

Any feedback is greatly appreciated, whether it be comments/questions/concerns/suggestions/criticism