Lydia emptied the entire contents of her wardrobe and dumped it on the floor sighing as she looked down at the pile of clothes at her feet, then at the empty suitcases lying on her unmade bed, it was 5:30pm and she had little under two hours until Allison was picking Lydia up. The girls along with Scott, Stiles, Isaac, Cora and Derek had decided that after all the things that happened in the past year that this summer break they needed a break! So they booked a place about a days worth of driving from Beacon Hills right on the beach for a couple weeks. Surprisingly all the parents had been okay with it (although Lydia's mum didn't exactly know that she would be going with werewolf's) as long as Derek was going, so with only 2 hours to pack all of her stuff Lydia was jamming just about all of her summer clothes into her bag; she had several different colored bikini's, multiple pairs of shorts and skirts, a handful of her best dresses, some pj shorts, a wide array of singlets and tops in one bag and then just about a hundred pairs of shoes in the other, she pretty much packed every single pair of "beachy" shoes she owned: some vans a couple pairs of old converse, some of best heels and her ugg boots. With two of her bags down she headed to her bathroom to pack all the hair and makeup necessities although she didn't plan on having to do her hair and makeup each day, she grabbed a few other things like her phone, i-pod, chargers, a bottle of water, some peanut butter cups and her headphones and chucked them into her small brown bag that was strapped around her shoulder, she heard a car honk and looked out her window to see Allison in her dads jeep she grabbed her bags, flicked off her bedroom light and ran down the stairs to meet Allison.

Once they had put all of Lydia's bags in the boot of the car they drove back to Allison's house for a good nights rest before a day of traveling. " I can't believe I agreed to going on this trip" Lydia sighed as she looked out the window,

"Oh come on it will be fun lounging round the pool all day tanning, swimming and hanging out I mean come on when was the last time we actually hung out together and did normal stuff?" Allison questioned,

"Yeah I know, but you'll probably be off with Scott half the time, Cora and Isaac will be off doing there thing and I'll be left with Derek and Stiles" Lydia proclaimed "actually probably just Stiles since I highly doubt Derek even wants to spend the next two weeks with a bunch of teenagers and he probably wouldn't of even came if you dad, Scotts mum and Stiles's dad didn't force him to go for our "safety" or whatever" she sighed and continued to look out the window at the dull lit streets, to be totally honest Lydia didn't mind the fact the she'd be mostly hanging out with Stiles a majority of the time, they had grown a lot closer since Jackson left for London, especially when they worked together to figure out all of the stuff surrounding the sacrifices, even after his dad was taken and Lydia had been told that she was a Banshee he was still there for her, he tried to hide all of his pain and worry so that he could help her but when it all came crashing down after Allison's dad was taken by Jennifer she couldn't help but see just how fragile this boy really was, maybe that was the reason she kissed him when he was having a panic attack or maybe not, all she knew is that things hadn't quite been the same after it; they had rarely spoken to each other since they defeated Jennifer, when they did it was the slightest bit awkward and she didn't want to admit it but she really did miss 'hanging' out with him, but hopefully this trip might clear some of their issues up Lydia thought to herself,

"Oh come on Lydia, Stiles is not that bad a company" Allison rolled her eyes at her best friend and pulled into to her driveway.

They left Lydia's bags in the boot of Allison's jeep and headed inside Allison's house to grab her bags and put them in the car and headed back inside to get some they woke at 6:00am Lydia chucked back on her outfit from last night, a gray baggy top with a faded heart on it, some black leggings and her ugg boots, she haphazardly chucked her hair up in a high ponytail and went downstairs to grab some breakfast.

The sun was coming up over the horizon creating a swirl of yellow and orange, the crisp air was cool on Lydia's skin as she helped Cora move her stuff from Derek's car to Allison's (they'd all agreed on taking Allison's dad's jeep because it was the biggest and they didn't really want to take two cars) once Allison, Lydia, Cora and Derek had finished moving all their stuff into the jeep Cora and Allison decided to head to the grocery store to pick up some food for the long ride ahead. About fifteen minutes later Scott, Stiles and Isaac were being dropped off by Melissa who looked like she was on her way to work, they got out of the car, retrieved their bags from the boot and waved goodbye. "Be good Scott, stay out of trouble" Melissa yelled from the car,

Scott turned back to her and slung his bag over his shoulder "When have I ever gotten myself into trouble before?" he teased and waved to his mum before heading over towards the car

"So who's ready to party?!" he joked as he shoved his bag into the boot on top of Isaac's and walked off laughing, Stiles laughed as he placed his bag on top of the red chilly bin and glanced over at Lydia

"Uhh hey" he said running a nervous hand through his long hair and placing his sunglasses on his head.

"Hey yah" she smiled at him looking up into his brown eyes, he smiled back and for a couple of seconds they just stood there, staring; until the sound of a car horn broke them out of their trance Cora and Allison were back with some food, great she thought the herself I'm starving. Moments later they were climbing into the car with Cora and Isaac riding shotgun in the front, Isaac was going to take the first shift driving then Stiles and then Scott; Lydia clambered into the seat furthest to the back and Stiles followed her in front of them were Derek, Scott and Allison (who were already holding hands and giggling at each other) Lydia sighed and grabbed out her I-pod and headphones from her bag bumping Stiles's hand in process she darted her hand away as quick as she could but not without Stiles noticing, his eyes flicked across to look at her and he went to open his mouth but Lydia shoved her headphones into her ears, pressed shuffle and shut her eyes hoping to get a few hours sleep.

Lydia's groaned, opened her eyes and stretched out her arms in front of her, the sun had set and the sky was now dark she fished out her phone from her bag and looked at the time it was 8:00pm and she was starving, she grabbed out the peanut butter cups from her bag and opened the packet, she looked around the car and discovered that pretty much everyone was asleep apart from herself and Isaac at the steering wheel with his headphones jammed in and his eyes set firmly on the road in front of them; as she bit into her peanut butter cup; Stiles stirred beside her and groaned, opening his and and blinking furiously trying to rid himself of sleep, he glanced over at Lydia and smiled slightly when he saw the peanut butter cups in her hand, remembering the time they went ice skating with Scott and Allison,

"Do you want one" she asked smiling softly at him, his hair was slightly messed up from sleeping,

"Yeah sure,thanks" he mumbled grabbing one out of the packet and taking a bite, his eyes still had dark rings under them as if he hadn't slept properly in weeks; maybe it was the 'darkness' around his heart but Stiles had lost his usual bright eyes, it was almost as if that ritual had drained all the warmth out of his soft brown eyes and replaced it with a murky and cold look, she continued to stare at him with a puzzled look on her face

"What?" Stiles asked, looking as equally puzzled

"It's ju-" Lydia begun

"Hey Stiles, were getting close to a petrol station wanna swap now?" Isaac called from the front seat

"Uh yeah sure, pull up and we'll swap" Stiles replied, his eyes still set on Lydia. Isaac nodded and turned into the petrol station; as soon as the car stopped Isaac announced that they were switching drivers and everyone clambered out of the jeep to either use the bathroom or buy some coffee. Stiles walked over to the store with Lydia right behind him

"Are you sure your okay to drive? You look really tired" Lydia asked, Stiles turned around and saw a concerned look on her face

"Yeah I'll be fine Lydia" Stiles sighed "I'm gonna grab a coffee or something,you coming?"

"Stiles" she whispered

"I'm going to get a coffee are you coming or not?" he snapped. Lydia stopped walking and Stiles stopped as well, turning to look at her "Look I'm sorry for snapping at you but you don't need to worry about me falling asleep at the wheel, I've gotten really good at not sleeping lately" Stiles said sourly.

"Stiles" she said walking closer to him, their bodies almost pressing together, she looked up at him " I'm here if you ever need to talk, you know that right?" she said softly as she placed her hand on his arm

"I'll be okay, thanks Lydia" he looked down at her hand on his arm and smiled,

"Now lets go get coffee" Lydia beamed, linking her arm in his and walking into the store. Ten minutes later they re-grouped with coffee at the car and climbed in with Stiles at the wheel, Lydia in the seat next to him, Allison, Scott and Derek still in the middle and Cora and Isaac in the back. Lydia and Stiles spent the night talking about anything and everything, they listened to music and things had been like before, before his Dad was taken, before Lydia knew she was a Banshee, before that day in the boys locker room...

Lydia eventually drifted to sleep and when she awoke she was no longer in the front seat she was in the back with her head rested on Stiles's shoulder and his arm wrapped protectively around her, she studied his sleeping face he looked so peaceful, as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders, she didn't have the heart to wake him so she lay there with her head on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around her. She glanced around the car to see Scott driving and Allison in the front with him, Derek was asleep and Isaac and Cora were sharing headphones; she glanced out the window to see the sky was a bright blue colour and there wasn't a cloud in sight,

"Hey Scott, how long till we get there?" Lydia asked, trying to keep quiet for the sleeping passengers,

"Probably like a couple of hours or so" he replied looking in to the mirror, eyes his widened when he saw Lydia leaning on Stiles's shoulder,

"I saw a sign not too long ago, it said the towns only about another hours worth of driving" Allison responded flicking through her magazine "Scott! Keep your eyes on the road" She cried, grabbing the steering wheel and lurching it to the right "You ok-" Allison started before she saw Lydia and Stiles in the back seat and then a huge grin appeared on her face,

"What?" Lydia questioned "Oh come one Allison, he looks like he hasn't slept properly in days maybe even weeks, I don't wanna wake him up"

"It's okay Lydia you don't have to explain yourself to us" Allison replied, she looked at Scott and the two just smiled at each other and then flicked their gaze back towards Lydia and Stiles and shook their heads.

About an hour later Stiles stirred next to her and opened his eyes and sat up,

"Morning" Lydia grinned, Stiles's eyes suddenly going wide when he realized where is arm was, he released his arm from around her and stretched his arms in front of him

"Morning" Stiles yawned "how long have you been up?"

"Not long maybe like an hour" Lydia replied, suddenly missing the safety of his arm around her,

"You should of woken me up" Stiles proclaimed, pouting his lip slightly,

"I didn't want to wake you" Lydia admitted "You look like you haven't slept in days"

"Thanks" Stiles mumbled back " That was probably the most peaceful sleep I've had in awhile" he admitted. Lydia shivered, remembering all those sleepless nights were she had been plagued by the nightmares of Peter Hale,

"We're here!" Scott yelled from the front seat, waking up Derek in the process; everyone yelled and cheered, eager to get out of the jeep and get some lunch. As they pulled up into the driveway Lydia saw the magnificent house, it was a big, no HUGE two story house right on the beach with a balcony that wrapped around the entire second floor, Scott stopped the car and everyone got out and went to the boot of the jeep to get their stuff out;

"Stiles can you help me with this last bag it's kinda heavy?" Lydia asked

"Sure" he replied reaching for the bag "What the hell is in this bag, rocks?" Stiles yelled

"Just shoes" Lydia giggled as she grabbed her sunglasses from her bag and put them on.

Lydia and Allison's room was upstairs (as were all the bedrooms) and faced the beach with a spectacular view, inside their room was two double beds, a flat screen T.V on the wall, two very big dark oak dressers, a massive walk in wardrobe that lead in to their ensuite. Stiles and Scott's room was a similar layout to the girls and was on the opposite side of the house facing out towards the town, in between their rooms were three single rooms that would hold Derek, Isaac and Cora. Derek and Isaac's rooms were right next door to each other and were joined by a bathroom in the middle, Cora's room was next to Lydia and Allison's room and had its own ensuite. Downstairs there was a modern kitchen that lead to an outdoor dining area, and a gigantic room that had a pool table, an air hockey table and various other game machines, inside the lounge was a enormous flat screen T.V on the wall and four big couches facing it. Outside there was a hot tub, a fire pit and a pathway that lead to the beach. "Are you guys done yet?" Scott moaned as him and Stiles walked into Lydia and Allison's and flopped onto one of the beds "everyones starving",

Both Lydia and Allison were in the bathroom finishing getting ready "Almost done" Allison sung out, as Lydia applied fresh mascara to her lashes and strutted out of the bathroom, she was wearing light denim shorts with a cream colored lacy top and brown sandals, Allison was quick to follow wearing an aztec printed dress and wedge heels.

As they drove into town they passed several small shops and boutiques, a small supermarket, a couple little restaurants/cafes and a large boardwalk that was set up to be like a carnival with mini golf, bumper cars, and various other gamey type places. The gang stopped at one of the two local restaurants "Shed 11" which was right on the beach, after lunch they decided to split up and get some food, booze and some beach necessities, Derek, Isaac and Cora went to go get the booze, some towels and a handful of random blow up beachy type things. Scott, Stiles, Allison and Lydia had the jeep and headed to the supermarket to buy food for the next week or so. A trolley full of food and an hour later they headed back to the restaurant to pick up the others and returned home. It was early afternoon and the sun was hot, so Lydia, Cora and Allison decided to get into their bikini's and tan on the beach whilst Isaac, Derek, Scott and Stiles were taking turns surfing on the couple of boards that were in the house, "Come on guys, seriously you gotta get in the waves are sick" Scott proclaimed as he ran up onto shore,

"Nah I think were good here" Allison replied, smiling up at him through her sunglasses

"Well if you say so" Scott smirked and sprinted back to the water "Oi Stiles, Isaac lets go grab them all and chuck them in the water" a devilishly smile creeping across his face, the three of them swam back to shore and sprinted towards the girls, Stiles scooped Lydia off the sand, threw her over his shoulder and ran towards the water; both Scott and Isaac followed and all three girls were yelling at the boys to put them down,

"Well if you insist" Isaac laughed and threw Cora into the water, Scott followed and threw Allison in as well, everyone was laughing – well almost everyone "Stiles Stilinski if you throw me into the water, I swear I will never talk to you again" Lydia shrieked, but it was too late Stiles swung her off his shoulder and chucked her into the water, bursting out into laughter. Pulling the wet hair from her face she looked up at Stiles and gave him an annoyed look "I'm sooo gonna get you back for that" Lydia threatened before bursting out into laughter and splashing water at Stiles; a few hours later it was getting dark so they decided to head inside, get changed and make some dinner.

Lydia showered and got changed back into her clothes from earlier, leaving her damp hair to dry naturally down her back; as she walked down the stairs she could smell something amazing coming from the kitchen, mesmerized by the smell she followed it "Something smells great in here" Lydia sung out walking to the kitchen, she found Scott and Derek sitting at the bench with a look of amazement on their face, she followed their gaze and found Stiles behind the bench with a tea-towel over his shoulder, he was deep in concentration as he moved from one pot to another. Lydia stood there and studied him, his hair was still damp at the ends and she could see his back muscles through is white shirt. He turned around and found her staring at him "What?" Stiles asked, blushing ever so slightly

"I didn't know you could cook" Lydia replied " You need any help?"

"Yeah that's be great" he answered smiling at Lydia "You wanna make a salad?"

"Sure" Lydia grinned, Scott looked at the pair and grinned from ear to ear

"Hey...uhh...were gonna go...ummm...watch some T.V" Scott babbled and dragged Derek to the lounge, leaving Stiles and Lydia alone in the kitchen.

"Where do I start" Lydia laughed as she grabbed a knife out of the block and swung around to face Stiles

"Woah there Lyd!" Stiles yelped at the knife pointed towards him "Maybe you should just wash the lettuce" he laughs, Stiles steps closer to her and tries to take the knife out of her hand, his hand covers Lydia's and she stops laughing. She looks up at Stiles, they are inches apart – their foreheads slightly touching, Lydia searches his face; his eyes are wide and his gaze is set on her lips, she leans in ever so slightly "Lydia" Stiles whispers, she closes her eyes and...

"Wow something smells a-mazing in here" Allison exclaims,as she waltz's into the kitchen Lydia and Stiles spring apart, Stiles runs over to the stove top but Lydia just stands there in the middle of the kitchen with the knife still in her hand, silently cursing at both her best friend and herself 'what was she about to do" Lydia thought to herself.

"Thanks" Stiles replied "Hey Allison can you go tell everyone that dinners almost ready" Stiles asked, glancing at Lydia - who had now moved to the bench and started to make the salad,

"Sure thing" Allison replied, she shot Lydia a big grin and headed to the lounge, Lydia sighed and turned back to the bench.

After Dinner everyone watched a movie in the lounge, Scott and Allison were on one of the couches and both of them were already asleep, Isaac and Cora had already gone to bed, Derek lay on another couch watching the movie and both Stiles and Lydia were lying on the other couch, Lydia didn't exactly know when but at some point during the movie Lydia had rested her head on Stiles's shoulder and he had wrapped is arm around her just as the had in the car. As the end credits rolled up Derek got up

"I'm gonna head to bed now" he said as he kicked at the couch Scott and Allison were asleep on, Scott jumped up waking Allison in the progress and the three of them went upstairs to their rooms; Stiles took his arm off of Lydia's shoulder, go up and walked towards the stairs "Do you want to go for a walk on the beach?" Lydia asked as she got up from the couch,

"Sure" Stiles grinned. They walked in silence, the only noise that could be heard was the gusty wind and the crashing waves, Lydia shivered at the cold wind on her bare shoulders Stiles noticed her shivering and looked over at her "You cold?" he asked, she nodded and he slung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, she wrapped her arms around his waist and they continued walking down the beach. "Stiles" Lydia began as she looked up at him

"Yeah?" He asks smiling down at her

"How come you haven't been sleeping?" Lydia asked bluntly, his smile fades and he looks out to the sea; Stiles was quiet for a while and Lydia honestly thought he wasn't going to answer her "I uhh...kinda have...umm...really bad nightmares" he admits locking his gaze on her. He had nightmares, Stiles, had nightmares, Lydia was shocked, she stared into his eyes and saw the pain deep inside them, inside his heart,

"I'm sorry" she whispered "that was really personal, I shouldn't of asked" she buried her face in his shirt to try and hide the tears that started to form in her eyes; Stiles stopped walking and put his hand on her the side of her face and pulled it up to face him, she shut her eyes hoping he wouldn't see the tears in them,

"Lydia" he whispered "It's okay" she opened her eyes and found his face close to hers "It's okay" he repeated, she leaned forward and pressed her lips onto his, he froze for a second and then returned the kiss, Lydia wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. When they broke apart Lydia looked up at Stiles his eyes were wide and look of confusion was spreading across his face "Why did you do that" he asked

"Because" she smiled and pressed her lips to his again.

They walked back to the house hand in hand, Stiles walked Lydia to her room and kissed her on the forehead "Goodnight" he whispered and unlaced his fingers from hers

"Goodnight Stiles" Lydia sighed and watched him walk back to his room; smiling she opened the door to find a grinning Allison sitting on her bed "And just where have you been?" she asked

"I just went for a walk on the beach" Lydia replied innocently

"Yeah a two hour walk on the beach with Stiles" Allison added

"Yes a two hour walk on the beach with Stiles" Lydia answered, walking over to the wardrobe to grab out her blue cotton pj's and a black singlet

"Lydia!" Allison yelled "tell me everything"

"What's there to tell?" she asked as she walked into the bathroom, closing the door before Allison actually came into the bathroom to get answers

"Oh come on Lydia, you totally like him" she called through the door "the car ride, earlier on at dinner and now a romantic walk on the beach under the stars"

"So what if I do?" Lydia asked swinging the bathroom door open

"Lydia" Allison sighed, following her back to the bedroom "It's okay if you like Stiles, I'm not going to judge you, I'm your best friend" she exclaimed and Lydia plonked herself down on her bed

"I know you wouldn't Allison but others will, people will just think that I'm stringing him along, like all the other guys I've dated" Lydia proclaimed, she pulled the covers of her bed and laid down

"Lydia since when have you ever worried about what others think of you?" Allison asked "If you really like him forget about everyone else follow your heart" she smiled flicked off the light switch and climbed into her own bed, pretty much falling asleep when her head hit the pillow

"I do like him" she whispered to the darkness.