When you're losing faith
But finding hope
It lights your face
That helps me cope
Through all of this without a kiss
And I get through all of this without a kiss

Atlas, Shannon Saunders
__________________________Lydia's eyes open slowly, resisting waking up, but knowing she should. Upon looking around she sees Isaac staring helplessly at Cora as she lays unconscious on the cold medical table that Derek pulled into the spare room. His eyes are open and bloodshot from lack of sleep. The black bags under his eyes stand out against his white skin, puffy. When Lydia attempts to stand up she is greeted with a sharp pain in her ribs. She curses under her breath, squishing her face together in pain. Finding a crutch to her left that someone must have offered her, probably Derek, she pulls herself up. The pain is nearly unbearable, but she is trained to deal with things like this. When she is finally standing she finds that Allison is no longer laying next to her. When she sees Scott has also left Stiles' side at the couch she begins to make assumptions that the two are together.

Hobbling over to Isaac she just stares at him quietly in the dim early morning light. "Is she stable?" Lydia asks with a hoarse voice. Isaac nods slowly as he stares at Cora's face. He removes his finger from his lips.

"It's four thirty in the morning," Isaac states. Lydia only nods to show her understanding at the blunt statement. "She always gets up at four thirty to work out," Isaac explains himself. Lydia does nothing more than rub Isaac shoulder and mutter, "she will be fine." Wobbly on her crutches, Lydia makes her way to the couch where Stiles' sleeping form resides. Upon reaching her destination she quietly places her crutch on the floor. Softly falling into the cushions behind Stiles, Lydia stares at his back for a mere moment before Stiles rolls over in his sleep. With his eyes still closed, he wraps his arms around Lydia's waist and pulls her into his chest, no space remaining between the two. She rests a hand on his hard chest as if to steady herself. A few days ago she wished Stiles would disappear off the edge of the earth. She hoped he would never have the nerve to talk to her again, because she knew that if he did, she would fall right into his arms and there would be no escape. Because Stiles is irresistible and she has never once stopped loving him since the day Allison and her walked through the doors into the institute.

The rain comes down hard over their heads as a tall man leads the two girls through the tall iron gates. Their hands were clasped tightly together, nervous, scared, and cold. The two girls had just left everything behind at the news of Allison's family being assassins, Lydia being to good of a friend to abandon Allison. Of course the young Argent realizes soon that she has just fallen into her fate, but at least no one here was keeping secrets from her. They walk into the classic looking building, and follow the man through the halls of the large building. "It's time you meet the rest of your training group, I'll be your leader, Derek Hale," the man mutters as he opens the large doors revealing a large room with different dummies and weapons along with exercising equipment. Though Lydia doesn't look at any of these things for long. Her eyes stick to a tall and pale boy about her age spotted with moles. His abdomen is uncovered, revealing toned muscles. Her eyes lock on his knowing smirk. Trouble, she thinks, stay away, don't fall in love.

And yet, here she is, tucked away by Stiles Stilinski's strong arms. He mumbles in his sleep, barely aware of the girl who crawled onto the couch with him, "I love her." The words come out quiet and nearly inaudible, but Lydia catches them and returns them as well.

"I love you Stiles Stilinski."
________________________

About an hour later Stiles shoulder is being nudged. "Wake up," Isaac pleads softly. Stiles opens his eyes, pain rushing to his skull and look at Isaac tiredly. "Can you walk?" Isaac question.

"Maybe." Isaac nods at Stiles' response.

"Then try, and wake up Lydia," Isaac demands. Stiles grabs Lydia hand that is resting on his chest and whispers into her ear.

"Lyds, hey firecracker," he whispers. She wakes up slowly, the magnificent green of her eyes greeting Stiles's own eyes gratefully. She groans softly and tucks her head back into his chest. Her warm breath against Stiles' chest sends shivers up his spine. "Isaac needs us," Stiles mentions. She attempts to sit up, but just ends up hurting her ribs. Her face contorts and Stiles quickly grabs her waist. "You okay?" She nods.

"Peachy." The pair struggles to get of the couch, their problems relating to Lydia three broken ribs and Stiles severe concussion and bruising of the brain. Isaac smirks and raises his eyes at the pair. "What?" Lydia hisses. Isaac shrugs.

"Nothing, don't get your panties in a bunch, now come on, we've got somewhere to be." Stiles helps hobble along behind Isaac as much as he can, but his head is spinning rapidly, and their are a lot of stairs. When Isaac leads them to a spare room on the fifth floor, Stiles and Lydia figure out where they are being led to. Stiles sighs.

"It's been a long time," he mutters under his breath. Isaac moves the bookshelf that hides the button that opens the door within the drywall. Pressing that metal plated button, the trio waits for the door to open and silently, it succeeds in its task. The three young adults stride slowly up a short staircase and find themselves drowning in memories from their past.

"Isaac hurry it up with that popcorn!" Cora yells from the couch, sandwiched in between Stiles and the edge of the couch. The tall dirty blonde haired boy sprints from the kitchenette with a bowl full of he requested snack and plops himself down next to Cora.

"What movie are we watching again," a sixteen year old Isaac asks. Scott clears his throat.

"The Breakfast Club," the young McCall replies. From his spot in between Stiles and Lydia.

"I never get bored of this movie," Allison claims. Stiles smirks.

"Neither do I, I would love to do to Lydia what John does to Claire," Stiles claims in a deep voice. Lydia glares at Stiles, but then turns her glance to Scott.

"Scott," Lydia cues him. The boy continues to elbow Stiles in the gut at Lydia unspoken request. Stiles replies with a grunt and then leans over Scott to Lydia.

"Come on firecracker, you know you want me," Stiles says with his voice dropping even more octaves. She holds back every single urge to grab his face and kiss him until his lips swell.

"I know I want you to fall off the edge of the earth," the red head replies in a hiss. The cute straggles of hair that escaped the messy knot on top of her head make it hard to take her seriously. The black v-neck cut shirt makes it hard to concentrate on her face. Stiles grins sweetly. Lydia is all to distracted with his bare torso though. The group wore their pajamas to their little movie night and of course, Stiles' sleep wear consists of soft pajama pants a mole speckled abdomen. Stiles puckers his lips and sits back down into his spot on the small couch.

Lydia smiles at the memory as they reach the top of the stairs. Allison told her a story once of her and Scott climbing these stairs together.

Scott confidently wraps his hands around Allison's small waist as the enter the hidden door leading to the loft. She whips around and looks at him with a foreign blush on her face. "Scott?" He smirks confidently and picks up her small frame into his own broad one.

"Allison," he says casually. She shrugs away from his grip and begins to walk up the stairs into the loft. When Scott doesn't follow she turns around with a small smirk.

"Well aren't you coming, it's dreadfully cold in the loft, especially in January," Allison exclaims seductively. She leans her body against the wall of the staircase, stretches her fingers across the sheetrock, and tilts her head back. "Keep me warm Scott." Scott smirks from the bottom of the stairs. He starts moving as slow as he can up the stairs to keep her waiting, making her more anxious. Allison's anticipation is through the roof as she watches Scott inch closer and close to her. Just as Scott reaches her she gives Scott a taste of his own medicine. Turning around slowly, she walks away up the stairs, hips swaying to an imaginary beat. Scott follows in a trance, eyes locked on this horribly perfect girl. By the time Scott reaches the top of the stairs, Allison has already made it to the small kitchenette. She sits calmly on the countertop, stroking the granite with her dainty fingers that she is aching to put all over Scott's body. Upon seeing Scott enter the room, she swings her legs quietly onto the counter top and lays on her side. "You made it," she says mysteriously.

"What's my reward?" Scott asks knowingly as he approaches the lanky girl. Allison flips over onto her back, arching it slightly.

"Come find out." Scott jumps onto the counter straddling Allison's hips, giving her one last look of reassurance before bringing his lips down to her own. The kisses were anything, but light and soft. These kisses were desperate and wanting. They needed more than just a high school kiss on the cheek. Allison rides her hand under Scott shirt, feeling the results of hours of training every day.  Allison knees separate, allowing Scott's jeans to run between them. "Take it off Scott," Allison demands between his rough kisses. Scott smirks and pulls his shirt over his head, it lands in the sink a few feet away. Allison sits herself up on her elbows. "No matter how much I like that, I meant my shirt," she whispers seductively. Scott's eyes widen, but he doesn't waste anytime grabbing the edge of Allison's gray sweater and ripping it off of her, revealing lace. So much black lace curving over her. He leans back down over her and kisses her neck, sucking on the pale skin. His lips move down her neck and onto her collar bone. She holds her breath as he moves to her chest and kisses in between her breasts. Her fingers lace through his belt loops and she pulls him back up to her face. Her legs wrap tightly around Scott's waist and his arms move under the small of her back. Slowly, they manage to stand as they kiss and Scott carries Allison to the wall. When her feet are back on the ground she unzips her high waisted jeans and pulls them off, revealing even more lace. Scott jeans rub against her bare legs, the friction increasing her anticipation. The boy pushes Allison up against the wall. Their breathing is heavy and labored.

Thumps come from the stairway and the two teens split apart and listen. Their friends are coming up. "Quick get dressed!" Scott yells as he jumps over the counter to get to his shirt. Allison slips her pants back on quickly and Scott throws her the sweater she was wearing. She gets it on just as Stiles and Isaac tumble through the door. Allison jumps onto the couch and Scott pretends to look through the fridge. The two boys tackle each other playfully. Lydia and Cora follow the boys, rolling their eyes.

The memories fade away and instead Lydia finds herself looking at where her seventeen year old self cried, laughed, screamed, smiled, and basically lived out every part of her life that wasn't consumed by being an assassin. The trio also finds two people laying on the couch sound asleep under one of the many fluffy blankets Isaac smuggled up there. Scott's arms are wrapped around Allison, holding her like they are on the edge of a cliff and he is the only thing keeping her from falling into oblivion. Lydia and Stiles help each other walk over to the small round table with six chairs placed around it. Stiles insists on placing Lydia carefully in her chair. She cringes in pain from her injury, but hides her pain, courtesy of her years of training. Stiles does the same as his head spins. "Why did you bring us up here Lahey?" Stiles questions from his chair, rubbing his temples with his forefinger and thumb. Isaac shrugs.

"I don't want to be there if Cora dies," he says bluntly, "I'd rather be where she was happy." Lydia shakes her head, annoyed.

"Have you learned nothing, this is why we are not allowed to fall in love, it distracted us, makes us weak," she exclaims.

"Bull shit," Stiles says with a scowl plastered on his face. "Love drives a person to fight harder, it gives us something to fight for. It fuels that pit is your chest and gives you that feeling when you slice a knife through someone's throat just so they wouldn't kill your loved one. The feeling like the ground beneath you has disappeared and instead there is only adrenaline running you, forcing you to reach your goal. That whole mate for the only purpose of making more assassins is fucked up, we aren't grown up, we can't always be these emotionless twats! We're hormonal, crazy, emotion driven twenty year olds. So don't give me that bullshit Lydia, you especially shouldn't give that to me," Stiles blurts out in response to Lydia. She holds her breath and listen to him talk. His eyes trap her in all of his reasons that she knows deep down, are right. When Lydia looks back at Isaac she sees he is holding back tears.

"Isaac?" She questions as she reaches for his hand. He yanks away his hand and scowls at her.

"Don't touch me. I don't care how close we were a few years ago. You guys demolished all contact with Cora and I. We would stay at the hotel for weeks hoping that one of you would show up. It was like drowning every second of our lives. You are all the reason she is on her death bed!" Isaac screams. Scott and Allison woke up in the middle of Isaac's screaming.

"What do you mean Isaac?" Allison questions with a cocked eyebrow as she stands up from the couch and begins to walk towards the others with Scott in tow.

"We weren't instructed to be a group again. Cora convinced Mr. Calavera to let us fight together. We would never have gone on the fucking job if she hadn't been so desperate to get you guys back together! She wanted you to all be together! And that got her here, lying on her death bed!" Isaac yells at us. Scott places a hand on Isaac's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Isaac," he says. Isaac grabs his hand and squeezes it in thanks. Scott is always the one that Isaac trusts.

"I'm not," Stiles says from his chair. The others look at him, disturbed.

"What?" Lydia hisses.

"Cora got what she wanted, at least if she dies she will have got what she wanted." Isaac glances up at Stiles with squinted eyes. His heart races and everyone watches in horror as his fist connects with Stiles jaw. The Stilinski boy's head whips back, worsening his already existent concussion. Stiles falls back in his chair and Isaac leaps on top of the boy. His fists release all of their wrath upon Stiles body. A punch to his face, a jab in the gut, the throat, and his side. Isaac is cut off when Scott yanks his body off of Stiles and Allison shrieks.

"Cut it out!" Lydia drops to Stiles side.

"Stiles?" Lydia asks, concerned. Stiles squints, trying to make a clear picture of Lydia, who is hovering over him.

"Are you saying something? I can't see your mouth moving," Stiles jokes. Lydia smirks.

"Hang in there Stilinski," she says happily.

"You got it fire cracker. By the way, is it possible for a brain to bleed?" Stiles asks with all seriousness, but in the voice of a jokester. Lydia furrows her eyebrows.

"Yes actually why?" She asks Stiles.

"Well I think I'm becoming familiar with the sensation," Stiles claims as his head falls back down onto the ground with a loud thump. His breathing slows and he doesn't move. Lydia stands up and swiftly turns around to Isaac.

"What happened to you? One minute you want to remind us of all the good times we had up here, the next you're killing my boyfr- Stiles," Lydia slips up and Allison and Scott give her a knowing look. Isaac's head falls back.

"I think I'm done," Isaac says bluntly. Scott looks at the boy who is sat down in the small kitchen table chair.

"What do you mean you're done?" Scott questions. Isaac lets out a long breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Forget it, lets get Stiles down to Derek."

A/N HEY EVERYONE! So as of right now my updating schedule is once a month, not because that's how long it takes me to right a chapter, just because it's easier to remember. I actually have up to thirty chapters done right now. I wanted to ask if you would rather have me stick to updating once a months which means that I probably won't ever run out of material to post, or I post twice or three times a months which may result in me reaching a point where I have no material to post and it will take me longer to post something after a few months. So the first way there will always be an update on time but he second way may not end up like that. Just tell me in the comments, I really would appreciate that! Love ya'll!