"Why are you so nice to me?"

***

It was strange to see Lydia Martin upset. She didn't care what others thought about her neither did she adore the attention. Yet, her perfect exterior had been shattered by her cheating ex-boyfriend. Lydia could have any boy she wanted, but why couldn't she keep them?

At school, she hid herself away from the nosy student body. The only place of solace she could find was the library. No one would expect to find her there, hidden away in the quietest corner. Despite contrary belief, Lydia was one of the smartest students in school. Her intellect went far beyond witty remarks and sharp comebacks. One day, she was sure to be a shoo-in for a Fields Medal.

People assumed she was the cliche mean girl with a harsh exterior, but that wasn't true. Sure, she might come across mean to others and intentionally hurt people's feelings, though that was only to prevent people from knowing her true identity.

She slouched back against the bookshelves, having no interest in reading a single book. All she needed to do was wait until her next class to begin and then afterwards return home. However, she would have to wait a while since her mother was a teacher at the school and was her only ride home.

"Hey," a sudden voice spoke. Lydia jumped a little, the voice sounding so close to her. She scanned the area, but there was seemingly no one there. "Oh, um, up here."

Even though the voice gave her a clue, Lydia still couldn't locate where it came from. "Up where?"

"Here." It was then that she saw the face of Stiles Stilinski poking through the bookshelf in front of her. "Sorry, I scared you."

She raised her eyebrows. "How long have you been watching me?"

"Oh, no long - I swear." He nervously stumbled over his words. "I just came in here and noticed you on the floor. Just came to see if you were all right."

"I am, thanks," Lydia told him. "Do you usually spy on girls in the library?"

He shook his head, speaking with a panicked tone. "Absolutely not! This was just a one-off."

His anxious characteristics made her laugh slightly. For some reason, whenever he was around her, Stiles would just melt. "Do you want to sit down, or should we continue talking through the bookshelves?"

"Um, yeah, sure." Stiles moved from his position, wandering around the other side and slowly approaching her. He slid down the wall, shyly sitting next to her. "So, what brings you to the library on this beautiful day?"

"Just hiding out for a bit. You know until classes start, et cetera." She confessed.

"Yeah, same," said Stiles. "Coach gave us a hard time during lacrosse practice, so I needed a place to cool down. It was either here or the bathroom where the smokers hang. It always smells of weed in there."

She turned her head in his direction. "I'd say the girls' bathroom is nicer, but I think every bathroom is gross."

"I'm pretty sure one guy wrote "Lydia Martin is hawt" in a toilet stall." They chuckled for a moment, Lydia instantly believing it.

"Sometimes, I think that guys only like girls for their bodies." She theorised. "All they see is tits and ass."

"Yeah, they do." The statement effortlessly slipped out his lips. Abruptly, Stiles blinked in shock at what he just said. "I mean, I don't think that- I like personalities more..."

Lydia smirked. "Right..."

"It's not that I don't think you're pretty. I mean, you are pretty but I'm not saying that I like you just for that." He blurted, spilling his words like vomit. "I like you because you're smart and clever and beautiful - NO, I don't like you just for your looks! I'm such an idiot."

She stared at him in astonishment, an awkward silence floating through the air. "Why are you so nice to me?"

He raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"If you haven't realised yet, I'm not exactly the nicest person to be around." Lydia started. "I'm pretty sure I've brushed you off thousands of times, but you act like you don't care. Why?"

Stiles shrugged. "I've got surprisingly thick skin."

"Still doesn't give you a reason to be nice to me." She declared.

Silence returned, Stiles and Lydia sat beside each other as time ticked away. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence; in fact, Lydia felt tranquil. She felt like herself when sitting next to Stiles, yet she had no clue why.

"Maybe I like you because I know there's more to you beyond that cold, lifeless exterior. I know you have a soul underneath all that makeup." He admitted, gazing into her green eyes. "I think I'm the only person who knows that you're one of the smartest students in the whole school. Maybe that's why I'm so nice to you." 

Lydia listened to his words with a stunned expression. There wasn't a single person in this whole world who understood her; not even Jennifer or her mom saw her for who she was. But then there was Stiles, a boy she'd hardly paid any attention to. How could a boy she's ignored for years know her better than everyone else?

It was something that struck her with amazement. Something on her seemingly perfect surface shifted, her facade slipping away in an instant. She softly smiled, staring at Stiles with warm eyes. "Do you want to hang out after school?"

His eyes widened, clearly not expecting her response. "Huh?"

"I usually have to wait for my mom to finish up here before I can go home, but I'd rather spend my time elsewhere." She mentioned.

Stiles squinted at her. "Are you asking me out?"

"Isn't it obvious?" posed Lydia. He didn't respond, hesitating as Stiles attempted to compose a good answer. "Is that a yes...?"

He blinked, breaking out of his nervous state. "Yes- Yes! Yeah, sounds cool."

"Cool." She beamed, Stiles immediately falling in love with her smile again. It was a connection Lydia did not anticipate to occur; however, she didn't want it to cease. Eventually, Lydia turned away and glanced at the time on her phone. "I've got class in a few minutes. Meet you by the entrance after school?"

"Yeah, sounds good." He said.

"Great, see you then." Lydia stood up from the floor and began to leave with a secret grin on her face. Behind her, Stiles silently cheered, having finally achieved one of his biggest goals.

***

Jennifer fiddled with her black ballpoint pen as she sat in her science classroom, waiting for the lesson to begin. For the whole day, her mind had been continually plagued by Allison's dare. As much as she wanted to ask out Stiles, she was too afraid to even speak to him. How did people survive the perils of teenage life?

If only she could be more like Lydia, straightforward and confident. How she yearned to be strong and powerful. She wanted to flirt with boys like it was nothing. She wanted to tease them and play with their emotions. She wanted to be something more than boring, insignificant Jennifer Check.

As she was lost in deep thought, her best friend strolled into the room with a grin on her face. "Hey, Jen."

She was thrown out of her trance just as Lydia sat down. Jennifer greeted her with a small smile. "Hi, Di."

"I was thinking we could do a study session around my house on the weekend. Does that sound good?" she wondered.

"Yeah, I think I'm available then." She mentioned as Lydia retrieved her cherry-red lipgloss. Jennifer raised her eyebrows, watching her apply it with curiosity. "Okay, what's going on?"

Lydia paused, confused. "What?"

"You only wear your cherry-red lipgloss when you're going to kiss someone," acknowledged Jennifer. "So, what's going on?"

She slipped the lipgloss back into her pocket, ecstatically bearing her pearly whites to Jennifer. "I've got a date later."

Jennifer straightened up in her seat, intrigued. "Seriously? The day after you broke up with Jackson?"

"You know I move on quickly," Lydia replied. "Plus, I was taking a chance."

"Taking a chance?" Jennifer returned. "And which poor guy are you taking a chance on this time?"

Lydia thought back to her conversation with Stiles in the library, fondly remembering what he said to her. "Stiles Stilinski." The words just slipped off her tongue; she couldn't control it. She was happy. It was a happiness that she hadn't felt in a long while.

Unbeknownst to the lovestruck redhead, her best friend wasn't sharing her excitement. Jennifer furrowed her brows. "What...?"

"Yeah, I know it's hard to believe, but it just happened." She told her. "He just said some stuff that I needed to hear, and I decided to ask if he wanted to hang out."

Jennifer observed her friend in disbelief, bewildered at how she suddenly gained feelings for Stiles. This wasn't what she had wanted. She wanted Stiles to be hers, not Lydia's. Jennifer was so close to asking him out, and now she regretted not doing it sooner.

Her anger and sorrow was swiftly mellowed the moment she grasped onto her BFF necklace; the one she shared with Lydia. The girls never took them off because it symbolised their tight bond. But whenever Jennifer was angry at her, she would hold onto the necklace as a reminder that they were best friends. Then, she couldn't be mad at her.

Perhaps Lydia didn't realise that she liked him too. Maybe their relationship wouldn't last two weeks. After all, Lydia and Stiles had absolutely nothing in common.

"That sounds great, Lydia." Jennifer encouraged. "I hope you two have fun."

She wanted to be happy for her friend, but she also hoped their date would end in flames.

***

Hello everyone!

I wanted to build on Jennifer's personality more and expand on her desires (albeit a bit selfish). And I wrote a bit of Stydia because it's my favourite Teen Wolf ship.

Fun fact: I watched Jennifer's Body because I listened to 'killing boys' by Halsey, which I discovered on a Tom Riddle playlist. It's my favourite song at the moment.

- Alice ❤