❛ Our love has gone cold. You're intertwining your soul with somebody else. ❜

SEASON 1, EPISODE 11
formality

"OH, MY BABIES! You all look so good!" Starla squealed as she and Vic stood in the middle of the living room while Willow, Bridgette, and Laurel walked down the stairs together.

⠀⠀⠀The sisters had gotten their dresses on, done their makeup, curled their hair and all that was left was their dates (plus Dillon to third wheel with Laurel) to arrive.

⠀⠀⠀Starla clapped her hands together, swinging them to the side of her face, and grinned with stars in her eyes. When her daughters made it to the first floor, Starla was on them, making sure their dresses fit right, their makeup wasn't smudged, and everything was in order.

⠀⠀⠀"Are your dates coming soon?" Starla asked as she took the strands lying in Bridgette's face and pinned them back for her. "I want to get a picture with the three of you and then Bridgette and Willow with their dates, and Laurel on her own! Oh, I loved going to dances when I was younger!"

⠀⠀⠀Starla stepped away from the three teenagers and back towards her husband. She took his hands in hers. The two started to slow dance together in the middle of the living room.

⠀⠀⠀"Do you remember them, Vic?" Starla asked, resting her head on his chest and a content smile on her face.

⠀⠀⠀"Yes, sweetheart," Vic replied with a warm smile on his face before he bent down and kissed her head.

⠀⠀⠀"We would dance all night and maybe even snuck a little booze in to make it a little more enjoyable," Starla said, opening her eyes to look at her daughters with a devilish smirk.

⠀⠀⠀"But you three aren't allowed to do that," Vic said immediately after Starla finished.

⠀⠀⠀"Right, yes!" Starla exclaimed, patting Vic's chest and stepping away from him. He stood in front of the three with a scowl that didn't look as mean as she intended it to be. "No drinking, no getting high, no sex. Thank you!"

⠀⠀⠀A camera from across the room flew into Starla's hand, and she smiled at them, motioning for the three to get into a picture-perfect position by the fireplace. Willow stood on one end and Laurel on the other, youngest to oldest.

⠀⠀⠀"Say, cheese!" Starla exclaimed, holding the camera up to her eye.

⠀⠀⠀"Cheese!"

⠀⠀⠀Starla continued to take more until the doorbell rang.

⠀⠀⠀"I'll get it," Laurel stated.

⠀⠀⠀She stepped away from her sisters, her heels clicking against the wood floor before she reached the door, opening it. The rest of the Gallaghers waited in the living room for Laurel to return with their dates along with Blair's step-brother, Dillon, their designated driver.

⠀⠀⠀Willow walked over to Blair with a stupid smile on her face as she looked at her date. Blair wore a bright red dress, lying a few inches above the knee. It had flowers in a similar color sewn into the material. It hugged her chest a little too nicely for Willow's comfort. She had to consciously keep her eyes on Blair's smoked red eyeshadow with a thick black eyeliner wing.

⠀⠀⠀Blair caught her eye with her bright blue ones and caught where they came from. She smirked, and a flush moved through Willow.

⠀⠀⠀"You look beautiful," Blair whispered as she leaned in, her lips brushing over Willow's cheek. Willow wondered if her red lipstick smudged against her cheek for a moment. However, her lips were still lined to perfection when Blair pulled back.

⠀⠀⠀"You do, too," Willow whispered back, hearing the crack in her voice as she did.

⠀⠀⠀"Thank you, Willow," she smiled.

⠀⠀⠀"Pictures!" Starla exclaimed over the teens. "I need at least fifty more pictures, and then you can leave!"

⠀⠀⠀"Is she serious?" Dillon asked under his breath to the girls standing beside him. His hands were tucked deep into the pockets of his suit. He scowled at the situation he had walked into. No doubt thinking he should have stayed in the car.

⠀⠀⠀"Yes, I'm serious, kid!" Starla exclaimed. Her tone had shifted from the sweet motherly figure to take no shit from any of these teenagers. Even Dillon. "Get in the picture, stand with Laurel if you're feeling lonely or don't. I don't care! Just smile like you mean it, and we won't have a problem!"

⠀⠀⠀The teenagers scrambled to stand for the pictures. Group, individual, couple. Whatever they could be posed in, Starla got.

⠀⠀⠀It took about half an hour until Vic could take the camera from his wife and keep it in his hand before it went flying back into hers. Then, finally, he shouted for them to go before she got it again. And, they did, running out the front door, hopping into the minivan, and Dillon pulling out of the driveway heading for school.

DILLON PULLED INTO the parking lot of the school near the gym doors. Willow was surprised to see the amount of effort the school council had put into making the formal look good. There were lights, balloons, and other decorations even outside of the gym leading in.

⠀⠀⠀As Willow stood in the parking lot, waiting for the others in the van to get out, she noticed Stiles' Jeep pull in from the corner of her eye. She tried not to look at him or his Jeep, but when he walked around to help Lydia out, she couldn't help it.

⠀⠀⠀This time last year, they had been going to formal together. Stiles hadn't gotten his driver's license yet, his dad driving them to the dance instead. She had worn a simple, blue dress that he told her she looked beautiful in. He wore a suit that... well, actually the same one he was wearing tonight. She told him he looked handsome in it, and she still believed that. They had danced, goofed around like freshmen, and hung out a little with Scott and her sisters.

⠀⠀⠀They had fun, but there was still this tiny little crack in their relationship Willow couldn't shake.

⠀⠀⠀Lydia Martin. She had always been pretty, but when she wanted to look better than everyone else, she did, and she made sure everyone knew.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles had commented on how beautiful Lydia looked to her without thinking about it. That's what shattered all of it. Willow tried to internalize it, not let it bother her, but two weeks into winter break, she and Stiles had been getting dinner, and it came spilling out of her. They were done, and that was that.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey," Blair smiled, grabbing Willow's upper arm to catch her attention, and smiled when Willow looked over. "Everything okay?"

⠀⠀⠀Willow turned to her and smiled back.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah," she assured her. "Everything's great."

⠀⠀⠀Blair rose an eyebrow and glanced where Willow had been looking, then back to her with a smirk.

⠀⠀⠀"He's your ex, right?" Blair asked, but she didn't look jealous like Willow expected her to. "Why don't we make him jealous?"

⠀⠀⠀Willow turned red as Blair inched a little bit closer, her lips nearly touching Willow's. She didn't think they had gotten that far in the relationship yet, having talked to her once in the school's bathroom, so she stood frozen in place.

⠀⠀⠀"Blair!" her step-brother called, annoyed. "Stop scaring the poor girl and get your ass inside!"

⠀⠀⠀Blair stepped away from her, turned back to look at Stiles then grinned wickedly at him.

⠀⠀⠀"He's looking," Blair told her, turning back.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't care," Willow tried to say firmly, but it was more hesitant than she expected. She didn't want tonight to be about him as it seemed to always be somehow revolved around him. "Let's go inside."

⠀⠀⠀"But it feels good, right?" Blair asked. "To light a fire under his skin?"

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah," Willow laughed as Blair looped her arm in Willow's and led her inside with the rest of their group. "It kind of does."

BLAIR WAS SHORTER than Willow by about two inches, but she had worn heels, and Willow had not. So, as they swayed together on the dance floor, Blair stood above her with her arms resting on Willow's shoulders and stood at an arm's length. They could look at each other's faces and whisper to one another.

⠀⠀⠀"I just wanted to say," Willow told Blair, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks as Blair watched her under her lashes. "Thank you for asking me to the dance. I didn't think I'd go this year or even get asked to come. Getting asked in a bathroom after I was crying about my ex wasn't exactly how I thought it'd go, but..." she trailed off, grinning as Blair started laughing with her.

⠀⠀⠀"I know, I know," Blair laughed, raising one of her hands from Willow's shoulder and holding it to her mouth. She waved her hand, shaking her head. "It's just—Ever since I got here and just thought you were so pretty but didn't know how to just talk to you."

⠀⠀⠀"I did talk to you that one day at work," Willow pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her.

⠀⠀⠀Blair smiled at her, "You wanted me to ask you out while you were kicking me out?"

⠀⠀⠀"Is that better or worse than asking me out while I'm crying in the bathroom?" Willow retorted teasingly.

⠀⠀⠀"I can't say," Blair admitted, shrugging her shoulders, her hand back on her shoulder.

⠀⠀⠀"Or, just at school, you could have said something to me," Willow commented.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, yeah, just come up to you and say, 'hey, we talked for five seconds at the store you work at. I think after those few minutes I want to propose to you to go to formal with me. What do you say?'"

⠀⠀⠀"I still would have said yes," Willow stated, rolling her eyes. "Maybe we could have even gone on a date first and have more things to talk about than how you asked me out."

⠀⠀⠀"What? You don't know enough about me from the five minutes of conversation we've had," Blair retorted, shaking her head. "I'm offended, Willow, really."

⠀⠀⠀"I'm so sorry," Willow replied, faux apologetic. "How about I treat you to a date this weekend?"

⠀⠀⠀"That sounds nice," Blair smiled.

⠀⠀⠀"So, how long have you been in Beacon Hills?" Willow asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Beginning the date already?" Blair asked with a broad smile, swinging her head from one side to the other. "Well, my dad moved me here when he got full custody. I moved around the beginning of summer to live with him and my step-family. What about you?"

⠀⠀⠀"Lived here my whole life," Willow stated with a shrug. "My mom adopted me from an orphanage somewhere not here but yeah. I consider Beacon Hills home."

⠀⠀⠀"That's sweet," Blair smiled. "I haven't lived anywhere for a long time. "Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia, but being in Beacon Hills is starting to grow on me. Maybe it's because I'm finally not worried about moving again."

⠀⠀⠀"I couldn't imagine moving anywhere else," Willow stated, looking up at the ceiling for a moment then back to her. "Maybe because my mom owns a store here that she would never abandon, but this place, while small town, is... home."

⠀⠀⠀Blair nodded.

⠀⠀⠀"Your mom's store is really cool, by the way," Blair commented. "I love reading the books I bought the couple times I've been there, and the crystals are so pretty."

⠀⠀⠀"My sister loves crystals. She's put a lot of research and energy into them. If you ever have questions, I believe she'd be sure to help you with some," Willow stated with a smile.

⠀⠀⠀"She'd be great to talk to, especially if she knows a lot," Blair nodded in agreement. She looked over Willow's shoulder to see Bridgette and Marisol dancing not too far from them. "Your family practices Wicca, right?"

⠀⠀⠀Willow nodded, "Yes, not my dad, though."

⠀⠀⠀"Is there a reason?" Blair asked curiously, furrowing her brows.

⠀⠀⠀"He's just didn't grow up with it," Willow explained with a shrug. "It doesn't really bother us."

⠀⠀⠀"That's good," Blair sighed. "I know for my parents it was hard for them."

⠀⠀⠀"Does one of your parents also practice Wiccan?" Willow asked with a small laugh.

⠀⠀⠀Blair joined her, shaking her head.

⠀⠀⠀"No, no, my dad's Catholic while my mom's Jewish," Blair explained. "My dad has been a non-practicing Catholic for a long time, but their views were still too different for them to say together. I'm happy to hear that isn't the case for everyone."

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, my parents still act like it's the day after their wedding," Willow explained.

⠀⠀⠀"They're really something," Blair added.

⠀⠀⠀Willow and Blair continued to dance and whisper to each other for a few more songs until they grew tired. Especially Blair, who was wearing four-inch heels.

⠀⠀⠀They grabbed some punch, and a few snacks from the table then sat down at the table the group had picked with their purses and Dillon's wallet claiming it. Willow sat down in one chair, and Blair took one beside her, pulling it closer, so they were shoulder to shoulder as they talked, watched, and ate together.

⠀⠀⠀"You wanna dance?" Willow heard Stiles ask. Not to her but to Lydia at the other table that just happened to be next to hers.

⠀⠀⠀"Mm, pass," Lydia said quickly.

⠀⠀⠀From the corner of Willow's eye, she could see Stiles' face fall at Lydia's response. Then, he stood, suit jacket off as he stared determined down at Lydia.

⠀⠀⠀"You know what? Let me try that again," he stated, forehead creasing as he continued. "Lydia, get off your cute little ass and dance with me now!"

⠀⠀⠀Lydia paused, then said passively, "Interesting tactic. I'm gonna stick with no."

⠀⠀⠀"Lydia, get up, okay?" Stiles demanded, getting frustrated that his date wasn't going as dreamily as he had always imagined. Willow could feel the corners of her lips move up. "You're gonna dance with me. I-I don't care that you made out with my best friend for some weird power thing, I don't—Lydia, I've had a crush on you since the third grade."

⠀⠀⠀Willow frowned. She had heard that more times than she could count, and it helped chip away at her heart every time. Willow clenched her hand, nails digging into the skin.

⠀⠀⠀No, it didn't.

⠀⠀⠀It didn't bother her anymore.

⠀⠀⠀She was okay with it.

⠀⠀⠀All of it.

⠀⠀⠀"And I know that somewhere inside that cold, lifeless exterior, there's an actual human soul," Stiles continued. "And I'm also pretty sure I'm the only one who knows how smart you really are. Uh-huh, and that once you're done pretending to be a nitwit, you'll eventually go off and write some insane mathematical theorem that wins you the Nobel Prize."

⠀⠀⠀Willow couldn't see Lydia, she was sitting right out of her peripheral vision, but she could hear her scoff in a breezy, pleased way from Stiles' words.

⠀⠀⠀"A Fields Medal," she corrected him under her breath.

⠀⠀⠀"What?"

⠀⠀⠀Lydia stood. Willow watched as she stood toe to toe with Stiles.

⠀⠀⠀"Nobel doesn't have a prize for mathematics," Lydia explained. "The Fields Medal is the one I'll be winning."

⠀⠀⠀And with that, they walked off and to the dance floor.

⠀⠀⠀"Do you wanna dance?" Willow asked suddenly, turning to look at Blair instead of watching from the corner of her eye.

⠀⠀⠀Blair paused in what she had been doing. Willow was unclear since she focused on Stiles and Lydia rather than on her for the past two minutes. Blair gave a small, dejected smile.

⠀⠀⠀"You haven't been listening to a word I've been saying, have you?" Blair asked.

⠀⠀⠀Willow's smile dropped, her stomach sinking, and a rush of guilt reddened her cheeks. She stared at Blair, absolutely mortified that she had been ignoring her.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, my God," Willow gasped, holding her hands to her mouth. "Were you talking? Wait, no, that's shitty for asking. Wh—"

⠀⠀⠀"It's fine. I was talking but don't worry. I was only talking about the time I had gone to bring your daughter to work day with my dad," Blair explained, waving her hand. "Um, but to answer your question, I'm still a little tired right now. Do you mind if I stay a little longer?"

⠀⠀⠀"Of course, I'll sit with you," Willow assured her, slumping back into her seat.

⠀⠀⠀Blair leaned forward, resting her hand on Willow's upper arm. Her acrylic nails lightly graze over Willow's skin, causing goosebumps.

⠀⠀⠀"Please, go dance. Maybe it'll help you clear your mind," Blair told her with a warm smile. "I think Dillon and Laurel are headed back over here to keep me company."

⠀⠀⠀Willow glanced over to where Blair nodded at the two walking over to them. Willow sighed and stood.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, I'll be back soon to see if you want to dance with me again," Willow said, smiling ear to ear before disappearing into the crowd.

⠀⠀⠀Willow didn't pause to begin dancing, instead of slipping through the other side of the dance floor and out the side door for the bathroom.

⠀⠀⠀Willow felt dragged in too many places. Her mind was a scattered mess as she tried to pick up the pieces of who she was and who she felt was the false self. Finally, she made it into the bathroom, standing in front of the sink again, patting her face off with cool water in an attempt to make herself feel better.

⠀⠀⠀She didn't feel better. She never felt better. Why was she always felt stuck in one place and nothing else?

⠀⠀⠀Why did she still have feelings for Stiles? They should have faded. They should have left. Unless they clung to the fact that she once had feelings for him, this was residue from that. That's what it had to be. It had to be that. It had to be. It had to be.

⠀⠀⠀Willow grit her teeth, clenching the sides of the sink until her knuckles turned white. She wanted to scream, cry, do something but the fear of someone walking in on her high-school drama show had her biting her tongue and blinking back the tears.

⠀⠀⠀The door did, in fact, open like Willow expected, and she hoped whoever it was would just shuffle past her to use the restroom.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey."

⠀⠀⠀Willow hated that they kept meeting like this.

⠀⠀⠀"Do you want to get out of here?" Blair asked hesitantly. "Maybe talk about it?"

⠀⠀⠀Willow turned to Blair, who stared back at her in worry, but she didn't know how to respond. Why did Blair even keep trying when Willow was a lost cause?

⠀⠀⠀"I had a bad breakup once," Blair sighed, picking up the conversation like she had read Willow's mind. "It was bad. It felt like we had moved on until we got paired for a project in class. I tried to explain to my teacher that I didn't feel comfortable doing the project with her, but he didn't care. He saw it as an excuse for me to get out of doing it. We didn't go to each other's houses. We didn't really talk. After school, we sat in the library for two weeks doing what we needed to and left.

⠀⠀⠀"But it was weird because it was like all these old feelings got brought back up. However, the thing was, I had to move on. I had a girlfriend, well, a different ex now. I was happy. There's something about that first one that hurts us the most, and I know it's hard, and you keep avoiding it to make sure I don't feel like I'm second to him. It's okay to feel like you're not fully recovered. Neither am I, but we can talk about it. Or, just go on dates, push past the old feelings, or even make out a little," she added with a wicked smile that helped put a small one on Willow's face. "It helps. I doubt you've talked to anyone about it, have you?"

⠀⠀⠀"No," Willow whispered hoarsely. "I haven't."

⠀⠀⠀"Then, if you want to, let's ditch this bitch and go have a good night somewhere else," Blair grinned.

⠀⠀⠀Willow grinned back then nodded. Blair smiled at her success, took Willow's hand, and pulled her out of the restroom.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay," Blair smiled. "Wait here. I'll be back in two minutes after I steal Dillon's keys."

⠀⠀⠀"How will they get home?" Willow asked her with a worried frown.

⠀⠀⠀"I'll call my dad," Blair assured her with a wave walking back into the gym. "He can pick them up."

⠀⠀⠀Willow stood alone for less than a minute when Stiles came flying around the corner, caught her eye, and sprinted to stand in front of her. His arms went to her shoulders, holding her at arm's length as he panted.

⠀⠀⠀"Willow, Lydia's in trouble," Stiles said quickly before she could say anything. His hands pinched her skin as he frantically looked everywhere and her at the same time.

⠀⠀⠀"What? What do you mean?" she asked, but she kept herself from getting overly panicked for once.

⠀⠀⠀"I can't find Lydia, Allison's dad is here, and I think something bad is about to happen. We need to find her, now! Please," he begged her.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, okay," Willow said quickly. "Where haven't you looked?"

⠀⠀⠀"I don't know, outside?"

⠀⠀⠀"Let's start there," Willow nodded, the two rushing out of the hall and through the back door.

⠀⠀⠀They ran around the building, yelling Lydia's name and making a giant scene for the other students lingering outside to watch. Willow stopped in her tracks before they turned the corner as she noticed something strange at the lacrosse field.

⠀⠀⠀"Stiles," Willow muttered, raising her hand to point in the direction of the lights turning on one by one. "Should those be on?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

Hey, I'm going to need you guys to stop commenting on things where I want to say something spoilery, okay?! It's stressing me out and it's a while until we get to some stuff!!! (I'm totally joking but seriously I'm dying. I have to send jakesperaltas screenshots of a few comments and be like "BWAHAHAHA IF ONLY THEY KNEW WHAT WAS TO COME!!!!!!!!!!".

Anyways, here's the sort of end to Formality. I left out the part where Lydia gets attacked because I liked how this ended and since the scene at the end of Formality and the beginning of Code-Breaker are the same so I felt like it would work better.

SONG: Somebody Else by The 1975

Thank you for reading! Leave comments telling me your thoughts on this chapter, but however you interact, know that I really appreciate you reading. I hope you enjoy, and until the next one.