She tried and failed to sleep. It’d been hours, and Lydia still couldn’t believe Kyle thought he could just barge his way into her family home and nearly ruin everything for her. His pained face as he hesitantly shook Jordan’s hand flooded her memory. She shook her head, running her fingers through her hair.
He brought it on himself, she reminded herself. We’ve got this.
“Hey,” Jordan whispered from the bed of pillows on the floor. He was staring up at the dark ceiling with his head propped up onto his arms. “You okay?”
Lydia rolled over to the right edge of the bed so she could see the outline of him below her.
“I’m pretty sure I’m doing a lot better than you are.” Her voice was soft. “Are you sure you’re okay down there?”
“What, this?” He shook his head, grinning to what he was coming to realize was just himself. “This is nothing. I’ve had to sleep in much worse places before. Life as a soldier doesn’t always have the most comfortable sleeping arrangements.”
“Well, you don’t have to sleep like that anymore.” Lydia rolled back to the left half of the bed. She knew he would not accept it, but she wanted to make sure she offered it anyway. “Right side’s yours if you decide you want it.”
Lydia was no stranger to sharing a bed with a man she didn’t know. She’s had a few one night stands once in a while. Sharing her bed with Jordan Parrish? It wasn’t such a bad idea to her. She’d spent a week getting to know the guy’s life story, or at least as much of it as he was comfortable talking about. She knew him well enough for it not to be awkward. For the life of her, Lydia couldn’t figure out why Jordan preferred the hard floor over sharing the bed.
Chivalry probably, she smiled to herself. He seemed to be born a proper gentleman.
“Goodnight, Lydia.” Jordan confirmed her assumption with a quick grin playing on his lips.
“Sweet dreams, Jordan.”
As much as she knew she’d regret it in the morning, Lydia didn’t plan on going to sleep. She was too busy trying to figure out how to keep Kyle at bay this week. If he decided he couldn’t handle seeing her with Jordan, he could ruin the entire scheme. Would he really do that to her? Lydia had no idea what the answer to that question was. She had to be prepared for anything though, right?
Two hours later, she still had no answers to her questions. All she had were imaginary scenarios of all the ways Kyle could possibly screw her over, whether intentionally or accidentally. She began to hear Jordan shifting in his sleep, and she shook the temporary distraction out of her mind. It didn’t take long before his breathing became more rapid and more audible.
“No…” He mumbled, still unconscious. “Please…”
Lydia sat up and glanced at him, contemplating what to do. She was almost positive she shouldn’t try to wake him.
“No, please!” Even in his unconscious state, he sounded frantic. “Don’t… do… this.”
She couldn’t just sit there and listen to this. Her mind was made. She had to wake him. Whatever he was dreaming of certainly wasn’t sweet. He’d do the same for her if the roles were reversed.
“Here goes nothing.” She quickly climbed out of bed, sighing as she hurried to him.
“Mas-“
“Jordan?” She kept her distance. “Jordan, wake up.”
“You…” Jordan’s face scrunched up as he began to shift again. “You can’t…”
“Jordan!” Lydia began to gently shake him out of his nightmare.
Nothing.
“Come on, wake up!” She shook him more aggressively this time.
He shifted, turning his body to the side facing away from Lydia.
“Parrish!”
At the sound of his last name, his eyes began to flutter. Lydia took notice and shook him again.
In one swift moment Jordan’s eyes shot open and attempting to sit up, he accidentally hit his head against the wood of Lydia’s bedframe.
“Ouch,” he groaned. Then he noticed the feeling of a hand on his arm. He rolled onto his back, facing Lydia for the first time.
Neither of them knew what to say. Lydia wanted to ask him if he was alright. It just seemed like such a stupid question to ask, having witnessed it with her own eyes. He most definitely was not alright, and she knew there was nothing she could say that would possibly make it better.
“Lydia?” He rested his hand on his forehead, where it collided with Lydia’s bed. “Are you okay?”
“Me?” Lydia shook her head. “I was just wondering the same about you.”
“I…” As realization hit him, he closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “Sorry, Lydia.”
“Yeah.” She sighed as she pulled her hand from his arm. “Come on.”
“What?” He glanced at the alarm clock above his head. 12:25 am. “Where?”
“Does it really matter? Get dressed.” Lydia started to walk off, but hesitated. “And, Jordan? You don’t have to apologize for having a nightmare.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but he didn’t know what to respond. He simply shook his head and pressed his lips into a tense forced smile. He didn’t think Lydia would know the difference, but she did. It was an expression she was all too familiar with, having used it so many times herself.
Jordan threw a random t-shirt on from his luggage, slipped on his shoes, and followed Lydia out of the mansion. They hopped into Jordan’s car. It was a much shorter ride than what Jordan was expecting. Less than ten minutes had passed before Lydia stopped driving. As they got out of the car, he looked around, expecting to see at least a building. Instead, they stood in front of a small park.
“Uh, Lydia?” He closed the door, glancing to the opposite side of the car where he thought Lydia would be standing. She wasn’t.
“Right here.” Lydia grabbed his right hand, pulling him forward. “This way.”
For five minutes, she guided him out of the park, making several turns along the way. When they finally stopped walking, Lydia let go of his hand. Jordan took in the change of scenery. He stood before a large lake illustrated with the reflections of the rainbow of lighting coming from the buildings on the opposite side of the water. Blue, purple, white, orange, pink, green.
“This is…” He smiled at the cityscape. Beautiful. Perfect. So unexpectedly simple.
“I know,” Lydia admired the view. “Life as the daughter of the ever so perfect Richard David Martin hasn’t always been all puppies and sunshine.” She paused as Jordan’s eyes drifted to her. “I found this place one night when I just needed to get away from everything. The business parties, the fake smiles, and the fancy meals meant to impress other rich snobs. None of it was ever for me. Sure, it was fun at first, but I grew out of it. Seventeen-year-old me wanted a break from it all, took a long walk, and stumbled across this lake.”
Lydia paced forward, sitting on a large boulder. Jordan followed her lead.
“Jordan, it seemed like you were reliving something. In your dream.” She glanced over at him. “You don’t have to tell me, Jordan. I know you don’t want to talk about it, so I promise I won’t ask you. I like to come out here to clear my mind.”
“I sure could use a place like this.” Jordan gazed out at the colorful water. “A safe place to call my own.”
“Well, I’ll share it with you.” Lydia nodded slowly. “On one condition.”
“What’s that?” He was half intrigued, half cautious.
“If it becomes too much, just let me in. I stand by my word. But if you need someone to just be there, or to watch the lake with, I want you to know you can count on me.
“Okay,” he nodded. “If it becomes too much for me to handle, you’ll be the first to know.”
He couldn’t understand how, or why, but deep down he just knew. Lydia Martin was someone he could trust. If they weren’t the best of friends at the end of this trip, he sure as hell would be shocked.
@staliasfated requested: Fire alarm goes off in the dorms and Lydia is in the shower when it happens. So she has to evacuate the building in just her towel. So Jordan gives her his jacket or something. To try and keep her warm.
@lyssanicolerayne added: Bonus if he is the RA
Additional Characters: Malia, Kira
Words: 3337
It was 9 pm and she was ready to get to bed earlier than usual. She was lathering her hair with shampoo, just like she did every night when she got into the shower. Hot water streamed along her body. The feel of it was rather intoxicating to her. At least, it was intoxicating until she was interrupted by the sound of ringing outside of the bathroom. She couldn’t tell exactly what it was, and honestly she didn’t care. All she wanted to think about was the water currently hitting her face.
Bang, bang, bang.
“Come on, Lydia!” Her roommate, Malia, continued to pound on the door until she received some response. In this case, it was Lydia’s groaning. “That’s the fire alarm. Do you really want some stuffy old firefighter walking in on you?”
“Malia, seriously?” She laughed dryly. “I literally roamed around Beacon Hills completely naked with nothing but leaves in my messy hair. I think I can handle a couple of firefighters.”
“Okay, let’s try this again.” Malia sighed. “If you don’t get your ass out of the shower right now I’m coming in and dragging you outside myself.”
“Aw Malia.” She couldn’t help the laugh that slipped from her lips. “I don’t think your coyote can handle my banshee, but nice try.”
“Wanna bet?” As if Lydia could actually see it, Malia let her eyes glow blue.
Lydia turned the water off, laughing. She didn’t have to see Malia in order to know what she was doing. Malia’s eyes had a tendency to glow when she got riled up, excited, or even when she had a point to make.
“Hurry up! There was a gas leak.” Malia groaned. “They’ve been coming back every 2 minutes and if they bang on this door one more time I might lose it.”
Lydia stepped out of the shower and wrapped her large towel around her body and sliding her slippers on before leaving the bathroom.
“Just for the record,” Lydia passed by Malia. “I’m only getting out for the simple reason that I’d rather not kill everybody in the building with my extreme scream. And…you exposing us to the fire department wouldn’t be good for anybody in this building.” It was true. Every person in their dorm was supernatural.
“Sure,” Malia smirked as Lydia headed toward her small closet. “No, Lydia. There’s no time. They’ll be back any second now, still threatening to break this door in. Do you realize how much they’ll charge us for a broken door at this stupid school? No thank you. Let’s go.”
Malia opened the front door. They walked the empty halls together in silence. It wasn’t until they got outside and the cool breeze hit Lydia that she regretted not having any clothes on. She shivered, her hands tightening against the towel. Lydia wasn’t actually thinking about the fact that it would be freezing outside. If she’d considered it, there was no way she wouldn’t have thrown actual clothes on as Malia scolded her to hurry up.
“Lydia! What are you wearing?” Lydia hadn’t noticed Kira standing there until she spoke. Kira crossed her arms, frowning at her. “It’s only 57 degrees tonight!”
“Y-you don’t have t-to tell me th-that.” Lydia tried to think warm thoughts. Cookies fresh out of the oven. A fort composed of blankets, much like the one she’d build for the nights she had to babysit her younger sister. The summer sun in California. Drinking hot chocolate in front of the fireplace. Nothing seemed to be working though. Lydia didn’t want to speak. All she wanted was to be warm. “Y-you’re only m-m-making it w-worse.”
“Sorry,” a tinge of sympathy in Kira’s smile.
“Lydia?” A familiar voice called from behind her. Lydia didn’t have to see his face in order to know it was her RA. She’d been crushing on him the entire month she lived on campus this semester.
“J-Jordan!” Lydia turned to face him, careful not to let her numb fingers drop the towel. “F-fancy meeting you h-here.”
Jordan tried not to laugh. It was hard to take her so seriously when she couldn’t form a complete sentence without her teeth clattering. Her cheeks were pink, what he assumed was purely because of the weather.
“Come here,” he smiled. Jordan shrugged his arms out of his thick black coat. Lydia began to protest. She didn’t want him to be cold just because she chose the wrong time to take a long shower. He shook his head. Jordan stepped forward, wrapping Lydia up in his jacket. His arms wrapped around Lydia, hugging her to him attempting to give her a little extra warmth. “You need this way more than I do.”
Lydia nodded, smiling more to herself than at him. His body was unusually warm, even with the weather being so cold. She didn’t care though. Lydia would take heat in any form she could get it. The fact that Jordan had his arms wrapped around Lydia didn’t hurt either. She just wished it was under other circumstances. The one positive thing she would take from this encounter was now she knew for a fact that he had a good heart. She’d always assumed it was the case because she couldn’t think of a time when he lost his cool and he was always around when somebody needed him. Now, she knew without a doubt that this was a guy she wanted to keep around.
Jordan felt Lydia shiver in his arms. He wished he could do something, anything, to help her. The fire department was still inspecting the dorms though, so Jordan couldn’t take Lydia back to her room just yet. Then it hit him.
“What do you say we get out of here?” Jordan glanced down at the girl he had in his arms. He’d always been afraid of talking to Lydia. For the first time in his two years working for the housing department he liked a student he was responsible for. Were RAs even allowed to have romantic relationships with their residents? He was pretty sure just the thought of dating one would get him into trouble. Even more than that, he was afraid of hurting her. Like Lydia and Malia, he had supernatural powers. Jordan didn’t know about theirs, but he was pretty sure Lydia was supposed to be afraid of getting so close to a hellhound. He had to tread carefully in these potentially dangerous waters.
“I’m not exactly dressed for taking a walk, Jordan.” She was glad her teeth finally stopped clattering. The last thing she wanted was to sound nervous. Lydia Martin didn’t get nervous. It wasn’t in her nature. At least not that she knew of.
“I was thinking more like…” Jordan was reconsidering whether it was a good idea to just run off with Lydia. “You can enjoy the heat from my car. I’m parked just right here.” Jordan gestured to the red car less than five feet away from where they stood.
“I could use more heat, not that your body isn’t hot enough.” Lydia immediately wished she could take back those words which held a double meaning. She never wanted Jordan to know she liked him. Being a banshee in college was complicated enough. She didn’t want to date her RA too. “I mean, not that I’ve—Your body is really warm in this cold weather.”
If only she’d realized sooner that he didn’t think anything of her comment about his body being hot. Now that she’d altered her original statement, he had to figure out why she thought it was bad enough she had to change it. It didn’t take much thinking to realize what was happening. A big smile spread across his face. He didn’t say anything about what she’d said, just guided her toward his car and started the engine with the remote on his key. Behind them, Kira smiled at Malia. They high-fived as soon as Lydia and Jordan were out of hearing distance.
Lydia thanked Jordan as he opened the passenger’s side door for her and closed it once she was inside. He jogged over to his own door, sliding in the seat as quickly as possible. The only thing Jordan liked about being a hellhound was that, as Lydia noticed, it was rare that he got cold. Jordan turned the car on, and switched the heat as high as it could possibly go. It didn’t take long for the temperature inside the car to warm up since Jordan had only just turned it off before seeing Lydia and all the other residents of his building standing outside. He had a late class off campus, which for once wasn’t all that bad considering how quickly the car’s airflow took to heat up. Lydia rubbed her hands together in front of the vent and smiled over at her RA. Jordan reversed out of the parking lot and drove seemingly aimlessly. She noticed he seemed deep in thought, so she had to ask.
“What is it?” Lydia rested her head against the leather headrest behind her. She may not have known Jordan very well, but she knew him well enough to recognize the hesitance in his eyes. She’d seen it all semester and all night. “And don’t say ‘it’s nothing’ because you already know I’m not going to believe that.”
Jordan chuckled, more to himself than anything else. He didn’t realize she ever paid enough attention to him to know what he was thinking. He nodded and looked up at her, a smile still on his lips.
“Are you hungry?” Jordan tried to stop himself, but honestly he didn’t want to anymore. Lydia being practically naked was just another reason why he was regretting his timing. “There’s this… really great pizza place just around the corner. We can wait out the fire department with the best, cheesiest off-campus pizza you could ever wish for.”
“Uh, yeah.” Lydia wasn’t really all that hungry, but she wasn’t about to pass this opportunity up. “I could eat.”
Jordan nodded. He didn’t want to smile too much or too little, but he was certain that he’d already shown enough affection for one night. It was still hard to contain though, at least when he was with Lydia anyway.
Neither of them said anything for the next couple of minutes. Jordan was overthinking everything he could possibly say without directly letting Lydia know how he felt about her. And Lydia? Well, she was simply taking comfort in the fact that she was finally warm again. It helped that she trusted the guy she was with and she could just enjoy the ride.
Before Lydia knew it, they were pulling into a mildly lit parking lot. Jordan promised to hurry back and sprinted into the pizzeria. Sure enough, he returned almost as quickly as he’d left. Settling into his seat, he flashed his pearly whites at the girl next to him. If he said he didn’t think of her in those few minutes he was away he would’ve been lying.
“So we’ve got cheese for me…” Jordan looked down as he opened the medium pizza box. “…and pepperoni for you.”
“Perfect!” Lydia took in the enticing aroma. The smell alone proved she was actually hungrier than she thought. Lydia tore a slice from the pie. Tasting her first bite, she held back the appreciative moan on the tip of her tongue. Jordan took a bite of his own cheesy slice only to look up and notice Lydia smiling at him.
“What?” He chuckled. Every time he thought the night couldn’t get any better, Lydia smiled at him and gave him a sensation he never imagined for himself. The simplest gestures from her were more than enough to send his heart into overdrive, though she didn’t even have to try. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” her smile somehow managed to grow wider. “It’s just… you’re so amazing, Jordan.”
“Thanks,” he relaxed. “But honestly I’m not that gr—“
“Of course you are.” Lydia’s eyes searched Jordan’s. “Honestly I’m having a hard time believing you’re a real person. You’ve always had this mysterious vibe emitting from you, yet you’re like a total teddy bear. And you put everyone else before yourself. You don’t even see it, do you? There’s something about you I can’t quite put my finger on, but I like it. I wonder… At the end of the day, who’s the one putting you first? Who do you turn to when you just need somebody by your side? When you simply want to have someone there?”
Jordan didn’t respond, just tried to process Lydia’s words. They were legit questions. Even he couldn’t remember the last time he had someone he genuinely wanted by his side. He couldn’t remember a time he knew for certain that the people he’d surrounded himself with were unconditionally his. The lingering silence was confirmation enough for Lydia.
“You deserve someone…” Lydia shrugged her shoulder. “…incredible.”
“I don’t need anybody.” Jordan shook his head, his smile slowly returning. With Lydia by his side, what else did he need in that very moment? The moment wasn’t guaranteed to last forever, but he was content with whatever he could get. “I’ve got everything already.”
“But what do you want?”
“I…”
“You… what?” Lydia was pretty sure she knew what Jordan wanted. She glanced at Jordan’s lips just long enough for realization to strike him.
Jordan hesitated. This was it. The time for him to decide if he would break his rule about dating a resident had actually presented itself. On the one hand, he could stick with what was comfortable and not worry about potentially getting in trouble for dating her. On the other hand, he was happy every time he was fortunate enough to be with Lydia. It was only a fraction of how much more awesome life would be with Lydia as Jordan’s girlfriend.
Lydia leaned in closer to Jordan, making the next move. Her lips were getting closer and closer to Jordan’s, but she wouldn’t do any more than that. If he wanted this, she decided, Jordan would have to kiss her without any more help. He understood the moment she stopped leaning in that whatever happened from that moment on was all his decision. Jordan closed the small gap between their lips. There was no way he would risk letting Lydia slip away just yet. His hand tangled through Lydia’s still damp hair. Lydia’s hands found Jordan’s chest, travelling up to the back of his neck. She felt Jordan smile into her lips. She ran her fingers through his brown hair causing once neat style to fall out of place.
There were two short knocks on Jordan’s window. They reluctantly stopped in their tracks. Neither of them wanted to pull away, but the knocking continued. Jordan willed himself to pull away from Lydia. He looked out the window, finding the sheriff bent over with an expectant look plastered on his face. Jordan rolled the window down.
“Hey kids,” he smiled. “I know it’s date night, or whatever, but please take it somewhere else. You don’t have to go home, but this parking is for customers and I have nowhere else to park so…”
“Oh, uh…” Jordan cleared his throat and glanced over at Lydia. “S-sure, sheriff.”
Lydia stifled a laugh. It was the first time a cop had ever interrupted her. Honestly, she wasn’t embarrassed by it. Jordan couldn’t say the same though. The last thing he ever wanted was for his boss to have to break up his make out session with the one girl he never thought he’d actually kiss.
“Oh, and son?”
“Sheriff?”
“Don’t stay out too late. You have an early shift in the morning.” With that, the sheriff walked away amused.
“Right…” Jordan rolled the window back up and started driving back to campus. He received a few soft smiles from Lydia on the way back.
Jordan walked through the suddenly busy halls with Lydia by his side. He’d never imagined actually spending this much time with Lydia, but it happened. It was an amazing night, and it was all because of the fire department choosing the wrong time to show up and evacuate the building.
“So this is it,” Jordan glanced down at Lydia. The two came to a stop as they reached Lydia’s suite. She didn’t realize they got there so soon.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Lydia bit down on her bottom lip. “Uh, see you around Jordan.”
He nodded, hugging Lydia. “See ya.” He reluctantly let go of her and began to walk away.
“Hey Jordan?” Lydia called after him. He turned around. “I’ll get this—“ gestured to Jordan’s jacket. “—back to you after I can actually get dressed.”
“It’s alright,” he laughed. “Keep it. It looks good on you.” Jordan couldn’t believe it was so easy to let those words come out of his mouth.
“Jordan?” It was Lydia’s turn to smile. “Call me.”
Jordan nodded as his back hit the wall, right next to his room. Lydia opened the door to her suite, her gaze still locked onto Jordan’s. She didn’t have her key, but her suitemates always left the door unlocked for her. Lydia backed into her suite as she waved Jordan off. He watched as she disappeared.
Lydia heard laughter coming from Kira’s room, so she followed the noise. Before she could speak up, she couldn’t believe what she heard.”
“I still can’t believe it worked!” Kira sighed. “I am a genius. I mean it was a matter of theory at first, but now we know for sure.”
Lydia stayed silent, refusing to let them know she was listening. She needed to know what it was Kira did, so she could use it as leverage later.
“Yeah, I mean I wouldn’t go so far as to say ‘genius’ but it was a good plan.” Malia was scrolling through her phone. “I mean I thought you were going to get us kicked out, but still.”
“Come on!” Kira threw a pillow at Malia. “We made such a good team! You took out the fire alarms, so obviously you were on board with this on some level.”
“Yeah, well, somebody had to. You were using your powers to take out the sprinklers. You couldn’t have all the fun.”
“Did you see how shocked he was? When he saw Lydia in nothing but a towel?” Kira squeaked unable to contain her excitement. “I knew he liked her!”
“I’m pretty sure we all saw, yeah.”
“Fuck you guys,” Lydia showed herself and glared at them. “I was freezing out there because you wanted to play matchmaker?”
“Well,” Kira attempted to hold her laughter. “When you say it like that it seems like there was a better, more fun option. But if it makes you feel any better, I did feel bad.”
Lydia walked off, letting her bedroom door slam behind her.
Suddenly she realized she didn’t kiss Jordan goodnight, immediately wishing she had. Lydia groaned just as there was a knock on her door. She opened it, ready to sass her roommates if they did anything more to deserve it. Neither Malia nor Kira appeared in her doorway. Instead, the boy she’d just left in the hall stood before her.
“Hey.” A smile painted on her face.
“Hey,” his face matching hers. “You forgot something.”
Before she could ask what, Jordan cupped his hands around Lydia’s face and found her lips again. Softly, he kissed her for the last time that night.
“I don’t know what I did to pull you in,” Jordan whispered. “But I couldn’t walk away tonight without saying a proper goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Jordan.” Lydia grinned up at him. This was one night she wouldn’t ever forget. Despite nearly being frozen, Lydia had an amazing night. It was all thanks to the time she got to spend with Jordan.
“Goodnight, Lydia.” He nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jordan parked his car in front of Lydia’s garage and headed straight for the front door. Before he could ring the doorbell, though, she opened the door. Suddenly, he wasn’t so sure that offering to pretend to be dating this total stranger mere days before meeting her parents seemed like such a great idea. He was terrified of making a mistake and screwing everything up for Lydia. Today would be the day that Lydia’s father would potentially see through their charade. It was too late to back out now, though.
“Jordan… We’re supposed to be keeping up appearances, remember? Head over heels, what a dream come true, in love.” Lydia smiled. “Don’t knock, just come on in.”
She made space for her adorable faux boyfriend to slide past her.
“Good afternoon, Lydia.” Jordan grinned down at the strawberry blonde he’d spent every day of the last week with. “Are we all set?”
“Not quite.” She closed the door behind Jordan. “We should recap the basics briefly before we hit the road.”
She led him to the living room, where her luggage was neatly organized along the sky blue walls. Her phone began to ring on the coffee table, so she looked at the caller ID. Kyle was calling for the first time in an entire week. What would Lydia even say to him? She wasn’t prepared to answer that question for herself, so she decided to just let the voicemail pick it up. He probably just wanted her to know he was still angry, right? She couldn’t bring herself to face his upcoming wrath. Not just yet. This fight would just have to wait.
Focus, Lydia, she reminded herself.
“You could’ve answered that,” Jordan raised his eyebrow as they took their places on the red couch. “I mean isn’t the point of having a best friend that you know you can always work it out?”
“It’s…complicated.” Lydia wanted to just shake the question out of her head, pretend it didn’t exist.
“I know. I was there.” Jordan pointed out.
“Siblings?” Lydia asked, changing the subject.
“You know I’m right, don’t you?”
“Two brothers and one sister.” She continued to ignore his question. Yes, she knew he was right. That wasn’t the part she didn’t like. The thing she hated was that she knew she hurt her best friend, and no matter how unintentional that was there was nothing she could do to fix it. That would always be a roadblock in their friendship. Nothing would apparently ever change the way Kyle felt about her, and she didn’t know how to deal with the knowledge of that.
“Cayden and Sydney are older. Mikey is younger.”
"Fine,” Jordan sighed, realizing he wouldn’t win this. “You have one younger brother. Tyler.”
“Nice start,” she nodded. “Keep going.”
“Uh…” He was so sure that was the only sibling Lydia had. What could he possibly have missed? Jordan stared blankly at the walls, as if they’d whisper the correct answers to him somehow.
When she noticed his confusion, Lydia offered Jordan a soft smile.
“Don’t make it complicated. Just remember two things.” Lydia stood to her feet, and made her way to her suitcases. Her back facing Jordan as she slipped on the jewelry she hadn’t had the chance to put on before his arrival. She slid a silver bracelet onto her wrist.
“Tyler’s marrying Anna, for one. So make sure you don’t fall in love with her charm.” She smiled, imagining that Jordan’s response was to shyly run his hand through his brown hair. Lydia held the necklace her mother bought her for her last birthday.
“And the second?” Jordan, suddenly behind Lydia, took the necklace from her grasp and held it around her neck as he clasped the ends together.
“Simple.” Lydia turned to face Jordan. They were closer than she expected. He held her shocked gaze. “Tyler is Dad’s favorite. But I’m Mom’s.”
Jordan took that piece of information in, committing it to memory. He thought for sure she was exaggerating about her father. I mean, he was her dad, after all. Her dad had to love her just as much as he loved her brother, right?
“We should go,” Lydia finally broke eye contact and walked around Jordan to slip her phone into her purse. Jordan grabbed Lydia’s luggage, and they headed outside. While Lydia locked up and got into the passenger’s seat, Jordan strategically fit the luggage into his car. He got in beside Lydia, started the car, and his once interrupted playlist resumed playing through the speakers. Martin Manor was two hours away. It’d be getting dark by the time they arrived. Quite frankly, Lydia didn’t expect for this charade to work, but she had to try.
“Darling, it’s nice to finally see you again.” Richard loosely wrapped an arm around his daughter. His face didn’t hold much expression. It was stale, at best. “This must be Jordan. Boyfriend, I presume?”
“Yes, Dad.” Lydia gave her best smile to the man at her side. Their fingers were laced together.
“It’s great to meet you, sir.” Jordan beamed. Lydia was impressed. It almost seemed like he meant the words escaping his mouth. Jordan extended his free hand, waiting for Lydia’s father to shake it. “I’m glad to be here.”
Richard looked Jordan up and down, as if to mentally scrutinize the guy. He ignored Jordan’s hand, and turned his back to them.
Lydia and Jordan shared a look which expressed their annoyance with her father’s lack of interest.
“Have you met Tyler?” Richard gestured proudly to a tall male with blond hair who was descending the staircase. It was the first time Richard decided to smile since acknowledging their arrival.
Slowly, Jordan was starting to realize why Lydia didn’t seem to like talking about her father. Richard was so cold and distant toward Lydia, yet Tyler seemed to be the light of his life. It just didn’t make any sense. In the short time he’d spent getting to know Lydia, even he could see how amazing she was. The question burned in his mind. Why couldn’t Richard see it?
“Is that really Lydia?” His deep voice echoed through the room just as Tyler hit the last step and quickly paced toward the small group still standing by the door. “Come here, sis.”
Tyler wrapped Lydia up in his warm embrace. Letting her go, he noticed Jordan standing beside Lydia.
“Hey,” He grinned, relieved that for once he didn’t have to look down at someone he meets. “Tyler Martin, pleasure.”
“Jordan. Jordan Parrish.” He extended his hand once more, sensing that at least this Martin man was more inviting than the previous.
Tyler chuckled, pulling Jordan into a hug as well.
“Oh—I…” Jordan awkwardly pat Tyler on the back, as he wouldn’t be getting out of the embrace on his own time. His only option was to just let it happen.
“Oh yeah,” Tyler agreed, letting Jordan go. “Expect plenty of those while you’re here.”
“Sure thing,” Jordan nodded. A hint of amusement on his face. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
One thing was for sure. He wouldn’t be getting too bored here.
“Anyway,” Richard interrupted. “When you’re all finished here, the ladies are waiting to meet your guest. I’ll be in the study.”
With that, Richard disappeared seemingly into thin air.
“Come on, Jordan.” Tyler clapped his hand against Jordan’s back. “My special girl’s waiting. Mom too.”
Tyler pulled Jordan along. Jordan looked back at Lydia, as if begging her to come along quickly. She nodded, a smile painted on her face. It was the exact opposite of Jordan’s panicked face. Tyler had already seemed to adopt Jordan as his brother without knowing a thing about him. Honestly, it didn’t matter to Tyler so long as Lydia was genuinely happy. And she certainly seemed to be happy.
The trio began walking down the hall just as the doorbell rang.
“You know what?” Lydia paused. “You two go ahead. I’ll catch up in a minute.”
Lydia turned back and threw the door open to reveal Kyle standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his hand and such a wide grin playing on his lips.
“K-Kyle?” Lydia’s smile fell. “What are you doing here?”
“As it turns out,” Kyle glanced inside for prying eyes and ears. “I was able to re-prioritize and here I am. Sorry I’m late.”
His arms engulfed Lydia and he kissed her cheek, just as he usually did when greeting her. The shock still hadn’t worn off yet. She barely even noticed when he slipped past her and navigated his way through the house. He still remembered every room since the last time he was there.
“Wait!” Lydia whisper-shouted, forgetting to close the door as she chased after him. “Kyle!”
“Yeah?” Kyle stopped in his tracks as his eyes found Richard’s home office. It seemed bigger than it was a couple years prior. There were so many more bookshelves being used this time around. Richard stood with his back to the glass door as he attempted to hit a golf ball into the small hole in front of his desk.
“You can’t just show up here!” Lydia finally caught up to him. “What were you thinking?”
“You asked for my help, so here I am.”
“Yeah well, you’re a week too late for this.”
“Lydia,” he smirked. “Relax, it’ll be fine.”
“Kyle I really don’t want to be a bitch about this. You need to leave.”
Kyle remained persistent and ignored her pleas.
“Now, Kyle. I’ll call you later.”
He continued walking until he reached a group of familiar faces.
“Sorry I’m late, everybody!”
Four smiling faces turned to the entry. Three of which Kyle recognized, one he didn’t.
“Oh, hi! I don’t believe I’ve had a chance to meet you.” Kyle grinned in Jordan’s direction.
“Kyle, this is Jordan.” Lydia took Jordan’s hand back into hers. “My boyfriend.”
Kyle’s entire face dropped, blatant jealousy written all over it. His mind was racing. He couldn’t believe Lydia had already replaced him. Lydia felt partially guilty that he had to find out this way about Jordan. Then, she remembered she tried to warn Kyle but he was the one who wouldn’t listen. He was the one ignoring every word that escaped Lydia’s lips. And he was the one who would have to leave because Lydia wasn’t going to make Jordan go just because Kyle changed his mind a little too late. No matter what issues this would later cause, Lydia Martin refused to let Kyle have his way. She was done walking on eggshells around him. Maybe he’d get hurt in the process, maybe not. The one thing she knew for certain was that she did the right thing by picking Jordan instead of her overly emotionally invested friend.
Kyle stormed out, not caring about the facial expressions soon to follow his reaction.
“You should go after him,” Jordan whispered into Lydia’s ear.
“No,” she shook her head. “If I know Kyle at all, I’m the very last person he wants to see right now.”
Summary: Lydia can't drive herself home after drinking at a college party, so she calls Jordan for a ride home
Words: 2,417
A/N: Thanks to @the100-captainswan for helping me with the end!
Read it on AO3
“COP! Everybody act cool!” A voice screamed from the top of the stairs as if he’d been pretty discreet.
Deputy Jordan Parrish laughed having heard every word. He knocked on the door once more. “Come on, kids. Open up or I’m breaking the door down!” Another small chuckle escaped his mouth. Sometimes he had a hard time believing he had the nerve to call other adults ‘kids’ when he himself was only a few years older than they were. He was the youngest deputy in Beacon Hills.
“Kids?” A brunette asked as she opened the door, confusedly examining his perfect face. “You’re as young as we are.” She paused. “So what can I do for you, Deputy Pretty Eyes?” Her hand brushed his arm.
“Excuse me,” Jordan cleared his throat and squeezed passed her. He was on a mission and couldn’t be bothered with her unwarranted flirting. Making his way through the huge house party, Jordan attempted to ignore all the girls staring him down. Was that what qualified as acting cool? Watching the cop as he was looking for something? For someone?
A familiar head of strawberry blonde hair caught his eye. She was asleep on the couch. Jordan knelt down in front of her, pushing the hair out of her face to make sure it was actually Lydia Martin. It was. The feel of his touch made Lydia stir in her sleep. A warm smile forming on his lips.
“Hey,” he whispered. Softly shaking Lydia’s arm and immediately afterwards, rubbing his hand against it. It was just as he’d done a million times before, having to wake her up in the morning after unplanned sleepovers. They were always platonic, of course, but the casualness didn’t make them feel any less intimate.
“No,” Lydia groaned. She didn’t even open her eyes, just attempted to go back to sleep.
“Lyds, wake up.” Jordan sighed. “It’s time to go.”
“You’re highly mistaken if you think I’m getting up right now.”
“Okay, so we do this the hard way then.” Jordan scooped Lydia up into his arms and carried her bridal style toward the front door. Eyes still following him out, he shook his head ever so slightly. He knew what they were all thinking. They couldn’t believe they weren’t in trouble for underage drinking. The house reeked of alcohol with the faint smell of weed coming from the basement. Well, that and a little bit of envy from the girl who let Jordan inside. Jordan didn’t care though. Lydia had called him for a ride home before she passed out, and that was his only objective. It’d been a long day at work with all the supernaturals crowding the small town of Beacon Hills, and all he wanted was to get her back to her apartment just outside of campus.
Jordan set Lydia down in the passenger’s seat of his cruiser and strapped her in. Neither of them said a word. They were too tired to attempt to have anything that resembled a well-structured conversation. Lydia just closed her eyes and failed to go back to sleep as Jordan drove. Fifteen silent minutes later, they reached Lydia’s apartment building. Hers was on the top floor, and they both knew she was not in the walking mood. Jordan made his way to Lydia’s door and opened it for her. She got onto her feet slowly.
“Ready?” Jordan took Lydia into his arms again. She nuzzled her head into him as he carried her inside.
She’d never told him how much she liked moments like this. Perhaps that was why she did it—gone to a college party and got too drunk to be able to drive herself home. It reminded her of the first time they met. A nearly sober Jordan helped a very drunk Lydia get home one night, careful not to attract her mother’s attention. He’d carried her all the way to her bedroom with no intention other than making sure she got home safely. Even when she invited him to stay, he declined because she needed to rest and sober up. Little did he know the girl who’d taken up his entire night out would soon be one of the most important people in his life.
Not once did he get tired of carrying Lydia, from the moment he picked her up just outside to waiting for the elevator to stop at Lydia’s floor. Now that they were outside of Lydia’s door, though, he had no choice but to set her upright on her feet. Lydia groaned, making Jordan chuckle to himself. He pulled out his keychain, and unlocked Lydia’s door with the key she’d given him a couple of months prior. Jordan took Lydia by the hand and guided her inside, making sure to close the door after her. They continued walking until they reached the inside of Lydia’s bedroom.
“Get out of that dress, Lydia.” Jordan gestured to her dresser. “Find something to sleep in.” Jordan began to leave Lydia to it, but she spoke up before he could get a foot out the door.
“I don’t feel like it.”
Sure, Lydia had a lot to drink, but she wasn’t so drunk that she didn’t know what would come next. As soon as Jordan knew Lydia was all set he would leave her all alone. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Lydia rarely got to see Jordan as it was since Beacon Hills was an hour’s drive on top of all the homework she had to do for her six classes.
“Come on Lydia,” he sighed as he turned to face her. “You know your dress is going to be uncomfortable to sleep in.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Her arms crossed.
Jordan went to the dresser and opened the top drawer. He remembered Lydia searching that one a few times prior before changing for bed. He knew he would find something for her to wear there. He took out a baby blue tank top and black shorts.
“Here,” he handed them to her. “Please get dressed.”
Lydia looked down at them, hesitantly accepting the clothes. Jordan left, shutting the door behind him. At first Lydia refused to dress herself, but she knew when he came back and realized she hadn’t moved an inch it wouldn’t go over very well for either of them. So she changed, rather unhappily.
“Hey, are you decent?” Jordan knocked minutes later, just as Lydia was brushing her long hair in front of the mirror.
“Yeah, come in!” She set the brush down and watched Jordan re-enter the room. Jordan took Lydia by the hand, a gesture that always seemed to paint a smile on Lydia’s face. He guided her to the bed, not that she needed the assistance, and pulled the covers back.
“Get in.”
“What, are you going to tuck me in?” Lydia teased.
“Yes,” he chuckled. “If I must.”
Lydia crawled in, reclining back. Jordan covered her up and sat next to her. He didn’t say anything else. Actually, he didn’t know what to say. Neither of them minded the silence though. It was always nice, just the two of them.
“Get some sleep.” Jordan grinned, kissing Lydia on the cheek. He didn’t want to pull away, but he knew that was his only option. Lydia was six years younger than him, just started college and that’s what he wanted her to focus on. Besides, they were never going to amount to anything more than just friends. At least that was what Jordan thought. It was why he would never tell Lydia how he really felt about her. “I love you, Lydia.”
“I love you too, Deputy.” She smiled, mainly to herself.
The words were harsh against Jordan’s ears. Just once, he wished she could know the truth. Just once, he wanted to hear Lydia say the words back and intend them in a romantic manner. While Jordan was willing to risk the possibility of ever dating Lydia, he wasn’t willing to risk losing his best friend over it. Jordan stood up and made his way back to the door.
“Jordan, wait.” Lydia couldn’t stop herself from calling out to him. He stopped in his tracks, turning around for the last time. “Stay.”
“I can’t, Lydia. Not tonight.” Jordan sighed. More than anything, he wished he could accept the invitation. “I have to work early tomorrow.”
“Please, don’t leave.” Her voice was light. He could hear something in it—something he couldn’t define. All he knew for sure was that she yearned for him to be with her. It wasn’t romantic in nature, but it pulled him in. It was still an hour’s drive whether he left now or in the morning, right?
Jordan’s legs carried him to the drawer Lydia kept his clothes in. He took a pair of pajama pants and changed in the bathroom. He never slept with a shirt on. If she was being honest, Lydia liked it better that way whenever they had their sleepovers.
When Jordan returned, Lydia made space for him in her bed while he shut the lights off. He climbed in with her, lay back, and stared up at the blank ceiling. He felt Lydia curl up against him, her head now on his bare chest. His arm instinctively wrapped around her. Jordan could never quite get used to this routine of theirs. It didn’t feel real. In a way, it wasn’t.
“Jordan?” Lydia whispered after a while of failing to sleep. “You awake?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. His eyes never left the ceiling.
“Thanks.” Modest as he was, Lydia knew he wouldn’t know what Lydia possibly had to thank him for. “Thanks for driving an hour out of your way just because I wanted to see you.”
Jordan smiled, forgetting she couldn’t see his reaction.
“Anytime,” he gently rubbed his thumb against her arm. She always loved when he did that, though she would never let him know that. If he knew, he probably wouldn’t do it as much.
“Jordan?” A thought suddenly crossed Lydia’s mind. It wouldn’t always be like this for them. Relationships were known to end, and Lydia was no stranger to the fact. She’d lost many of her friends, the ones she never imagined possible. Lydia held onto her best friend even tighter. Part of her couldn’t help thinking he would just slip away when she least expected him to. She could handle losing many things, but never Jordan.
“Yeah?”
“Do you ever wonder what’ll happen in the future?” Lydia was almost hesitant to ask.
“Sure,” he nodded. “I mean I’ll probably be sheriff someday, and—“
“No,” Lydia shook her head. “I mean with us. Do you ever wonder what will happen with us?”
“Oh,” Jordan stopped rubbing Lydia’s arm. He had no idea how he could possibly answer that question without giving himself away. “I… uh…”
“Give it another couple of years, and the distance will drive us apart.”
“Lydia, no.” Jordan glanced down at her. “It’s only an hour, two with traffic. I can pretty much guarantee there’s no reason we would ever drift apart.”
Lydia wasn’t so sure. If friends could drift apart even without the distance, how could she be sure that wouldn’t happen with the distance already between the two of them?
“Lydia, I—“ What he wanted to say was the one thing he couldn’t. That he was in love with her and he would always love her, no matter what. It was the only thing threatening to spill from his lips.
“Hm?” Lydia was almost positive that she knew what he was going to say. The words she wanted to hear were the same ones he’d always held back.
“Uh…” Jordan scrambled for an alternative set of words that held the same meaning. “You’ll never have to worry about losing me. It’s impossible.”
For a while, neither of them uttered another word. It was dark, silent, and Jordan willed for his heart to stop pounding so hard. He didn’t want Lydia to feel it, but she did. She didn’t mind though. It was comforting to her, listening to his heart.
“Is that really something you worry about?” Jordan broke the silence.
Lydia sat up, biting her bottom lip. Jordan followed her lead and turned the bedside lamp on. He needed to see her face when she responded.
“Lydia?” Jordan reached for his best friend’s hand, lacing their fingers together. His eyes landed onto hers as he waited for her to speak up.
“Jordan…” Lydia glanced down at their hands. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He smiled. “You know that.”
“No…” She tightened her grip on Jordan’s hand. “That’s not…”
“What is it?”
“I’ve been waiting for you to say it first because I know our age difference is a problem for you…” Lydia couldn’t believe she was finally coming clean. She shook her sudden nerves away. “I know that’s the reason why every time you go to kiss me, your lips will linger on my cheek or my forehead. And I know you don’t want to pull away because I never want you to either.”
Jordan stopped breathing and his eyes grew wide. Was this really happening? Surely he must have been dreaming or hallucinating.
“So I think it’s about time that I’m honest with myself. And with you.” With her free hand, she ran her fingers through Jordan’s brown hair. “Jordan, I’m completely in love with you and I don’t want to keep pretending I’m not.”
Lydia inched toward Jordan slowly, glancing down at his lips. She wanted to give him time to protest if he really didn’t want anything to happen.
The reality of what was happening was finally hitting Jordan harder than he’d ever expected. He had two options at this point. Option one: Jordan could kiss Lydia like he had always wanted to. Option two: Jordan could let his fear of destroying their friendship get in the way of what must have been true love. He was battling with his options, though he knew time was running out.
Lydia closed the gap between them. Just before her lips could collide with Jordan’s, she paused and glanced up at him. He didn’t object. Lydia planted a soft kiss on Jordan’s lips. Finally making his decision, he kissed her back. He’d always wondered what that would be like—kissing Lydia—and now that he knew, he didn’t plan on ever stopping.
“I love you, too.” He whispered when they finally pulled apart. “So much.”
I'm gonna write until like 8 AM and then heading out to the gym. Ugh. I totally slacked on working out over break. Apparently I'm only motivated to run if it's with my running club at school. KR is squad goals tbh. I ❤️ them. My goal for 2017 is to befriend as many of them as comfortably possible. I hate social interaction but sometimes when you meet your people you just know. And I know. So I'm gonna put myself out there a little more than JUST going to the pasta parties and waiting for someone to initiate conversation with me So that's my goal, what's yours?
A/N: Thanks @the100-captainswan and @trolling-since-chernobyl for your help
“I’m sorry?” Lydia asked, stunned. She waited for him to change his statement as she closed the front door behind him. They were on the way to Lydia’s living room. “You have a what, now?” Lydia crossed her arms, clearly judging Derek’s priorities.
“I uh…” Derek cleared his throat. “I have a date?” He sounded conflicted. Normally Derek wasn’t one to present himself as anything other than confident. This time, however, it was Lydia he was talking to. Ever since Jordan left them, Derek made it a point to make sure he and Lydia didn’t go their separate ways. Derek was determined to be the best friend she could ever ask for, and he was. They both were.
Lydia gasped, jokingly. She could never be mad at him in reality. Well, probably not. It hadn’t happened yet and neither planned on that moment ever occurring. Derek knew better than to upset Lydia. “Cancel.” She said it so effortlessly and Derek couldn’t tell if she was still joking or not.
“I’m sorry, what?” He laughed in her face. “Clearly you’re delusional if you think I’m actually going to cancel on Cindy when I finally got her to go out with me! It’s been a long time coming, Lydia. Don’t mess this up for me.”
“Aw, it’s alright.” She reached out and touched Derek’s shoulder. “You’ll end up doing that all on your own. Now cancel.” She refused to take no for an answer. Not this time.
“What is so important that I can’t get happy tonight?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Lydia spoke softly and began to walk away from Derek as he looked at her suspiciously. “It’s a surprise.”
“What? Lydia, no.” Derek grabbed her wrist and spun her around, making her look at him as she spoke. He needed to be able to use his BS detector, and he could never do that with Lydia unless he could see her face. “If I’m going to cancel on Cindy, I need a valid explanation.”
“Fine,” she rolled her eyes. “We have a guest coming here in less than an hour. Go get out of that goofy dress shirt, and put on something comfortable. We’re not going five star tonight.”
“Who’s coming and what are we doing?”
“I was thinking maybe something super casual.” An alarm went off and Lydia strutted to the kitchen, humming. It’d been a while since Derek had seen Lydia so…exuberant. It was weird, but he liked it. He followed Lydia into the kitchen and saw what looked like he was walking back down memory lane. There were tortilla chips everywhere, salsa and spinach dips, pizza, and even a box of unpopped kettle corn on the counter.
“Dude.” Derek grinned. “Either we’re celebrating something tonight, or…” He studied Lydia’s excitement once more. “No way.”
The doorbell rang, and though still suspicious of Lydia’s behavior Derek headed off to answer the door. Lydia listened for Derek’s outburst. It was only a matter of time before it happened.
“BRO!” Derek yelled. Jordan was taken aback. He had barely spoken twenty words to Derek in six years. How could Derek actually be that excited? Lydia smiled. Her job was obviously done, so she met the guys in the living room where Jordan was incredibly silent. Derek was rambling about how good it was to see him. “Dude, we’re the Awesome Threesome again!”
Lydia cleared her throat, leaning against the wall. “Again with the Awesome Threesome, Derek?” She yearned for Derek to just shut up with that name for their trio. It would never catch on, and honestly it was the last thing she would ever want to use to describe the relationship. “Give it a rest,” she laughed mainly to herself. Lydia pushed her weight off of the wall and approached the couch Derek had been sitting on. She settled herself next to him. “We don’t want to scare him away, right?” Lydia’s eyes found Jordan’s. Their gazes lingered a little too long for Derek’s comfort.
“So,” Derek intervened remembering Lydia’s demand. “I’m going to go change into something more comfortable. Don’t get started without me.” Derek ran up the stairs to his bedroom, leaving Jordan to marinate uncomfortably to what he suspected was Lydia’s intention for inviting him over. He assumed that she and Derek were looking for a kink in him that he couldn’t offer up.
Jordan rarely looked Lydia in the eye afterward. They were both quiet. Lydia figured something was wrong, but she just couldn’t place her finger on it. Derek ran back down the stairs in sweats, apparently trying to seem like he didn’t care too much about Jordan’s presence in the house. It didn’t work. They all knew nothing could contain Derek’s excitement.
“This is going to be much better than the night I had planned.” Derek sat so close to Lydia they might as well have been holding up a sign to Jordan that should’ve read: ‘Jealous yet?’ He absolutely was jealous, aimlessly. There was literally nothing he could be jealous of.
“You uh…” Jordan cleared his throat. “You had plans?” His eyes drifted between Derek and Lydia.
“I might’ve had a hot date.” Derek chuckled and winked over at Lydia. That definitely could’ve been taken out of context, and Jordan did. Lydia just laughed at him, sure to make Derek see her exaggerated eye rolling. Derek chuckled knowingly.
“How long have you two been…” Jordan’s voice trailed off. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer. He didn’t want to know how long they were in such a happy relationship. This whole situation was uncomfortable for him.
“We’ve been pretty much inseparable since you left us.” Lydia offered a light smile to Jordan. “He’s actually not as bad as I thought he would be.”
“Hey, I’m awesome!” Derek pretended to be insulted by Lydia’s comment, his hand over his chest and mouth hanging open. Lydia placed her hand under Derek’s chin, pushing upward to close his mouth for him. Jordan’s mind was racing. As if that wasn’t already too much to handle, when Lydia removed her hand from underneath Derek’s chin she rested it on his knee. Jordan’s eyes lingered on the physical interactions between his ex-girlfriend and his former best friend. Suddenly he was regretting ever having decided to join in on this reunion. Of course he wanted Lydia to be happy, but he couldn’t watch her be with Derek Hale, of all people. It hurt to even consider being part of that.
“Jordan? Are you okay?” Lydia may not have been around him for the last nine years, but she could still tell when something was bothering him. This was one of those moments. Jordan didn’t speak, just nodded in response. “Are you sure?”
She eyed Jordan’s foot. It was bouncing rapidly, kind of like in school when he was nervous about a test. He would tap his foot nonstop. Lydia always sat behind him on test days. He always calmed down when Lydia reached forward and rubbed his back. She recognized the signs, even now. He looked just like the seventeen-year-old terrified of failing and messing up his GPA.
“Derek, go get the chips and dip.” Lydia commanded just before he was about to say something else. Lydia was pretty sure nobody wanted to hear it. Derek crossed his arms at her. “Now.” He left, but not without first releasing a groan that usually would have made Lydia laugh. Not this time. As soon as Derek was out of sight, Lydia switched to the couch Jordan had been sitting on alone.
“Hey,” Lydia lifted her hand to his shoulder. “I recognize that look. Why are you so nervous?”
“I’m not—“ Jordan hadn’t noticed Lydia’s change of location until he felt that familiar circular motion against his shoulder blade. Her proximity was suddenly startling. He didn’t trust himself to be so close to Lydia when she clearly had a healthy happy relationship with another man. Even though that man was the best friend who Jordan believed betrayed him, he was determined to just keep his distance. “Um…” Jordan’s eyes caught Lydia’s, and he couldn’t find a way to break his gaze from hers. Instead, he just remained next to her too consumed by familiarity to want to change a thing. Or more specifically, all he wanted was for things to go back to the way they used to be. Lydia always by his side and Jordan always wondering how they were lucky enough to have found each other. Even now, he still wondered how he was so lucky to have run into Lydia again. The difference? How was Jordan to focus on anything other than his feelings for her when he was so certain that Lydia didn’t feel the same way?
“Clearly.” Lydia shook her head with a gentle smile sneaking onto her lips. Jordan should’ve known Lydia better than to think she would believe such a failed attempt at proving his durability. “Listen… I know it’s been a while, but I’m still here. Whenever you need me.” Jordan smiled slightly, nodding.
“Me too, bro.” Derek placed the bowl of warm chips onto the small table in front of the couch, and kept a second bowl for himself. Kettle corn. It was his go-to snack in high school as the trio would play video games together in Jordan’s bedroom.
“Uh… Thanks.” Jordan couldn’t get over how weird the night had been going. Nothing could make this any better.
A/N: Sorry this took so long. Writer’s block was worse for this story than it was for any other fic. Thanks for being so patient! This is the FINAL chapter, but I may write an epilogue. Feel free to request that I write one. SEE THE READ MORE AT THE END of the fic for a spoiler-free note.
Despite the voice of reason in the back of her head, Lydia decided to let Jordan come back for good. It wasn’t ideal, the reason why she decided to let him stay, but it was something. She did want Jordan back and although originally she was against letting him back in, she knew with absolute certainty that she had to. This was too important and Lydia had been making herself nervous since she called Jordan with her decision. He was ecstatic, but still shocked. There was no scenario in Jordan’s mind where Lydia would actually agree to let him come back home.
Lydia waited for him at the airport. She had been pacing back and forth, biting down on the tip of her sky blue fingernail when she bumped into someone. “Sorry.” She looked up to find Sadie, Jordan’s sister-in-law, smiling gently at her. “What are you doing here?”
“Moral support?” Sadie shrugged. “Or I was just on my way home from Ohio, saw you pacing, and was just curious how much you’ve told him.” Lydia didn’t respond. “You have to tell him the truth, you know. One way or another he’s going to find out.”
“I know…” Lydia was trying to think. There wasn’t exactly a guidebook on how to handle these things. “It’s just complicated.”
“Un-complicate it.” Sadie sighed, staring straight ahead. She was tired of having to lie to her brother every time they spoke when in reality she had been keeping such a huge secret from him for Lydia’s sake. It was finally time for the truth to come out, and how he handled it was what both Lydia and Sadie were apprehensive about. “There he is. I can stay if you want, or I can go.”
“Go. If this goes badly I don’t want him to blame you.” Lydia crossed her arms. “Hurry before he sees you.”
“Fine, I’ll call you later then.” She hugged Lydia and then Sadie went her own way.
“Lydia, hey!” Jordan excitedly gripped Lydia into his arms, lifting her up as she could only hope she didn’t ruin anything by keeping such a condemning secret from him. All she knew was that he would certainly be angry with her and she could only hope nobody got the chance to tell him before she did. Lydia couldn’t open her mouth to speak. She was too afraid that she would just blurt it out in the middle of this crowded airport, and that was definitely not the way she wanted to tell him. Jordan set her down on her feet slowly, she took his hand, and they silently roamed toward the exit. Jordan knew something was wrong. He could just feel it. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew from experience not to push her into talking about it too soon. It would only blow up in his face.
They were stuck at a red light for what seemed like forever when Lydia finally decided to give Jordan something real to discuss. She didn’t want to ask about his flight because she simply didn’t care. Small talk wouldn’t cut it. The only thing on her mind was whether or not Jordan would want to stay with her after Lydia finally said what was on her mind. “Jordan?” Lydia stared blankly up at the traffic lights and Jordan watched her, waiting for that expression to change. It didn’t, at least not at first. Lydia bit her lip, trying to figure out exactly how she wanted to approach her confession. “If you’re going to stay, I have a couple of conditions.”
Lydia wanted to wait for Jordan to acknowledge what she was saying before continuing. He didn’t, not the way she wanted. Jordan knew he had to make some changes and he was ready to accept whatever ultimatums Lydia proposed in order to make their new relationship work. At least he was hoping for a solid relationship, but even that hadn’t been established yet. Lydia needed to know he could handle the challenge first. He squeezed Lydia’s hand with a smile on his face. She wanted to smile back, but she felt too guilty about what she had done to smile at him as if nothing was wrong. Lydia couldn’t. It felt so fake.
“First off,” she released the breath she didn’t know she had been holding in. “If you must have a dangerous job, can you at least promise me no more bombs?” The light turned green and Lydia took off, making turns Jordan didn’t recognize.
“Where are we going?” Jordan gazed out his window trying to figure out if this was just a shortcut he didn’t remember. It definitely wasn’t the way home.
“And also, I need you to swear you won’t get mad just yet.” Lydia sped up slightly. She was growing more and more anxious, the closer they arrived to their destination. Her hands would have been shaking if not for the steering wheel.
Jordan thought he heard her wrong. What could she possibly have done for him to get upset? Nothing she had ever done, that he was aware of at the time, had ever been so wrong that he would get upset. He turned to face her and that was when he realized how wrong he must have been. Lydia’s hands gripped the steering wheel too tight, she had been tense since he first saw her in the airport, and he couldn’t explain it but her facial expression seemed a bit off. Lydia was taking small controlled breaths and she knew she couldn’t hold off much longer. Thankfully, they were almost there. “What did you do? Where are we going?”
Jordan grew nervous the longer Lydia remained silent. She glanced over at him and could tell how much it was getting to him. They were only a couple of minutes away from the truth. Lydia slowed the car down as she prepared to turn into a gated neighborhood just up the street. “We’re here… At a friend’s.” Lydia entered a code into the keypad, prompting the gate to open. She slowly drove straight, turning only to park in the driveway of Daniella’s brick house.
“There’s someone I want you to meet before you decide if you really want to come home with me tonight. I need you to know the truth, but just keep an open mind?” It was more of Lydia asking if Jordan would try to be open than her suggesting it. Jordan nodded and then got out of the car. Lydia’s heart was pounding so hard she was almost certain he could hear. There was no turning back now. She stopped walking and stared at the door in front of them. Jordan slid his hand into Lydia’s. How bad could it be? She took a deep breath as she finally reached out and rang the doorbell. No answer. “Come on Dani,” Lydia whispered. “Not now.”
“Danny?” Jordan raised an eyebrow. Surely she wasn’t taking him to meet some guy. “Who’s that?”
Lydia pulled a reluctant Jordan around to the back of the house. They approached the French patio doors and Lydia stopped, her hand in the air above the door knob. He left you, Lydia thought to herself. You didn’t plan this.
Her hand finally touched the warm doorknob, twisting it, and walked inside. “Are you sure we should be…” Jordan’s voice was cut off by a sudden greeting from the brunette woman wiping her hands with a dish towel.
“I guess I’ll give you two a minute and I’ll be back.” Daniella nodded, obviously knowing something Jordan didn’t. He watched her turn her back to them and then Lydia faced him.
“Okay, here we go.” Lydia’s grip on Jordan’s hand was getting tighter. She was scared instead of her pushing him away this time that he would be the one pushing her away. “I know I’ve been leading you to believe I’ve hated you all this time. I know it was wrong and I did kind of resent you. A lot. But that’s not the whole truth, Jordan…”
“Wait, why are we doing this here?” His eyes focused on hers. Jordan still didn’t understand. Why was she so nervous?
“We’re getting to that.” Lydia shook her hesitance away. She couldn’t keep misleading him. “Do you remember that time I fainted before you left?” Jordan knew precisely what she was referring to. He remembered being terrified when she didn’t wake up. When Jordan rushed her to the doctor they couldn’t find anything apparently wrong with her. “We all assumed it was stress and that I would just get over it in a couple of hours. And I did, eventually. At least that’s what I thought.” Lydia stopped. “And do you remember that flu I had that didn’t seem to want to go away?”
“Are you trying to tell me you’re sick?” Jordan’s eyes burned into Lydia’s.
“No,” Lydia shook her head and groaned. “This is too hard. Okay…” She hid her face in her hands when she heard Daniella approaching again. “Wait, Dani! Not yet!” Too late. Lydia turned around to find Daniella holding s small child. A girl. She grinned as she tugged at Daniella’s hair.
“Oh wow,” Jordan smiled and approached Daniella and the smiling baby. “Your daughter has a very pretty smile. What’s her name?” He reached out to grab the tiny hand before him.
“Alexandra,” Lydia was next to him. Jordan stopped and let go of the child’s hand. “Your daughter’s name is Alexandra. She likes to be called ‘Alexa’ though.”
“What?” He chuckled. It was obviously a joke and Jordan didn’t understand the punchline. He didn’t have any kids. He would’ve known.
“Jordan, I’m sorry I pushed you away after you left. This is why. I didn’t want you to know that I was carrying your child just to have you come back and worry about us. I couldn’t let you just give up your dream job for me or for the baby. I couldn’t take it if you decided you didn’t want to be part of her life anymore because your passion was telling you to be elsewhere. It’s not me I’m worried about. Not completely. It’s her. She’s our daughter, and it’s about time you finally know the truth. I considered telling you before, but I couldn’t.”
It’s true. What would she have said? ‘Dear Jordan, enjoy your new life! PS. your daughter was just born and she has your eyes.’ That’s not the way to announce it.
Jordan turned around looking at Alexa one last time. This time he inspected her features. If this really was his daughter she ought to have some sense of familiarity to him, right? His hesitation was fading. She had his green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair, but her smile was just as compelling as her mother’s. “So she’s…mine?” He couldn’t believe it. Alexa was so tiny and he couldn’t imagine ever having taken part in creating something so precious.
“Aren’t you mad?” Lydia didn’t see any signs of it. Shouldn’t he have put some distance between them by now? Stormed off? No, not Jordan.
“No,” Jordan let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding in. He was thrilled to be a father. It was just so sudden. “Don’t get me wrong, I wish you would’ve told me. But mad? Not really, no.”
“She’s going to need you if you stick around.” Lydia took Alexa from Daniella’s arms and thanked her, smiling down at the happy child. “If you don’t want to—“ She was going to say he could just walk away, that she wouldn’t force him to be part of his daughter’s life if his heart wasn’t in it.
“I want to.” Jordan cut her off. “I never thought I’d have kids, but I do want to be in Alexa’s life.” He never took his eyes off her. It felt like he missed so much in the year he was away.
“I’m relieved you want to be here for her, but honestly I’m scared you might leave again.” Lydia looked up at Jordan and could tell what he was thinking.
He’d already jumped on the ‘what if’ train. The constant thought running through his mind was: what if he hadn’t left? Would he and Lydia still be together? That’s a very obvious yes. They love each other and they never actually wanted to split up. If he hadn’t left would he be this shocked about being a father? Eh, probably not. Now that he knew, though, he didn’t plan on letting anything come in between him and his new family.
“Do you want to hold her?” Lydia smiled up at him.
Suddenly Jordan could feel his pulse growing faster. Accepting the fact that he was now a father was one thing, but holding his daughter for the first time? That was kind of scary to think about doing. “Yeah,” his eyes were wide and Lydia giggled to herself knowing just why he was suddenly so tense. She was the same way when Alexa was first born. “I’d love to!”
“Hey sweetheart,” his voice soft as she smiled up at him sleepily. Jordan took Alexa from Lydia’s arms, holding her in his own. Alexa’s eyes fell to the silver chain around her father’s neck, and took hold of his dog tags. For a moment his heart stopped. That was how he knew he wasn’t just dreaming. She was perfect. Jordan may not have been around her whole life, but he already loved her as if he hadn’t missed a second. “Never again.”
“What?” Lydia was confused.
“I won’t leave again.” Jordan hugged Alexa to his chest, and she rested her head on his shoulder. I won’t miss this—our family—again. Not for anything.”
“I’m going to hold you to that, you know.”
“Good,” Jordan squeezed Lydia’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
I’m considering writing a version to tell Alexa’s story with appearances from Lydia and Jordan. If that’s something you’d like to read, please let me know. The main thing that would make me not want to write it is I don’t know if anyone would like to read it.
Summary: I put a slight twist on @thedarkestsunrise‘s request - My neighbor’s sibling got the wrong house number and barged into my apartment on accident.
AN: I have no idea where the original post is located, so crediting it for these prompts is going to lead back to my main marrish blog. Also, I’ve never written fic like this, and I’m nervous.
I was at my apartment, on yet another date with Nate Paulson. It was going great! An hour into it, I retreated to the kitchen to get more wine. When I got back to the living room, I filled his glass halfway and I filled mine to the top. Go big or go home, right? Well, technically I was home. So I had nowhere to go but down! Sitting next to him, I could feel the vibe of the room change. I couldn’t explain it, but I was almost positive that something weird was going to happen between us.
“So I was thinking,” Nate paused and took a sip of wine. “This has been going pretty well. Don’t you think?” He set his glass down, replacing it with my hand. He grinned as his blue eyes held my green ones.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Better than I expected.” Nate and I met after he broke off an engagement and I had already sworn off real relationships. We were each other’s rebounds. Our only purpose together was to help move along the process of getting over a serious relationship. I liked our arrangement. There were no strings attached, just harmless fun.
“Well, why don’t we…” Oh no. “Let’s make this more permanent.”
“Oh, wow.” I took a much needed mouthful of my own drink. Feelings were involved now. Feelings were not part of the deal! Ugh, nice going Lydia! You’re too appealing for your own good. Honestly, I couldn’t blame Nate for wanting more. I just needed less. The right words never seemed to come along.
“Yeah! I’m excited too.” Nate smiled as I put my glass down on the small table next to me. “Now that we’re exclusive, I think it’s only fair—“
“Stop.” I blurted out slightly louder than I intended. “Nate, what is this?” He watched, frazzled, as I shook my head. “This wasn’t part of the plan. We were just casually dating! Barely more than friends with benefits.” Both of us could hear the panic in my voice.
“Plans change. Ours certainly has.” Nate’s eyes became more focused. He probably looked at people the same way when defending clients. It probably intimidated most people, swaying their decisions to whichever option Nate favored. That would never work with me though. He didn’t have that pull over me. Nobody ever would. “Drink your wine, darling. You seem tense.”
That was when I heard it. Fumbling at the front door caused us to stop in the middle of our discussion. “Hey, open up!” A man’s voice called from the outside. He knocked on the door again, and as the clicking of my high heels against the hard floor got closer to the door, he spoke again. “This isn’t a good time! You can have your fun later, but I really need to get inside.” Not a good time? This was the perfect time! My hand reached the doorknob and I flung the door open.
The man looked at me with uncertainty plastered all over his face, and then his unfamiliar eyes searched for something behind me. My right eyebrow raising into the air didn’t drive him away. It wasn’t until he noticed my blue dress and heels and Nate on my couch and a bottle of wine in front of him that the man realized that he was in the wrong place. “You’re not—“ he started to speak just as an idea came to mind.
“Don’t finish that sentence,” I whispered just loud enough for him to hear. “You got a name?” I looked behind me at Nate.
“Jordan?” He whispered back, curious as to why we were whispering.
“Jordan!” I hugged him, my voice now loud enough to reach Nate. Before I could think about the potential consequences of my actions, I pulled the handsome stranger into my apartment towards the living room where Nate was watching us from. “You’re early. I’m sorry. Nate was just leaving.”
Jordan remained quiet and confused, so I faced him again and whispered. “Please play along. Follow my lead?” He nodded.
“Nate?” Jordan spoke, wrapping his arm around my waist. “What’s he doing here so late?” It was only 9 pm, so it wasn’t that late. But for a complete stranger, I supposed he was doing better than he could’ve been pretending.
“We’re on a date.” Nate stood to his feet. “I’m sorry, who are you?” Nate’s eyes filled with something I didn’t recognize. Possession, maybe. He crossed his arms, staring right into Jordan.
“Babe, I was just telling him the bad news.” I sighed. “He doesn’t want to believe it’s really over.” Clarity finally washed over Jordan. His thumb caressing my side, as if to offer some comfort I didn’t actually need. All I needed was for Nate to just get out of my apartment.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Jordan kissed my forehead and immediately tensed. I knew what he was thinking. He thought he overstepped his boundaries. I held onto him, hoping he’d understand that he played his role as the new boyfriend as I might have. “She’s obviously told you about us already. I hope you can be happy for us.” Okay, now I was lost there. It was pretty blatant I didn’t think this through for a second.
“Lydia,” Nate laughed. “I see what you’re doing. You’re trying to make me jealous. Almost had me going, I must admit. But we both know that was a lie.” He nodded his approval of what he thought my motive was. “Jealous sex is the best sex. Go get rid of the Hollister boy toy and we can get to it.”
Jordan was about to speak up, but I started before he could. “Okay, I’m sorry. Enough of this.” I’d felt his grip on me tighten. It wasn’t hard and didn’t hurt, but it certainly wasn’t loosely cupping my waist in his hand anymore. He pulled me into him. “I don’t need this charade in order to effectively break up with you.” I stepped forward, leaving Jordan behind me. “Get the hell out of my apartment.”
“Darling,” Nate cooed. “You’re just tired. Here, sit down. I’m going to take good care of you.” He reached for my hand.
“Don’t patronize me.” I snatched my hand away from him. “I’m the one person you can’t manipulate.”
“You’re going to regret letting me walk out of that door, Lydia.” His voice was suddenly as cold as I always knew it could be. “Now grow up. I’m not leaving until I finish my wine.” Grow up? He was only two years older than me.
“I’m getting fed up with your personality, Nate.” I reached out to the table that held our drinks, and grabbed both mine and his. He held his hand out, waiting for me to serve him his wine. The smug look on his face just irked my nerves. Then he winked at me. It took everything in me not to waste this beautiful red wine.
“My hand is here, doll face.” Nate sarcastically moved his hand in front of me. My eyes drifted down to the wine again, and finally I had the chance to do the one thing I’ve never done but always wanted to. With one swift motion, I splashed his glass of wine in his face. The sound of chuckling behind me brought a smile to my face. “There, you’re finished.”
“You bitch.” Nate wiped his face. The chuckling stopped and Jordan was next to me half a second later. Being next to him felt…good. Safe. It was precisely where I was meant to be in that moment. “You shouldn’t have done that.” I threw my own wine in his face as well.
Nate was angry, but I wasn’t scared. Instead, I walked off toward the kitchen. “I’m going to get a glass for my new friend here. I expect you to be gone when I get back.”
Five seconds. I disappeared for five seconds and already heard a commotion out in the living room. I deposited the empty glasses into the sink and then grabbed two clean ones for myself and for Jordan. My pace didn’t speed. I took my time walking back to where I left the guys. Surely I was not missing anything. The scenario was already playing in my head. Nate was so angry about losing me that he decided to take it out on Jordan, the innocent party in all of this.
Turning the corner, I could see Nate’s hands held up in fists as he tried to provoke Jordan to hit him. I stopped walking. Jordan stood still, his arms crossed and face calm. “Come on!” Nate yelled in his face. “Fight me like a man.” Jordan laughed and Nate swung his right fist out. Jordan dodged Nate’s hand, bending backward. His other hand extended toward Jordan’s face, and Jordan caught it in his hand before Nate’s arm could stretch far enough to hit him.
“Here’s how this is going to go.” Refusing to drop Nate’s hand, Jordan twisted his arm behind his back and pushed Nate face-down over my black and white leather couch. “You’re going to walk out of here and never come back. Lydia doesn’t want you here.” Nate screamed in pain as Jordan applied more pressure to the arm. “Do we understand each other? Move on.” Nate anxiously nodded his head, so Jordan released him.
Nate turned to face Jordan. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m going straight to the cops.” He searched Jordan’s face for something. Anything. Probably looking for some indication of fear on Jordan’s behalf.
“You found him.” Jordan pulled something from the inside of his shirt, flashing it at Nate. Stepping closer, I saw it was a badge which had been hanging around his neck. “Congrats.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Nothing was going Nate’s way. He stormed off and slammed my door shut when he finally left the confines of my apartment.
“My hero,” I joked as I poured each of us a fresh glass of wine and say on the couch. “Have a drink with me?”
“It won’t end up in my face, will it?” He smiled down at me as he took his seat next to me.
“Only if you deserve it.” There was a glimmer of playfulness in my voice. I sipped my drink, glancing up at him. Jordan was still smiling at me.
“Why?” I didn’t know what he was referring to. “Why were you with him?”
“I don’t know.” I thought about it. There was actually no reason I could think of. He was never exactly a nice guy. “I guess he was just sort of there.” Jordan savored his taste of wine. “My turn. Why’d you get so protective of me back there?”
“Oh, I don’t know either.” He chuckled to himself.
“Come on. We both know that’s not true!” There was no way he was leaving my place if I didn’t get a believable story. “Give me something.”
“Okay,” he set his glass down. “You seem like you’re going to be important to me at some point. Maybe I don’t know you now, but I will. And I wanted to start this, whatever ‘this’ is, off right by standing up for the person I care about. I needed to.” Now that, I believed. “Is this the part where you run for the hills, or was that okay?” Didn’t he know it would take a lot more than that to scare me off?
“No,” I smiled. “You’re just different from what I’m used to.” I bit my lip. “I won’t run if you don’t.” What was I saying? Even I didn’t know what I was referring to anymore.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Jordan’s smile slowly faded until it turned into a groan. “Except maybe to check in with my brother. I completely forgot I was supposed to be there an hour ago. Sorry.” He forced himself up to his feet. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Tanner Parrish actually lives, would you?”
“Three doors to the right. 308” I shook my head at him, and as he made his way to the door I accompanied him. “I’m pretty sure this was his brilliant idea. Tanner’s always hated Nate. He must’ve given you the wrong apartment number on purpose.”
“Sounds like him.” Jordan laughed. “I’ll be back, promise. As soon as I can get away from Tanner.”
