They say everything happens for a reason. Scott's always been under the impression that it's a load of crap, that it's just something people say to one another to try to make sense of life's many tragedies.
Because losing Stiles and Lydia in one fell swoop? Having them both taken away so quickly and easily? There's no reason for that.
It's been over twelve hours since he'd gotten the call. It's been over twelve hours and still, he can't quite process that the guy he'd grown up with, the guy who'd been more like his brother than best friend was gone. He can't quite process that he's never going to see Stiles again, outside of a casket where he'll be dressed in a suit that doesn't quite fit his stupidly lanky body.
It doesn't have to be a suit though, does it? He can call Stiles' dad. He can tell him that Stiles always looks so stupid unrecognizable in a suit and if he wants to stay true to Stiles' character, then maybe they could go with just a suit jacket over a t-shirt and--
"Scott." The voice slices through his thoughts, pulling him back to the present. To his left, Lydia's best friend's sitting there looking about as lost as Scott feels and he wants to crack a joke because that's what he does, but in a world where Stiles and Lydia are dead, there's nothing funny. "Scott."
"Sorry, what?"
Danny Mahealani offers him a sympathetic smile and in that moment, Scott realizes that he liked Danny a lot better when they were on the same lacrosse team and he was more apt to break the law than uphold it.
"I asked if Stiles or Lydia ever discussed their guardianship plans with you."
"What?"
"Penelope. Did they ever discuss with you what their plans were for Penelope in the unlikely event that they both died at the same time?"
Unlikely event. Scott wants to laugh a little bit. It's an unlikely event, but it happened and where does that leave them? Where does that leave all of them? Penelope without her parents. Scott and Allison without their best friends.
"No."
There's that sympathetic smile again. "Well, their wishes were very clear. In the unlikely event that they should both die at the same time, they've named you Penelope's guardians. Both of you."
As if them dying hadn't been a big enough bomb to drop. "What?"