Mieczyslaw "Stiles" Stilinski (sarcasticfriend) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2020-08-18 18:24:00 |
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Things had been okay when Stiles had left his and Scott’s place. But by the time he got to Lizzie’s house she was pissed off looking. And he knew why. He had seen the messages on the network and he really had no idea why any of that needed to be said. That was the other him. He had no idea about any of that stuff. He turned his phone off and then got out of the Jeep and quickly made his way over to Lizzie. “You okay?” She didn’t look it. She had the same look on her face that she had when he first met her. Which meant she was pissed. “You know, I have no idea about any of that stuff, right? That was the other me. I didn’t even know about it until now.” * Lizzie hadn’t gotten ten feet from the front door before her mom was texting her. When Stiles arrived she was typing a reply, and a breeze that seemed to be just her own rippled her hair. She looked up when Stiles got out of his Jeep, but before she answered him she went in for a much needed hug. She needed to be grounded. (She needed a bit of energy but she forced herself to not siphon any.) She needed to feel protected, as if someone were on her side. Only after all that sunk in a bit did she pull back to look at him. “No, I know it wasn’t you,” she said with a deep frown and a shake of her head. “Your ex is a cow bitch and I don’t even want to know why whoever that was decided to share. And people call me a fucking bully!” * The second Lizzie’s arms were around him, he quickly put his own arm surround her, hugging her close and tight. He hoped this would help her calm her down. It had worked before, so why not again? When she pulled away, he looked at her, his hands resting on her forearms. “I really am sorry about Malia. She really has no filter. As for Kate...I don’t know why she said that stuff to you.” It hadn’t been right and he didn’t understand any of it. Girls were weird especially when it came to this kind of stuff. “We don’t have to go anywhere if you’re not in the mood anymore.” * Lizzie glanced back at the house then didn’t hesitate to start for Stiles’ Jeep. “I kinda broke a window so the farther I am from here the better.” She climbed into the Jeep and had her seatbelt on in record time. While she waited for Stiles she kept glancing back at the house. She’d spoken in text with her mom, but Lizzie wasn’t certain what was going to happen. She just couldn’t deal with that right now. Once they were moving and out of sight of the house the low equivalent to the high she’d just had decided to make an appearance. Lizzie began to shake then sunk her face into her hands as she began to cry. * Okay, he had his answer and Stiles made his way to the Jeep and got in. He wasted no time in starting it up and pulling away from the house. “They really got to you, didn’t they?” He hoped Lizzie wasn’t going to be in too much trouble once she went home. When she started to cry, he quickly looked over at her. “Hey,” he reached over and placed a hand on her thigh, “It’s okay.” * She didn’t really care if she was going to be in trouble. She’d take whatever was coming to her. Her mom knew what had happened, and she knew about Lizzie’s episodes. They had both hoped there would be one, but it had been a foolish hope. It wasn’t as if her bi-polarism was going to just go away. “I’m sorry,” she whimpered out from behind her hands. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this. With me.” * “You shouldn’t have to deal with it,” Stiles told her with a quick look over at her. “What can I do?” He would pretty much do anything right now to get her to stop crying and to get past the situation. * Lizzie could tell she was on the verge of a panic attack. She had a Xanax with her for just such an emergency, but she knew she shouldn’t take it on an empty stomach. For now, she bent over her knees and began the breathing exercises her dad taught her. “Chocolate?” she whimpered out. “Ice cream.” Comfort food. The chocolate would help her emotional state while the ice cream would soothe her stomach. * Stiles glanced over at her. Yeah, he knew that look. He knew she was about to panic even more so when she started doing breathing exercises. Yeah, he needed to pull over. He couldn’t keep concentrating on driving when Lizzie was about to lose it. He pulled over and then turned his full attention onto Lizzie. “Uhh..oh!” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a fun-sized Reese’s peanut butter cup. “I have this,” he said as he handed it over to her. It wasn’t much but he hoped it would help. * Lizzie sat up slowly so she didn’t herself the head spins then turned her attention to what Stiles was offering her. “Thanks,” she said as she took the candy. She forced herself to eat it slowly. Experience had taught her that at times like this if she inhaled things it came right back up. “Sorry…” she said again. “I haven’t had an episode like this in a while.” But now that she thought about it, after how she left things at home and the stress this place brings she’s surprised it hadn’t happened sooner. * “You’re welcome.” If he had more, he’d totally give it to her, but that was all he had. “You don’t have to apologize.” Lizzie definitely didn’t need to. He knew what she was going through and how it all felt. He also knew it wasn’t something that could be controlled so easily. “They really got to you...do you want to talk about it? Would it help you?” Everyone dealt with their panic attacks differently. He wasn’t sure what would help her get past it all. So far all he knew was that she needed chocolate and ice cream. * No, she didn’t want to talk about it. She normally did that with Josie. But her sister wasn’t here, and she trusted Stiles. After today she might trust him even more. So she nodded. “So long as there’s ice cream in my future, yeah. I want to talk.” * “You can have all of the ice cream.” He was starting to wonder if maybe they should ditch going out and maybe just go back to his place. He had ice cream that she could eat. They could go out some other time. “I have ice cream back at home if you don’t want to deal with anywhere public.” He’d let her choose where they would be going next. * She actually had to stop and think about it. That alone told her all she needed to know. “Your place,” Lizzie answered. Less chance of hurting anyone, and she’d get her mom to repair anything at Stiles’ place if she lost control again. She turned worried eyes to Stiles, drummed up as much of a smile as she could manage then gripped his hand in manic gratitude. “Don’t suppose you’d let me use your shower, too. I feel gross.” Not that she really needed it, but it was how she always felt when this happened. * “Okay, my place it is.” They could definitely redo this night some other time. He glanced down at their hands and then looked back up into her eyes. “Lizzie, you can use whatever you need. Do what you need to do to get past this.” If he had it, she could use it or eat it. Whatever she needed. Panic attacks sucked. And he would help her deal with it the best way that he can. He offered Lizzie a small smile before he began to drive again. * It kind of sucked that Stiles’ Jeep was a manual. Lizzie would have liked to hold his hand with both of hers. The touch helped her feel grounded, but after the chocolate and taking her pill she was beginning to feel a little more even keeled. She didn’t say anything until they got to his place. “God it must be so nice to live on your own,” she said as she got out. “Mom’s not mad but she’s going to have to make an effort to get the window fixed.” Lizzie walked to the front of the Jeep to wait for Stiles. Once he reached her she grabbed his hand. “I’m uh…” she frowned as she looked down at her shoes. “...pretty humiliated.” * The drive had been long enough for Lizzie to calm down a little more, which made Stiles happy. Hopefully she’d be able to calm down completely once they were inside. “It was okay living alone. Kind of lonely. But I am no longer alone. I’m letting Scott move in. But I’m pretty sure he’s not home right now.” Once he parked and turned the Jeep off, he got out and walked over to Lizzie, grabbing her hand when she reached out to grab his. “You don’t need to be,” he said as he reached up and tucked a random strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m probably one of the few who understands how it feels to go through that.” He offered her a tiny smile. “Come on, there’s ice cream inside with your name on it.” * Scott? Oh right. Stiles’ best friend from home. For some weird reason Lizzie was disappointed to hear Stiles wasn’t living alone anymore, a little jealous, but it was brief and easily quashed. She looked at Stiles in a bit of surprise for that revelation then returned his smile. If he was suggesting what she thought he was...well, that was a huge relief! If he had panic attacks of his own then he really did understand. She went with him inside. It wasn’t the first time she’d been here, but it still seemed like the first time. “Can I take a shower before ice cream?” she asked, reluctant to let go of his hand. * Once inside, Stiles locked the door behind them and had been all ready to lead Lizzie into the kitchen for her ice cream, but then she reminded him that she wanted a shower first. “Oh, right, yeah, go ahead. You know where the bathroom is. And there should be a clean towel in there already.” * Stiles got a tight hug from Lizzie then a kiss to the cheek before she made her way to the bathroom. There were a few quiet moments then the shower came on. Judging by the steam that escaped under the door she had the water on as hot as she could stand it. Lizzie didn’t linger too long, just enough for the hot water to soothe away the physical tension left over from the attack. Soon she wandered back out, her hair slicked back and wet, her makeup pretty much gone. “Thanks,” she said as she got in the room with Stiles. “I feel better.” * Stiles had hug Lizzie back and smiled as she gave him a kiss on the cheek and then took off for the shower. Once he heard the shower going, he went into the kitchen. While she showered, he figured he’d get everything ready for her. When she did emerge from the bathroom, he was leaning up against the counter, messing around on his phone. He looked up and smiled at her. “And you’re about to feel even better,” he told her as he motioned to everything he had on the counter. Bowls, utensils, and ice cream toppings were all waiting to be used. He put his phone and grabbed the ice cream out of the fridge. “You can stay here tonight. If you don’t want to go back home.” * Instead of going for the ice cream, which she still really wanted, Lizzie went straight up to Stiles to pull herself against him in another tight hug. Her eyes closed as she took in a deep inhale. She was drained in more ways than one. The syphon in her wanted to take some energy, but no. She kept it in check. You didn’t take energy without permission and she still hadn’t told Stiles about that part of her. She’d live with being exhausted. “I want to stay here,” she agreed to the invitation. “With you. It doesn’t have anything to do with going home. You get it. My mom gets it but she’s my mom.” Lizzie still needed her mom sure, but it wasn’t the same. “Those girls...I’ve been like them, but I always knew when to stop. They didn’t.” * Stiles hugged her right back. If it was something that she needed, he’d happily hug her until she was satisfied. “Yeah, I get it. I figured you might want to take a break from being home. Completely calm down and deal with your mom tomorrow.” He still didn’t understand acting that way and he probably never would. Even he had been surprised by the things being said. But only because he knew nothing about it and he wondered why Kate hadn’t just mentioned it before when she said that they had dated before. “At least Malia stopped when I asked her to.” He just didn’t think anyone else would jump in. Then again he should have known it could happen. He had someone butt in on his conversation with his dad, so why wouldn’t it happen to anyone else? “I say don’t let them win. Push past it and ignore them from this point on.” * “Normally I can. Perk of being just as bad a bitch.” Lizzie lifted her head from where it had rested on his chest only so she could look at Stiles. She could still be a bitch, but it was for reason. “It’s not that I like being like that. Well, I do but that’s another subject. It keeps people away for when I do things…” She let out with a heavy sigh. “I had a lot less control not too long ago. I trashed an entire kitchen a year ago. I’m learning control, but it isn’t easy sometimes.” She kind of didn’t want him to let go. It felt safe like this, comforted. She hadn’t had that from any of her boyfriends. One had just been sex. The other...well, Lizzie had always known there was something dangerous about Sebastian. Stiles was so different. * Stiles raised his eyebrows a bit when she mentioned that she liked being a bitch. He didn’t think anyone actually enjoyed being like that. There was usually a reason behind it and from what else she said, it sounded like she used it as a shield. A way to keep people at arm’s length. “You’ll get there. It’s never easy at first. But the more you learn the better you’ll get at it.” And he would help her as much as he could. He helped Scott with the whole wolf thing, so why not try to help Lizzie? He gave her a little squeeze and then said, “soooo, ice cream?” * Lizzie gave Stiles a smile that held a bit of her heart in it. He didn’t have to deal with this, but he was. He could have been like everyone else, took the bitch thing at face value and pushed her away. But he didn’t. He was here for her. That meant more to her than anything. “Yeah,” she agreed, but before she pulled away she leaned in for a long, lingering kiss. Once she let them both come up for air her smile was a little more confident. “Ice cream.” * Stiles had leaned in and kissed her back when she kissed him. Weeks ago, he couldn’t imagine anything like this happening. His mind was made up that this place just sucked and that he wasn’t going to connect with anybody here. But here he was, standing in the middle of his kitchen, kissing a pretty cute girl and having less hate about Madison. When she pulled away, he smiled down at her. “Ice cream,” he repeated. |