From Ashes ✗ Stiles Stilinski [#𝟏]

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 [ pavlov's bell. ]

Song Recommendation ["War" - Former Vandal]

NOTE: For the full experience, I do personally suggest seeking out each song rec.

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What hurts more? The ache of being betrayed or the shame of betraying yourself?

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As freaked out as Lydia was at the moment, she was astoundingly quick to catch onto large and complicated concepts. She sat on Maddie's sad excuse for a bed, flipping through the pages of a book so old, the pages were more likely to break than tear – one of the very few she lugged with her. The Watcher's Diaries... Maddie didn't have an interest in any of them; she had never even cracked one open. She had enough of depressing stories about dead girls.

Still, Lydia seemed to find herself engrossed as the two sat in silence.

Stiles left, something she was well aware of for quite some time now. He made a quiet exit after the house fell completely silent, rambling on about meeting up with Scott and Allison (all the while not giving any specific details), and rightfully so as it was his turn to guard Jackson. She would have offered to go as well, but Lydia didn't show signs of leaving. In turn, Maddie gave her typical reply of 'call if there's an emergency', which he waved off. Gods, he's infuriating sometimes. All of the time. She swallowed a frustrated grunt and turned back to the tiny glass eye.

That stupid eye was still on one of the blue plastic totes a few feet from her bed. It was a clear periwinkle blue, she noted, finding it staring at her again. It always faced her when it drew her stare back, which was even more perturbing when she was standing on the opposite side of the room and swore she set it down facing the other way. It was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable. Of all things to find in the middle of the road, why did Lydia have to find an eye?

"Hmph," Lydia scoffed, "Could've come up with a better name."

"Better name for what?"

"Watchers. It makes them sound like total creepers." She casually flipped a page. "It doesn't help that most of them are crusty, old men, considering these girls are, I'm sorry, how old?"

"Anywhere from fifteen to eighteen, I think." More words lept into her throat, the sudden urge to explain overcoming her. She couldn't leave it at that. "It's not like that, though. It's more..."

Lydia arched an eyebrow, something that did not go unnoticed by Maddie.

"More...professional," Maddie grasped at the word and it was still wrong.

"Professional?"

"Yeah."

"It hath dawn'd upon myself that mine thoughts hast been consum'd with a deep longing f'r Vivienne, but the lady wilt nev'r see. Her calling is one beyond the triviality of human love." As Lydia read the line, she mimicked a British accent - badly. She gave Maddie a smug smile. "So professional."

Maddie on the other hand shrank away sheepishly - not for being proven wrong so quickly, but for reading something so private. Regardless of how old it was, it was still intrusive. The council could've had the decency to strike anything like that from the records. She frowned a bit. "...It was a different time?"

"Please tell me that isn't your excuse," Lydia said with a grimace but shook it away almost as quickly. She flipped a few more yellowed pages, her eyes scanning over old cursive handwriting on every page. "And while we're talking about people consumed with deep longing..."