Prompt: hey :) can you do an imagine where stiles is in love with lydia and he always talks to the reader about her bc they're best friends and she helps him every time because she has a crush on him and wants him to be happy but one day when stiles comes to her to tell her that he wants to ask lydia out and then the reader gets mad and they fight and she ends up confessing her feelings to him? you can choose how it ends :) – Anon

Author's Note: Wow, so I may have gone a little overboard with this one. 12 pages. I think this is the longest one I've written (12 pages!) haha. Anyways, I kind of changed just a little bit. I hope you like it! Thanks for the request! (:

---

Always Been You.

Third Grade – Valentine's Day

Three little kids sat around the dining room table in the McCall house. Scraps of paper, glue sticks, kid scissors, markers, and packs of Valentine's Day cards with different characters on them scattered the wooden table. On one end of the table sat a nine-year-old boy with dark hair and a crooked chin. He was working on a special heart-shaped card for his mom after putting names on all of his Superhero Valentine cards. In the middle sat an eight-year-old girl with a slightly unruly set of blond curls falling in front of her blue eyes. She tried to blow them out of the way as she concentrated on writing names down on her Disney princesses cards, but the ringlets just fell right back down. On the opposite end of the table sat another nine-year-old boy with chocolate colored eyes and moles that speckled the side of his face. He was in deep concentration as he wrote a name as fancy as he could on the front of a pink heart-shaped card.

Once Stiles got it as perfect as he could, he flipped to the inside of the card. "I don't know what to write on the inside..." He muttered as he stared blankly at the pink paper.

"What do you mean? Who is it for?" The curly blonde asked.

"Lydia Martin, probably." Scott responded, not looking up from his card.

"Wh... why would you be making a special one for her?" (Y/N) questioned.

"Because he likes her... A LOT." Scott replied for Stiles once again, still not lifting his eyes from his project.

"Oh..." (Y/N) responded somewhat glumly. "Well, why don't you just say that on the card?" She asked, looking at her best friend.

Stiles shook his head a little, "I don't know..."

"She'll never know unless you tell her, dude." Scott pressed (Y/N)'s suggestion, but Stiles just shrugged his shoulders.

—

The next day, children milled around the classroom as they stuck cards in decorated shoe boxes. Stiles walked cautiously over to Lydia's desk, watching to make sure no one was around to see him drop his special card in. He slipped the love note into the glittery, pink, and feathery box and then coyly walked away while sticking cards in the rest of the boxes. Little did he know that a curly headed blonde was watching from the other side of the room with sad eyes.

—

When Stiles returned home he immediately ran up to his room, his Star Wars themed box tucked securely under his arm. He sat on his bed and dumped its' contents out, about twenty or so cards scattered across his blanket.

You're DINO-MITE! said a dinosaur card - Michael

You're a HOOT! Said a card with an owl on it - Jake

Beeee Mine! Said a card with buzzing bees - Emily

Have a WILD valentine's day! – Where the Wild Things Are - Jackson

You're the purr-fect friend! - a cat - Ashley

U R Cool – a penguin - Tanner

It's a whole new world with you, Valentine! – Jasmine – (Y/N). He couldn't help but smile at that one.

Best Friends Forever! – Pooh and Piglet - Andy

Valentine, my heart is thumping for you! – Thumper - Rachel

You're my favorite Deputy! – Woody - Sam

You're out of this world! – Buzz - Mason

Let's Dance, Valentine! – Belle – Savannah

Happy Valentine's Day to one of the Good Guys! – Batman, Flash, Superman, Spiderman - Scott

He read through them all, hoping to find one from a certain strawberry blonde, and getting a little disappointed with each passing card. Then he finally found it. It was a The Little Mermaid card with Ariel on it:

To: Stiles Stilinski

From: Lydia Martin

Together we make a SPLASH!

Stiles wasn't going to lie, the card put a big grin on his face even though it wasn't as big of a gesture as he had put into her card. That didn't matter to him. What mattered was that she actually sent him one at all. It meant that at some point or another, she thought of him... even if it was just for a second.

But then he spotted another card. It wasn't just any card. It was a hand-crafted card like the one he made for Lydia. It was red construction paper folded like a regular card, hearts hole punched all the way around. The front of the card had the word LOVE carefully painted in big, bold, white letters, a heart taking the place of the 'O'. He opened and read what the card said:

You've stolen a piece of my heart! With a little bandit dude holding half of a heart on one side of the card. On the other side of the card it said especially for you with four Star Wars cards taped to it.

Our Love Will Endor!

YODA BEST!

You're the OBI-WAN for me!

You R2 Good for me!

The whole thing made Stiles smile even more than Lydia's did, which surprised him. The only thing was that he had no idea who it was from. He flipped it to the back and was glad to find something written:

Love, your secret admirer.

Stiles couldn't help but wonder who the special card could be from. Of course, his hopes were that maybe, just maybe, Lydia decided to throw him off by sending him two cards: one that was obviously from her and one from a 'secret admirer.' He knew he was probably wishing for too much there, but he couldn't help it. Either way though, it didn't matter. The card was still his favorite. So much so that he decided to place it on his night stand while the rest went back in his decorated shoebox.

***

Senior Year – A week before the Valentine's Day Dance.

Stiles and (Y/N) sat at a table outside on the quad at school during their free period. The sun was shining, not a cloud was in sight, and they hadn't had any supernatural issues in a while. It was a perfect day. The pack didn't get many of these kind of days, so they took advantage of it every chance they got.

"You're ogling again." (Y/N) said before stuffing a potato chip in her mouth. Stiles didn't seem to hear her though as he kept doing it. "Dude!" She said and threw a chip at his head.

He snapped his attention back to her, "what?" He acted oblivious.

(Y/N) raised her eyebrows at him, "you were staring at Lydia again."

Stiles shook his head, "no I wasn't. I was... I was watching all of my fellow classmates and taking it all in since this is our last year here." He lied.

(Y/N) scoffed, "sure you were." She paused to take a sip of water. "You do realize that I have witnessed you stare at her since we were nine, right? I think I know that look by now."

"Do you think she's going to go out with the new guy?" He asked, ignoring her statement and glancing back towards Lydia and guy who had just transferred to BHHS.

(Y/N) reluctantly looked in the same direction, "didn't she say she was done with high school boys or something? Besides, she doesn't seem to be that into him." She replied as she studied the boy and girl from afar. She heard Stiles let out a sigh of relief. "He is definitely into her though." She finished and turned back to face Stiles, to which he gave her a glare that caused her to laugh. "Seriously, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"Do you think it's too soon?" He questioned after taking a swig of his own water.

"Too soon for what?" She asked, taking another sip.

"To maybe ask her out." Stiles replied with a serious face.

This caused (Y/N) to nearly choke on her water, and he looked at her concerned. "You think you'll actually be able to?" She teased once she composed herself.

He gave her a playful glare again, "I don't know. I mean, I was thinking about it. Like asking her to the Valentine's Day dance or something." (Y/N)'s heart sank at his last sentence about the dance. "But then I remembered how Malia and I just broke up like a month ago, and wonder if it would be too soon. Or even if I should since they're friends." He paused for a second, "Oh, and then there's the crushing fear of being utterly humiliated and ruining our friendship." He finished and sighed heavily.

(Y/N) looked at him with sympathetic eyes, but at the same time, her heart was aching. She had to be the best friend though and support him, no matter how she secretly felt about him. "First of all, it's been almost two months since you and Malia broke up. Second, you should do whatever feels right to you, whenever it feels right. Third, you will not be utterly humiliated or ruin your friendship with her. If it does, then she's crazy and you deserve better." She advised reluctantly.

Stiles shrugged his shoulders, "maybe you're right." He fiddled with the wrapper to his Skittles for a moment. "It's funny, out of all the supernatural stuff we have to deal with, I think this is the most terrifying thing, you know?" He said with a small chuckle.

(Y/N) laughed a little with him, "Yeah, I definitely know what you mean." She responded. He had no idea how much she understood where he was coming from. "But if you're going to do it, you better hurry before someone else asks her to the dance." She said, again with reluctance.

Stiles nodded as he looked back over to Lydia who was still talking to the new guy. She had a smile on her face. He was no doubt filling her with some crap about what his life was like before he moved to Beacon Hills, using his charm and good looks until he made his big move.

Stiles turned back towards (Y/N) before he could witness it happen. She had the chip bag and her head tipped back as she tried to get the last remnants in her mouth. Her loose, blonde ringlets blew in the slight breeze, and when she finished, she looked back at him with a big grin and her blue eyes shining in the sun. Stiles couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at the sight of her.

—

Later that afternoon, Sheriff Stilinski had invited (Y/N) over for dinner since both of her parents were out of town on business for the week. Now, she and Stiles were up in his room studying for their history exam the next day. She was sitting crisscross on his bed, her hair up in a messy bun, a pen stuck between her teeth as she highlighted some of the notes sprawled out in front of her. Stiles was sitting at his desk, his back turned toward her, and his pen tapping away.

(Y/N) closed her eyes with a sigh as she took the pen out of her mouth. "What's wrong?"

Stiles turned towards her, "what do you mean?"

"You keep tapping your pen. You do that when something else is on your mind besides what is in front of you." She answered as she pointed to the pen in his hand.

He squinted at her, "you know me too well." He said with a smirk.

(Y/N) smiled and shrugged her shoulders, "I pretty much pride myself on it." She replied with a small laugh and he laughed along with her. "Seriously though, what's going on in that head of yours?"

Stiles sat down his pen and rubbed his face before turning to face her more completely. "I need your advice on something." He was already pulling out his best puppy dog eyes so she knew this had to be big.

"Okayyy...?"

"How do you think I should ask Lydia out? I mean, you're a girl, you know what girl's like and whatever. Is there anything special I should do or should I just get straight to the point? Should I get flowers? Should I do it at school or somewhere more private? What should I say?" Stiles started rambling off all kinds of questions for (Y/N), and he didn't notice, but she was slowly receding back into herself.

She looked back down at her notes, unable to look him in the eyes anymore. "Stiles, I really don't think I'm the one you should be asking about this." She interrupted him with a small laugh, trying to play it off.

"Why not? You're perfect for it. You're a girl and you're friends with Lydia, so you know all of the inside scoop." He argued.

(Y/N) shook her head, "you're friends with her too. Plus, you dated Malia. So it's not like you're inexperienced in that department."

"Malia and I sort of skipped that whole part..."

She sighed and rolled her eyes a little, hoping he didn't catch it, "right. But you took Lydia to the dance before. That went well, didn't it?"

"You mean the one where she was thinking about Jackson the whole time and then got attacked by Peter? Yeah, that went real well." He stated sarcastically. "Plus, she's the one that asked me... after practically being forced to by Allison." He continued, and then paused for a minute as he studied her. "Why don't you want to help me?"

(Y/N) sighed a little and shrugged her shoulders, "I just don't think you need my help."

Stiles stood up and walked over to sit down on the end of the bed, "(Y/N), you're my best girl friend. I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't think I needed it or that you couldn't help me. I wouldn't trust anyone but you with this kind of thing."

Man, he was really laying it on her. She scratched at her brow, still unable to look up at him. "Like I told you earlier, Stiles, you just have to go with what your heart is telling you. It will lead you in the right direction. You'll be fine with however you do it. I promise." She finally gave him an answer. "We should get back to studying." She finished as she pulled her highlighter back out.

Stiles' eyebrows knitted together as he studied the way she was acting. Something was definitely going on with her. "What's wrong, (Y/N)? You usually don't have a problem helping me with stuff like this, especially when it comes to Lydia. So, why not now?"

(Y/N) didn't answer for a few minutes, and Stiles kept practically begging for an answer. She was trying so hard not to break and blow up at him over this. She didn't want to do this to him, but she didn't think she could hold it in anymore. "Do you think that maybe I've finally gotten tired of hearing how perfect Lydia is and how in love with her you are? Hmm?" And there was the snap, and here comes the word vomit.

"She never notices me. This or that guy is no good for her. Why does she put up with that? No one knows Lydia like you do. (Y/N) what do you think she would want for her birthday? You're not going without her. She's not going alone." She gave her best Stiles impression. By now she was looking right at him again, and he was staring back at her in shock. "I mean, a girl can only take so much of hearing a guy go on and on about another girl... especially when she herself has been secretly in love with the guy for as long as he's been in love with the other girl." Once she said it, she instantly regretted it. She stopped herself from talking and hopped off the bed.

"I...I have to go." She stammered, and Stiles noticed the tears starting to well up in her eyes as she slipped her shoes and jacket on before grabbing her purse and running out the door.

Stiles sat there in shock for a minute before realizing that she was halfway out of the house already. "Wait! (Y/N)!" He ran out of his room, down the stairs, and out the front door. "(Y/N)!" But it was too late, she was already backing out of the driveway, not bothering to look back in his direction.

***

Valentine's Day Dance

Lydia and Stiles are sitting at a table waiting on the rest of their friends to arrive. Stiles, dressed in a nice suit with a burgundy tie and his best Converse, stares out at the dance floor with a blank expression on his face for a minute. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened with (Y/N) earlier in the week. They hadn't spoken since. She's been avoiding him like the plague; ignoring his calls, texts, and any opportunity for him to talk to her at school. He'd even tried going to her house, but she'd pretend not to be home. It was driving him up the wall. They had never been in an argument this big before, much less gone this long without talking.

"You want to dance?" Lydia asked from beside him, a small smile on her face.

His head jerked back in her direction. He wasn't going lie, he was a little taken aback by the offer. Last time they were here, he had to practically beg her to get on the dance floor. He couldn't help but smirk at the memory. "Funny how the tables have turned, huh?" He asked, a gleam in his eyes as he looked back at her.

Lydia smiled back, "a lot has changed in the last few years, Stiles. I think we both know that I am not the same girl I was sophomore year."

Stiles chuckled, "tell me about it. I'd be a little worried if you were. I like this version of you better. Not that I didn't like the old you. I mean, let's face it... everyone knows I did." He started rambling.

This got a laugh from Lydia, "we've both changed quite a bit, I think. Although, you haven't changed completely." She suggested and pointed at his choice in shoes with a smirk.

Stiles laughed again and nodded his head. He seemed to be in deep thought for a minute. "We've been through a lot, you and I. Haven't we?" He stated somewhat out of the blue.

Lydia nodded her head with a small smile, "we definitely have. We've done a lot of growing up together, too, Stiles. I don't think I'd be the person that I am now if it wasn't for you."

"A banshee?" He interrupted her with a smirk.

She laughed and nudged his shoulder as she shook her head. "You know what I mean. The words you said to me at the dance really changed my perspective on things, and I don't think I've ever thanked you for that. So, thank you." She finished with an appreciative smile.

Stiles shook his head, "nah that was all you. I was just trying to convince you to dance with me." He responded with a grin.

"And now here I am trying to convince you to dance with me." She said with a smile as she stood up and held out her hand to him, to which he gladly took. Lydia led him to the middle of the dance floor where she put her hands around his neck, and he put his on her waist and they swayed to the slow song that was playing.

He looked down at her with a smile, "I can't remember if I already told you tonight or not, but you look beautiful, Lydia." She was wearing a simple burgundy dress with a sweetheart neckline and lace detail that cut just above the knee. Her strawberry blonde hair famed her face in loose waves and her make-up was more minimal than usual; a red lipstick and mascara. Nothing dramatic or overdone... just perfect, as usual.

Lydia felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Wait a second, is Stiles Stilinski making me blush right now? She thought to herself as she looked away from him with a shy smile. "Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself."

Stiles just smiled and kept dancing. He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't dreamt about this exact moment. Him and the girl of his dreams dancing in the middle of a room full of people, but it feels like they're the only ones in the world. There was one problem though; he couldn't get his mind off of (Y/N). She never showed up with the rest of the pack, and that worried him.

"Do you remember Valentine's Day in third grade?" Lydia interrupted his thoughts. Stiles looked at her as if he didn't remember, but he was just pretending. "You slipped a hand-made card into my fancy shoebox." She tried to jog his memory with a smile.

"Ahh..." He said and bowed his head in embarrassment. "You aren't going to hold that against me, are you?"

Lydia laughed and shook her head, "not really." She paused for a moment as they continued to sway back and forth. "Do you remember what you wrote in it?" He shook his head no, but of course he did. "You said, and I quote, 'Lydia, I really really like you even though you have no idea I exist, and even if you never notice me, I'll always like you.' Remember now?" She asked with a smile as Stiles hung his head in embarrassment, but nodded anyways. "I remember feeling so giddy over that. It was the first time a boy had ever told me he liked me."

"And yet you still ignored me until sophomore year." He said and made a face at her.

"Only because I knew I couldn't compete." She said with a shrug of her shoulders.

This confused Stiles, "wait, compete with who?" He questioned with knitted eyebrows.

"Who else? (Y/N)." She said as if it were obvious.

Stiles stopped dancing and looked Lydia right in the eyes. "But (Y/N) and I've never dated, Lydia."

"I know, but it was and still is pretty obvious that she's practically in love with you, Stiles. Well, obvious to everyone, but you, I guess." The slow song switched to an upbeat one, and Lydia started walking back towards the table, leaving Stiles dumbfounded.

"Wait, so you knew she's liked me this whole time?"

"Like I said, everyone knows, Stiles." She responded and took a sip of punch. Stiles just stood there as everything that Lydia just told him sunk in.

Have I really been so blind all this time? Why didn't I see it? Then it all hit him like a ton of bricks. Memories came flooding back like a freight train. Then he remembered third grade Valentine's Day and the handmade card he'd received in his own shoe box from a secret admirer, and later found out it was from (Y/N). It's been (Y/N) this whole time.

Lydia interrupted his thoughts, "Stiles, you showed me a new perspective two years ago. Now let me show you one." She paused, put her hands on his shoulders, and turned him around towards the exit. "Go get her."

But he turned back around, "But..." He was going to say that he didn't want to, but that would have been a lie. "I'm sorry." He said as he looked at her apologetically.

She interrupted him with a smile again, "it's okay. Now, go." She pushed him towards the door.

***

Half an hour later, Stiles was pulling his Jeep into (Y/N)'s driveway. He threw it in park, grabbed what he stopped by his house for, and hopped out. He ran up to the porch and didn't bother knocking on the front door because her family always just tells him to come right in, so that's what he did. He took the stairs to her room two at a time. Her door was closed so he took a deep breath and knocked a couple of times.

"Mom, I told you I'm not..." (Y/N) started as she opened the door, but stopped once she saw who was actually there. "Stiles...Wha... what are you doing here? I thought you'd be at the dance, and judging by your attire, you were. So why are you here now?" She questioned, folding her arms across her chest as a security blanket.

"I was, but I need to talk to you. Can I come in, please?" He asked with an almost pleading face.

(Y/N) sighed and moved out of the door frame reluctantly. "What about Lydia?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

"I didn't come here to talk about Lydia. I came to talk about you... me... us." He responded and swore that he saw her go pale in the face.

She shrugged her shoulders though and played it off. "There's no us to talk about, Stiles. Just forget what I said the other night. I didn't mean it." She said, avoiding eye contact with him as she walked over to her nightstand and checked her phone.

"So were you lying when you made this?" He questioned and held up the hand-made Valentine's Day card from third grade.

When (Y/N) turned around to see what he was talking about, her jaw nearly hit the floor. She was left speechless. She had no idea he still had that, much less that he knew it was from her. She didn't know what to do so she just pretended like she had never seen it before. "Am I supposed to know what that is?" She didn't mean to come off so cold.

Stiles shook his head with a sigh, "don't play games with me, (Y/N). I know it was you who made it. I've known since sixth grade when your mom had us clean out your room and I found the left over Star Wars cards in the back of your closet under a bunch of junk." He confessed. (Y/N) was left speechless again. "And I know I'm the only one who you made a card for like this because the rest of your cards were Princesses. I never asked you about it because it was three years later, and I figured you had forgotten by then."

"I made you a special card in third grade, so what?" She responded with a shrug of her shoulders, still trying to play the whole thing down.

"Why me?" He asked simply.

"Maybe I had a small crush on you then, so?" Man, I'm really bad at this. She thought to herself.

"Dammit, (Y/N), stop trying to play all of this down." Stiles started in frustration. "We're best friends, and if we don't figure this out, I'm afraid we won't make it out." He continued with sad eyes.

(Y/N) finally looked him in the eye equally sad eyes, "I don't want that to happen." She said just above a whisper.

"Me neither. So, will you please talk to me?" He asked with pleading eyes as he stepped closer to her.

"I made you the card in third grade because I liked you... a lot. Like as much as you liked Lydia, which is why I didn't ever tell you because I knew you liked her and not me." (Y/N) confessed, her blue eyes staring up into his brown ones.

"Lydia didn't even know who I was until sophomore year. She completely ignored me. Just because I liked her a lot, doesn't mean I swore off all other girls. Lydia was a longshot for me. You could have told me." Stiles stated.

(Y/N) shook her head, "I didn't want to be second best."

Stiles' breath hitched in his throat for a minute. He stepped closer to her and grabbed her hands. "You would never be second best, (Y/N). Not then. Not now. Not ever." He insisted as he looked her right in the eyes, making sure she knew he was telling the truth.

At that, (Y/N) could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes, and that was the last thing she wanted right now. "I didn't want it to ruin our friendship or make it weird." She confessed.

Stiles smiled down at her, his hands still holding hers, "here's the thing about us, (Y/N); absolutely nothing could ruin our friendship. We've been through too much together to let anything get in the way of that. I mean, this last week of you ignoring me, nearly killed me. So there's no way that I could survive without you." He responded with a smile on his lips and then continued, "Plus, you know my darkest secrets. So I can't risk you spilling those out." He joked, which made her laugh.

"I need you to answer another question for me, honestly, okay?" He requested, to which she nodded her head as she looked up at him. "How do you feel about me now?"

(Y/N) was silent for a moment. She wasn't sure how to describe how she felt. If she was being honest with herself, she was head over heels for him, but it wasn't like she could straight up tell him that. She didn't want to humiliate herself knowing that he still liked Lydia. Why is he doing this to me? She thought.

Minutes went by and she still hadn't answered him. She just kept looking away, most likely trying to find a way to change the subject and avoid answering him. He let out a deep breath, "okay, if you can't tell me how you feel, can I at least tell you how I feel?" He asked, and got her attention back.

She nodded slowly as she looked back into his eyes. This was it. She could feel her heart practically beating out of her chest.

"It hit me like a ton of bricks at the dance. There I was, dancing with the girl I'd wanted to be with practically my whole life," he started, and noticed how she looked away. "But then she asked me about Valentine's Day in third grade. I knew where she was going with it, but I didn't know why she would be bringing up a card I'd made her years ago. Then she told me that she ignored me for so long because she knew she could never compete with you, and that I had just been oblivious to how you've felt all this time." He paused for a moment to catch his breath. "All of these memories came flooding back to me, and I realized that I had been stupidly missing out on someone who was right in front of me all along." His eyes had never left her, even when she looked away. He let go of one of her hands to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. "It's always been you, (Y/N). I was just too blind to see it."

(Y/N) was in shock. She couldn't believe he was actually saying these things to her. He was finally saying the words that she had longed to hear for years now. "Really?" Was all she could muster out in a small voice.

Stiles chuckled softly and nodded his head, "yes, really." He caressed her cheek before pulling her into a gentle kiss. "Is that reassurance enough for you?" He asked smiling down at her.

(Y/N) smirked, "I think I could use a little more reassurance." He laughed, put his other hand on her cheek and pulled her in for another, deeper kiss nonetheless.

The end.