“I mean … I want to stop feeling like I’m not worth anything unless I’m important to someone else.” Now she’s studying the palms of her hands like the secrets of the universe might be hidden in them. “I want to — ” She blows out a breath. “I don’t ever want to try to be something I’m not so someone will notice me again. And I need to know who I am so I know who not to be.”
“Ahh.” Stiles says, and he nods, his head tipping back as if that explains some deep secret of the universe. “I gotcha. I guess I mostly came to the conclusion that people are probably not gonna appreciate much who I am, and I can’t actually help that at all. But, hey, maybe it helps that I’ve got Scott, he’s literally never once asked me to be anything but what I am so I’ve kind of been like, well, screw the rest of the world.”
“Oh, well, people don’t like me, mostly. I’m … used to that. I’m not /nice/. I don’t meet their expectations.” She slants a glance at him, green-eyed and curious. “I never had a Scott. You’re lucky. Almost everyone I know has wanted me to be someone different.”