So, before posting the final part of Come Out and Play, I decided to begin a new story – fluff. All the fluff. All the fluff, all the time.

Maybe a little angst, but very, very little, and not long at all.

Happiness. Sunshine and flowers and happy people.

Yeah.

Also, despite what it may seem in this chapter, there won't be Scott/Allison hate in here.

There won't be hate in here. At all.

Enjoy!

(If you're wondering if I want you to) I want you to

Awkward boys are awkward

"Where's Scott?" Isaac asks, as he drops on the bench beside Stiles, and the other boy narrows his eyes at him.

"What? Lost your best friend, already? He's not in my pocket, bro."

"Woah, what's with the hostility, Stiles? I just asked a question."

"Well, I don't know where Scott is, Isaac. Since the two of you began your really beautiful wolf-bromance, I don't know if you've noticed, but I haven't exactly hung out with him. Because he is, you know, with you. All the time."

Stiles had tried going to the non-bitter road, but he couldn't actually manage it. He was damn well resentful, yes, because he had saved Scott's furry ass so many times, and then Isaac comes along, with his wolfishness, and that – that – and not Allison, is what makes Scott abandon him.

Which is completely ridiculous, because at their age, guys lose friends to romantic interests, not to… someone who's the same species as they are.

"I haven't seen him all weekend, though." Isaac's response is a bit defensive, and Stiles looks at him for a second, before focusing again on the field, where the coach is preparing their exercises, before the rest of the players arrive.

Why are they even having this practice, seeing as is their last week of classes, Stiles doesn't even try to understand, because Finstock is just that much crazy.

It's a month after the whole craziness with Gerard, and ever since that night, Scott's become more and more distant from Stiles. At first he'd call and make excuses, and then he started hanging out with Isaac, and Stiles was with them, but he really wasn't a part of it – he felt left out. And then he stopped hanging around them, and Scott didn't even seem to have noticed he was gone.

So, ok, he'll deal, he'll find another best friend, maybe he'll even find a girlfriend, or even a boyfriend, and leave them all behind too.

But he won't try and play message boy for the guy who stole his best friend.

He'll also not feel pity for that guy, as he stares at his phone for a few seconds, and then puts it back in his pocket, looking down, as if he's disappointed.

"Look, he's probably trying to get Allison to do something with him. You know how he gets" he ends up saying, and Isaac looks at him, and it's different – it's not the smirky smile, or the threatening face, or the I'm-so-bad look, it's a bit insecure and broken, and that tugs at Stiles' butter heart.

Damn him!

"I actually don't" Isaac answers, "I mean, I was a bit of a loner… you know, before. And then Erica and Boyd just came with the package, but now they've gone Omega, and Derek doesn't want me hanging out with them, and they don't want me hanging out with them either, and Jackson is such a jerk, even if he's pack now. And Scott was the only one around. I really didn't mean to steal your best friend" he concludes, looking earnest and confused.

He probably didn't even realize Scott was ditching Stiles for him.

"It's fine. Forget it" he dismisses, "And he's probably doing something Allison-related, that's the only kind of thing he ever tries to do by himself, anyway."

Isaac smiles at that and Stiles can't help but smirk right back.

Coach Finstock calls them right then, and they go into the field. There's a long speech about winning, and how winners aren't whiners, and how the field should be used during the summer by those who wanted to make first line the next year, and then he has them running and jumping around, and then, finally, they can leave.

There has never been a weirder coach than theirs in the history of coaches, ever.

He doesn't even realize he's said that out loud until Isaac laughs beside him, and Jackson agrees, passing by them on his way to the showers.

"So, Scott didn't even show up for training" Stiles says casually, and Isaac shrugs, looking down, "Bet you ten bucks he's convinced Allison to get back together with him."

"I don't really know how he can" Isaac says, finally showing some exasperation, "I mean, she's tried to kill us all" he whispers the last part, coming nearer Stiles, who shakes his head.

"Love, man. And Scott is completely in love with her. What can we do?"

Isaac doesn't say anything, grabbing his towel and heading for one of the empty stalls, Stiles following him a few seconds later – and then it hits him that Isaac is truly and completely alone.

He doesn't have any family left – even Derek has freaking Peter – and he has his dad, and Scott's got his mom and Allison, and Jackson and Lydia have each other, and even Erica and Boyd in their Omega ways have each other.

Isaac doesn't have anyone. And with his history, he has to take abandonment in a pretty harsh way, because, well, his dad was abusive.

You can't just shove that aside, and keep on moving on forever, Stiles knows that. And Scott, in all his wisdom, has decided to abandon Isaac – okay, it was probably for Allison, who is apparently the Bella Swan to his Edward Cullen, but come on, how can his best friend (maybe, possibly ex -best friend?) be so dense as not to see that could wreck Isaac in a way that would never, ever, wreck him?

Damn it, Scott.

They finish showering, and Stiles sees Isaac getting dressed, his shoulders tense, and his expression guarded – either he's pissed off or he's so alone he's decided that being enraged is better.

And of course Stiles can't let that go, because apparently, he's a damn patron for weird people.

"Hey, Isaac," he calls, and the boy looks at him, annoyed, "Want to come over to my place? We could study for finals, maybe play something?"

"I'm not a charity case, Stilinski" he bites out, his voice muffled by the shirt he's pulling over his head.

"I didn't think you were, I just thought we could go on bonding over how crappy a friend Scott is."

They hear Jackson snorting in a stall nearby, and Isaac finally cracks a smile.

"Okay, then."

And that's how they leave school, together.

Half way through his house, Stiles, who can't keep quiet, looks at Isaac by the corner of his eye – he's not exactly uncomfortable, but he holds himself on guard all the time.

It's weird, even with their back history.

"So…" he begins, stretching the word as far as it can go, "How come Derek isn't trying to get Scott to join him anymore? I thought there was something going on there, that he'd need more Betas, what with losing Boyd and Erica."

Isaac looks at him for a few seconds, and then shrugs.

"Derek doesn't really tell us anything."

Stiles smirks, risking a glance at Isaac.

"But you have your own ideas, because you aren't stupid."

Isaac grins at that, pleased, and Stiles has to hold in a smile.

"Well, I think Derek kind of got really tired of his shit," they both laugh at that, and Isaac continuous, "Actually, Allison's shit. The girl went full on psychopath. She stabbed me. Shot Boyd and Erica full of arrows, and, well, her grandfather tortured you for information, and she knew it. And then Scott is still after her. What the hell, man?"

Stiles keeps quiet for a bit, because, well, he hadn't really thought about any of it much. Overthinking was something he did a lot, but he didn't think about Derek's side of things, only theirs. And Scott had gone back to being almost normal after the whole thing – until he had ditched him for Isaac that is.

And now he was ditching Isaac for Allison.

Actually, Scott was pretty much a douchebag when it came to keeping friendships.

"Well, Scott has kind of tunnel vision when it comes to Allison. I think…" he pauses, because he has always thought this, but had never shared it with anyone – it felt like betraying Scott, but, well, Isaac was Scott's friend too, right? "I think he feels as if he doesn't deserve her. As if she's so far out of his league he has to compensate somehow, even if his own life suffers for it. And with the whole wolf thing, it just gets worse, he feels as if he has to compensate for being such a dork and also for going furry in the moon light."

Isaac stares at him as they pull to his drive way and get out of the car – he looks confused.

"You know, the way you behave, I actually would never think you could work all that out by yourself."

Stiles pretends to be offended, putting a hand over his heart.

"Never, ever, underestimate a Stiles. I'm great at reading emotions from other people."

"Yeah, I get that, but you don't look the part."

Stiles doesn't answer, he just grins at Isaac and opens the door to his house.

And then both their phones beep at the same time.

Allison said yesss! Goin out 2nit!

"Well, told you so" he tells Isaac, but the boy just shakes his head.

And that's when Stiles decides to make it into his mission for the rest of the afternoon to make Isaac not think about Scott.

He has a feeling Isaac isn't as forgiving as he is.

Maybe he could learn a lesson or two from him.

X

When Isaac leaves it's already getting dark out – Stiles offers to take him home, but Isaac declines, saying he's not in any danger.

Plus, Derek will try to fish Stiles for information if he gets too close to the house or growl threateningly at him, and Isaac is kind of getting tired of that song and dance, so it's better if he goes home alone.

The Sheriff gets home just as Isaac is leaving, and he looks a bit confused by it, but relieved at the same time. The teen gives him half a smile, and a 'good night, sir' before leaving, and the man stares at his son, curiously.

"Not that it's any of my business, but weren't you grumbling about Isaac a lot these days? Saying he stole your best friend?"

Stiles stares at his dad for a bit – things are weird between them, mostly because Stiles is back to normal, or as normal as he can get, but the Sheriff hasn't forgotten what happened a few weeks ago, and the way Stiles was behaving before that – but he just shrugs and answers anyway.

"Well, Scott ditched him to try and get back together with Allison. I took him in. I'm stealing Isaac from Scott, and he won't even notice, but that'll be my revenge!" he says, trying to make a believable villain voice, noticing as he's saying the words that it's the truth.

Scott won't even realize Isaac won't be there if Allison is there.

The Sheriff crosses his arms in front of his chest, looking at Stiles suspiciously, and the boy sighs – nothing good ever comes from that look.

"What is the deal with Allison, anyway? You seemed to like her, but now every time you speak of her you're resentful, and this is not about her stealing Scott away, it's something else."

The good thing about Scott being a) best buddies with Isaac and b) obsessed with Allison is that Stiles really has stayed out of trouble these past few weeks.

He's fine. Things are fine.

Maybe, maybe, if he can get his dad clued about things slowly, he'll find everything out, and Stiles won't even have to deal with this huge secret next time things go to shit – and they will go to shit. Everyone knows that.

It's like their karma or something.

"Well," he starts, dragging out the word and going to the living room, his dad following, and sitting down on an armchair opposite the couch Stiles is in, "Remember when Allison's mom killed herself?" The Sheriff nods and Stiles looks down before continuing, "Turns out the thing is way more complicated than any of us really understands. You know Kate Argent had something to do with the fire at the Hale House, and Derek blamed her, and when she died, Allison's granddad blamed Derek. It seems like Allison did the same with her mom's death. She was apparently so down because of Kate's death and stuff, and Allison and her grandfather blamed it on Derek."

John nods again, looking at Stiles intently.

"That still doesn't cover it."

"I know. That's just, like, the beginning. You know how Boyd and Erica and Isaac started hanging out with Derek, right?" His dad nods again, and Stiles continues, "Thing is, Allison is pretty handy with a bow. And a crossbow. Even a knife. She went after Derek, people got hurt. Derek didn't press charges because he actually understood her grief, but she did a number on Erica and Boyd, they ended up leaving Derek's group, and they really kind of… needed it. They don't have to easiest of lives, you know? They could use a guy like Derek to depend on, and she screwed that up for them" he stops talking and tries to see what his father is thinking, but the man's got his poker face on, "So I kind of think, and Isaac agrees, that Scott is a bit crazy for abandoning everyone just for a girl who went psycho killer on his friends."

His dad is still quiet when he finishes, and Stiles starts wondering if he's made a mistake – if now his dad will want to bring out the big guns, and talk to Derek and Scott and Allison, and that'll be a mess Stiles can't deal with.

"And all of that happened the same night you got hurt. After the game."

Stiles startles, and flails a bit, waving his hands in front of him.

"I didn't get beat up by a chick!" he protests, and John simply stares, "I really didn't! It wasn't Allison. Although… it was in the same context, yeah. And she knew I was getting beat up."

"So you lied to me."

The words are a bit of a punch to his gut, because, yeah, he had lied a lot. To protect him. To protect himself. His friends.

But things change when time passes, and you can see things outside the panic of the moment, away from the fear of being in that basement, and the despair of seeing two teens tied up with wire.

"I did, yeah. I wouldn't have now, though."

"Because of the change in Allison?"

Stiles shrugs – he doesn't know if it's the change in Allison, or the growing feeling he has the past month that he isn't as ready to die for Scott and his epic romance as he was before.

A month ago he was crazy in love with Lydia, and seeing her get back together with newly awaken Jackson, and Isaac had been stabbed, and Scott proved he had a brain.

Now, he wasn't so sure things were that clear anymore, because Scott had changed, and it had nothing to do with his furry problem, and he didn't seem to need Stiles as much – they weren't in any danger.

Scott was actually managing to stay out of trouble by not mixing with Derek and Peter, and therefore, Stiles was pretty much safe.

And also forgotten in the light of werefriend Isaac and Allison.

Stiles could actually realize that, by staying away, Scott had given him a chance to think things through, to see things he didn't see before, and, well, as much as he loved Scott, and he did, a lot, his life was easier when he wasn't trying to save his friend twenty-four-seven.

"Not really just that, but that's pretty much the short version of it, yeah" he replies, finally, and John stares at him for a while, a small smile coming slowly, and Stiles wants to do a little dance – he hasn't seen that smile in months.

"Who would have though Scott would be such a bad influence, huh?"

That startles a laugh out of Stiles, and he grins at his dad, getting up and hugging him for all that he's worth.

"I'm really, really sorry" he whispers, and John runs his hands through his hair.

"Just… don't shut me out like that again, son. This team work thing only works if it goes both ways."

Stiles nods against his dad and holds him a little longer.

They let go, and John goes to take a shower while Stiles tries to put together some dinner.

Maybe things will be fine now.

X

Things change that week, and Stiles can't say he doesn't notice it happening, because he does.

Scott and Allison are back together – she's still a wreck, and he's doing his best by her. Stiles can actually admire his devotion if he couldn't see the way Erica, Boyd and Isaac kind of try to shrink away every time she enters a room. That causes Isaac to definitely stay away from Scott, because he and Allison are joined by the hip – her dad finally relented on them being together, because they've lost so much, and he's clearly afraid of losing his daughter too – and so Stiles finds himself in a little dilemma that's solved very quickly.

He can either try and hang out with Allison and Scott, who will pay no attention to him whatsoever, or he can go and try to interact with Isaac and Jackson and Lydia.

He does the second, because he is man enough to admit that Allison kind of gives him the heeby-jeebies.

"Hey, can I sit here?" he asks casually, and Lydia looks at him and looks down – she has a heart after all, and feels kind of bad for going to him when they thought Jackson was dead, when she knew he had a thing for her. Jackson stares, and Danny stares, but Isaac smiles a bit and says "Sure", making room for him at the table.

And that's how the week goes by.

He interacts little with Scott, and Isaac seems to be taking up more and more of his time. They can make fun of Jackson, and even Lydia joins in a few times. Danny seems to not find him so annoying anymore, and he eats lunch with the new bunch of misfits, who used to be the most popular kids in school, and he kind of fits right in.

Or Isaac makes him fit right in, always there when he needs him.

It's strange being the one who depends on someone. He's usually the one who has to think things through so they won't blow up all the time.

It's a good reprieve, but he's still waiting for the storm to come.

Still, it's good.

The last day of classes he's a bit down, because, well, he won't have Scott this summer, what the hell will he do with his time?

So, when Isaac shows up by his side in the parking lot, smiling a bit and suggesting they practice lacrosse on the field during the summer, he smiles wide.

"I'd like that."

Isaac smiles back, and jumps in the jeep, uninvited.

They play video games until it's dark out, and Stiles smiles, feeling really happy in a very, very long time.

It's a bit foreign, but not at all unwelcome.

Next chapter we'll have a bit of Isaac's side of things.

Let me know what you think!

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