I am just closing my book when I hear the phone ring. God who is calling at 10:30? I glance at the screen and recognize Isaac's number. Suddenly my annoyance turns to worry as I think of the possibility of Isaac being in trouble. I click accept and put the phone to my ear only to be overwhelmed by the sound of loud music and people yelling.
"Der you answered! You should come down to the party!-" Isaac's voice is slurred and fuzzy as he yells into the phone. Suddenly Scott is heard distantly on the other end of the line.
"Isaac? Isaac who are you calling? I told you not to do anything and to stay with Liam!" Scott scolds Isaac like he is talking to a five year old. Then a bit of a struggle is heard through the phone while I assume Scott wrangles the phone from Isaac's grasp.
"Hello?" Scott says.
"Scott what the hell is wrong with Isaac and where are you?"
"We are at the lacrosse preseason bonfire. I told Isaac and Liam not to drink but they didn't listen and now they are hammered. Isaac is acting like an idiot and Liam looks like he is gonna pass out" Scott explains.
"Don't let them out of your sight, I am on my way" I tell Scott and then hang up. I pull on my leather jacket and am out the door in no time. I don't like the thought of Isaac being vulnerable to enemies while he is in a drunken daze. I'm careful around Isaac. I can't let him know how I feel about him because I can guarantee he doesn't feel the same way about me.
Ever since I first saw him as a shy and broken kid I fell in love with him. At first it was more of an older brother protective instinct. He would come to me when he dad was angry and my mere presence would calm him down. I didn't show affection other than the occasional pat on the back or helping hand. It took all of my strength not to wrap him in my arms when he showed up to the loft all shaken up over his dad. But it gradually became worse. I noticed the adorable details of his face and how he hid smiles when Scott or Stiles joked. Or how he hid his hands in his oversized long sleeve shirt when he was nervous. I love Isaac Lahey, as much as it hurts me to know he doesn't return the affection, I can't deny that I love him.
So I head to the high school as fast as possible to get Isaac and make sure he doesn't hurt himself.
As I step out of the car at the bonfire I am hit with the smell of booze. I glance around and am disgusted at the amount of kids buzzed and making out with random guys like their lives depend on it. I doesn't take me long to find Isaac as he stands a few inches over the rest of the crowd. His smile spreads ear to ear and he looks like a fool while he dances to some pop song. I weave through the crowd and find Scott. He is sitting on a log next to Liam rubbing the freshman's back.
"Scott what happened?" I ask.
He stands up and glances nervously at Liam before turning to me and says, "I told Isaac to stay here but he refused to listen and insisted on dancing. I've been watching him the whole time don't worry."
"Scott what if hunters attacked right now or some other creature? Would you be able to watch both Isaac and Liam? I need to trust that you will watch out for the pack" I begin to yell at Scott but immediately feel bad because I know it isn't his fault that Liam and Isaac drank too much.
"I…I'm sorry Derek I should have tried harder. What should we do about these two?" Scott apologizes and then addresses their current problem.
"How about you take Liam home and I will take Isaac to the loft so he doesn't choke on his own vomit or something. If anything happens call me." Scott nods and goes to help Liam up. I then turn and begin to find Isaac in the crowd. He is getting dangerously close to the fire so before I even realize what I am doing, I am grabbing his waist and pulling him against me while I stand between him and the bonfire. He tenses before he turns and looks at me.
My heart melts when I see the smile that lights up his face and he exclaims, "Derek! You came!" He then looks down and sees my hands around his waist. He giggles like a little girl and drunkenly says, "You are a good hugger. You're really comfy."
My face heats up as I blush at the fact that I am hugging Isaac. My grasp around him loosens and I start to guide him away from the massive crowd. However we don't make it too far before Isaac begins to protest us leaving.
"No Derek we can't leave. This is so fun. We should dance! Ya Derek let's dance!" Isaac sentences are getting more slurred by the second and I wonder how much he has had to drink.
"Isaac we are going home. You drank way too much" I continue pulling him through the crowd. Finally we make it to the parking lot and I release my grasp on Isaac's arm. Unfortunately without me to steady him Isaac stumbles and faceplants onto the asphalt. I quickly kneel down and help Isaac sit up. Luckily he isn't bleeding but his eyes are getting droopy and I see that the alcohol is wearing off and he is about to hit a wall.
"Come on bud let's get in the car" I coax as I lift Isaac to his feet by his arms.
"But the party Derek! We can't leave…" Isaac looks longingly back at the bonfire but finally turns back to me and leans against my shoulder. "I'm tired Der" Isaac mumbles.
I take this opportunity to lead Isaac to the car once more and finally we make it to the Camaro. I open the passenger door and guide Isaac in. He sits down and his head lolls back against the seat. I gently buckle his seatbelt before getting in and starting the engine.
While I thought he was falling asleep, Isaac's energy was at an all-time high on the ride home. By the time we make it to the loft, Isaac has belted out every song on the radio and has tried to get me to play 20 questions at least five times. But when I put the car in park his second wind has worn off and he definitely is about to crash.
"Hey Is ready to go up?" I ask Isaac quietly as I unbuckle his seatbelt.
"Okay" he says almost so quietly I wouldn't have been able to hear it had it not been for the whole werewolf thing.
Isaac makes it into the building by himself but I am a bit shocked when he begins to climb the stairs. It is 6 floors up to the loft and Isaac definitely will not make it up there. But I also know that he would rather walk up 30 flights of stairs instead of take an elevator because of his claustrophobia. I follow closely behind him in case he falls but he seems to be doing okay as he stumbles up two flights. Finally though we are in between the fourth and fifth floor when he falls. My arms lock around his chest and he makes no effort to get out of my grasp. I figure that the best option is for me to just carry him the rest of the way. So I place my arm under his thighs and the other behind his back and carry him bridal style the rest of the way up. Isaac does not seem to mind this one bit and when we make it into the loft his eyes are closed and he is burrowed against my chest.
Isaac smells of alcohol, smoke, and sweat which overpowers his usual smell of clean clothes and this distinct smell of being outside, almost like a mixture of the wind and leaves. A shower is probably a good idea so I carry him into the bathroom.
"Isaac let's get you in the shower ok?" I ask as I start to set him down on his feet. He still leans against my chest and he faintly nods his head to answer.
I pull off his shirt and, while he holds my shoulders, I take off his pants and shoes. I can't believe this is happening. Although Isaac has stayed over and slept on the couch and whatnot, I have never had to help him into the shower, or undress him for that matter. As Isaac stands in just his boxers leaning against the wall it occurs to me that he can't stay in the shower alone. He can barely take one step. So I quickly shed my jeans and shirt but leave the boxers on. I then take off Isaac's underwear and guide him to the shower. He is aware enough to ask me why I am getting in the shower with him. To that I answer, "I don't want you to fall asleep or slip if you are in there alone". This seems to appease him as he answers. "Oh okay".
So I stand behind Isaac in the shower, propping him up, while Isaac slowly washes himself off. A few times he stops and just leans against me but I tell him the sooner he finishes the sooner he can get in bed so he resumes washing. After what seems like hours, Isaac is finally finished and I help him step out of the shower. He starts to shiver once he is out of the warm stream of water so I grab two towels and wrap him up. We walk out into the bedroom and I realize he only has the clothes he wore here so after sitting him on the end of the bed I grab a pair of sweatpants and a shirt. He puts the pants on okay but is halfway to getting the shirt over his head when his arms get tired and he puts them down in defeat. So Isaac, while sitting with a shirt over his head, says, "Der could you uh give me a hand?"
I have to bite my tongue to keep from laughing and instead gently pull the shirt down to reveal his face. I can't help myself as I say, "peek-a-boo!" when his head comes through. Isaac finds this to be the funniest thing he has heard all day and the alcohol in his system does not help so Isaac laughs until tears are rolling down his cheeks and he is clutching his sides. By the time he stops laughing my face hurts from smiling so big and my heart feels like it has swollen to twice its normal size.
Finally Isaac is once again dressed and is looking sleepier than ever. So I get up and pull back the sheets on the bed and gently guide him over to the edge of the mattress. He lays down and I pull the covers over him as he nuzzles into the pillow, my pillow. Isaac is sleeping in my bed. I never imagined it happening like this but hey life is full of surprises. I am about to go make a bed on the couch when Isaac's hand grabs my wrist. I look down and Isaac is staring at me with his puppy dog eyes. "Will you um sleep here? I don't want to be alone". But after saying this Isaac blushes and looks away. "But never mind, you don't have to. You probably think it is weird". Isaac pulls his hands into the sleeves of the oversized shirt and looks so small. I don't answer instead I run over and change out of my wet boxers and replace them with a pair of pajama pants. Then I walk over to the other side of the bed and ease back the blankets. I slide under them and when Isaac sees that I don't plan on going anywhere he turns to face me and snuggles into my bare chest. I put my arm over his waist and pull him in closer. I am so close to Isaac right now it is fantastic. But to make sure Isaac doesn't think I find this romantic I say, "Wow Isaac I didn't realize you were a cuddler when you are drunk". Isaac laughed a little but then said, "it isn't just because I'm drunk Derek. It's you" My breath caught in my throat and for a minute I didn't say anything. I finally worked up the courage to say, "I like you Isaac". But Isaac didn't answer and upon listening to his steady heart beats and even breathes I discover he is asleep. So I decide to go to bed too and in minutes I am falling soundly asleep with Isaac in my arms.
The sun is just coming through the windows when Isaac's eyes open. He has a pounding headache and is sore all over. But the biggest thing he notices is that he is lying on Derek Hale's chest. Derek's arm is wrapped around his waist and the other hand is resting softly in his light brown curls. He doesn't remember much from last night but he does remember one conversation. With a smirk on his face he says quietly, "I like you too Derek". He then decided to go back to bed for a few hours. At the sound of Isaac's voice, Derek wakes from his slumber too and with a smile on his face he falls back to bed with a sleeping Isaac in his arms.