"He hates my pillows." Isaac rushed out in a hushed tone as soon as the ringing on the other end stopped.
"What? Who hates your pillows? What?" Erica's voice and mind were still thick with sleep.
"Scott. Scott hates my pillows." Isaac quietly pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat down. He didn't want to wake Scott, who was asleep in one of the upstairs bedrooms.
"Isaac, it's 2 o'clock in the morning." She groaned, annoyed with him for waking her up.
"I'm aware. Now what am I supposed to do?" Erica was the only one who was able to calm Isaac down when he got flustered.
"About what?" Although she didn't seem to be grasping the importance of it right now.
"The pillows, Erica. The pillows." Isaac pinched the bridge of his nose.
"What pillows, Isaac? What are you talking about?" Still groggy from sleep, Erica sat up, tried to rub the sleep away.
"My pillows!" Isaac shouted into the phone and then immediately slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Isaac, have you been letting Stiles and Lydia cast on you again?" It was the only logical explanation.
"NO! Erica try to focus. Please."
"Okay. Okay, I'm focusing. Now explain to me what the hell constituted a phone call at 2 in the morning?" Isaac knew he was probably going to get a slap next time he saw her.
"Scott hates my pillows. What should I do?"
"You called me at 2 in the morning because Sco – Wait. How do you know Scott hates your pillows? Did he spend the night?" Erica sounded almost murderous. He was definitely going to get slapped.
"Yes, he spent the night. And before you ask, no, nothing happened."
"Isaac Robert Lahey, we are no longer best friends! I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Erica huffed as she slammed her hand down, accidentally hitting Boyd's chest. He let out a grunt and rolled over, pulling their blankets with him.
"It's not like I planned it! It just kind of happened." Isaac sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. Of course he wanted to tell Erica as soon as Scott showed up on his door step, distressed and asking if he could spend a few nights there. He just wasn't exactly sure how to go about doing that without seeming rude.
"Can't you just be mad at me later? I need your help." Isaac whined into the phone, causing Erica to sigh and give in.
"Fine. I'll be at your house at 1PM. We'll go buy you some new pillows and you can explain to me how all of this happened. Goodnight"
"But what am I supposed to do right now?" Isaac pleaded.
"Go. To. Sleep. Isaac." Erica groaned and hung up the phone, leaving Isaac alone in his kitchen, trying to calm himself down. After a cup of tea and some serious self pep-talking, he headed back to his room.
Isaac dragged his bare feet along the carpet as he made his way up the stairs and down the hall to his room. He paused, just for a moment, in front of the room Scott was staying in, listening for the soft, steady thrum of his heart. Isaac held onto the sound as he continued down the hall to his own room, kept it close as he lay awake in his bed. He held on until it finally lulled him to sleep.
Isaac awoke to a very bubbly Erica bouncing on his chest. She poked and pinched at his face until he opened his eyes. He tried to push her off but his attempts were futile in his sleep-stricken state.
"Erica, get the fuck off of me." Isaac didn't mean for it to come out so whiny.
"Good morning to you too, sunshine." Erica smirked as she rolled off of him and into the empty space next to him.
"What time is it?" Isaac absentmindedly felt around the night stand for his phone.
"It is 9:30 in the morning." He could hear the pleasure in her voice. She loved to torture him.
"Erica! You said 1PM! What the hell are you doing here at 9:30 in the morning?" Isaac rolled away from her swiftly, pulling the blankets up to his chin and covering his face with one of the pillows. He was determined to go back to sleep.
"Oh. That's right. I did, didn't I?" Erica played dumb and twirled her long, blonde curls between her fingers. Isaac huffed beside her and pulled the blankets tighter around his body. They were officially in a fight.
"Well excuse me, Huffy McHuffington. I'm just exacting my revenge on you for waking me up in the middle of the night." She said very matter-of-factually.
Isaac upgraded his huff for a muffled scoff.
"Ugh, Isaac don't be mad at me. I'm only playing." Erica cuddled her body into Isaac's. She threw one hand over his waist and left the other to find the soft curls of his hair. Nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck, she inhaled deeply, as a wave of comfort washed over her. Isaac let out a frustrated sigh and threw the pillow covering his face to the foot of the bed. It was impossible for him to stay mad at her and she knew it.
"Good. Now get your ass out of bed so we can go shopping. Allison's waiting in the car." Erica hopped out of his bed and sauntered towards the door.
"YOU TOLD ALLISON!" Isaac shouted as his body snapped up into a sitting position.
"Of course I did, silly. She's Scott's best friend. Plus, she knows what kind of pillows he likes." Erica shrugged her shoulders, grinning back at him as she exited the room. Isaac quickly rolled out of bed and scrambled around his room for clothes. He brushed his teeth and headed towards the front door. This was going to be an interesting day, to say the least.
Erica decided (for the group) that they would be taking her SUV on their little expedition. She would drive, control the radio, and pick the store/restaurant they went to. Isaac knew Erica too well to even attempt to argue. She started the car and they were quickly on their way to Beacon Hills only shopping center. Erica wasn't the best driver. She would frequently text and drive (Isaac had scolded her more than once for it), exceed the speed limit (by a lot), and just plain old not pay attention to the road in front of her. Erica ran a red light and it looked like Allison's life flashed before her eyes. Isaac, on the other hand, was used to it. Not to mention, a werewolf.
When they arrived at the shopping center, Erica parked the car (in two spaces) and Allison's heart beat finally steadied itself. Which caused Erica to giggle and Allison to glare at her. It would be a very interesting day indeed.
"So, are you going to tell us how this all came about now or later?" Erica linked her arm into his and cocked her head to the side as they walked toward the Bloomingdale's outlet.
"I don't even know how this all came about. One minuet I was making myself dinner and the next Scott was pounding on my door. I didn't even hear him pull into the driveway." Isaac shrugged and shook his head.
"Well, why was he there?" It was Allison who spoke this time.
"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me. He just asked if he could spend a few nights at my place and I obviously said yes. Probably has something to do with his roommate."
"So what's up with the whole pillow thing?" The three of them had finally reached the front door, Isaac held it open for both of the girls.
"What do you mean?" He explained this to her last night.
"I mean, how do you know Scott doesn't like your pillows? And why were you freaking out about it?" Erica stopped walking and folded her arms across her chest.
"I don't know. I could just feel it. He was uncomfortable. I could hear him fiddling around with the pillows all night. He kept trying to fluff them up and rearrange them." Isaac rubbed at the back of his neck.
"Wait, he didn't actually say anything about the pillows being uncomfortable? You were just guessing?" Erica's voice was murderous again as she punched his shoulder.
"Yeah?" He hung his head as he spoke.
"You're ridiculous!" Erica stalked off into kitchenware.
"Oh don't listen to her Isaac. I called Lydia the first time Scott spent the night because I was terrified he'd stop kissing me if I had bad breath in the morning. Being in love makes you crazy sometimes." Allison placed a hand on his forearm and smiled. She was so beautiful and Isaac couldn't help but shake his head at the thought of Scott for ever letting her go.
"Yeah, I know. I just want him to be comfortable. He was really upset." Isaac was looking away from the girls when spoke, he didn't see the smug smile strung up on Erica's face or the sweet one on Allison's.
"What?" Was his only response when he turned back to them, both beaming in different ways.
"You didn't deny being in love with him." Her voice was gentle as she pulled him into a hug. God, Allison had a voice like velvet.
Isaac hugged her back but kept quiet.
"He loves you too, you know. He has for along time. He just, hasn't quite put the pieces together yet." It was more of a whisper than anything else, meant for Isaac's ears only.
"I always knew you two were in love. You're getting this pillow." Erica said, already walking toward the check out, holding the pillow up with on hand for the two of them to see. Once they paid, they exited the store and headed home. Allison fearing for her life again as Erica ran 2 red lights, drove over the speed limit, and almost rear ended a little VW Buggie.
Scott woke up to an empty house. With the blanket wrapped around his legs and the fitted sheet pulled up from it's corners, pillows scattered to either side of him. The air was still as the sun peeked through the large windows of the room and warmed his back. Comfort curling at the edge of his consciousness, trying to lull him back to sleep. He lay there for a while, breathing in the familiar scent of pack, of family, of home. Of Isaac. This was Isaac's home and these were his things and Scott couldn't explain it but he had never felt more connected.
He was sitting on a stool at the island in the kitchen when Isaac got home. By the look on Isaac's face, he knew could smell the burnt eggs and charred pieces of bacon. Scott smiled sheepishly at him and rubbed at the back of his neck.
"I was trying to make some breakfast for you, for you know, letting me stay here, and I kind of failed miserably and burnt everything. I'm sorry." Scott spoke before Isaac could make a sound. He raised his shoulders and hung his head.
"Don't worry about it." Isaac chuckled and smiled fondly at him. Scott perked up and his heart started to beat a little faster. A wide, dopey grin plastered on his face.
"What'cha got there?" Scott cleared his throat and pointed to the Bloomingdale's bag Isaac held in his hand.
"Oh. Ah, I – I kind of bought you a new pillow." Isaac shrugged, gesturing between the bag and Scott, holding it out so he could take it.
"Really?" His smile growing even wider as he took the bag from Isaac.
"Um, yeah. I know the ones in the guest room aren't really that comfortable." He was shaking his head slightly as his cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink. His hands suddenly becoming very interesting. Before Isaac knew what was happening, Scott was crashing into him. His arms wrapping around Isaac's waist and squeezing him tightly. Just as quickly as it happened, it was over and Isaac let out a soft whine at the loss of warmth.
"Thanks man. That was pretty awesome of you." Now Scott was the one turning various shades of pink.
"No problem. How about I make us some breakfast?" Isaac half smiled at him and his heart sped up again.
Scott knew about Isaac's past. Knew about what his father had done to him after his mother died. They never talked about it though. Isaac didn't like to, too many mixed emotions and open wounds. Scott understood that. He respected that. So he chose to never really think about it. Over the last couple of years, he had grown into himself. Become a stronger person, a fiercer wolf. He refused to let his past define him, so nobody let it.
Erica was protective of him. Scott always just assumed it was because they had stronger bond, they were closer. Kind of like the bond he and Stiles shared. He would die protecting his pack, he loved them. No one ever doubted that. But things were different when it came to Stiles. Stiles was his brother, his soul mate (in a totally platonic way). He was more than pack. And while Isaac and Erica were closer, were bonded in such a special way, it wasn't the only reason she protected him so fiercely.
It started with sobs. Ones so broken and grief-stricken that it woke Scott up out of a sound sleep. Sweaty palms and a twisting in his stomach. It took him a moment to register what was happening. Then there was a howl and it made Scott's skin crawl and his bones rattle and his heart sink. His eyes began to sting with tears and his body shook.
Scott found his way to Isaac's room. Groggy with sleep and racked with worry. Just as he was about to knock, a scream ripped through the house. Scott rushed through the door and to Isaac's bed to find him thrashing and shifting and completely asleep. His face damp with tears and finger nails dried with blood. Scott tried his best to sooth him. To talk him out of the nightmare, to bring him back. But nothing he did seemed to be working. He made his way around to the other side of the bed. Scott slid his body into the empty space next to Isaac. He began placing light kisses along his arm, up to his shoulder, onto his neck, across his back, and repeated. His arms had found their way around Isaac's bare waist.
"I'm here. I'm here, Isaac. Everything's okay. You're okay. I'm not going to leave you." Scott whispered into his skin, his lips lightly brushing against it. Causing Isaac to shiver beneath him. Scott ran his hands over the other boys body, feeling for any harm he may caused himself. He repeated his words and the pattern in which he was kissing Isaac until their heart beats were in sync with one another. Isaac curled into himself and Scott curled into him. Protecting him, calming him until his body was restful again.
Scott had finally put all the pieces together.