Welcome to my new story! It's a little bit different, and I know it obviously starts pretty far away from Isaac/Lydia, but they'll get there eventually. Bear with me guys. Bit of a slow burner. I hope y'all like it!
This was not how Isaac Lahey had imagined he would lose his virginity. He wasn't sure what exactly he had thought it would be like, but, as he shook the dirt and dead leaves off his T-shirt, turning away from her to pull it on, he couldn't help but think this wasn't what he'd had in mind. Cora hadn't looked at him since he'd rolled off her, and he chanced a glance in her direction to find her growling softly as she scanned the foliage for something. He spotted her once-white tank top disgarded a few metres away and retrieved it, clearing his throat to get her attention. She whirled round, crossing her arms in front of her chest as if she hadn't just had it readily on display.
"Erm... lose something?" He asked, trying to grin at her, but failing at the glare she shot at him. He examined the stained, muddy item before she stalked forward, snatching it out of his hands and staring at it with dismay. "Er... I'm sorry about your shirt." He wasn't sure why he felt responsible, since she had been the one to pull the tank top over her head and throw it into the undergrowth, but he thought he should apologise anyway. A sudden thought popped into his head, as he watched her pull the ruined top on, glaring down at herself like she could will the rips and the dirt away.
"Oh!" He said, casting his eyes around the dark forest floor until he spotted what he was looking for. "You wanna wear this?" He asked, holding his black leather jacket up in front of her, again trying to smile at her. His smile wavered in the face of the look she gave him.
"Look. Isaac. I don't want you to get the wrong idea."
"It's just a jacket, Cora." He shrugged, though he knew what she was about to say.
"Not to you. You think you're gonna give me your jacket like some chivalrous white knight and I'm gonna swoon and we're gonna ride off into the sunset."
There was silence for a moment while he contemplated that.
"It's just a jacket," he repeated quietly, the hurt evident in his voice.
Her tone softened when she spoke next, and she took a little step towards him.
"Look, I like you Isaac. You're a great kid, but I don't want you to get the wrong idea."
"Great kid? We're the same age."
"Well, in human years... yes." Isaac cocked his head to the side, but she ploughed on before he could question that comment too much. "But it's been a long time since I was in a pack like this. After the fire, I went and found a pack out in Louisiana and they had a... different way of doing things. Full moons were..." She struggled to find the right words, glancing around the forest, avoiding his sad gaze. "Well, things were a lot more fluid. Full moons were a time with no limits, no boundaries - They gave in to the wolf." For the first time since he had met her, Cora looked awkward, seemingly not as comfortable talking about this way of life as she had been living it. "I guess for a moment, I forget I was back here, and then you were just... here."
"I was just... here." He echoed back to her, nodding to himself, feeling some small satisfaction at how guilty she looked.
"I'm... sorry." She choked out the word like it was unfamiliar on her tongue. "This can't happen again though. My brother warned me to stay away from you."
A tiny spark of hope ignited in his chest at her words. If Derek had warned her away from him, that must mean she at least liked him a little.
"Ah. So you do like me after all?" He said playfully, reaching to push at her elbow gently.
"Well... Actually Derek said you asked about me, and didn't want me to encourage you."
"Oh." Isaac turned away slightly, feeling his cheeks burn in humiliation. "Well then fucking me in the woods was a bad move then." He'd meant for the words to come out playful, trying to laugh the whole thing off, but he couldn't keep the bitter edge out of his voice, the words coming out tense and sharp. He glanced up to see her take a shocked step back, unused to hearing him talk like that. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
"Yes you did." She wasn't angry. She simply looked at him with pity and sadness, like she blamed herself for bringing out such an ugly side to him* before turning to walk away.
"Like I said, it wont be happening again." She quickly turned off the brief wave of pity and compassion and the tough Cora was back, as she paused to fix him with a hard look. "And if you've got any sense, you'll keep this to yourself. It would hurt Derek if he had to hurt you... but he would." And with that, she took off, retreating smoothly into the forrest like she'd never been there. The lingering scent of sex and the pine soap she used were the only reminder she'd even been there. No, this was definitely not how Isaac had pictured losing his virginity.
*Fun fact: Daniel Sharman actually has no ugly sides. It's been proven.
"You're home." Derek's voice was unreadable. Isaac could only stand in the doorway of the apartment, frozen, trying to work out if he was in trouble, or if Derek had been worried about where he had been, or if, worst of all, he knew what Isaac had been doing. The silence stretched on and it took Derek a few moments to glance up from his book at Isaac, who still hadn't moved.
"I went for a run." Isaac said lamely.
"Ok." Derek replied, confirming that he had simply been commenting that Isaac was home, no double meaning. Isaac sighed in relief when Derek went back to his book, barely sparing Isaac a second glance. He slid the door shut behind him, crossing the room, desperate to reach the safety of the shower, when he saw Derek lift his head out of the corner of his eye.
"Wait." Derek held a hand up to halt Isaac, who was halfway across the room. The staircase had been so close, the steps to the sanctuary so near, yet so far. Derek rose from his chair gracefully, setting his book aside and crossing to stand in front of Isaac, letting his gaze wander down and up, taking in his dishevelled appearance. Isaac tried not to squirm under his gaze, but it was impossible under such intense scrutiny.
"Why are you so dirty?" Derek asked finally, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at him, gesturing to the dirt that covered his face and clothes, and the dead leaf that had lodged itself in his curls.
Isaac focused on steadying his breathing and keeping his heartrate even as he replied. "I fell."
"You fell?" Derek repeated, incredulously.
"Yes. I fell." Isaac said. It wasn't technically a lie. He had fallen. He just left out the part where he fell because Derek's baby sister had pounced on him, knocking him to the ground.
Derek crossed his arms, his expression unreadable, staring at Isaac for a moment before averting his gaze, seemingly satisfied with that answer.
"Ok." Isaac breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like Derek had bought it, and he turned on his heel, the spiral staircase closer than ever.
"Oh and Isaac?" Isaac paused, his hand on the handrail.
"Why do you smell like sex?"
Isaac managed to rearrange his expression of utter terror into one of shock and confusion when he turned to face Derek again.
"What? I have no idea what you're talking about."
Derek simply stared at Isaac, as if daring Isaac to tell him he was wrong, and Isaac quickly realised there was no use denying it. He was just glad that Derek didn't seem to smell his sister on him. He silently thanked all the leaves and the mud and the dirt that must be just about enough to mask that faint pine smell that was distinctly Cora.
The silence stretched on and on, while Isaac shifted uncomfortably on the spot. He was usually glad that Derek was a man of few words, not needing to fill every second of the day with mindless chatter, but he wished he would say something now. Isaac floundered for a few moments, trying to think of something to say. He wasn't sure if he was pleased or horrified when he heard Cora's voice pipe up above his head, a dull metallic footstep echoing down to them.
"What are we talking about?" Her voice was a little too tight and shrill, clearly reading some tension in the room. Isaac glanced up to see her descending the metal staircase, glad to see she was clearly fresh out of the shower. At least Derek wasn't going to be able to use any lingering scents on her to piece two and two together. However, as she shook her wet hair to the side, the droplets of water dripping down to soak through the fabric of yet another white tank top, he wasn't sure he wasn't about to give it all away with the way he was staring at her. She followed his gaze to her chest, and flashed him a dark look, crossing her arms in front of herself and turning to beam at Derek.
"So? What are we talking about?" She pushed insistently.
"Isaac got laid." Derek said simply, grinning with something that almost looked like pride.
Cora didn't skip a beat, gracefully descending the last few steps like she was wearing a ball gown, not yoga pants and a tank top, beaming happily at Isaac.
"Is that so? Congrats!" She said, smacking him lightly on the arm. "Didnt know you had it in you."
He narrowed his eyes at her, a little in awe of how good her act was.
"Oh, you'd be surprised." He murmured through gritted teeth.
"So who is she?" Derek asked, already starting to slip the disinterested mask back into place.
"Erm. Nobody." Isaac said, a little too quickly, doing everything he could to not glance sideways at Cora.
"Nobody?" Cora queried, just managing to keep the indignance out of her voice.
"Tell us." Derek demanded simply, clearly losing interest in the whole thing. Cora siddled past Isaac to stand next to Derek, crossing her arms to mimick his strong stance.
"Yeah Isaac, tell us." He wasn't sure why she was pushing him, putting him on the spot. There was a wicked gleam in her eye and he could tell she was enjoying his discomfort. He glared at her for a moment, in a way that he hoped Derek saw simply as annoyance at being pushed for a name.
"Well..." He rubbed his neck, avoiding their collective stare. "She's no-one really. To be honest, she's kind of a bitch."
Cora gasped softly, and Isaac was sure she'd given the game away. He looked up to see Derek regarding her curiously, following her angry glare to Isaac's defiant face, before she seemed to shake herself, realising she was about to give it all away. Before Derek could read too much into her irritated expression, she gasped again, as if suddenly realising something.
"Lydia!"
Isaac's mouth fell open at the mention of Lydia's name. Cora looked triumphant, while Derek looked unconvinced.
"Think about it. It makes sense. He has a total crush on her, and who else do we know who's a massive bitch?" Isaac flinched at Cora's smug tone. While he knew Lydia could be cold and brutally honest on occasion, there was a truth to at least one part of what Cora had said - He did used to have a crush on her, and he didn't like to hear her described as a "massive bitch".
He looked up to find Derek staring at him inquisitively.
"Well? Is Lydia the lucky girl?" That gleam of pride was back in Derek's eyes. Lydia was one of the prettiest, and most popular girls in the school, and while that sort of thing meant nothing to Derek, he knew that it would be a big deal to the previously unpopular and invisible Isaac.
Isaac let his mouth gape open wordlessly for a moment, before averting his gaze in a way that he hoped looked sheepish.
"You know what they say. A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell." And with that, he swept past them, taking the stairs two at a time to get away from the most awkward conversation of his life.
A soft chuckle from Derek echoed up to him, followed by a rare joke from the often serious alpha.
"A real gentleman doesn't come home reeking of sex with mud patches on his knees."
Isaac glanced down at himself. Sure enough there were two telltale patches of dirt on the knees of his jeans. He hadn't even bothered to take his jeans all the way off. Classy. He was just glad Derek hadn't gotten a look at his sister's back before she'd made it to the shower, otherwise, he had a feeling that conversation would have gone very differently.
Well, what do we think? Yes, I'm making Cora a bit of a bitch in this. I never really liked her - Sorry not sorry.
Anyhoo, I love to know what you think! I know Lydia/Isaac isn't a popular pairing but give it a chance. I think they could be kinda cute together. Reviews are love!
