Limitations

Isaac peered in through the window on the library door. His hands hung by his sides, clenching and unclenching. His lips briefly formed a line before he twisted his mouth to the side when he spotted her. She sat at a table near the stairs at the back with Lydia and Allison. Their books were spread out across the surface of the dark wood but they leaned close together so any studying clearly went by the wayside. If he could only see her face he wouldn't have to resort to this but…well, he saw her face last night and while she said everything was fine he knew it wasn't. Glancing around, he made sure he was alone and then tuned into his werewolf hearing.

Zippers ran along their tracks, clanking like a wooden roller coaster, ripping paper sliced through the air, the flapping wings of a fly hummed its own tune, and the sloshes of gum being chewed weaved in and out of fragmented conversations. But Isaac could pick out her voice right away. He focused on it. Though the usual bout of peace brought to him whenever he heard her talk was replaced with dread. He knew he messed up. Now he just had to fix it.

"…I know I shouldn't, but I just feel so…" Melanie's hands gestured around her, as if searching for something.

"Reject?" Allison suggested.

"Yeah, that."

"Well, I mean, you did kind of jump him," Lydia commented. Her words, a blasé bullet, hit Isaac right in the chest as his mind went back to the disaster date the night before. Her hand propped up her cheek as she scribbled in a notebook, the only one who seemed to bother actually studying. "You probably just caught him off guard."

"How though? I mean, we've been dating for, like, two months now." Isaac watched as Melanie's shoulders rounded "Shouldn't he want to…you know. Do something?"

"Mel, you have a tendency to bit a bit…overzealous," Allison said slowly. Melanie must have made a face because she sat up straighter and quickly added, "I'm sure you mean well! There's nothing wrong with showing Isaac that you, well, you really like him. But…maybe you need to slow down a little."

"If they moved any slower they'd be going backwards," Lydia said, her lips quirking in the corners.

"Ha ha." Isaac caught the profile of Melanie sticking out her tongue. She sighed and slumped in her seat. "Sometimes I don't think he likes me anymore," she said.

Isaac's stomach seized, the words landing on him like a ton of bricks. Fuck, he messed up. He should have just gone along with it, like Stiles said. He should have just made her happy, did what she wanted. Kept going. But…he just couldn't. Her hands on him left him tense, waiting for a strike that was sure to follow. That sweet smile, those intoxicating kisses lulled him if only for a little while. He was always alert, always aware, ready to run. And he ran. And he messed up. Or, according to Stiles, he fucked up a big opportunity. At least Scott was a little more sympathetic.

"Sweetheart, he's crazy about you. Obviously so." Lydia finally looked up and set her pen down. "The thing is…he was abused. You can't rush him."

"No, no, I get that. I do," Melanie said, insistent. "But, I mean…I'm not going to hurt him. He knows that. I would never do that."

"Maybe," Allison said, reaching out to take Melanie's hand, "but the thing is, this…whatever Isaac's going through right now, it's not about you, Mel. It's about him."

Isaac's breath fogged up the glass on the window, he stood so close. He closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against the cool pane. He didn't think he could fuck up worse and yet, here it is. He had a knack for it. His dad was right about that. Okay, how do I fix this? I need to fix it. I have to make things better.

"…do I do?"

"How about you talk to him? He's been standing at the door for the past five minutes."

At Lydia's words, he jerked away from the door, eyes flying wide. The door rattled and every head within the near vicinity turned to look at him. He gulped, his wide eyes locking with Melanie's. Lydia rolled her eyes and lowered the pen she'd used to point in his direction. As Isaac slowly lifted his hand in a stilted wave, Allison and Lydia gathered their things, said something to Melanie, and walked off.

Isaac took that as his cue to enter and made a beeline for the table. He silently cursed himself for being so tall; he reached the table a lot faster than he wanted to. Melanie didn't take her eyes off him the entire time.

"Um…hi," he said, directing the words at this shoes.

"Hi," she replied.

"Can…I sit?"

"Yeah." She nodded to the chair across from him. That was the shortest sentenced she'd ever said to him, he noted as he sat. Usually she spoke at a mile a minute, rivaling Stiles's hyperactive bouts. Only it was more endearing when she did it. It helped that she was cute. Stiles could glue his lips shut for all Isaac cared.

"I'm sorry!" The words shot out of Isaac's mouth the minute he sat down. He dropped his shoulder, allowing his bag to slide off and land on the ground. Pulling at his fingers, he licked his lips and continued. "I can fix it. Whatever I did wrong. I…I can fix it. Okay? Are you mad at me?"

Melanie's eyebrows flew upwards and she shook her head. "No! Isaac, no, I'm not mad at you. And…and you don't need to apologize."

"Yeah I do." He nodded rapidly. "I…I messed things up. For us. Last night. The date. I should have just—"

"Isaac." She covered his hands and all at once the tension inside of him seeped out, as if leaking out of a pin hole. He looked up, taking in her glowing violet eyes. He eased out a long, slow breath and only then did her eyes shift back to their natural electric blue.

"That's not fair," he said.

She cracked a smile. "Hey, you guys get super hearing and claws and fangs, I think it's only fair I can help calm someone down from time to time." She rubbed her thumb against the top of his knuckles. "And you didn't mess things up. I did. And I'm sorry."

"No, Mel, you didn't—"

"I shouldn't have pushed you. I just…" Melanie twisted her mouth to the side and a bright red blush appeared on her cheeks. "I like you a lot. And…and I just wanted you to know that I do. And…that I can't stop thinking about you sometimes. But—but I shouldn't have…I should have known I was being…too much." She took her hands back and tucked her hair behind her ear, clearing her throat. Isaac frowned at the lack of warmth.

"I can fix it. I'm sorry. I can fix it. Everything was going fine before I messed up. Just…just give me a chance to make it better. Please?"

She leaned back in her chair, shaking her head. Isaac's heart skipped a beat. "You didn't do anything. Isaac. Really. I…" she twisted her mouth to the side and then blurted out, "If you don't want me to do…anything, I get it. I do. I-I, um…I just need to know do you still…like me?"

He let out a breath, a little laugh of disbelief tacked onto the end. "Yeah! Of course I do!"

"Sometimes…it just doesn't seem like you d—"

"It's not you! It's me!" He flinched at the hisses shushing that was sent his way at his outburst. Then he closed his eyes and groaned when it registered just what he had said. How original was that? No one believed an excuse like that anymore and so he rushed on before he could stuff more of his feet into his mouth. "I like you, Mello. I always have. And…and I like…" he glanced around and leaned forward, lowering his voice, "I like holding your hand. And I like kissing you. I'm just not…I don't feel…" She leaned forward and cupped his hands in hers. He laced their fingers. "I've thought about it, trust me I have but…I don't think I can do more than that. Right now." In the back of his mind he heard Stiles calling out his manhood. "I just want to kiss you. Keep kissing you. For now. Is…that okay?"

Melanie body stiffened for a second and Isaac was prepared with another barrage of apologies when her body relaxed as she let out a sigh and then smiled. "Yeah, Isaac, that's fine. That's totally fine! I just...I don't want you to think I'm pressuring you."

"You're not."

"Clearly I am. So, just...keep doing this. Okay? Just let me know if I'm being too pushy. I don't want to break up—"

"Neither do I," Isaac said. His shoulders dropped from his ears as relief spread throughout

"Okay! Well, then, we're on the same page! But, uh, just so you know..." Melanie glanced around and then turned a coy smile in his direction, "I like kissing you too."

"Yeah?" A smile bloomed on his face and he stood up so abruptly that his chair scraped against the ground. He grabbed his bag and tugged her hand, half pulling her out of her chair. "Come on."

"Wait, what? Where are we going?" Melanie asked, her words wrapped around a small laugh.

"Boiler room. 'Cause I want to kiss you. A lot."

"We're going to miss chemistry," she commented, following behind him.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Think we have enough between the both of us to make up for that." She laughed as he leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek.

a/n - So I always felt whenever Isaac got into a relationship he'd be more hesitant about intimacy than the show let on. Being a kid that was abused, I thought that he'd be a little slow moving about all the trappings that come with being with someone. I mean, yeah, he still is a teenage boy, but thinking about being with someone and actually being with someone are two different things. It can't be easy switching from thinking every hand is going to strike them to a hand is going to caress them and, thus, this is my take on that idea. Please let me know what you think!

~Musings