The Map of Buried Scars
Summary:The bite has a price which Isaac is desperate to escape. One evening he creates an account on an internet community and from then? He forms a bond with another online user who understands. Someone who clears his mind. Messages turn into texts to phone calls and surprisingly — visits. But how long can it last?
Disclaimer: I own nothing Teen Wolf related, and on that note continue reading.
Chapter One: The Beginning of the Road
Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
He was Isaac Frederick Lahey, he knew that. He had a brother, past tense, killed in Afghanistan Camden Samuel Lahey. He had a mother, past tense, Lisa Madeline Lahey, died in a car attack. He had a father, past tense, Jonathan Alexander Lahey, murdered by Matt.
There was a girl. Her name was a mystery, cocoa skin with dark fathomless eyes, braver than a lion. But it was likely she past fucking tense too. Cause of death, Isaac Lahey.
Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
He was a part of a pack, Derek's pack to be exact. Derek Hale, present tense, Alpha. He had a presence that only royalty could match, king of the wolves, and ruler of Isaac.
A member of the lacrosse team, an insignificant member at that. Not the star Scott McCall or the saviour Stiles Stilinski, Number 14. A Karmic number, one that brings misfortune to those associated with. It brings lack of consistency, downfalls, abuse. One associated with the number must be able to deal with ever-changing circumstances and unexpected circumstances. The only way to conquer being associated with the number 14 was to maintain order in life, establish emotional stability. In better words, Isaac would never manage to overcome the unlucky number 14.
Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
All that, he was certain of. Other visions blurred together, nothing was permanent, a tattoo on his mind. Everything seemed unreal; forgettable.
Except from the pain. Fires fiercer than hell flickered across his body, where scars were once buried. His pallor, flesh-toned skin was clear, the scars invisible, but a mark was still left, a burning of the insides. Wolfsbane helped, but even Wolfsbane is destroyed by fire.
At least fire had some light, some meaning behind it. Isaac felt he was surrounded by darkness, unclear of his next move, or anyone else's. Everyone was playing a game, one which Isaac was sure to be the loser.
But when hadn't he been the loser?
He was the loser beaten by his dad. He was the loser that failed to fight back; he took it like a defenceless puppy, even when a wolf was brewing inside of him. He was the grave digger, a bad omen to the school. He had seen a fair deal of dead bodies, more than anyone would wish for, and only at the age of 16. Impressive.
Derek had given him an opportunity, to overcome being a loser. But he blew it. He still faded in the shadows and his new friends; Boyd and Erica, who knew where those two were. Isaac had spent the last 4 months rummaging for them, the last 2 months were non-existent in his brain, but he knew he wouldn't have given up on his friends. Not that easily.
Scott was his friend, sort of. Isaac trusted him, unlike the majority of people around him. Scott was a moral compass, he knew what was right, and he knew what was wrong. Isaac could really use a sense of direction right now.
Unfortunately, Scott held others closer to his heart; Stiles, Allison, his mother and even Lydia. Isaac would never come first. Scott probably presumed he was an acquaintance or something. At least an acquaintance was better than nothing.
Isaac Lahey had no one. He was a fool if he believed anything else. Derek had bigger issues than Isaac; controlling Peter, finding Erica and Boyd, dealing with the Alpha pack and dealing with the county taking his home. Isaac feeling lonely wasn't in his priorities.
And that was how Isaac was in the cybercafé. He desperately wanted someone to talk to, to not feel alone. Perhaps he could have the same effect on someone, although he highly doubted it. Isaac wanted someone to listen, someone who didn't have better things to do. A friend.
The computer was slow, and with Isaac's advanced hearing, the faint creaking in the system was noticeable, leaving a slight ringing in Isaac's ears. He tapped the mouse impatiently as the computer loaded. Once. Twice. Three times.
Finally the black screen laminated and Isaac breathed of relief. The first step of actually having someone who cared was completed.
"Your coffee," a nasally, brittle voice came from the left of Isaac.
"Thanks," Isaac murmured, taking the piping hot caffeine from the lady's hand. He didn't even like the stuff, but the anaesthetic made him drowsy and he was too weak to go searching for Erica, Boyd or the girl. Maybe the thin dark liquid would provide energy.
The lady waited. As Isaac looked, she was less of a lady, more of a girl. She wore too much make-up. Her face was a shade of orange, contrasting against her pale neck, her lips to bright and her eyes to heavy, she eyed Isaac hopefully.
"You doing homework?" she asked.
Isaac nodded, "Sort of. I'm searching for something."
Her eyes brightened, "You know I could help. I'm a year above. I bet I know a trick or two."
Isaac paused, sipping the coffee. It tasted to bitter and it burned his tongue, "I think it's more of a solo homework."
The girl pursed her lips, "You know where I am." She strutted off to serve another customer, giving a second glance at Isaac.
"Hopefully, whether I'm not," Isaac mumbled as he opened up the internet.
His fingers froze at the key board. Biting his lip, he stared at the 26 letters, 10 numbers and the one enter button. What did he type exactly? Looking for a friend just seemed desperate, looking for someone to talk to seemed a new level of sad and Isaac didn't want to think what would appear on the search engine if he wrote 'I'm lonely'.
He drank more of his coffee, hoping for some inspiration.
Every face had a reputation. Isaac was once 'grave digger' or 'the loser with no friends', occasionally 'the kid with the damn awful bike', and to a certain few he was 'the kid that gets the shit beaten out of by his dad''. His own father referred Isaac as a 'mistake'. After the bite, his reputation didn't get much better he became 'was he that kid who murdered his father after years of abuse?', 'oh he was the kid that got arrested and now he's dangerous' and Isaac couldn't forget 'oh that's hot Erica's friend'. By a selected group he was known as 'Derek's Beta' or the 'unstable werewolf'. Isaac Lahey was known by a lot of names, and none of them was just Isaac.
Gently, Isaac typed in, 'talk to strangers'. That's what he wanted right? Just a stranger, a stranger who would listen. Have time for him.
His fingers drummed impatiently as he clicked the first website in the search. He could be looking for the girl, looking for answers but Derek forbade it. A Beta couldn't disobey their Alpha. So there he was, Derek's puppet, alone in a dingy café drinking a beverage he didn't even like.
Derek wanted him to sleep. To sleep on the anaesthetic, until he grew strong. The wolfsbane would be more effective; it would hurt less. Isaac didn't care, he was used to suffering.
As the website loaded the background a calm blue. Isaac signed up, although he had difficulty choosing a username. He didn't want an obvious name that kids from school, or Derek, or god forbid Peter found. He slowly typed 'IsaacBeta'.
The name was good. It reminded him what he was; not worth and Alpha, but not an Omega.
The password took longer to think of. It should be unpredictable, but not so random Isaac forgot it five minutes later. Finally, Isaac was satisfied of a password.
Time to talk to strangers.
Isaac knew there were some exceptionally peculiar people on the internet, but the first stranger exceeded the bizarre expectations.
The warning sign was when the username was 'Friedchickennuggets'. Yet Isaac ignored that; all perfectly rational people like chicken nuggets. Isaac liked chicken nuggets, so he guessed they had something in common.
Friedchickennuggets: I hate my life.
IsaacBeta: Why?
Friedchickennuggets: I'm 22, I work in a fast food joint and will probably achieve no better.
IsaacBeta: That's awful, but you can be surprised at what happens.
Isaac gritted his teeth, like turning into a werewolf, surprising. But it's almost incredibly likely you wouldn't be work at McDonalds or whatever. Becoming a werewolf is almost a guarantee of a criminal record; even McDonalds had standards.
Friedchickennuggets: My co-workers make fun of me all day, and if I told my boss he'd just cut my already shit pay, cause he's a cheap bastard.
IsaacBeta: That sucks, you've just got to be positive
Isaac leaned backwards on the cheap chair, it creaked slightly. He quickly gulped down his now lukewarm coffee. The waitress who served him ogled, she made a forward motion asking if he'd like more, but Isaac slowly shook his head. The coffee was bad enough, the price was even worse, and the waitress was the worst.
Friedchickennuggets: My only friend is mentally retarded and all we do is stupid shit. I can't even leave my hometown as I don't know how to drive, plus every time I try I fail.
IsaacBeta: Learning's good though, at least it's not an awful 7 year old bike
Friedchickennuggets: And do you know what the worst part is?
IsaacBeta: What?
Friedchickennuggets: I live in a pineapple under the sea.
IsaacBeta: damn it.
Isaac almost fell out of his chair – half out of hysterics, half out of desperation. The SpongeBob joke was good, Isaac had the hand the nugget lover that, but it didn't really meet his friend wish. Before he knew it, Isaac's eyes were blanketed with water, he blinked quickly. Once. Twice. Three times.
Isaac sighed, he opened a new chat. Second time lucky.
Gettinglucky2nite: hey baby looking 4 a good time 2nite, horny 4 u
Isaac left the conversation quicker than humanly possible. He had a rough idea how the conversation would go if he continued. And quite frankly, it greatly disturbed him.
Once again a new chat was open. Third time's a charm, right?
IsaacBeta: Please tell me you're not SpongeBob or a horny girl?
Hands glided through Isaac's hair. He was nervous, anxious, and impatient. The thought of sleep seemed overwhelmingly comforting. All Isaac had to do was close his eyes.
Rainingreyna: How about horny SpongeBob?
A grin tugged Isaac's lips. At last, a silver lining.
IsaacBeta: Sorry about that, but you never know.
Rainingreyna: The Friedchickennuggets guy gets on your nerves. I once had him twice in a row; awful.
IsaacBeta: So you understand one of my many problems.
Isaac turned towards the waitress, smiling as politely as he could muster, "Could I have a coke please?"
She flicked dyed red hair over her shoulder, "Just a second sweetheart."
Rainingreyna: Many?
IsaacBeta: It's complicated.
Rainingreyna: I should hope so. Life would be dreary if lack of complications.
Isaac squinted at the screen; the username suggested she was a girl, and it didn't take a genius to figure her name was most likely Reyna. But aside from that, he could make out little, she seemed casual enough to be young, but her typing was too proper to be too young. The 'raining' gave nothing away.
IsaacBeta: I was an expecting a sympathetic 'that sucks'.
Rainingreyna: How impolite of me, that sucks ass.
IsaacBeta: Thanks.
Rainingreyna: So what are your haunting problems Isaac?
IsaacBeta: I wouldn't know where to begin.
Rainingreyna: He who chooses the beginning of the road chooses the place it leads to. The beginning is always best.
Isaac smiled slightly as the waitress handed his coke. He took two big sips, the carbonated drinks fuelling his desire to stay awake. He knew caffeine after caffeine would have poor effects but who cared, he just wanted to continue speaking.
IsaacBeta: The very beginning would be when my mom died.
No, he shouldn't be telling a stranger this. He hadn't told anyone this. No one cared about this. Isaac bit his lip drawing blood, tapping his foot, waiting to say sorry as the stranger replied.
Rainingreyna: How did it happen?
Isaac didn't realise he had been holding his breath and his lungs ached as he exhaled. It almost seemed if someone cared.
IsaacBeta: Car crash. I was in it, and my brother Camden. It was 10 years ago.
Isaac felt a growl rising in his throat. Stupid boy, stupid boy. Of course the stranger was just trying to be polite, pretending to care. No one cared about Isaac Lahey, number 14, no one cared about his poor backstory. So why was he sharing it like he had nothing to hide?
Maybe it's just nice not be enclose by walls, Isaac though. Except those walls were safety, those walls were the only things keeping Isaac together for the past few years, and now those walls were crumbling. In front of a stranger, who was most likely to ridicule him.
Rainingreyna: I'm guessing you can still remember it, like it was yesterday. A fresh scar in your mind and you want it healed.
Isaac paused.
IsaacBeta: You know what I'm talking about, don't you?
Rainingreyna: If you mean I'm experienced in this area, then yes. How's your brother Camden dealing with it?
Inhaling, Isaac's chest deeply inflated and then deflated. Bluntly putting that he's dead could lose the stranger, and he didn't want to let go. Not just yet.
IsaacBeta: He was handling it fine.
Rainingreyna: That's past tense. I would say I'm sorry, but sometimes sympathy doesn't help.
IsaacBeta: Past tense since three years ago, Afghanistan. I'm glad you're not saying you're sorry, because that's all that most people say. How are you experienced in the area?
Rainingreyna: Maybe the only thing to say is to keep your head up and you heart strong. That's not a subject I like expanding.
Nice one Lahey. He was a plague that everyone feared to touch, he was disease, and he was nothing. Even strangers on the internet could tell what he really was.
Rainingreyna: I'm sorry I sounded like a complete asshole, which I coincidentally am, but not to that extent. Lost a brother a few years ago, sad, tragic cancer situation. Long story short.
IsaacBeta: You've been the nicest stranger on the internet today, so you're not a complete asshole.
Rainingreyna: Can I get that on a t-shirt?
IsaacBeta: Don't have the money or the ink.
Rainingreyna: Look who's sounded like the asshole now, huh?
IsaacBeta: Still you.
Isaac silently chuckled. After a day of being chased by twin werewolves, getting sedated, losing the mystery girl who he had so many questions to ask, and losing areas of his memory, Derek treating him if he was a little kid. This conversation sort of made up for it.
The café was much darker than Isaac remembered; the night's purple tint filled the room and the crescent moon looked so delicate and unbreakable. Saying time flew by was an understatement.
Isaac clenched his jaw. Derek, or Peter, or Scott, maybe even Stilinski may have noticed he was gone and immediately assumed he was taken by the Alpha pack. Isaac Lahey, the damsel in distress. He needed to get back, before he was dragged by his heels.
Rainingreyna: Ah crap, I need to get to the station. Talk to you later, maybe we can continue your story?
IsaacBeta: I was about to the say the same thing. Sounds good, maybe we can dwell in to yours.
Rainingreyna: Fat chance Isaac.
IsaacBeta: Bye
Isaac left the chat, signed out and deleted the internet history. He was being extra cautious, he knew that. But after several murder and kidnap attempts that day, Isaac felt it was time for a little extra caution. He wouldn't want Rainingreyna to end up like the mysterious girl, Isaac constantly in f ear whether her life was in mortal danger.
Isaac quickly finished his coke before paying. The money was Derek's since he had a small fortune left to him after the Hale house fire, and Isaac having no income since he had quitted grave digging. He tipped the waitress 1) to escape her as soon as possible, 2) she did seem like a nice person, aside from all the eyeing and 3) her heartbeat was dangerously fast when she was looking at Isaac.
Isaac exited the cybercafé, the bell shrilling as he stepped out. After months of becoming a werewolf sharp noises still startled him. Especially when they were high pitched. Isaac's automatic reaction was to cup his ears, yet he felt the waitress' eyes on him, so he just winced.
Stepping into the late summer air, the breeze caressed Isaac's face. It was gentle, peaceful, something his father never was. The sky danced in the air, and two ravens were chasing each other, twisting and diving, singing and crying. The two black silhouettes almost looked poetic, which gave Isaac the horrid realisation he would have to catch up on the English he missed at the hospital.
And for once, Isaac didn't feel so alone.
Author's note: My first Teen Wolf fanfic so reviews would be must appreciated. Apologies if any slight misspellings; I'm English and I put the 'u' in 'colour', so bear with. I'd love to hear what you think of Isaac's characterization and Reyna. This will be a multi-chaptered fanfiction following the seasons as close as possible. I have a rough idea on how things will develop, but each episode will heavily influence it. So back to the point – reviews would be lovely.