01; I Don't (Do) Need You

"Hey!" Henley exclaimed as she walked into the small abandoned cabin that had quickly became their clubhouse through the years.

Henley, along with her best friend Isaac Lahey and another friend Matt Daehler came across it years ago in the woods and claimed it as their own. The three friends met their often, either to just hang out or if they needed a break from home.

"Hey, Meddy." Isaac said back. Calling her the nickname he gave her years ago. Most people just called her 'Hen' for a nickname, but Isaac wanted to call her something different. The way he saw it, they had a special friendship, so she should have a special name.

"Where's Matty?" Henley asked, walking over toward the small cot he was laid back on reading a comic book.

Isaac shrugged as he went back to the book in his hand. He wasn't all that surprised when she laid out beside him and laid her head on his chest. The two had always had a touchy friendship, which he had no problem with. It made things confusing at times since he had a huge crush on her, but he just reminded himself that this meant nothing. She was just his friend.

"Is it just me or has Matt been acting weird lately?" Henley questioned. "Last week he was supposed to show up at your house, right? You two were suppose to trade comics, but he never showed and since then he barely talks to us or even looks at us, and that's if he even shows up at school. He's been missing a lot of days too."

"Maybe he's sick?" Isaac guessed while holding the comic book over his head to read it better while she laid on his chest.

"Maybe." Henley mumbled. "Are you sure nothing happened between you two? I know you were a little mad at him after he kissed me on the lips recently."

Isaac lowered the comic book to look down at her. "If I remember correctly you were mad too. You said he freaked you out. All I did was tell him not to touch you again."

"I know, but, maybe we were too harsh on him." Henley said. She was starting to wonder if maybe she had overreacted.

"Meddy, you said he asked for a birthday kiss and you told him no. Then as you were leaving he grabbed you and kissed you."

"It wasn't so much a grab, more like he leaned in as I was leaving his house. Kind of a goodbye kiss thing."

"Either way. You said no and he didn't listen and it freaked you out." Isaac pointed out. "And I took care of it."

"Maybe he thinks we're still mad at him and that is why he is avoiding us lately." Henley suggested.

"When I invited him over last week he sounded fine." Isaac said, lifting the comic book up again and began to read it. "Like I said, maybe he's sick or something."

"Maybe. It just sucks losing friends." Henley said with a sigh.

Isaac wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him. "You always got me, Meddy."

Henley smiled as she raised her head to look at him, seeing that he was looking back at her, causing her heart to flip-flop. "Promise?" She questioned.

"Of course." Isaac said with a nod.

"No, you have to say it!" Henley stated as she lightly tickled his side, causing him to chuckle.

"Okay, okay." Isaac called out as he lifted his hands in surrender. "I, Isaac Lahey, promises to be Henley Mercer's best friend for life."

"That's better." Henley said with a smile.

"Come here, little Meadow." Isaac said as pulled her toward him, wanting her to rest her head on his chest as he began to read the comic book again.

With a frown on her face, Henley slowly began to wake up, ending the dream she was having. She had dreams of her former friend Isaac often, which always left her in a bad mood.

As close as the two use to be, it was hard to believe just two years later they would drift apart. Although drift was a nice word for it. Truth was he pushed her out of his life, completely breaking her heart. She still remembered the day, it was a day she would never forget. Word quickly made its way around town that Camden had died in combat.

She knew Isaac would be devastating- she was as well. She always viewed the older Lahey as a brother. She rushed to Isaac, but instead of accepting her comfort, he snapped at her. Telling her he didn't need her, that he never needed her. The two barely talked since then and if they did, it wasn't pleasant.

Feeling someone staring at her, Henley finally opened her eyes and groaned when she saw her little brother, Logan, leaned against her bed and staring at her.

"What are you doing, weirdo?" Henley questioned as she yawned and stretched.

"Your breath stinks." Logan stated. At age seven, he was as honest and as blunt as they came.

"Then get out of my face, nerd." Henley said back as he laid a hand on his chest and lightly pushed him back.

"You were drinking again, weren't you?" Logan asked. He was also very observant.

Henley let out a groan to answer as she sat up in bed and ran a hand through her brown hair. He was right, she did have too much to drink the night before.

After her best friend Lydia Martin dumped her boyfriend Jackson Whittemore, she and Jackson spent the rest of the night drinking together in a dark corner while he complained about Lydia.

It was something that happened at least every few months. They would break up, then they would take turns venting about it to her. She would tell them how perfect they are for each other, then within a few days they were back together. It was an endless cycle and sometimes it was very draining.

"So how much is it going to cost this time?" Henley questioned her brother. Knowing he was going to blackmail her to keep her secret. It was another endless cycle in her life.

"There's a new video game coming out today." Logan said, getting excited. "If you take me to the mall and buy it, I won't tell mom or dad."

"I'll take you this afternoon." Henley promised as she laid her arm over her eyes, just wanting a few more minutes of sleep.

"It's already afternoon." Logan pointed out while nodded his head toward the alarm clock by the bed.

"Shit!" Henley called out as she removed her arm and saw how late it was. She was supposed to meet Lydia for breakfast while she took her turn to rant about Jackson for several hours.

"Cussing is going to cost you another game." Logan pointed out.

Henley shot him a look and said,"How about I buy you lunch and we call it even?"

"Sounds good." Logan said with a nod. "Now get up! I want to get the game now! If I don't get it soon I won't have time to play it much before school tomorrow."

"You are so dramatic." Henley said, rolling her eyes. "You're going to have plenty of time before tomorrow."

"But, still, I want to go now!" Logan called out.

"And we will! Just give me a second!" Henley said, crawling out of bed. Hearing her cell phone go off with a new text message, she picked it up, seeing that it was from Lydia.

"I need to text Lydia back. From the looks of it she has been texting me all morning." Henley added.

"I know, but I texted her back for you." Logan said with a grin.

As if on cue, Henley came across the text he sent to her friend, and read out loud,"Can't talk. Hanging out with my awesome little brother today." She raised her head to look at him and let out a chuckle. "You are such a weirdo."

Logan did a funny little dance as she grabbed a pillow from her bed and threw it at him. He quickly dodged it then walked out of the room with a laugh.

Henley shook her head with a laugh and heard him running down the hallway singing at the top of his lungs about getting a new game. She texted Lydia back, apologizing for not answering sooner, then told her she was taking her brother to the mall and asked her if she wanted to meet up later.

As she waited for an answer, she quickly took a shower and changed into a camel and red striped sweater and red jeans, then made her way downstairs. Both of her parents were already at work, which was fine with her. She was still a little hungover and didn't want to answer many questions.

She yelled out for Logan, telling him it was time to go, then the two made their way toward her car to go to the mall. She cranked the car, then smiled when Logan held out a bottle of water toward her and a bottle of aspirin, knowing she would need both.

She popped two pills into her mouth then took a big swallow of water. She shot him a wink as she said,"Thanks, Bro-Lo, I think I'll keep you after all."

•••

Several minutes later, the Mercer siblings were walking through the mall. She ended up buying him lunch and two video games since one was on sale, now the two were walking around, trying to figure out which store to go into next.

Every store she pointed out he turned down, which she wasn't all that surprised by since it was clothing stores, but she figured if she was at the mall she might as well shop too.

"Okay, fine! If you're going to turn down all my suggestions, then what should we do?" Henley questioned as she and Logan walked around the mall. They were basically walking in circles while he tried to figure out where they should go next.

"Hey, didn't mom say you needed new shoes?" She questioned.

"There's nothing wrong with my shoes." Logan commented as he glanced down to look at his shoes. Other than being a little dirty, they looked fine to him. He didn't care about how he looked or was into labels like his big sister, and she only started caring about that stuff when she started hanging out with the popular crowd.

As she tried to argue about how dirty they were, he lifted his head, a huge grin appearing on his face as he called out,"Hey, look, there's Isaac!"

Seeing where he was pointing at, she let out a small groan when she saw Isaac walking in their direction. Thankfully he had not seen them yet, meaning she still had a chance to avoid him or at least she would have if Logan didn't grab her hand and began to lead her over toward her former friend.

"Oh, God, someone shoot me now." Henley quietly moaned. Her head was already pounding from all the drinking last night, she wasn't in the mood to go around with Isaac.

"Isaac!" Logan called out as he raced over to the teen. Logan always looked up to Isaac, seeing him as a brother figure and could never understand why he never came around anymore.

All he knew was Isaac was over at their house constantly, then one day his sister began to hang out with that redhead Lydia and her lame boyfriend, then Isaac never came around anymore.

"What's up, Wolverine?" Isaac said back with a smile, using the old nickname he would always call him since Wolverine's real name was Logan. He held out his hand, letting Logan slap it, then shook it as he acted like it hurt him, causing the younger boy to laugh out loud.

Sensing someone walking toward them, he lifted his head, seeing Henley standing behind her brother now, causing his smile to fade. It was always hard seeing her, the two use to be so close and at one time he even thought he loved her, but then he just reminded himself that she left him. She started a new life and dropped him for her new friends.

He gave her a small nod and quietly said,"Henley."

"Isaac." She mumbled back, before turning her head. Anytime he looked at her with those sad blue eyes she wanted to hug him until she remembered that he was the one that said he didn't need her. He pushed her out of his life and broke her heart.

"Hey, Isaac, look what I got!" Logan said excitedly as he pulled out his new video games.

"That's cool. I heard that game was fun." Isaac stated as he pointed to one of the games.

"That's what I heard too." Logan said. "You should come by today and we can play it."

"Uh, I... I dunno if that is a good idea, buddy." Isaac said, his eyes flickered over to Henley.

"Why?" Logan asked confused. "You use to come by all the time, but I never see you anymore. Henley says high school is harder than my school and that is why you never have time."

Isaac looked over at his former friend in surprise. He always wondered what she told her family when he stopped coming around. He just assumed it was something bad, something that put all the blame on him.

"Is that what it is? Is school hard?" Logan questioned.

"Yeah, yeah that's it." Isaac lied.

"My teachers say I'm pretty smart for my age, maybe I can help and then we can play some games." Logan offered.

"Hey, Logan, there's another video store." Henley said out, getting her brother's attention. "Why don't you go see what games they have on sale and I might buy you another one."

"Cool!" Logan called out, before he rushed over to the store she pointed out, leaving his sister and Isaac alone.

"Look, I know you don't 'need' anyone, but you could at least come play a game or two with him one day." Henley said, folding her arms across her chest and shooting him a look. "For some crazy reason, he thinks you are awesome and he still cares about you."

"Well I wasn't sure if I was still welcomed or not." Isaac pointed out. "I figured you turned your whole family against me. I didn't know you told him school was too hard and that is why I never come around."

"I couldn't tell him the truth." Henley said. "I couldn't tell him that the guy he looked up to like a brother is a giant dick."

"That's your truth, Henley. But that's not the truth." Isaac snapped. "Just 'cause everyone else at school kisses your ass now and believes every little word out of your mouth, doesn't make it the truth."

"You know it's funny how you always try to shift the blame to me when I didn't do this, Isaac. You did this!" Henley hissed out.

"So now you're lying and rewriting history." Isaac stated with a scoff.

Henley opened her mouth to yell at him, but before she could, she heard someone call out her name. She turned her head to see that it was Jackson with Lydia in tow.

"Is there a problem over here?" Jackson questioned as he glanced over at Isaac.

"No problem at all." Isaac said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I wouldn't dream of messing with the queen bee."

Without another word, he turned and walked away from the group. He had only went to the mall to grab something for school, the last thing he wanted to do was get into with Henley or her popular friends.

"What was that about?" Lydia questioned as she looked over at her best friend.

"Nothing." Henley said with a sigh. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion when she noticed Lydia was holding on to Jackson's arm. She shot her a look, as if asking what was going on.

"Here, hold this." Lydia said, handing her purse and shopping bags to Jackson. She grabbed Henley's arm and announced,"We're going to the ladies room."

"Oh, no, wait." Henley said, knowing she couldn't leave her brother alone in a store. She called out his name, getting his attention and waving him over to them.

"What is it?" Logan asked. He glanced around, noticing someone was missing, and asked,"Hey, where did Isaac go?"

"Probably to dig some graves." Jackson said with a chuckle.

"I think digging graves is cool!" Logan stated as he shot Jackson a mean look. He wasn't stupid, he knew the older boy was making fun of his friend.

"Hey, stay with Jackson for a minute, okay?" Henley said out to her brother.

"What? No!" Logan called out. "I want to hang out with Isaac, not Hackson."

"It's Jackson, dude." He pointed out.

"You're a hack, so I call you Hackson." Logan said, shooting him another look.

"Your brother is really funny, Hen." Jackson said sarcastically.

"Just stay with Jackson, okay?" Henley repeated as Lydia began to pull her away.

"But I don't want to." Logan whined. "I want to find Isaac."

"Logan, please! I'll be right back!" Henley yelled out.

As soon as the two girls walked into the restroom, they headed for the mirror to check their hair and makeup. Wanting to make sure nothing was out of place and they both looked flawless.

"So I guess we can cancel your Jackson bashing session today." Henley stated as she glanced over at Lydia, who was reapplying her lipstick.

"Yep." Lydia answered with a pop as she pressed her lips together. "You set him straight last night and he was at my door this morning with an apology and a coffee."

"I should really start charging you two for these therapy sessions." Henley joked.

"Maybe you'll follow in your mom's footsteps and be a psychiatrist." Lydia stated. "Although hopefully you won't have to work with the crazies like she does." Her mother had been working at Eichen house for the last several years.

"I don't see how she can work there. I've heard nothing but horrible things about that place." Henley said. Truth was she admired her mother for working there and trying to help the people with their problems, but she knew being creeped out by the place was what she was supposed to say.

She always felt like she was playing a part when she was around her popular friends. Liking the things they liked, saying the things she knew they would approve of. She had to act a certain way or feared she would be dropped by another friend.

After losing Isaac, Lydia and her friends were the only ones who seemed like they wanted to be around her, and the bitchier she acted the more they liked her.

"So what was going on with you and the grave digger?" Lydia questioned as she looked over at her brunette friend in the mirror.

"Ugh, you can blame Logan on that." Henley said, rolling her eyes. "He saw him and just had to talk to him."

"He's a little creepy." Lydia said, checking herself in the mirror again. "I mean, not only does he mess with dead bodies all day-"

"Technically he doesn't mess with the bodies, just digs the graves." Henley interrupted. Like her brother, she actually thought that was cool too, but would never speak that thought out loud. No one knew about how she would end up at the cemetery some night after a night of partying. For some reason she felt comforted there. It felt safe.

"Well, whatever, it's still gross. But I've also caught him just sitting in class staring at you." Lydia added.

"Like you said, he's creepy." Henley softly said, which was a complete lie. The two might not be friends anymore, but she knew he was never creepy.

"I don't see how you were ever friends with him." Lydia said. "You two are nothing alike."

Henley flashed her a smile, making her think she agreed with her, but she didn't. She and Isaac were a lot alike or at least they use to be. After she started hanging out with Lydia, she still tried to keep Isaac in her life, but he was the one who tossed her out of his.

She gave Lydia a shrug as she chuckled and said,"Temporary insanity."

"Well, thank God you came back to your senses." Lydia said, laughing back. She gave Henley a hug as she added,"Besides I would be lost without my bestie."

"Same here, Lyd." Henley said back as she hugged her.

Once they were done, the two girls walked out of the rest room and glanced around for Jackson and Logan. They saw Jackson standing off to the side, texting on his phone, but no sign of Logan.

"Hey, where's Logan?" Henley asked as she approached Jackson.

"He's right..." Jackson began to say as he turned to look beside here, where he told Logan to stand. "Well, he was right here."

"What do you mean he was?" Henley asked. "Where is he now?"

"I don't know." Jackson said as he began to look around, trying to spot the younger boy.

"Damn it, Jackson!" Henley snapped as she breezed past him. She called out her brother's name a few times, not caring that people were staring at her like she was crazy. Her little brother was missing and she had to find him.

Hearing her shout out her brother's name again, Isaac, who had just exited a sports store, began to walk over toward her. He knew he shouldn't care, but he couldn't stop himself from calling out her name.

Henley turned her head, seeing that it was Isaac that called out for her. Without even thinking about it, she ran over to him, grabbing on to his hands to steady herself. "Isaac, please tell me you have seen Logan."

"No, why, what happened?" Isaac asked with a concern look.

"God, I'm so stupid." Henley mumbled as she ran a hand through her hair. She felt tears fill her eyes as she added,"I left him alone with Jackson for a few minutes to go to the bathroom with Lydia and when I came out he was gone." She blew out a breath before saying,"I didn't mean for this to happen. I got to find him, Isaac."

"I know, I know you didn't." He softly said, finding himself doing something he hasn't done in years... comfort her. Without thinking about it, he did something else he hasn't done in years, he laid a hand on the small of her back as he added,"Come on, we'll find him."

Logan might annoy her from time to time like any other little brother, but Isaac knew how much she loved him. If something happened to him she would never forgive herself.

Henley latched onto his arm as the two glanced around in a few stores, then made their way back over toward Lydia and Jackson, who had been looking in some of the other stores on the other side of the building, but so far no one had seen the younger boy.

Henley was seconds from calling the cops, when she heard her little brother call out her name. She turned around and breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw him running toward her.

She dropped down to her knees and threw open her arms as he ran toward her. She hugged him tight, then pulled back to ask,"Where did you go? Why didn't you stay with Jackson?"

Logan glanced over, seeing Isaac standing there, then said,"I wanted to find you, but I didn't know where you went." He turned his attention back to his sister and added,"Then I saw these cool red eyes."

"Red eyes?" Henley asked confused.

"Yeah, they were bright red, like a laser." Logan answered. "I followed them outside. I wanted to know what it was and where I could get some like it, but then this man stopped me."

"What man?" Henley questioned, wondering if she should still call the cops or at least tell their father once they made it home. He was the sheriff in the next town. If there was a man out trying to kidnap kids, that was definitely something that should be reported. "Did the man hurt you? Did he try to take you? Anything?"

"No, he was nice. Well, he looked tough and was dressed in black, but he was nice. He told me to stay away from the red eyes and go back inside. He said it was just a wild animal that got loose, but he'll take care of it." Logan explained. "But, what kind of animal could have red eyes? I've never seen one. Have you?"

Henley avoided his question as she blew out a breath, relieved he was okay and the man; whoever he was, seemed to be a good guy. She shook her head and said,"What were you thinking, Logan? You know what dad says about going off on your own or talking to strangers."

"I know, but..." Logan began to say as he looked over at Isaac. All he wanted to do was spend some time with him.

Henley turned her head to look at Isaac the way her brother was, then turned back to look at Logan as she quietly said,"Look, what if we had ice cream with Isaac? Will you promise not to take off ever again?"

"I promise." Logan said excitedly as he rushed past his sister to run over to Isaac to ask him if he'll eat ice cream with them.

Henley stood up with a sigh. The last thing she wanted to do was have ice cream with him, but if it kept Logan satisfied for a while it would be worth it. Maybe if the two boys hung out some, Logan would stop going on about it so much.

She turned to face her friends as Lydia quietly said,"You're having ice cream with him?"

"It's for Logan." Henley said with a shrug.

"Okay, well call me later." Lydia said, giving her a hug. "And don't forget about the party tonight."

"I won't." Henley said. How could she forget about a party. There was at least one or, like this weekend, two every weekend.

Once Lydia and Jackson were gone, she turned to look at her brother and Isaac, who were in the middle of a conversation about video games. When Isaac looked over at her, she raised her eyebrows, silently asking him if he was joining them for ice cream.

He nodded his head, then began to walk with Logan as the two walked past her and made their way toward the small ice cream parlor inside the mall. She and Isaac got a small cup of coffee ice cream, with chocolate syrup and oreo crumbs, just like when they were kids, and Logan got a cone of chocolate ice cream.

The three sat down at a table. Henley silently ate her ice cream as Logan and Isaac talked back and forth. She couldn't help but smile when Isaac began to tell Logan some of his favorite comic book characters and told him he had some old comics packed up that he could borrow.

When they were done eating, Logan asked Henley for money, wanting to hit the arcade in the back to play a few games before they went home, leaving her and Isaac alone. The two sat in an uncomfortable silent, neither one knowing what to say.

"Well, thanks for having ice cream with him." Henley finally said as she stood up. "It meant a lot to him."

As she turned to walk away, Isaac stood up and reached out to grab her arm, bringing her to a stop, before saying,"You heard what he said earlier, right? About the red eyes."

"I heard." Henley said with a small nod, knowing where he was going with his comment, but she still hoped he wouldn't bring it up. It took years for her to push the memory out of her head. She let out a sigh as she added,"I know what you're going to say-"

"That's exactly what you said once." He interrupted, bringing up exactly what she hoped he wouldn't. "You were only a year older than him when you got lost in the woods. You said you saw red eyes, yellow eyes and blue eyes."

Henley shook her head and said,"I was just imagining things."

"And what about the woman you saw turn into a wolf?" Isaac questioned.

"I was lost, scared and my mind was playing tricks on me." Henley explained. "It happens more than you think."

Isaac shook his head in disbelief as he asked,"Is that what your parents told you to say or your psychiatrist?"

Henley shot him a look, hating that he was bringing up the time she had to see a psychiatrist after going on and on about the eyes and the wolf woman. He knew how much she hated that. It made her feel like she was crazy, just like her mother's patients at Eichen.

"And what about what Logan saw? How are you going to explain that away?" Isaac questioned as he folded his arms over his chest.

"You heard him. The man told him it was a wild animal." Henley pointed out.

"With red eyes?" Isaac asked. He shook his head, taking a step closer to her as he quietly said,"Come on, Henley, you know that means something."

"I'll tell Logan you had to go, but you should call him sometimes. You two should hang out more." Henley said, ignoring his comment. "And I think, you and me..." She began to say as she gestured between herself and him. "We should just go back to ignoring each other."

"There goes Henley Mercer, walking away. What she does best." Isaac called out sarcastically as he watched her turn and take a few steps.

Henley turned around to face him, taking a few more steps as she threw out her arms and said,"It's not walking away when you were pushed, Isaac."

"What does that mean?" He asked confused.

"You know what it means." She answered as she shot him a dirty look before turning around and walking toward the back of the building where Logan was. In her opinion there was nothing else that needed to be said between the two. He told her once he didn't need her and now she didn't need him.

•••

A/N; So as you can see I decided to start a new story. After finishing the collab I wanted something new to throw myself into, then after brainstorming with my bestie Sage Londyn, this story hit me.

Like my other stories, this one will kinda follow along with the show, but also doing my own thing. I'll try to keep everyone in character, but I'll also be changing things to fit my storyline. If you're looking for a story exactly like the show this story is not for you, I'm sorry. But for the people who did read and give it a try, I thank you.

If you check my tumblr you can find a video I made for this story. You can also find anything related to this story on there. Just check my tags!

Happy reading!
xx