| CHAPTER ONE, Reined Back In |
Isaac Lahey turned from laying on his left side to his back, his eyes gazing at the white lunar-lit ceiling. "Go!" Derek yelled, snapping the empty glass at him just as the thunder boomed against the apartment. Isaac flinchingly-blinked as he recalled the glass hurling towards him, finally dampening his eyes after minutes of dry staring.
It had been two days and he still couldn't figure out what happened. It had been two days and no word from Derek, or Cora, or even Peter. No one had cued him into what happened, what caused Derek to snap the way he did. But it didn't matter. The moment that glass flew at him was the moment Isaac disowned Derek. Derek was no longer his Alpha. No longer his 'big brother.' At least in his mind anyways.
A half hour passed and Isaac once again turned, this time to his right side. The auburn door appeared dark brown against the dim lighting. It was at least two yards away from the single bed he was laying in. The door was closed shut and no light shone through from underneath. The only sound he could hear was the air-conditioning, which, every few minutes, rattled very briefly.
But then the lights were on in the hallway and he heard footsteps ascending the stairway further down the hall. Eventually, the feet, which were attached to a body, which opened a door, carried into the room at the mouth of the hallway and suddenly the light disappeared and a door closed. It was then that Isaac's thoughts wandered onto where he was. A bag dropped heavily on the other side of the door and a swear emitted lowly from beneath the door. Isaac smiled at Ms. McCall's lack of normal social decorum, not that she should be required to have any at four in the morning, after a long and grueling ten-hour shift at the hospital, and certainly not after dealing with Isaac's recent arrival.
Isaac recalled two nights prior. The several light raps on Scott's door. His friend's unknowing yet quick response. "Come in, mom."
His entrance into the room, still dripping from the storm. Scott's immediate look of both confusion and concern. And his own plea, "I-I was wondering if, uh, if I could ask you a favor."
A short moment passed before Scott rose to his feet and said, "Shoot?" Scott was still clearly baffled by his presence. But more so he could tell Scott was concerned, maybe even worried.
Isaac looked down from Scott's eyes to the computer chair behind his friend. "Could I maybe…maybe stay here for the night?"
"Yeah," Scott had said without a beat. "Of course."
"Thanks. I, uh, I owe you."
Scott had made a face before moving to his dresser and retrieving a bath towel from the bottom drawer. "Go…before you drip all over my floor," Scott had said, a slight smirk squirming out of the corner of his mouth.
He had made his best attempt at a smile before taking the towel and heading into Scott's shower. Immediately he had been overwhelmed by Scott's scent. It covered the bathroom from floor to ceiling. And it got worse once the water began to create steam. He had finished as quickly as possible and left the tiny room even faster, desperate to get away from the Scott-humid air.
As it turned out, however, he had only gone from one Scott to another, as Scott was sitting on the bed, the duffle next to him. "I'm gonna' get ready for bed. And leave you to it," Scott had said, forcing a reassuring bunch of his lower lip. Once the bathroom door closed he quickly changed into some of the few clothes he had and sat on the edge of the bed, just where Scott had been.
The toilet flushed and Scott emerged, toothbrush in hand. "The guest room is full of some old things so go ahead and take mine." He had only nodded before throwing the duffle to the side of the bed and rolled off to the left side of the bed, away from the bathroom. After Scott had finished brushing his teeth, he emerged once again and turned all the lights off. Scott had grabbed the pillow next to him and made to leave.
"You're not staying?" he had said, sitting up slowly.
"I'm gonna' take the couch."
"But it's your—"
"Isaac, it's fine. Take the bed. Sleep. We'll talk in the morning?" Scott had made a better attempt at giving a reassuring smile before heading out into the hallway.
"Scott."
Scott's face reappeared, his hand grasping the frame.
"Stay. I-I don't want to be alone tonight."
Scott had nodded and returned to the bed. Scott laid down on the right side, lying flat on his back while he had just rolled back over to his side.
"Whatever happened, Isaac," Scott had started, "try not to think about it. Just sleep." And Isaac had. The next morning they had talked about Derek—over waffles which Scott had pulled out of a box in the freezer. Isaac had been rather reluctant at first, especially about the details. But as always, Scott's demeanor always seemed to triumph and Isaac told him everything. He trusted Scott. Just like he told him before at Deaton's.
It had been two days since he arrived at the McCall's and he already felt like he was intruding. Ms. McCall treated him no different than she did Stiles. Well, maybe a little different since Isaac didn't yammer on nearly as much—he could tell she appreciated that. But he also feared that she was timid of him. Maybe not so much about the werewolf aspect, but because of the danger he brought. And Isaac feared that as well. He was never one to trample on others…at least not regularly; there certainly was a brief time just after he had been turned.
Isaac rolled back onto his back and sighed heavily, not even willing to will his eyes closed, let alone will himself to sleep.
— Ʌ | Ʌ | Ʌ —
6:45 rolled around rather fast and Isaac opened his eyes rather abruptly. It was Thursday and another great day for school. Likely filled with doing his damnedest to avoid the twin once again, as well do his best to keep his emotions in check around Scott. The last two days at Scott's helped Isaac see that there were feelings he never knew he could have for a guy. Isaac had been not just a guest imposing, or even a friend staying over. He had been under Scott's care. Sheltered and taken in from the cruelty this supernatural world was churning out. That care meant something.
He wasn't sure if it was romantic. Probably too soon for that. But they were feelings that were more than friendly or kinship-related. Scott was just…Scott. There was a manner of loyalty, kindness, and even innocence that poured from the guy that was…intoxicating…much like the steam in Scott's bathroom that first surrounded Isaac only three days ago. Scott was special somehow, and Isaac, despite his nervousness about the feelings, was also eager to see where they led him.
After readying for school, Isaac made his way into the kitchen for a quick breakfast. He grabbed a toaster strudel and tossed it in the toaster oven as Scott walked into the room.
"Morning," Scott began, grabbing an apple from the fruit drawer in the refrigerator and a bottled orange juice.
"Morning," Isaac replied. "You got in late last night."
"You went to bed early," Scott said before digging into the side of the apple.
"Yeah. I, uh, finished my homework early so I thought I'd be good and get to bed early. Where'd you go?"
"Uh, Allison's." Of course. The now lighter-brunette, werewolf hunting, knife—no 'Chinese ring dagger' wielding ex-girlfriend. Despite all that had happened Monday, what with the storage closet, the somewhat-apology for the stabbings, and the bike setup, Isaac still carried disdain for her. Of course he would: she still tried to kill him several months ago. And her family wrought nothing but misery and death upon his kind. Disdain seemed a reasonable attitude towards the girl, if not a lighter attitude than what would truly be justified.
"What for?" Isaac said, slicing open the icing packet with a claw.
"Had to return something of her's."
"Oh."
Within a minute Isaac's toaster strudel dinged and within only another 30 seconds, it was devoured. Scott smirked at him before they geared up for the trek to school: jackets, bike gloves, helmets. Scott hopped on first before Isaac followed, wrapping his hands snuggly around Scott's waist. Of course that action never helped matters concerning Isaac's emotions, which were begging to be unleashed. Scott revved his bike and before long the pair were headed to Beacon Hills High School.
— Ʌ | Ʌ | Ʌ —
School had been an interesting day from the go of the morning announcements. Their new principle reminded everyone that all of Mr. Harris' classes would henceforth be subbed by Ms. Blake until he makes a "full recovery", despite being another tally in Stiles' log of sacrifices. After the conversation with Scott earlier that morning, Isaac was somewhat surprised to note that Allison wasn't in homeroom, nor did she join them for lunch; only the three boys and Lydia sat together.
The most interesting part, however, was the strange unspoken tension between Scott and Stiles and Scott's extra-positive attitude towards Isaac. All throughout lunch Scott and Stiles exchanged wary words through an occasional stare; they obviously weren't mad at each other, but something was definitely up. Scott, however, made his best attempt to seem as little obvious as possible and even suggested he and Isaac put off all homework until Sunday after their return from the cross-country trip tomorrow.
And they did. After school let out Isaac returned home with Scott on the latter's motorcycle. They dropped their backpacks in their respective rooms and met back up in Scott's room.
"Movie?" Scott asked, holding up two DVDs still in their packaging.
"You're on," Isaac replied, grinning upon seeing one of the latest superhero movies amongst the unopened pair.
They made their way to the family room and plopped down on the sofa in front of the medium-large-sized flat screen. Scott had bought the TV for his mom for her birthday with the savings he earned from working with Deaton; it was the first and only flat screen in the house.
— Ʌ | Ʌ | Ʌ —
Isaac was pulled out of his half-slumber by the creaking of the last step atop the staircase and a muttered swear that followed. Whatever it was earlier was about to go down. Isaac got up and threw his leather jacket on before ascending the stairs almost cat-like (a skill he had harnessed with Erica's help before her death).
Isaac approached Scott's room and watched as the boy slipped on his own jacket, Scott's back to the door. Scott picked up his helmet before turning to leave. Upon seeing Isaac, Scott gasped, his eyebrows jumping along with his body. "Whoahhh."