Prompt: Isaac+anyone- It's the middle of the night and I'm walking home alone in the dark and there's this guy following me and he's starting to gain on me. So I found this phone booth with a lock on the door and I tried to call my best friend but my hands were shaking so bad I accidentally called the wrong number- I don't even know you but help me!?
A/N: I chose Derek since it totally fits as an alternate to how he recruits Isaac to be his first Beta :)
Isaac stuffed his hands into his pockets, it was supposed to be Spring soon but wow it was still cold out at night. And if he didn't hurry… his dad was going to be pissed at him. But it wasn't his fault that Dad wouldn't let him have a laptop, which meant he had to go to the library at school to type up his papers. So he procrastinated a bit… waited until the last minute to get it done- it was done at least! Plus he had to wait until after practice, it wasn't like Coach would let him skip just to write an essay. As he sighed to himself, he thought he heard the scrape of boots behind him and he froze. Slowly he looked over his shoulder and saw this guy strolling in his direction.
"It's fine Isaac, not like there's some monster lurking in the alley," he muttered to himself before he continued walking. It was a free street, people could walk if they wanted to. But paranoia got the better of him, Isaac could swear that the guy had sped up just a bit… like he was trying to catch up to Isaac or something. Quickly he glanced back and noticed that the man was a lot closer than before, maybe cutting the distance in half, and the look on his face… Okay, maybe it was time to hurry up a little bit… As innocently as he could Isaac quickened his pace, not really wanted to alert the guy behind him that he was suspicious. A short bray of laughter reached his ears and Isaac knew he was screwed… this guy was coming after him. Hell, he didn't know that Isaac didn't really have any money, let alone any valuables…
"Shit," Isaac whimpered, hearing the guy speed up even more. When he glanced back again, he saw that the guy was speed walking towards him and Isaac knew it was time to run. So he hiked his backpack up on his shoulders and broke out into a run, hoping that the would-be mugger was out of shape. Isaac had barely taken a few steps when he heard a shrill whistle- what? But then out of the alley a couple meters in front of him, two more guys stepped into his path. "Mega shit…" Isaac cursed as he slowed down, unsure of what to do. He could take his chances, it wasn't like he didn't know how to take a beating, as long as they didn't pull out any knives he'd be okay. But then he spied a phone booth across the street and without thinking, he sprinted for it.
"Oh thank God," he sighed, noticing that it was one of the few that still had a working lock. He twisted it and dug into his pockets for some change. It had only just occurred to him that, while he was protected in here, he was also trapped. The three guys laughed and casually walked around the booth, waiting. They knew he couldn't stay in here all night, and people rarely carried change nowadays. But unlucky for them, Isaac always had change on him to make calls. His hands were shaking and there were unshed tears in his eyes as he slid the quarter in. Obviously he couldn't call his dad, he'd be beyond pissed and would just let the muggers beat him before joining in himself.
"Please answer… " Isaac prayed, punching in Boyd's number. They'd only exchanged numbers because they were assigned as partners in History but he knew Boyd had a car. And he was strong, intimidating… maybe he'd be able to scare them off. Or… they'd both end up in the hospital… great. It was worth a shot though, because Isaac needed to do something.
"Who is this?" a gruff voice asked.
"Help! Please… oh my god, Boyd, it's me-"
"Whoa hey, wrong number kid."
"Wait! No, please…" Dammit! He must have hit the wrong numbers because he was shaking so bad.
He heard a sigh over the line, "What's going on exactly?"
"I-I-I was w-walking home and this guy started following me… When I-I started to run, two of his friends came out of nowhere, blocked my path. I just ran into this phone booth but now I'm trapped, they're waiting for me! God I'm such an idiot but I don't want to go to the hospital again…"
Derek narrowed his eyes, judging by the kid's tone, this wasn't the first time he'd had to deal with a beating. He sounded like a teenager, and if he was paranoid enough to notice a guy following him, that probably meant he was used to looking over his shoulder. Maybe he was a loner, got picked on, he certainly didn't seem like the macho jock type. Shit, was Derek really thinking of helping this kid? He didn't have time. He ran a hand over his face and mumbled to himself, "Maybe he'd join me." Is this what it would come to- finding scared kids and offering them new strength? Well, if it worked… beggars couldn't really be choosers, Derek needed a Pack, fast. If he turned a few lonely teenagers, hell, maybe they'd be grateful and turn out extremely loyal to him.
"Hello? Mister, please help! You have to do something…"
"Alright, where are you exactly? I'll come find you okay?"
Isaac sobbed out in relief, "Thank you, so much, I'm just… there are three of them, are you sure? I… I don't want you to get hurt because of me…"
"Don't even worry about it, just tell me where you are."
"Um, I was walking down Harney, I'm um… between Madison and… Highland, the um book store is just a few doors down from me."
The Alpha was already climbing into his car, "Alright, shouldn't take me too long to get there, just hold tight-"
"Wait! Please don't hang up, I'm scared… I…"
Derek sighed, feeling pretty bad about how desperate this kid sounded right now. "Alright, I'll stay on the line okay. Just keep talking to me so I know you're alright."
"Um, so, I was, um, at school working on a paper… and I always walk home this way… but usually it's during the day and it's not that bad…"
"Last minute huh?" Derek asked, only half paying attention. His hand was gripping the steering wheel, worried now that he wasn't going to get there fast enough, that the muggers would just break in and hurt the kid. But he also had to keep an eye out for any cruisers, didn't really feel like getting pulled over right now. Hey… wait, why hadn't this kid called 911?
"Yea, I don't normally procrastinate but I really didn't want to write this essay and-"
"Hey, wait, kid, why didn't you call the cops? 911 is free on any phone."
"My name is Isaac… probably easier than calling me kid but um.. I… um… My Dad…"
Derek snarled, hearing the hesitation in the poor kid's voice and immediately grasping the situation. He remembered that when he'd first spoke, he was looking for someone named Boyd, he didn't say 'Dad'- wouldn't any terrified child call their parents if they didn't call the cops? Only one reason why he would have phoned a friend first, and with the way he'd alluded to going to the hospital for beatings before, it wasn't that big of a leap to make. "Alright, it's fine, I was just wondering. I'm coming up on Fern, just hold on, okay. And I'm Derek, call me Derek."
"Yea, Derek, okay… Oh… oh God, one of the guys picked up some sort of… pole, I think he's going to- Derek!"
The Alpha stomped on the accelerator as he heard the sound of cracking glass- they got tired of waiting apparently. "I'm almost there Isaac, almost there."
Isaac was sobbing now, absolutely terrified that these guys were going to kill him for causing them so much hassle. And that pole looked like it would do a lot of damage to his body… But then a loud roaring noise, a squeal of tires, and headlights lighting his small booth up. All three men looked up suddenly, but they knew there weren't any sirens so they weren't afraid of being arrested.
"And who is this that's joining the party," one of them called out as the black car slammed to a stop.
"Get away from him, now!"
Isaac watched in awe as the guy, Derek, strode over to the muggers with no sign of fear, even though one of them had a pipe. Immediately, two of them leapt at Derek and in a blur of movement both of them were down on the ground, motionless. But the third swung the pipe hard, catching Derek across his back and even from the booth, Isaac heard ribs crack. Isaac flinched, terrified that this guy was getting hurt because of him. But the fear went out the window when he saw the guy's eyes turn red and his teeth grew sharp, Derek snarling in anger. What had he just seen? Isaac was so busy processing it that he didn't really register that the last mugger was down until the clang of the pipe hitting the ground pulled him from his trance. Slowly, Derek walked over and knocked on the glass, wordlessly asking if Isaac was going to come out.
"Are you okay?" Isaac whimpered.
"I'm fine. Let me give you a ride."
"I… what are you?"
Derek smiled at him, so he had seen that. Well, now he didn't have to come up with some lame selling point, he could be up front about it and let Isaac make his own conclusions if he wanted to be Bit. "We can talk about it in the car. I promise I won't hurt you at all. But, if you'd rather not, I can just leave, I know most people would be pretty hesitant."
Isaac chewed on his lip for a moment before reaching up and unlocking the door. "No, I… I trust you." He opened the door and let Derek lead him to the car. Without really knowing what was going on, Isaac just felt like things were going to get better.
