24 hours later

"So, what happened?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know, she hasn't said much to me." Lydia said with a shrug.

"Well what about Isaac?" Erica said.

Stiles shook his head. "I only know what Derek told me."

"Which is?" Lydia said with her eyebrows raised.

He sighed, "Not much."

"Invite her over here so she can clear it up for us." Erica said, rolling her eyes.

"She hasn't spoken to me since he called her last night." Lydia shrugged again.

"Wait, he what?" Stiles sat up straight and stared at her.

"Did I stutter?"

"He called Isaac as well." He said.

"I don't even know why I'm here." Erica muttered.

"You can pretend this doesn't interest you if you like but we both know that you're as big a gossip as I am." Lydia said and Erica just shook her head. "What happened with Isaac?"

Stiles sighed, telling them the same story that Derek had told him.

Well, Derek was at his house with him and I guess they weren't saying much because Derek doesn't do big rousing pep-talks, or even small pep-talks. The best you're going to get from him is a few sarcastic comments.

Anyway, he said that they talked a little but then they just kind of sat in silence until Isaac's phone rang. Derek told him to answer it and as he did he left Isaac on his own. Something about not wanting to invade his privacy or whatever. He did say that it was Scott's voice on the line but that was all he heard.

He went out and sat in his car for a while and then Isaac came out and he took him back to his place, never to be seen again.

"That's it?" Erica asked.

"I thought you didn't care." Lydia said sweetly.

"Well if I'm going to be here I might as well join in."

"Yeah okay, what did Allison tell you?" Stiles said impatiently.

"She hasn't said much to me, she called me after he called her and then I've heard nothing since."

"You know it's getting dark out here, aren't you guys afraid of what happens under the light of the moon?" Erica said, earning a glare from both of the others. "Fine, go on then, get to telling us."

Lydia rolled her eyes before beginning her story.

I was just at home texting Jackson, he was being a jerk as usual so I was in a very trying mood. Anyway, I was halfway through a strongly worded text when the phone started ringing and I almost didn't answer. I thought it was probably something less important than it was but for some reason I picked it up.

I started to say that I was very busy abusing Jackson for being an ass when she sort of blurted out that Scott had called her and that he was on his way over. I think I must have stopped saying anything for a while but she kept talking.

I mean, she mostly said things like 'he wanted things to finally be right between them' and that she had no idea what to do and I was inches from asking her about Isaac but then I figured that Scott still hadn't told her and if they were getting back together then maybe he wouldn't tell her.

She said that she wasn't ready to sort everything out yet and I just said that maybe it needed to be done. Then she just sort of said goodbye and she was gone.

"That's it?" Stiles said. "When she said 'he wanted things to be right' did she say that he wanted to get back together?"

"She just said what she said and she was gone." Lydia said.

"So call her." They both turned to Erica again who rolled her eyes and lay back down on the grass. "Not that I care."

The other two lay back with her. They had been sitting in the park for over an hour, for a while they had tried not to talk about that thing that everyone was thinking. Allison, Scott and Isaac had all missed school that day so none of them had the chance to talk to them.

The sun was almost set and so far they were no closer to figuring the whole thing out. Stiles and Lydia weren't shy about admitting their interest in the subject and couldn't help but gossip. Stiles never was good at keeping secrets. He has been so close to telling his father about werewolves accidentally and Lydia was only able to keep the secrets that mattered, the others being too interesting to keep quiet. Erica pretended that she didn't care but secretly she enjoyed finally having friends to gossip with, not that she would really consider Lydia a friend.

"This is so ridiculous, isn't it?" Lydia said.

"Haven't I been saying that this whole time?" Erica said.

"Oh for god's sake, Lydia, just do the call thing." Stiles said, sitting up.

The others followed suit and Lydia grabbed her purse, pulling out her phone. "I've already tried this like five times but I'll give it another go."

She searched for the number and pressed the green call button. As she put it to her ear Stiles saw Erica tune her ears in and tried to strain his own ears to listen. They didn't expect anything to come of the call which is why they all looked bewildered when the grainy voice on the other end of the line spoke up.

"Allison! Hi!" Lydia said, her eyes growing wide. "What happened last night? You never called me back."

Stiles couldn't hear what Allison was saying but clearly the other two could. He huffed and jutted out his lip, his 'I'm annoyed' face in full swing.

"No, that's okay, clearly you had bigger issues. What happened?" They all sat there waiting as Allison explained everything, Erica and Lydia exchanging looks and Stiles was just dying to hear what she was saying. "He did? Well what did – oh… no I know, I know… Yeah, okay, I'll see you tomorrow then… bye." She hung up and sighed.

Stiles was busting for answers. "Well?!" He said.

"Well I know what happened." She said.

"What? What the hell happened?!"

When he left Isaac's house the previous evening Derek had waited for a while in his car. He wanted to give Isaac the chance to come with him back to the loft but he hadn't expected him to come out.

He had only been there ten minutes when he saw him leave through the front door, not bothering to lock it behind him. Derek flashed his lights and Isaac turned toward him, pausing for a moment to think before heading towards him.

As he climbed into the car Derek said nothing. Unlike the others he didn't feel the need to know what was going on between Scott and Isaac. He had driven him home and let him do as he pleased, which consisted of heading straight inside and up to his bedroom.

He didn't come out that morning and Derek wasn't his father so he didn't force him into going to school. He did make sure that Stiles was going, mainly because he wanted him to succeed but partly because he knew that he would be over straight away to pester Isaac.

He didn't see much of Isaac all day, he spent the time holed up in his room, coming out only to get glasses of water and see if there was anything to eat. He came down a little more when he realised that Derek wasn't going to ask him any questions and that they were alone.

All until that evening at least, when Isaac sat trying to study at the table and Derek was reading on the couch. The two of them heard the lift kick into gear and watched the doors until they slowly creaked open to reveal Scott standing there.

Isaac's gaze was unfaltering and Scott only broke to look over to Derek. He rolled his eyes and got up off the couch with his book. He walked past Scott and down the lift, annoyed at the fact that he was leaving his own apartment but he would rather be gone than have to listen to the two of them bicker or scream or worse; make up.

He shuddered to think of it and in seconds the doors were closed and they were gone from sight.

Scott looked over at Isaac who had his bottom lip between his teeth and worry in his eyes. He swallowed hard and stepped forward a little.

"I uh… I talked to Allison last night." He said.

"Oh." Isaac didn't know what else to say so he just waited.

"I called her because I thought it was finally time that we sorted everything out." Isaac nodded to him.

"That's good, you need to know what… options you have." He turned away.

"Isaac…" He looked up and Scott gave him a weak smile. "Isaac I told her everything. I told her how I felt and what I wanted and about … about us."

"You what?" he asked, a little shocked.

"Isaac I told you that I wanted you and after… after I had a talk with my mom I knew that I had to tell Allison that I wasn't going to wait anymore." He stepped forward, walking towards him.

"You really told her about you and me?" He asked.

"I've never felt anything like what I feel with you and I haven't exactly been fair to you." He said, guilt laden in his voice.

"You said that you wanted me but you had to talk to Allison, I thought…"

"Sorry, I don't know if you've noticed but I'm not so good with words." Isaac couldn't help but manage a little smile. "I want to be with you Isaac and I think that I don't want to hide it anymore, even though most of them already know."

Isaac pulled a face. "I'm pretty sure they all know now, except maybe Danny."

"I promise I'll get to telling my mom-"

"Hey…" Isaac walked up to him and took his hand lightly. "If you need to wait or, I don't know, if you aren't ready for that then I'm happy to just have the pack know. I just couldn't handle feeling like some kind of dirty secret."

"I'm sorry I made you feel like that." Scott sighed.

"Do you really mean it though? Do you really want us to be together?" Isaac asked.

Scott looked up and into his eyes, reaching up to caress his cheek. "I love you, and that… that just feels right. I can't get that wrong, can I?"

Isaac's smile got brighter and he let go of Scott's hand to take him by the waist. He pulled him in close and Scott looped his other arm around Isaac's back, pinning them together as their lips met in a tender embrace.

Scott's body melted as Isaac's lips branded him in a way that none other had ever done. The idea of telling his mom about them still made him nervous beyond a doubt but in that moment all he could feel was the ecstasy of having Isaac back in his arms.

Isaac couldn't even begin to explain how he felt in that moment. He had been so worried, so scared that he would lose Scott and now he had chosen him over Allison; he just couldn't believe it. He kissed him with more passion than he ever had before and Scott had to pull his lips away just to catch his breath.

Isaac didn't let him go; he didn't want to ever let him slip through his fingers.

"Isaac…" He breathed.

"I know…" He whispered back.

Scott smiled. "No you don't… you don't know what I was going to say."

"I do, I can smell it on you and I know you don't want to take that step yet." He saw Scott's cheeks flush as he turned his face away. "Come on, let's just go lie in bed and talk." He said.

"Isaac I-"

"Hey… just come on, I'm tired of being away from you and to be honest your apologies are starting to get annoying." He grinned and Scott let out a laugh.

"Oh really?" He said.

"Yeah, really." He gave him one more quick kiss before pulling himself out of Scott's arms and taking his hand.

Scott smiled, his stomach fluttering as he realised that finally making the choice and getting it out in the open made him feel so much better. It helped that Isaac's smile had come back too.

When they made it to Isaac's bedroom they kicked off their shoes and climbed under the sheets, Scott lying back to let Isaac rest his head on his chest. His heartbeat sounded like the most soothing thing in the world.

"So… how'd things go with Allison then? What did she say?" Isaac asked, his fingers tracing lines up and down Scott's arm.

Scott sighed. "I don't know really. It felt like it went okay but I just don't think she was expecting… well, I don't think she expected me to find someone else anyway."

"I guess not." He said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Scott wriggled down so that he was on his side, Isaac doing the same until they were face to face.

"Why did you do it?" He said softly.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you tell her that you couldn't wait anymore? I thought you told her the other night that you loved her." He said.

"Yeah, I did. I just…" He sighed again. "You were right and my mom was right, I can't just love her and wait until she's ready to have me back – if that day was ever going to come. I mean, I love her but that's not the only part of being with someone. You wanted to be with me and we have something that I didn't have with her." Isaac nodded, lips turning up slightly at the corners.

"And…?" He said cheekily.

Scott rolled his eyes. "And I love you."

Isaac leant in, kissing him once, and then twice before just resting his lips against the edge of Scott's jaw. "I love you too." He mumbled. "You sure you don't have any regrets?"

"You know what… I thought that finally ending things with Allison was going to be the hardest thing I'd ever have to do but it actually kind of made me feel… free. I don't know, it sounds stupid but it was like I was just stuck in one place." He said, hoping that his words made some kind of sense.

"What did she think about you and me?" Isaac asked.

"She was… pretty shocked to say the least. I think she's probably going to keep her distance for a bit." He sighed.

"I guess you had to know that things couldn't stay the same." Isaac reached out to run his hand through Scott's short brown hair.

"I know, I just hope it's not too weird for her to stay with the group. I'd hate for that to be my fault." He said.

"Her and Lydia are pretty close, I'm sure she won't keep away for long."

"She might, I don't know if she wants to spend her time with her ex and his boyfriend."

Isaac smiled, "Is that what I am? Am I your boyfriend?"

Scott laughed and rolled his eyes playfully. "Well you're not my girlfriend. What? What is it?"

Isaac was just starting thoughtfully, his eyes studying Scott's face in a way that made his cheeks hot and his heart race. "It's nothing… it's just that you never really called me that before. It's nice." He shrugged.

Scott smiled and leant in for a kiss. "So I can keep calling you that then?"

"Scott, you can call me anything you like; just so long as I can say that you're mine."

He pulled Isaac in closer, the heat from his body almost overwhelming but he didn't care. "I think that's a fair deal." He said, leaving him a kiss that he was sure to remember.

"So… did you get any study done today son?" The sheriff asked as he and Stiles sat down for dinner, a rare occasion.

"Yeah, I had school all day dad." He replied, shovelling in some more pasta.

"That's not what I meant by study."

"Isn't it the same thing?" He said with a mouthful.

"No, it's not. I thought you would have been thinking more about college this year." He said.

Stiles rolled his eyes. "Why is everyone obsessed with college already? Come on, we've got time."

"Sure, you've got time but don't you have any idea about what you want to do when you leave?" The sheriff said, staring his son down.

He shrugged. "I'll probably go to college."

"To do what exactly Stiles?"

"I don't know, maybe I'll do criminology or something."

"Criminology? Really?" His father looked a little honoured and Stiles shook his head.

"Well I always seem to be doing your job so why not learn how to do it better." He teased.

His father laughed. "Is that so? Well if you're going to do it then you make sure you do it better than me. It's all a father can hope for." He smiled.

"Seriously? You think I should do it?"

"I think you'd make a great detective, not a local cop. You're too big for this town Stiles, I've always known that." Stiles gave a little nod and went back to eating his dinner. "Plus, you've got somewhere to do work experience if you need it. I might have to do a little smooth talking but it's a start."

"Whoa, whoa dad, I said I maybe want to do criminology, I'm so not even thinking about it all yet."

"Well you better get to it then." His father nodded at him.

They both heard the doorbell ring and Stiles got up quickly. "That'll be Derek." He said.

He headed through the lounge room and let Derek in. He walked with him back into the kitchen to say hello to the sheriff.

"Evening sheriff." He nodded politely.

"Nice to see you Derek, do you want to grab a plate? It's just spaghetti though, nothing fancy." He said with a small smile.

Derek was about to speak up when Stiles let out a loud laugh. "He can't, too many carbs." He teased and Derek narrowed his eyes.

"Ignore him." Derek said.

"Usually do." He said and Stiles seemed a little offended. "It's on the stove, you can help yourself."

"Thanks sir." He said, Stiles stifled a laugh.

He would never get tired of Derek trying to stay in his dad's good-books. They finished of their dinner, Derek only ate a little and refused to let the sheriff wash up, earning himself a few more brownie points. As his dad headed into the lounge to relax with a glass of whiskey Stiles began to question Derek about Isaac.

"So did Isaac tell you what happened? Lydia told me that Allison-"

"Stiles, you should know that I'm not getting involved in any of their business and I suggest you do the same." He said, his long sleeves rolled up as he loaded the plates into the dishwasher.

"You know you're so cute when you do housework." He said, wrapping his hands around Derek's waist and kissing him on the shoulder.

Derek tensed and gritted his teeth. "Is that supposed to make me talk?"

"No, it was just an observation. If I wanted to make you talk I would just do this…" He slipped his hand down until he was cupping the front of his jeans.

"Stiles!" Derek hissed, pulling his hips out of his grasp and narrowing his eyes. "Your dad is in the other room."

"Oh come on I wasn't going to do anything." Derek shook his head and went back to the dishes. "But seriously, you have to know something, anything. Just a little scrap of information for me to relay – keep – for me to keep to myself."

He rolled his eyes. "Scott's over there right now, in my house."

"Trust you to be pissed off at being kicked out of the loft." Stiles scoffed.

"Hey, I was not 'kicked out', I left because I can't avoid them in that place." He said.

"Aw Derek, that's so sweet."

"Don't make me kick your ass." He growled.

Stiles chuckled. "So what happened?"

"What?"

"With Scott for god's sake!"

"I don't know, I left so I wouldn't have to know. You're going to have to call Scott to find that out." He said.

"You're right." Stiles reached into his pocket and took out his phone.

Derek grabbed him by the wrist to stop him. "Well not now."

"Right, the make-up sex, or is it break up sex?" He pondered the thought and Derek rolled his eyes again. "Speaking of…" His hands went into another groping mode and Derek was forced to defend himself, lest the sheriff walked in and throttled him.