For the third time that day, Lizzie was leaning on Liam to walk. She drew the line before being carried again. She hated to admit to herself that she was beginning to rely on him at all. Being carried would push her over her limit.
As they slowly climbed the stairs, Lizzie tried to argue with Lydia that she would be fine in a few days. Really she would. The bruises never lasted more than a three days, and most cuts were healed after a week. "Look," she tried again, as they hit the top final stair and levelled out on the second floor of Scott's house. "You don't know me. You don't need to do this. I'm not asking you too. Heck, I don't want your help. Can't we just get the questions over with? I swear I'll cooperate… Just bring Scott back in and I'll answer whatever you want."
Lydia looked to Liam for confirmation. "She's not lying," he said. A ray of hope bloomed in Lizzie's mind. Maybe she could get out of there soon, race back home and her father would be none the wiser. Then, from there she could figure out how to broach the subject and handle them being discovered by the Beacon Hills pack. In her mind it would work out perfectly.
With a firm shake of her head though, Lydia Martin crushed all of Lizzie's plans once again.
They led Lizzie into what she presumed to be a guest room because of the simple furniture and lack of pictures. Lydia forced the werewolf to sit down on the twin bed and directed Liam to stay put. When she came back, she had bandages, a damp washcloth, and a fresh towel.
Lizzie reached out to take the things with a frustrated sigh. Lydia hesitated before handing them over. "I'll see if I can find you something more comfortable to wear. Don't even think about escaping because Liam will be on the other side of the door and Scott is right outside."
"I won't," Lizzie grumbled, as they shut the door with a click. Lizzie took a minute to just sit there. The two pack members were treating her like some fragile little doll which couldn't have been further from the truth. Their behavior towards her was not what one would expect when dealing with a potentially dangerous werewolf.
Lizzie considered that they could be trying to lure her into a false sense of security. Disarm her with kindness and get her to like them, then they would make their real move.
She had realized back in the car with Lydia that it would be stupid of her to try to escape though. Although she was a usually a force to be reckoned with, at that point in time she was not doing too hot and could definitely not take on two fully functioning werewolves and their crazy friends. Lizzie looked at the things that Lydia had given her and decided that she may as well clean up.
Carefully she began to unbutton her blouse and when she had it off, folded it up on the bed. Her arms were no longer red from the heat and were instead unnaturally pale. They made the bruises stand out even more than before, having progressed to a dark greenish tint. Lizzie next took off the camisole that had plastered against her skin. Although she did it oh so slowly, the pain it caused made her bite down on her lip to prevent herself from making any noise. The only mark on her torso was a dark purple bruise on her lower stomach. That punch had hurt and Lizzie was positive that a few bones had been cracked in the process. She tested it by gently pressing down on the bruise and couldn't help the yelp that escaped her mouth.
Before she could even close her mouth, Liam was calling through the door, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine!" Lizzie called back, gritting her teeth. She took a break from removing any more clothing and grabbed the washcloth. Carefully getting up from the bed, she circled it and walked towards the window. As she looked outside, she scrubbed her face of the dirt and sweat that had accumulated in the woods. Wiping her arms as well, she noted the still bright daylight that was streaming through into the room. The sight gave her some ease, knowing that she still had time to make it back to her house before dark. She just needed a good excuse for why she was so late.
A flat tire on her bicycle would only support a twenty minute delay at most. Perhaps she could come up with a story about it being a regular part of orientation for new students. Lizzie pondered that for a moment, wrestling over the fictitious details that she would need to make her story believable. Of course, if forced, she couldn't lie to the alpha, but if timed just right he would never suspect a thing.
Lizzie was so wrapped up in her plans that she missed the knock on the door before Lydia walked in. "Here. I wasn't sure what you would be most comfortable in so I brought a variety of…" Lydia froze midstep, mouth dropping. When Lizzie whirled around from the window at the girl's voice, Lydia's mouth dropped even further upon seeing the bruise on her stomach.
"What's wrong?" Liam asked, worried about Lydia's sudden silence and rushing in. A similar look of shock appeared on his face before Lydia spoke up.
"Those are not sports injuries," she croaked, taking a step forward. Automatically Lizzie took a step back, slamming into the window behind her. She looked down at her bruised arms. One could clearly see the imprint of fingertips and little scabs where his claws had gotten her.
"Of course they are," Lizzie snapped back, although she didn't sound very convincing. When she noticed the stack of clothes Lydia brought in, Lizzie walked forward and reached for them. "These are fine, thanks." The two remained silent as Lizzie dug through the pile of clothes and found an old faded t-shirt and slipped it on. Heart pounding in her ears she also pulled on one of the sweatshirts. "Can we go talk to Scott now and get this over with?" She tried to laugh and make it sound sarcastic; however, the grimace gave her away when she pulled down the hem of the sweatshirt.
Lydia and Liam didn't budge. Instead, Lydia held up a hand and closed her eyes in a grimace. "Take off your pants Lizzie."
"Wh… What?" Lizzie stuttered, expecting anything but that.
When Lydia reopened her eyes they were filled with a mix of sadness and anger. "Take them off," she repeated slowly, pretending that Lizzie hadn't understood her. When Lizzie shook her head, Lydia's face softened slightly. "Liam can leave the room if you would prefer, but you are taking off your pants."
"That's not why I don't want to… No," Lizzie muttered, incredulous. She knew what would happen if she complied. She wouldn't. She couldn't.
Seeing Lydia's determination she tried compromising, "Fine, just both of you – leave the room and I'll change into one of the sweatpants you brought me. Okay?"
The redhead shook her head. "No, not okay. I'm staying right here." Liam didn't really seem to understand what Lydia was trying to do, but he nodded in agreement and crossed his arms. Lizzie was beginning to realize the arm crossing was a habit of his whenever things got tense. Part of her felt bad for causing all of this, for ever coming to Beacon Hills in the first place.
"Whatever," Lizzie said, rolling her eyes. She sat down on the bed and quickly slipped off her shoes, a pair of well-worn green Converse. With a huff she went through the clothing until she found some sweatpants that looked like they would fit. Without looking up, she stood and quickly slipped off her black leggings. Once off, Lizzie could almost feel the stares locked on her legs. She began to shake as she quickly stuffed one leg into the sweatpants. It threw her off balance though and she had to sit back down on the bed to make the room stop temporarily spinning.
She then worked at getting the other pant leg on but her joints were too stiff. As she struggled, a hand came to rest on her own. It was light as a feather. Gentle and not forceful. Lizzie looked away in frustration as Lydia helped her stand and remove the pants. "We need to clean these up first or they'll get infected, alright?" Gone was the fiery redhead and in her place was this soft spoken girl. Considerate. Caring. It made Lizzie want to cry. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had spoken to her like that. "I'm going to go find some looser pants so that they don't irritate your legs as much."
Lizzie was still looking away when Lydia left the room, so she was surprised when Liam came and sat down in front of her on the floor, having completely forgotten he was there. She looked down at him to find his eyes staring at her legs with a pained expression. Without a sound, he reached out and gently began to unravel the bandages.
There were several, covering a good portion of Lizzie's legs. And they were stained with old blood - she had put them on that morning. The cuts must have reopened while she was running away in the school. It would certainly explain why she was feeling so lightheaded.
Liam must have felt her gaze on him, because he suddenly jerked his head up to look at her. Caught staring, Lizzie quickly turned her head away again. She didn't like the pity she saw in the boy's eyes. There was nothing to be pitied. Lizzie had lied to her father… she had not followed his orders and made the alpha angry. She knew the consequences and still had done it anyways. If she had handled things differently, she would never be sitting in the enemy pack's house, at the mercy of a bunch of unpredictable, supernatural teenagers. Their being werewolves didn't unnerve her; it was the unpredictable part that scared Lizzie the most.
Here she was, sitting in a stranger's room with her scars and weaknesses literally exposed for all to see. Any other pack would have taken full advantage of her weakened state, using it to force out answers and secrets. Lizzie had practically volunteered to do just that to get out of there, and instead they were more concerned with her health. It didn't add up. They had to have some ulterior motive.
Lizzie just stared at the wall, following that train of thought until it became clear. Their end goal was the same; they were just getting there a different way. By helping her and being kind to her, they were probably tallying up some kind of debt total in their head. Now she owed them.
Every second that ticked by racked up more time. And who knew what additional things they would make her to do to repay them. It was too much for Lizzie to take. "I can take the bandages off. You don't need to do that," she said forcefully, leaning down and shooing Liam away as she picked up where he had left off.
She was fine for a minute, but one of the bandages had stuck together from the dried blood and Lizzie was having a hard time pulling it apart. Liam's hands returned in her field of vision and reached to help her. "Stop," she said, pushing him away again. "You all have done enough. I don't need one more thing to owe you for." Lizzie hadn't meant to say that last part out loud, but there it was.
Liam finally did stop and stood up. "You think we're trying to help you so that you owe us something?" His face twisted in disgust before he shook his head, sounding exasperated. He crossed his arms and Lizzie had to hold back a smile that would be entirely inappropriate for the situation. "Lizzie, you were barely able to stand. I thought you were going to pass out. Scott just needs to ask you a few questions to make sure the pack is safe. He could have done that in the woods but…"
"Then why…" Lizzie started, but Liam fixed her with a stare and she shut up.
"He could have questioned you in the woods. We didn't bring you here for that," he said.
"We brought you here because you looked like death warmed over," Lydia supplied, interrupting with her presence. She walked into the guest room with a larger pair of sweatpants and some antibacterial cream. More seriously she said, "We brought you here because you were injured and obviously had no one to take care of you." Lydia had walked over to the bed as she was speaking and took Liam's place on the floor.
As Lizzie listened to her talk, she allowed Lydia to unwrap the bandages and clean her cuts. A lump had formed in her throat and her vision was getting blurry. This time it wasn't from blood loss though. With an overwhelming wave of emotion, Lizzie realized that she was crying. With a sniffle, she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of the borrowed sweatshirt and tried to recompose herself. "I just don't understand why you're helping me. I'm the enemy."
"Enemy?" Lydia and Liam asked at the same time, alarmed. Lydia continued with, "Are you here to kill us?"
"Well, no," Lizzie admitted.
"Are you trying to hurt us?" Liam asked next, trying to prove a point.
"No," Lizzie responded reluctantly.
"Then you are not the enemy," Lydia stated without a hint of hesitation in her voice. The unwavering faith that this girl had in Lizzie was startling. Even more startling was that Lizzie realized that she was beginning to trust them too. All of them- Liam and Lydia in particular, but also Stiles and Scott. It was such a shift from just minutes ago where she had been frantically trying to think of a way to escape. Something had changed when Lydia had given her mini speech and with them in the guest room, Lizzie felt strangely enough – safe.
"Almost done," Lydia murmured, and Lizzie bent over the edge of the bed to inspect her legs which were now clean and freshly bandaged in white cloth. "We should probably put some of this antibacterial cream on your arms too." She threw the bottle over her shoulder towards Liam who caught it without a blink, and resumed readjusting the bandages.
Liam walked over hesitantly as Lizzie began to pull off her sweatshirt. "I'm not going to fight you," Lizzie said, sticking out an arm. Looking somewhat reassured, Liam sat down beside her and unscrewed the cap on the bottle of cream.
She had kind of been in another world when Lydia was working on her legs, not feeling much of anything and focused solely on the words coming out of the pack members' mouths. Then though, as Liam dabbed the cold cream on the claw marks on her arm, she hissed at the sudden coldness and jerked back. Liam grabbed onto her arm and pulled it back towards him. "I thought you said you weren't going to fight me," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"It's cold," Lizzie argued.
Liam smirked and twisted Lizzie's arm to get some of the cuts on the bottom. They had only bled a little bit before and there wasn't any need for bandages. "So who did you make angry enough to do this?" he asked casually, as he gestured for her other arm.
"It was just a nasty fight, that's all," Lizzie lied.
"Liam?" Lydia questioned, grabbing a round metal garbage can and throwing away the bloody bandages. As expected, Liam shook his head. Lizzie wasn't used to being surrounded by werewolves. The only one she been around for the last few years was her father. She hadn't been with a pack for about the same amount of time.
For some reason, probably the same feeling in her gut that made her want to trust these people, Lizzie felt the urge to tell them everything. She settled for a half truth – no lies, but certainly not everything. "I made some mistakes," she said, trying to keep her voice calm. "Getting hurt was entirely my fault."
"She's telling the truth," Liam told Lydia, as she helped the other girl pull on the pair of baggy sweatpants and sweatshirt. His eyes were locked on Lizzie as he added, "But I don't believe you for a second."
This is my longest chapter so far. Lizzie is having a sort of internal struggle because on the one hand, she's starting to like the Beacon Hills pack (I mean, how can you not?). On the other hand though, becoming friends with them, or even associating with them at all, could potentially create a lot of trouble. I know if I were her I would camp out in Scott McCall's guest room and never leave again. *Sigh* But that would not make for a very interesting story, would it?
Although... I have read quite a few good one-shots that take place in a bedroom and/or living room (Pack feels anyone?) so I guess it is possible.
AnimeHunter411- Thanks! I absolutely adore Lydia as a character so there was no way I couldn't include her in this story. Also, I miss her connection with Allison and really hope that in Season 5 her relationships grow stronger with Kira and Malia.
Halfcent- I wish I had gotten into the Walking Dead, because that would be a great space filler between Teen Wolf seasons. After a few episodes though, I just wasn't feeling it. And thanks for the recommendation! I've actually read "Moving In The Dark" and was heartbroken when I realized it hadn't been updated in some time. I'm glad you like reading about Scott as alpha. It seems that a lot of people think he's too weak and not very good, but for just being a teenager, I think he's doing pretty well. And Isaac... I felt the exact same way. At first I hated Liam - like you said, he is no Isaac! I also didn't like his attitude; however, he started getting better towards the end and I had to remind myself that I also didn't like Jackson at first, and now that he's gone I wish he would come back. And I for one am also glad that Lizzie didn't attack anyone in the car. That would have been very messy. As for Derek - they announced about 2 weeks ago that Tyler Hoechlin was no longer going to be a series regular on Teen Wolf. They said that he wanted to try working on some films. Jeff Davis said that Derek wasn't gone for good, but I'm not holding my breath - every other time a character has left the show to make movies, we've never seen them again... Isaac! (Thank you so much for all of your comments! I love reading them and seeing which chapter you're on as you progress in the story). - If anyone is looking for a good Isaac story, make sure to check out Halfcent's one-shot called: A New Loyalty. I just read it and it's awesome!
I've been writing this story about 7 chapters in advance thus far. And I knew it was coming, but I've hit a little snag. Not a block, because I've still been chugging out chapters... it's just that where I'm at in the story there has been a shift in dynamics and I'm having to work around a lot of heart-wrenching revelations and kind of emotionally-heavy dialogue. I prefer sarcasm, quick pace, and sass (especially sass from Stiles, which is the best!). So I think I'm going to keep writing and then go back later and do some heavy editing as I post. One chapter just read really awkwardly and very teen-angsty, which is not what I want to portray at all!
Anyways, I just wanted to share a bit about where I'm at with my writing of the story, whether you care or not (probably not, because we're strangers and this is the internet). Either way, thanks to those who have continued to read "You Don't Know Me." Follows, favorites and feedback is welcome! (And if you have any Teen Wolf fanfiction recommendations personally written or otherwise, feel free to share! I plow through them pretty quickly.)