It had been five days since the incident at the club, and it was only just starting to not weigh as heavily on Naja's shoulders. Despite Deacon's advice, it wasn't always easy to make the mind accept the information into the current problem. For sure it would hold onto it until the next problem, and factor it in then. However the dilemma it was facing now, it had yet to do the math completely. It was still hard to have that easy smile on her face – though she tried just so that people wouldn't get suspicious. Cassie knew, and tried not to bother her about it; she knew her friend would come out of the guilt pit eventually. Though now that she was alone in the grocery store, her sullen expression was back.

Even though she was buying things to make for her fake study session the next day – which was essentially a dream – she had been standing with the dairy fridge door open for about eight whole minutes. She'd scanned the different creams about ten times, not really reading anything. Too wrapped up in her own thoughts to realize she was getting cold, and maybe not blinking as often as she should.

"Are you trying to cool down the store?"

Naja nearly jumped out of her skin, letting go of the door to face the voice. She'd been so distracted she hadn't seen – or smelled – the intruder on her thoughts. "I've been watching you stare into the milky abyss for what seems like forever, sour puss. You've seemed off at school too. Is everything ok?"

She stiffened and pursed her lips, looking into those stupid blue eyes rimmed with concern. "You're not helping your case of not being a stalker. Who just watches someone without say anything?" Naja demanded, adjusting the basket in her hand which had just registered the ache in her wrist.

"Who stands for like five minutes staring into a fridge without picking anything up?" Isaac fired back, brow arching wryly.

"Ah, ch, nnnn people, Lahey. People who are…thinking. About…things!" she choked out, heat rising in her cheeks. She turned on her heel and started stomping away.

And then stomped right back because she still hadn't gotten the whipping cream for her icing, in all that time staring. She yanked the door back open, grumbling about being interrupted, when she felt fingers brush her elbow. "Things at raves that weren't even their fault?"

Her face twisted with something between anger and pain, she whipped around to yell at him. Though when she looked into his face, she saw only understanding, and clenched her hands into fists, the basket handle digging into her palm. As much as she didn't want to acknowledge he was right, she couldn't blatantly lie to his face either, and just looked away.

"That's what I thought. Do you want to grab something to eat? Talk about it with someone who probably feels guiltier than you do?" Isaac asked, almost pleading. Maybe he really did feel worse than she did.

Naja rolled her shoulders, one after the other, as if she could just roll the emotions right off of her. The not cocky side of Isaac was somehow more uncomfortable. "I already ate. And I have groceries I need to put away so they don't go bad." She glanced at his empty hands. "Did you even come here to buy anything? Who just comes into a store to stare at other people."

He laughed, and she almost cracked a smile. "They were out of my juice, ok? But if it will make you feel better I can walk around with a pack of gum," he said with a grin. "And if no food, a coffee?"

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "I still have groceries to buy, take home, and put away."

"We could meet after? You don't live too far and there's a coffee shop around the corner, they-"

"Have great pastries, I know."

"I was going to say they have a quiet corner where we can talk, but their stuff is pretty good," Isaac corrected, though he smirked. "Who knew the sour puss would have a sweet tooth."

"Oh shut up, fine, yes. I'll meet you there in like, fifteen minutes. Just go, I don't need help carrying anything," she instructed, waving him off with the back of her hand as she walked toward the checkout. It wasn't until she got home and put everything away that she realized she still hadn't picked up a carton of whipping cream. Lahey…this is all your fault.

So when she walked into the coffee shop, she was ready to berate him. But she didn't get the chance; when he waved her over to an out of the way table, he started talking before she could open her mouth. "I didn't know what blend you'd want, or how you took your coffee. So I bought a cup and you can just fill it with whatever you want. The coffee is all over there…but you know that already, since you come here all the time," he rambled, having stood up to hand her the mug. Her brow arched at his behavior, and she looked past him to the plate on the table. "…I also didn't know what you liked, but I figured tarts were a good option."

Still eyeing him oddly, Naja took the mug from him, and silently went to fill it up. She watched his knee bouncing speedily on the walk back, blowing over the top of her mug. "Is there a reason you're acting so weird?" she asked, grabbing a butter tart off the plate.

"I just wanted you to feel comfortable enough to talk to me, and normally I make you kind of mad, so I am trying something different. Is that a problem?" He grabbed a lemon tart while his other hand nursed his coffee.

Still eyeing him, she answered, "Yeah, a little, actually. Just…I dunno. Be normal." It was her turn to pause and smirk. "As normal as you can be, I mean."

She received an eye roll, but he bit hungrily into his tart. "So, why exactly do you feel so terrible? You weren't even in the room with him. We were right there and we couldn't do anything to stop him. What would you have done?" he asked, looking her right in the eye. It wasn't as much a challenge as it was an honest question.

"I don't know!" she cried, immediately regretting that decision and ducking down in her seat. She cleared her throat and started again, staring into her mug as she swirled the coffee around. "I don't know what I would have done. But I could have done something, could have tried. But no – I was too afraid. Not afraid of Jackson, but afraid of showing myself. I literally did nothing. What did I do? Kick you a syringe? You could have grabbed that without me. No. I was afraid and did nothing, and now a girl is dead." Hot tears slowly made their way down her cheeks. "If I wasn't worried about all the problems being myself could cause, maybe she wouldn't have died. Maybe this would all be over. I was selfish. I wanted to help so badly, but when it came down to it…"

"Hey." She didn't look up, and got a quick kick to the shin. She glared up at him, but his face was only one of sympathy. "Hey, I don't know what you think you could have done alone – all of us failed to protect her too. We even had a plan. We knew we had to work together to stop that…thing. Because when it comes out, it isn't Jackson anymore. One more person wouldn't have made a difference."

"But how do you know?" she hissed, gripping the edge of the table with both hands. "What if I'd made that difference? If I had been in the room? And we'd all worked together. What if-"

"You can't keep going over and over the 'what ifs' Naja. Believe me. I did that before, with what my dad did…it doesn't help anything, and it's almost impossible to put it behind you if you keep going over what you could have done differently," he chided, his face all of a sudden very sullen. "You have your reasons to be afraid, so that's fine. It's not like you didn't want to help. Wouldn't you feel even guiltier if you hadn't been there at all?"

Grumbling, she bit half of the raspberry tart in one bite, brow still furrowed, lips still pursed. "Of course I would have felt worse if I hadn't tried. But I could have gone all the way, and I'll forever live with that."

Isaac's eyes glowed as he glowered at her. "You're not the only one who has to live with that! We all do! Stop wallowing in self-pity and move on!" he growled, lips almost curled into a full snarl.

Naja leaned back in her seat, eyes wide. She hadn't expected him to get so angry with her. She felt like a scolded child, and fiddled with the ends of her hair, sipping her coffee. Adults drink coffee. Not children. His nostrils were still flared when she looked at him again, though his eyes were no longer golden, just that bright blue. "That's why I normally work alone, so I nobody else gets hurt. Nobody else faces what my decisions cause. The consequences of my actions should be mine and mine alone, but –"

"God! Would you shut up and be comforted?! I'm trying to make you feel better, and you're somehow making me feel worse! Just…just try and perk up ok? Even the shrimp is worried about you not snapping out of it. You haven't seen the way she looks at you lately. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for her, at least," he ranted, scowling before taking a long swig from his mug.

She'd paused at his outburst, mug halfway to her mouth, and now remembered to set it down. "You're right…" Naja mumbled, running a slightly buttery hand through her hair. "I hadn't thought of how I'd be making other people feel. I'm sorry; making you feel worse wasn't my intention."

"It's ok…" Isaac paused to half grin, half smirk at her. "You're eventually going to show me what it is you're so afraid of showing people. You know that, right?"

"I'm fairly certain I don't have to do anything of the sort. My secret will stay my secret for as long as I want it to. Maybe forever," she countered, sticking her tongue out at him.

He laughed again, holding his hands up resignation. "Alright, alright. Your secret, your timetable." He picked at the leftover crumbs on the plate between them. "But, um, as long as you're here. Could we talk about one more thing?" When he looked at her again, her eyebrow quirked, he ruffled his hair with his clean hand. "About me, not you. I mean, I don't know what exactly you're hiding, but it's something. And…I don't think you'll judge me for this. Not like I worry my pack might. But…I'm a little afraid of what will happen on the full moon. To me, the rest of the newbies. It's next week and I don't know enough to know if I really should be afraid or not."

Naja nodded will draining the last of her coffee. "I'm sure you'll be fine. I've heard that you wolves just need to focus on something, something which can keep you grounded. But it has to be specific to you. What would work for Scott or Derek might not work for you. It probably wouldn't work for you. It has to be just for you. Something personal."

"So…whatever you are, you don't have to worry about the full moon?" Isaac asked, leaning forward now, more intrigued than before.

She laughed, a sharp, loud burst of laughter, and quickly ducked her head again. Obviously quiet conversation was not her strong suit. "Believe me. The only people who need to worry would be anybody else if I'm awake." She exhaled sharply through her nose, as a type of almost proud punctuation. Then she looked up into his smirking face. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," he said innocently, stretching and leaning the chair back on two legs. "You just revealed the tiniest bit of information about yourself, that's all."

A flat looked crossed her lightly freckled features as she made a kick for a raised leg. "Yeah, well. It's not like that is a big clue or anything. My secret is still in the bottle. Cat still in the bag. And don't think I'll forget that you tried to trick me into saying things about myself."

"Aw, come on. It wasn't a trick, I really meant what I said, and I'm going to try that already. Derek has been saying it all week in prep for next week," Isaac complained, all four chair legs back on the floor. "Don't go back to avoiding me now."

Standing, Naja stuck her tongue out one more time. "I will keep doing whatever I want, thank you very much." She paused as she pulled the cuffs of her sleeves back down. "Which most likely won't include avoiding you if you stop stalking me and just talk to me like a person, Lahey." With that, she waved, turned and walked out, hearing some footfalls behind her.

"Are they not big on saying goodbye in South Africa or something?" he asked, falling into step beside her, hands in his pockets.

"I was just trying to avoid this whole, slightly awkward, you walking me home…thing…" she proffered, hunching her shoulders up a little. "I know wolves operate in packs, but that's just not really my thing."

Isaac nodded, walking in silence for a few beats. "So, not a pack person, and you sleep during the full moon? Interesting, interesting." He flipped open an imaginary notebook and took down invisible notes.

Naja rolled her eyes, and shoved him a little harder than she meant to. He had to quickly shift his balance so that he didn't fall over. She smiled apologetically and they walked in silence until her building was in sight. "So, not as awkward as it could have been. Thanks for walking me home, I guess."

"It just so happens I need to walk this way to get to where I am staying, so don't get too bent outta shape over it," he teased, nudging her with his shoulder. "So, I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

She held onto the door handle, fishing her key out of her pocket, and nodded. "And I'll one day buy you coffee – I don't like feeling as if I owe people. And a sweet treat too."

"Ok, ok. If you insist, I will take that free duo," he grinned, taking a step away as she opened the outer door of the building. "Oh, and one more thing…"

"Yes?" she asked, turning to fins him leaning on the edge of the door.

"If you're going to be sort of friendly, sour puss, can you at least call me Isaac instead of just Lahey?"

She smirked back at his honest question, key turning in the inner door lock. "No promises. Goodnight, ya weirdo."