A/N: It's pushing midnight and I've had a rather good run at this series today, so here's a bit of fun with them all before I go to bed. I'll have to save the serious stuff for this weekend when I can really focus again without work demanding I actually do something to earn the money they give me. Good night to all and, please, remember to chew thoroughly then swallow. ;) (You'll get it in a few minutes)
Isaac takes Derek's instruction of 'first thing' literally and rolls off the couch after a restless sleep before the sun even begins to break the horizon. He doesn't bother to shower; just quietly grabs some clothes from the shelf where Judy keeps his things in the laundry room then goes into the bathroom to prepare for the day.
In less than ten minutes he's done his business, dressed and gone out the door. He pauses on the front stoop; thinking he should leave some kind of note for his aunt, but he had pulled the door closed behind him and couldn't get back in without her waking up to let him. He turns away thinking he'll just text her only to realize that he has no idea what her number is.
Or if she has a cell; if anyone out there actually didn't have a cell phone these days.
Shaking off the feeling that he's setting off the day with a pattern doomed to repeat; he gets his bike from its lean against the side of the house and pushes off toward the depot.
He arrives at the same moment that the Camaro pulls to a stop in the same spot it had been parked the night before. He uses his feet on the pavement to stop the forward momentum of his bike and stares as Derek unfolds from the vehicle.
"Breakfast," the Alpha grunts in response to Isaac's questioning expression.
Isaac sees a single bag bearing the logo of Dunkin Donuts in Derek's left hand and a cup of coffee in his right from the same establishment as the man walks around the front of his car.
"Um," he frowns and scratches his head for a way to say this without setting the Alpha off in a fury, "I don't know if you're used to, like, being hungry, but that bag isn't gonna cut it for the four of us."
"Five," Derek corrects while opening his passenger door, "and this is just my bag. You just volunteered to carry the rest."
"The rest" is a collection of fragrant, greasy bags from all the fast food establishments in town that opened this early and the number of them overflows the passenger seat of the car.
"I don't take this the wrong way, but I may love you," he exhales at the wonder of the sight he beholds.
The Alpha simply takes a drink of his coffee and bobs his head in faint acknowledgement of the words.
"That'll change after you've eaten and I've kicked your ass some more."
Even though it makes him feel like Stiles to do so, Isaac finds himself bobbing his head back at the man and giving him a "fair enough" expression.
"Better hurry," Derek thumps him on the back before turning to make his way into the den, "you know what Erica's like if she doesn't get her mocha piping hot."
Seeing that the man was really leaving him to carry all of it inside, Isaac curses and studies the contents of the car to determine the best way to achieve that goal.
"If I offer to help will you just ignore that, too?"
"I should," he thinks aloud then voices another curse upon realizing that he had spoken the words.
"Why?" Scott moves from the shadows to stand before him. "I know there's been a lot going on around here lately so maybe you need to just tell me whatever I did or you think I did that's making you act like this."
"Like what, McCall?" Isaac tries to evade the real focus of the question. "We're not BFFs. We're not even Pack mates since you can't be bothered to associate with us until you see that we might be able to stop Jackson. How exactly am I acting any differently now than I was last week or the week before that?"
"I don't know," the boy doesn't back off when Isaac gets in his face, "but you are."
"Whatever," he sighs and turns away like the subject is of no issue. "You gonna help me carry this stuff in?"
"I shouldn't," he hears Scott sigh before he feels the warmth of the other boy behind him as he bends to begin pulling bags from the car.
They divide the carry out evenly between them; tucking bags under arms and chins to juggle cups of coffee to get everything inside in a single trip.
Erica pounces on him the second he enters the den; showing no vanity in Scott's presence as she tears the lid off of her coffee and gulps the liquid down. Her long blonde hair is a tangled mess; she has day-old lipstick smeared on her cheek along and the eye make-up that had been sultry the night before is just a dark mess under her eyes.
She is not a morning person.
Isaac is actually getting used to that about her, but he can see that Scott is a little taken aback by her appearance. Possibly even afraid of it; which is what Isaac had been the first time that he had seen her before she really woke up.
"Leave the bag from McDonald's at her feet and back away slowly," he says in a stage whisper to the other boy to draw Scott's attention away from the girl.
After a moment of just blinking at Isaac, the other boy rushes to obey like the instruction had been given in any real seriousness.
Then Erica squats down to tear into the paper bag with a series of curious grunts and Isaac finds himself taking a cautious step backward along with Scott.
"She's not an exhibit at the zoo," Boyd scorns them both as he comes to swipe a bag from each of them like feeding him is a toll that they each must pay to pass.
Duly chastised, they move away from the girl as she bites into a breakfast burrito with a groan of satisfaction that is way overblown for anything that came from a McDonalds.
He and Scott deposit the remaining items on a stone slab that looks suitable for a table.
"Is it always like this?" Scott asks him with a sideways glance as they each pick a bag and move off to sit and eat.
Isaac looks around them at the surroundings that are taking on an odd 'home' feeling for him. He smiles at Erica finishing her hash brown and bolting across the room to lay claim to another cup of coffee. He rolls his eyes at Boyd rolling his eyes at the girl's antics. He looks at Derek watching them all intently from the door of the subway car; sees the tension in his Alpha's features and shoulders.
"No," he finally answers with a crooked grin at Scott, "sometimes it's a little weird."
The snorts at the deliberate attempt at humor and the corner of his mouth tics upward in an almost smile before he focuses on eating; seeming to remember all of a sudden Isaac's having pointed out that they weren't best friends forever or Pack makes or anything really to one another.
He moves away from the other boy as Scott shuts him out; knowing that he deserves it and that he'd almost literally asked for it. The food in his hands becomes nothing more than a congealing mess of artificial eggs and cheese mixed with meats that are allegedly sausage and bacon; none of which holds any appeal to his churning stomach.
"What's that?" Derek asks as Isaac moves to sit near the man.
"Breakfast burrito," he offers the bag to his Alpha. "Better eat it fast before Erica catches wind of it."
"Not the bag," Derek ignores the instruction with a frown before he aims his intent stare at Scott. "What was that with Scott?"
"What with Scott?"
"That's what I would like to know," the man growls at Isaac's playing dumb. "If I wanted idiocy in the morning I would have invited Stilinski."
Isaac is actually rather surprised that the kid isn't there considering that Scott is and that Stiles does actually have a part of all of this now.
A low growl from his Alpha snaps him from any distracting thoughts and he sits up straight to look the man in the eyes and finally address his original question.
"I don't know."
Derek peers into his eyes for a moment; seeking another evasion on the topic and finding none.
"Figure it out," the man orders like it could ever be just that simple. "I can't have you both distracted by your hormones or feelings or whatever it is."
He sighs and slouches back down against the side of the rail car. When he looks across the room at Scott the other boy quickly looks away and shoves food in his mouth like he hadn't overheard the exchange.
Just to see how closely the other werewolf is listening, Isaac tilts his head to the side and says at the exact same pitch that he had spoken to Derek, "You're gonna choke if you don't chew some of that."
Scott promptly chokes.