25; Secret Kisses
The next morning, Henley snapped awake, coming out of the similar nightmare she has had since leaving Eichen. With a yawn, she rolled over to her other side, then lowered her eyebrows in confusion when she saw the other side of the bed was empty.
"Isaac?" She questioned as she sat up in the bed and glanced around her bedroom. Once they arrived at her house the night before, the two talked for hours until they fell asleep side by side.
She tossed the comforter off, then stood up from the bed. She grabbed the thin robe from the back of the bedroom door and slipped it on as she walked out of the room and down the hallway. She knew her parents would already be at work and she needed to get her brother to school.
Hearing a noise from the living room, she followed it then leaned against the doorway when she saw Isaac and her brother, Logan, playing video games.
Henley placed a hand over her mouth, holding back a chuckle as she listened to them trash talk each other, then saw Isaac toss his controller down and call out,"Aw man! How do you do that? How do you always beat me?"
"'Cause I'm better than you." Logan joked as he stuck his tongue out at him.
"Yeah, well, I'm-I'm bigger than you." Isaac said lamely, not being able to think of a better comeback.
"Smooth, Isaac." Henley said, entering the room and getting their attention.
"Hey." Isaac said smiling as his eyes locked with hers.
"Hey." Henley said back with an identical smile on her face.
"Henny, will you play?" Logan questioned his sister as he held out the controller Isaac had tossed down. "I need some competition. Isaac sucks!"
As Henley chuckled at the comment, Isaac grabbed the younger boy and ran his knuckles across the top of his head, causing him to laugh out loud and try to pull away from him. She walked over to separate them with a laugh. "Okay you two, that's enough."
"Henny! I was about to make my move and take him down!" Logan complained. He turned his attention to Isaac as he called out,"I'll get you, you-you big tree."
Isaac and Henley laughed at his comment, before she said,"I'm sure you will." She nodded to the side and said,"You can take him down next time, you need to get ready for school."
"Can we have a rematch soon?" Logan questioned Isaac.
"Of course." He answered back. "So enjoy the win for now, I'm coming for you, Wolverine."
"I'm the best! You can't beat me!" Logan called out, before running out of the room, causing them to laugh at his actions.
Now alone, Henley turned her head to look at Isaac, the two looked at each other for a moment, before she softly said,"Hey."
"I think we already did this part." Isaac joked.
"Right." She breathed out with a laugh. She didn't know why she felt so nervous all of a sudden. He has stayed the night at her house before, they have even shared a bed together more than once, but things felt different this time. It felt more real, more intimate.
Or maybe it was the fact that when he flashed her that sleepy smile all she wanted to do was kiss him. Most of the time now all she wanted to do was kiss him. She had always had feelings for him, but the more she was around him, the more she was falling for him.
She turned her head and saw a plate of pancakes on the coffee table, causing her to let out a gasp as she sank down to sit on the couch. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Chocolate chip banana with a layer of peanut butter on top." Isaac said with a nod. He smiled at her and added,"Your favorite."
"Thank you!" She exclaimed as she leaned toward him and laid her hands on either side of his face before pressing her lips against his for a quick kiss, surprising herself just as much as him.
She dropped her hands, then pulled back with wide eyes. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to figure out what to say. She was in the middle of apologizing when he shook his head and smiled at her before capturing her lips for a gentle kiss.
He pulled back a little, caressing her cheek as he whispered out,"Hey."
She chuckled, then teased,"I think we already did this part."
He laughed at her comment, knowing she was copying him from earlier. He shrugged and said,"So? We already did this part too, but that's not going to stop me."
"Which part?" She asked confused.
"This part." He whispered, before pressing his lips against hers for another kiss.
"I'm always up for that part." She said with a smile.
"Me too." He whispered as he went to lean forward to kiss her again, but before their lips could connect, she pulled back.
With a smirked, she said,"But first... pancakes."
He laughed as she raised her eyebrows and made a silly face, before turning toward the coffee table and cutting off a piece. He leaned back on the couch and watched her shove it into her mouth, letting out a groan.
"These are so good." She said, cutting off another piece.
"Thanks." He said, sitting up beside her. "There was more, but me and Logan got hungry while we were playing."
"Of course you did." She said with a laugh. "But it's fine, this is more than enough."
She turned her head to look at him, a laugh escaped her lips as she said,"Hey, do you remember the first time we tried to make pancakes? I was in charge of pouring and you were in charge of flipping. Most of them I poured too much and they were nowhere near done and falling apart. The ones I pour just right, you burned."
As the two laughed at the memory, she added,"You've come a long way since then, because these are seriously amazing."
Seeing something on the side of her mouth, he reached out to remove the small glob of peanut butter. He saw her stick her tongue out, making sure there was no more food on the side of her mouth, then she licked her lips, causing him to bite his bottom lip to hold back a groan.
He wanted to kiss her so badly, but instead, he flashed her a smile and said,"Thank you."
The two looked at each other for a moment, the tension thick in the air. If it was up to the both of them, they would be heavily making out and hopefully even losing some clothes, but neither one was brave enough to make the move right now.
She cleared her throat, sitting down the fork, before asking,"So, do you need a ride to school?"
"No, it's okay." Isaac answered. "Actually, I was about to head home to get ready and grab my bag." Since they had a game that night, he would need his uniform, pads, stick and so on.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Henley questioned as she turned to face him. "I mean, after what happened?"
"Yeah, it'll be fine. He should be gone by now."
"I can come with you-"
"It's okay, I'm fine." He interrupted. He saw a worried look appear on her face as she laid her hands on either side of his face, lightly running a finger under his bruised eye, being careful not to hit the small cut below it.
He laid his hands on top of hers, removing them from his face. "I'm okay, Meddy." He kissed the palm of her hand and softly repeated,"I'm okay."
"Okay." She whispered. "I'm just really worried about you-"
"I know you are." He interrupted. He held on to her hands and smiled at her, then said,"You have always worried about me. I kinda missed that."
"Well, you are a hopeless case, so someone has to worry about you." She joked, causing him to lower his head and let out a chuckle.
She watched him for a moment and let out a laugh with him, then grew serious as she softly said,"Hey." She waited until he raised his head to look at her, then added,"I'm with you on this. I'm there for you, no matter what, Isaac. You're not alone."
He smiled at her words, then leaned forward to press his lips against her forehead. It had been a couple of years since he felt like she had his back, since anyone did, but he was glad to have her back in his life, glad to have his best friend back.
He pulled back to look at her, briefly wondering if there could finally be a chance that they could be more. He couldn't help but wonder if she was feeling some of the same things he was. He couldn't help but wonder if she was falling for him as well.
•••
After dropping off her brother at school, Henley arrived at the high school. She tried to ignore all the eyes on her and all the whispers as she walked down the hall.
Her personal life was still a big story around the school and with it being the big story, there were also several rumors and crazy theories on why she went to Eichen. She heard everything from a failed suicide attempt to stalking the mayor's son. The latter was thanks to Alex; who was spreading rumors about her to everyone who would listen.
She opened her locker door and began to change out books, then paused when she heard a group of girls whispering about her behind her back. She rolled her eyes when she heard one of the girls saying she heard that Henley was hooked on drugs. Another girl said she heard Henley was sent to Eichen because she had a drug induced breakdown. Being a drug addict was another crazy rumor floating around.
She tried to tune their voices out as she pulled a book out and slipped it into her bag. She reached in to grab another book until someone placed their hands over her eyes, causing her to freeze for a moment until she caught a whiff of a familiar scent.
"Guess who?" Isaac whispered in her ear.
"Hmm." Henley hummed as she pretended to think about it. "I'm drawing a blank. Can I get a hint?"
"Uh... it's your very best friend." He said, saying the first thing that popped into his head.
"I have a best friend?" She questioned as she feigned shock.
"You're the worst." He mumbled as he dropped his hands.
She spun around to look at him, then let out a dramatic gasp, before joking,"Oh, it's you again."
"Like I said... you're the worst." He joked back as he leaned against the locker beside hers.
"How's it going?" She questioned as she glanced over at him for a moment, her eyes searching for any new marks on his face. She was worried that his dad had hurt him again, but thankful he looked the same as he did when he left her house.
"It's good. I told you it'll be fine. He wasn't even there." Seeing the pity look she was giving him, he blew out a breath and shook his head, before quietly saying,"Look, I don't regret telling you about this, but you have to stop looking at me like that."
"Like what?" She asked confused.
"Like you feel sorry for me."
"I don't!" She exclaimed. Realizing how that sounded, she shook her head, then quickly added,"I mean, I do, but I don't, but I do..." Her voice trailed off as she realized she was making no sense.
She let out a chuckle and continued,"You know what I'm trying to say. I'm sorry you have to go through this, Isaac, but I don't pity you. You don't deserve this and I just-"
"Worry." He finished for her with a nod, letting her know he knew what she was saying. "I love that you do, but I'm not going to break, Meddy."
"But you do bruise." She softly said as she lightly touched the mark on his chin.
"And I'll heal." He said. He leaned toward her, his face inches from her as he whispered,"I'm okay, Meddy."
She gave him a smile and a small nod, she was still worried about him, but unfortunately there wasn't much she could do. All she could do was be there for him and hope he was right when he said it'll be okay. She turned back to her locker, taking out a couple more books, while he silently watched her for a moment, before saying,"You know, I never did ask what happened to you last night."
"What do you mean?" She asked confused.
"What happened to make you run all the way to the cemetery?" He questioned with a concern look on his face. "I know when we were young you would run to me if you were scared or sad-"
"Oh, right, that." She interrupted. She thought back to the night before when she came across Scott in the woods and how terrified she was in that moment, but now was not the time to get into all of that.
Shaking her head, she said,"It's uh, it's not that important. I'll tell you later."
"You sure?" He asked as he reached out to brush a lock of hair from her face, causing her to smile up at him.
"Mm-hm. I'm sure." She said with a nod.
"Maybe we can just not talk anymore then." He suggested with a grin as he leaned a little toward her.
She bit her bottom lip, then broke into a smile until she heard the girls behind her whispering again, but this time about Isaac. One girl wondered if he was Henley's drug dealer and another said they probably smoked up at the cemetery, that is where he always is.
When she heard one of them calling him a weirdo, she almost lost it. She hated that he was being pulled into her madness. It wasn't fair to him.
"Wait..." She breathed out, stopping him from kissing her. She grabbed his hand and added,"Follow me."
Henley slammed the locker door shut, then began to lead Isaac down the hall and into an empty classroom. She heard him pull the door shut, then spun around to capture his lips for a heated kiss, taking him by surprise. He grinned against her lips, then laid his hand on the back of her head as the two began to kiss again.
She took a few steps back, then hopped up to sit on top of a desk. She reached out to grab the front of his shirt, pulling him toward her before capturing his lips for another kiss. She let out a breathy chuckle as he kissed across her jaw and down the side of her neck. She let out a soft moan and ran her fingers through his hair as he began to lightly nibble and suck on her neck.
"See... isn't this better?" She said, rolling her head to the side to give him better access.
"Hmm?" He hummed against her skin, before pulling away from her neck and pressing his lips against hers again.
"Just you and me..." She began to answer in between kisses. "No prying eyes."
"Wait..." He said, pulling back to look at her. "Is that why you pulled me in here? To make out privately?"
"Mm-hm." She said with a nod.
"So no one could see us... at all?"
"Yeah..." She answered slowly. "Is that wrong?"
"No, it's-it's fine." He mumbled as he took a step back and ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't help but think she was ashamed of him, that she didn't want anyone to see them together. Her reputation had already taken a hit, so of course she would be worried about being seen with the grave digger. She would never get back to the top with him by her side.
"Hey, where you going?" She asked with a chuckle as she reached out to grab the front of his shirt and pull her toward her, wanting to resume the kissing. Before their lips could meet, he pulled back again and said,"We should probably get to class."
"The bell hasn't rang yet." She pointed out.
"It will soon though."
"Okay." She softly said, trying not to feel disappointed. She jumped down from the desk, fixing her skin, before nervously asked,"Hey, do you uh, do you want to have lunch together today?"
"Yeah." He said, a smile appeared on his face. If she wanted to publicly eat lunch with him in the cafeteria in front of everyone, then maybe he was wrong, maybe she wasn't ashamed.
"Great!" She exclaimed. "I was thinking we could grab some fast food and-"
"Let me guess." He interrupted. "And eat in your car... away from prying eyes."
"Yeah." She said, not realizing he was taking it the wrong way. "Just you and me... with yummy food... alone..." She listed one by one, trying to sell him on the idea.
She laid her hands on either side of his neck and began to lean toward him as she whispered out,"And maybe a lot of this..."
Before their lips could meet, he pulled back and laid his hands on top of hers then removed them from his neck. She shot him a confused look, wondering why he stopped her. She bit her bottom lip nervously, worried she crossed a line somehow.
"Actually, I just remembered I have some makeup work to do at lunch." He lied.
"Oh." She breathed out, feeling disappointed. "Want to hang out after school then?" She suggested instead, hoping she didn't sound as pathetic as she felt at the moment. She didn't mean to be pushy, she just really wanted to spend some time with him.
"Coach called for one more practice before the game tonight."
"Okay, well uh, I guess I'll see you at the game then." She said. She would have suggested getting together after the game, but she had been rejected enough for one day.
"You're going to the game?" He asked surprised.
"Of course!" She exclaimed. "It's the quarterfinals, I'm not going to miss that." Giving him a smile, she added,"Plus, I'm pretty excited to see a certain player on the field. He's pretty good, maybe you know him? He's got curly hair, blue eyes and wears #14."
Isaac smirked at her comment, then said,"So he's good, huh?"
"Pretty good." She corrected. She took a step toward him, wrapping an arm around his neck, before adding,"And I probably shouldn't be telling you this... but he's kinda a good kisser too."
"Only kinda?" He questioned with raised eyebrows. The playful banter back and forth made him forget his earlier thought for a moment.
"Only kinda." She repeated.
"Let's see if he can get rid of that 'kinda' word." He teased as he laid his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him before pressing his lips against hers for a gentle kiss. He ran a hand up her side to her face, holding it in his hand as he lightly nibbled on her bottom lip.
Pulling back to look at her, he asked,"How was that?"
"Better." She whispered. "Maybe we should keep practicing though." She coyly suggested.
He smiled at her as he went to kiss her again until she quickly pulled back when they heard footsteps out in the hallway. After her reaction, he was reminded of his thought earlier, that she was ashamed of him.
"Sorry." She breathed out. "I thought a teacher was coming in or something."
"It's fine." He mumbled. "Maybe that's a sign we should just get to class."
"Okay." She quietly said. She knew he was right, but couldn't help but feel there was a shift in his mood. She turned to walk to the door, then paused to turn back toward him to say,"Actually we should probably leave at different times. Do you wanna go first?"
"No, it's fine, you go." He said, leaning back against a desk and crossing his arms over his chest. He felt like he needed a few minutes to wrap his head around all of this anyways.
She gave him a short nod, telling him she would see him later, then turned to walk over to the door. He watched her walk out, then let out a breath once he was alone. He didn't want to believe she was embarrassed by him, she never was before in the past, but she did have a different group of friends now. There were two sides of her, there was his Meddy and the popular version of her, maybe the other side of her didn't want to be associated with him in public. Maybe all he could have was his Meddy privately. But the big question is, was that enough for him?
After a few minutes passed, he straighten up and ran a hand through his hair, before walking over to the door and exiting the room. Seeing her down the hall, he paused for a moment, his eyebrows lowering in confusion when he saw Stiles talking to her. He started to remember other times he saw them talking. He also remembered all the times he called after her wreck, he even showed up at the hospital and her house afterwards.
He couldn't help but think that maybe he was wrong before, maybe she wasn't ashamed, maybe she was being secretive because she was interested in someone else. Maybe she just wanted to have secret fun with him, but something serious with Stiles. Maybe while he was falling for her, she was falling for someone else. Maybe he was too late.
•••
"So, are you ever going to tell me what you want or are you just going to keep following me?" Henley questioned Stiles, who had suddenly became her shadow as she walked down the hall.
Not long after she left Isaac, Stiles had stopped her in the hallway. For the first few minutes, he made awkward small talk, then when she said she had to get to class, he offered to walk with her. Now he was silently following her and frankly it was starting to creep her out.
"Can't two people just walk down a hallway together and it not be for a reason?" Stiles questioned. She shot him a look, causing him to sigh, then said,"Okay, there is a reason."
"I knew it. You are about as smooth as chunky peanut butter, Stiles. " She joked, earning an eye roll and scoff from him. He opened his mouth to argue that, but she interrupted,"So what do you need? Just please don't tell me it has to do with something I told you I can't get involved in."
"No. I heard you loud and clear on that." He lied. "No, all that I need is to borrow a necklace from Allison."
She came to a quick stop, almost causing him to slam into her. She turned to face him, a chuckle on her lips as she asked,"You need a necklace from Allison?"
When he nodded his head she let out a groan and rubbed her forehead, before saying,"Oh, God, this is so hard. A part of me is dying to ask why and the other part is scared to know the reason."
"It's probably best you don't ask." He said, knowing if she knew the reason, she would never agree, considering he was lying to her earlier when he said it had nothing to do with werewolves. He felt bad for deceiving her, but they needed this, it was the only clue they had and they needed to find the alpha so Scott can get cured. He just had to hope she would understand if she ever did find out.
"Okay, now I do want to know." She folded her arms across her chest and asked,"What are you up to, Stiles?"
"Nothing much, just helping a friend out."
"Well that was vague."
"It's for Scott." He added.
"Is he trying to win her back or something?" She questioned.
"Mm-hm." Stiles said with a nod. Technically he wasn't lying. At least that is what he told himself since their plan was get the necklace, get the alpha, get cured, get Allison back.
Henley thought about it for a moment. Regardless of what was going on between her and Allison at the moment, she did still consider her a friend, and she was worried about her being with Scott, especially after what happened with him the night before. But on the other hand, she knew that wasn't the real Scott- that was the moon and the alpha.
She finally blew out a breath, then said,"Okay."
"Wha-okay?" Stiles questioned surprised. For a moment he thought she was going to say no.
"Okay." She repeated. "She's not talking to me much lately, but I'll see what I can do. No promises though."
"Great, thanks!" He exclaimed.
When she went to walk away, he reached out to grab her arm, then quickly released it when she turned her head to shoot him a look.
"Sorry." He mumbled as he held up his hands, then added,"But uh, there is a certain necklace we need. It has a wolf and arrows on it. Wait, I have a picture of it." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper of the design on the necklace.
She took the piece of paper from him, studying it carefully, then handed it back to him as she nodded her head and said,"Okay."
"Oh and you can't tell her." He said. "You can't just ask for it, you have to be stealthy."
"Like I said, I'll try." She said.
"Yes!" Stiles said, pumping his fist. "The return of Batman and Black Canary." He added as he held up his hand and waited for her to give him a high-five.
"Yeah, I'm not doing that." Henley said, shaking her head before walking past him to continue down the hall. She lightly chuckled as he called out his thanks repeatedly. If eyes weren't on her before, they were now.
She turned a corner, then paused when she saw Lydia standing at her locker looking at her cell phone in a daze. The last time she tried to talk to her it didn't go so well, actually it didn't happen at all since she walked away, but she couldn't help but worry about her and wanted to check on her.
"Hey." Henley softly said as she came to a stop beside the redhead. When she didn't answer, she titled her head to the side and added,"Lydia? Are you okay?"
Lydia didn't say anything back in return, instead she handed her phone over to the brunette. Henley glanced down, seeing that she had been looking at a text message, then began to read out loud,"'Lydia, please give back my spare house key at your earliest convenience- As we are no longer dating'." Her head shot up in surprise, now she understand why she looked so down when she approached her.
"Seriously? He's breaking up with you again?" Henley rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she added,"Well at least he sent a text this time." This wasn't the first time they had broken up, but most of the time he just stopped taking her calls and ignoring her texts or either sent one of his teammates to do the dirty work for him.
"This must be a joke." Lydia said, a chuckle escaped her lips. "As soon as I see him, I'm getting to the bottom of this."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Henley questioned. She paused for a moment, wondering if she should try to give her advice like she normally would, in the end she couldn't help herself. "Look, Lyd, it's not that I don't think you should talk to him, because you do deserve answers, but you know how Jackson is. If you try to question him, especially here- in a very public place with people all around, he's going to act like an egotistical jerk and it's just going to upset you even more."
"Me upset?" Lydia asked as she feigned shock. "He's just a co-captain."
"Come on, Lyd, you know he's more than just that to you." Henley said, shooting her a concerned look. "It's okay to be upset-"
"I'm not upset." Lydia snapped as she jerked the phone from her hand. "And I don't need your help. I can handle this myself."
Without another word, the redhead slammed her locker shut then began to walk down the hall, leaving a disappointed Henley behind. For a moment, she thought things would just go back to normal between them, but apparently she was wrong.
She leaned back against the lockers as she watched Lydia walk away, her eyes scanning the halls for Jackson. Henley sighed, then mumbled to herself,"This isn't going to end well."
•••
A/N; Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to RHatch89, lilnightmare17, arisaisthebomb1, Mrs. IsaacLahey14, TheHungryRainbow, xxxRena, MsRose91, SquidaQdaloo, Ilovetoreadgirl, Guest, Mischief goddess, C. B. Weasley, elizaxbethx3, kalajmic, and Guest for reviewing.
Happy reading!
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