I am incredibly sorry for taking so long to post this chapter! This is where the story starts to divert from the basic plotline of the season, hope you enjoy my take on it. Thanks for the reviews from chapters previous and please keep on enjoying it! This chapter's song is "People Like Us" by: Kelly Clarkson.

Chapter 15: "People Like Us"

"Hey… everybody loses it,

Everybody wants to throw it all away sometimes

And hey… yeah I know what you're going through

Don't let it get the best of you, you'll make it out alive

Oh

People like us, we've gotta stick together

Keep your head up, nothing lasts forever

Here's to the damned, to the lost and forgotten

It's hard to get high when you're living on the bottom"

After the announcement from Stiles about the triple homicide before lunch, lacrosse was the furthest thing from Isaac's mind and Stiles was in the same boat. "Let's go investigate now. Sounds like it might be related to you-know-what." The teen detective pointed out his voice going into a whisper towards the end and Isaac rolled his eyes. "You mean supernatural?" Stiles turned and glared at him making a shushing noise and looking thoroughly paranoid as he peered around the hall at the students swapping classes and finally squeaked out, "Don't say that so loud, they can't know!" Allison and Isaac shared a look at that, if anyone put their world at risk of being revealed it would be Stiles and his big mouth discussing werewolves, huangs, and the like in the middle of the halls or in the locker room with Scott. "Regardless, I don't think we should go, we have Econ in five minutes and lacrosse after school." Scott butted in and the two teen boys looked at him aghast. "How can Econ even matter at a time like this?" Stiles groaned and Isaac nodded in time while Lydia and Allison looked about ready to add their voices to the dissenting side when Scott added, "Our parents want us to stay out of it. My mom says it was a human with an axe, nothing supernatural about that."

Kira nodded in agreement while Allison turned to Lydia and grinned at her friend. "We can still check it out, we both have free periods next." The redhead smirked back and nodded and Stiles and Isaac visibly relaxed while Scott and Kira tensed up. Malia would probably have gone with the two if she hadn't been pulled away by Ms. Fleming who was dying to offer her math help. "I don't think it's a good idea. Maybe we should leave this one to the adults." Kira decided and Stiles gaped at her. "I have never heard anything so irresponsible in my life!" He yelled as he stalked off towards Coach's room. The rest turned to Allison and Lydia who, after a reluctant nod from Scott, rushed towards the parking lot. This left Isaac standing awkwardly and watching them go while Scott and Kira whispered about the risks. "Lacrosse doesn't matter, they could use my help." The taller teen complained as he peered around Scott and Kira at the disappearing forms of Lydia and his girlfriend. "Are you implying that Allison can't handle it?" Scott asked a slight edge in his voice and Isaac went white at the idea as he quickly started stuttering excuses and Scott laughed, "I'm just playing bro, we all know you two are equals." As the trio walked in the same direction Stiles had gone moments before, Isaac couldn't help but look back at where Allison and Lydia had been before causing him to miss an exchange between Kira and Scott that left her looking dazed and him smiling. "Coming?" Scott asked and Isaac nodded reluctantly as he turned around and sighed, letting her go was always hard.

When they sat down, Scott's face went slack and his jaw dropped in shock as he turned to Isaac and Stiles and only managed an, "Oh shit." Looking at him after that, Scott shook his head and mouthed "Later" causing the other two teens to look at each other in confusion. After that, class had never gone as slowly as it did that day as the minutes ticked by counting down to the lunch bell and Allison and Lydia's return from their recon mission to the crime scene. Isaac's leg jiggled up and down and he tapped his pencil on the side of the desk in a steady drumming noise that drove Scott crazy and earned the Beta a growl. Without the tapping to distract him, Isaac just starred at the clock and counted down the minutes and seconds that they had left. "Earth to Lahey." Coach yelled suddenly causing him to look up and stare at the man in surprise. "Yes Coach?" He replied before leaning back slightly as Coach leaned in to yell at him with his breath stinking of whatever sugary treat he had had for breakfast this morning. "PAY ATTENTION!" The loud noise certainly left him no other option and Isaac nodded frantically before adding an extra, "Sir, yes sir." Coach chuckled at that one before nodding with pride at his success and backing off but not before adding, "Same respect and attitude on the pitch tonight Lahey, got it?" Isaac nodded in agreement just as the bell rang and they all took the blissful opportunity to escape with Isaac in the lead with his backpack unzipped and his papers and books swept up in a big mess in his long arms.

Practically sprinting through the halls like he was one of the new freshmen, Isaac made it to the cafeteria in record time where he found only Allison standing in line a few people ahead of him. Since they were only a few freshmen, he elbowed past and was soon standing next to her. "So…" He managed casually suddenly glad for the wolf powers that meant he wasn't sucking air like a wheezing 1950s pickup crawling up a nearly 90 degree hill after all his rushing about. Giggling, Allison leaned back and zipped up his backpack before answering him with a smile. "In a hurry much?" Rolling his eyes at that he spun his fingers in her father's infamous "keep going" gesture and she smiled at that; they really were surprisingly alike. "We made it to the house and got inside only to be called back by Deputy Parrish." Isaac's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to reply only to interrupted by a familiar human's voice. "Parrish? What was he doing there?" Looking around Allison in time to see Stiles there, Isaac was thoroughly confused while Allison gave Stiles a look and a sarcastic, "A deputy? At a crime scene? How unusual." That earned an "oh duh" look from Stiles and Isaac twirled his fingers again in the same gesture. "Anyways, he came in and asked us why we were there and Lydia gave her usual explanation, that she had known, and there was some discussion about being skeptical and…" Stiles interrupted her again and she glared at him as he groaned, "What about the triple homicide? I don't have time to hear about Lydia and Parrish's little moment." Grabbing a salad off the counter, Allison gave him a pointed glare and he shrank back before grabbing his own sandwich at the same time as Isaac. Leaving the line she turned back to both boys as she passed the lunch lady her money and smirked before finally answering, "They had a secret basement full of frozen bodies. Some were eaten off of."

The lunch lady didn't even looked fazed, it was like she heard about bodies and cannibalism every day, and just gestured for Isaac and Stiles to pay up. "Money?" She added for good measure as the shocked boys just stared at Allison and she groaned before taking the money out of their frozen hands and giving it to the lunch lady with a smile. Pulling them along with her, she was unsurprised when Isaac was the first to yell out, "Bodies?" Smiling at his shock she grabbed his hand as she pulled him out the door and Stiles followed behind them. "Like Jeffrey Dahmer munch on the body parts because we're INSANE kind of cannibalism?" Stiles yelled as he slammed his tray down beside Malia on their normal cement table and Allison nodded before adding, "So I left Lydia there and she and Parrish are taking care of that. On another note, I have just recently become a vegetarian." Malia's bark of a laugh caused a few nearby tables to look at them in surprise before turning back to their food. Their table had a slight reputation for being slightly off but they were, somehow, still popular so very few questioned it and just moved on. Kind of like the way the whole town dealt with the supernatural happenings that went on right under their noses. "Definitely either Eichen House or supernaturally related then." Isaac decided and Stiles nodded as he added, "This is definitely a Deaton problem." At the mention of Deaton, Allison and Isaac looked around and turned to Stiles and Malia asking in unison, "Where's Scott?"

Scott and Kira both never made an appearance at lunch and, since none of the rest had any classes with them for the rest of the day, they did not see them until lacrosse try outs. In the locker room, Stiles practically tackled Scott as he hollered, "Where were you?" Meanwhile, Isaac just rolled his eyes at the human's antics and gave Scott extra credit for tolerating them most of the time. "Dealing with stuff." He muttered before returning his attention to his ever-so-interesting shoe lace and the other two teens turned to their own bags knowing full well that Scott would tell them eventually; the morally uptight Alpha could never hide nor withhold information for long. "So I think I might have kissed Kira." The boy finally burst out and Stiles gaped at Scott while Isaac looked over suddenly interested. "And she won't talk to me." Stiles laughed and nudged his best friend in the ribs with a huge smirk. "That bad, bro? And it's kind of one of those things that you did or didn't do. There's no in between." Scott shook his head as he swapped out his t-shirt and Isaac watched the exchange, too involved with listening to remember to change. "No, that was like our actual first kiss and it was like the kiss you give your grandmother when you're five." Isaac rolled his eyes in disbelief at that, it had been months since they'd gotten together after all, and returned to getting ready while Stiles explained that that was a "chaste" kiss while Scott made the worst mistake a male could make as he asked whether he should text her to clear things up, "Absolutely not, texting only makes it worse." Isaac butted in and Stiles nodded in time as Scott sighed and looked about ready to respond until a yell from Coach ordered their asses onto the field and the three boys grabbed the rest of their gear and followed the burly loud man out the door.

Walking onto the field as a line of unprepared juniors with masks, sticks, and shoes in hand, the three boys were faced by a disappointed looking Coach and a smirking shorter boy with icy blue eyes. "Is that him?" Isaac hissed out the side of his mouth and Stiles barely had time to nod in confirmation before Coach yelled out them, "Get yourselves together!" Scrambling to put their gear on as the rest of the boys laughed, the three missed the entrance of Kira, Malia, and Allison as the three girls sat on the bleachers. If one didn't know better they might have thought that they were all normal teens with the girls dating the cute lacrosse players when in reality they were anything but. At the screech of Coach's whistle, Isaac was drawn out of his contemplations and back onto the field abruptly as Coach started to yell. "LISTEN UP! This is an open try out today. All positions are available. This is a rebuilding season because we've lost Jackson, and Matt, but not Greenberg; nope he got held back…again." At the bouts of laughter, Coach blew his whistle again and gave an inarticulate yell to regain the boy's attention. "No position is safe. Now get out there and show me what you can do." Running off with Stiles at his shoulder, Isaac glanced back in time to see Scott talking fast with Coach about his Captain's position.

Deciding that it wasn't his problem, the captaincy was Scott's after all and Isaac didn't have the time to deal with that, he and Stiles ran on chasing the younger guys and the few seniors that had been there last year. Before long, Stiles had fallen back and was huffing and puffing like he was the asthmatic and not Scott. Chuckling silently to himself as Isaac suddenly found it ironic that Stiles had been worried about him and Scott not being in enough shape to handle this; silly human. Speeding up without the deadweight pace of his friend to hold him back, Isaac caught up to the freshman with the icy blue eyes and heard his even breathing despite the clip that they were going at. Was this kid a supernatural of some sort too? Soon Scott was running beside him and the three ran the last three laps together with the freshman trying, and failing, to pass the two taller and older teen wolves. As the three came into the home stretch, he feigned as if he was about to take out Isaac causing the tall teen to stumble and Scott to move to catch him giving the little freshman ample time to sprint between them and finish a length ahead. "Good job Liam! And uh you too Scott and Isaac." That at least gave him a name, Isaac mulled as Coach added his and Scott's names as an afterthought. While the rest of the pack of teen boys ran in followed by Stiles in the rear and the second he passed the line he promptly fell onto the ground in a pile of uncoordinated limbs. "Stiles?" Coach called stalking over as Scott offered him an arm up while Isaac searched around for Stiles' water bottle and quickly fended off the burly man with a question about their next exercise. "This isn't human What is he like a were-cheetah? Does that even exist? Is that a thing?" Stiles moaned and panted between heaving breaths and Scott shook his head with a small sigh, "No, he's just that good." At a sudden gagging sound from Stiles, followed by a groan of, "I'm gonna puke, take me somewhere." Scott helped him off the field and Isaac looked on sadly shaking his head.

The next few exercises had Liam and Isaac in the lead with Scott looking thoroughly average and Stiles looking absolutely terrible. Despite Stiles' past accomplishments, the team kept bursting out laughing every time the skinny, raven haired teen crashed to the ground of missed a shot or caught air instead of the ball. "What is going on out there?" Isaac asked as he ran up to Scott who managed an, "I don't know, just having an off day." Stiles glared at him from where he was leaning forward hands on his knees and chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath before adding, "Off day? You were dying out there! I feel actual physical pain watching you." Good old Stiles, never too winded for a snarky remark. Scott shrugged, "I don't want to use the wolf powers, it's cheating." Morally upright, more like morally uptight was all Isaac had time to muse before Stiles turned to his best friend and brother and managed to gasp out, "Human Scott sucks." The Beta nodded in agreement as he clapped his Alpha on the shoulder and squeezed lightly in empathetic understanding. "It's not cheating to use all the tools at your disposal." Scott's face lit up at that, sometimes all it took to convince him it was okay was a little change in perspective. Perhaps in the future that wouldn't be so good, but at the present moment it was probably for the best. "Two-on-ones. Scott and Stiles you're defending. Just…do better, okay?" The last part was in a lowered tone as he passed the two boys the long sticks and then turned and whistled continuously until the rest of the team formed a long line with Liam in the middle and Isaac right behind him keeping an eye on him. Although he wasn't as obsessed with lacrosse as Scott and Stiles still were or even as much as he had been, he knew that Scott needed this at a time when nothing else seemed to be going right.

Suddenly Scott and Stiles were working together in tandem like a well oiled team, the only one who noted the reason for the change was Isaac as he recognized the sudden flash of red behind Scott's mask and Stiles' smirk as he saw his friend's eye color change too. "We're back baby!" He crowed as they blocked the first group of ten teens and Coach had gone from disappointed and grinning from ear to ear as he called out, "See these boys? They're like sons to me! Do you good to learn from them!" Trust Coach to turn praise into a lesson, Isaac mused as he smiled at Scott's excitement at something going well for them for the first time this week. The teen needed it, but it wouldn't last long judging from this Liam kid's smirk as he pulled his helmet on dramatically and muttered under his breath, "I know what I'm doing already, I don't need to learn." Isaac rolled his eyes at the angsty anger he could feel and smell rolling off the shorter boy in front of him. "Be careful, you might be surprised by how much there is to know." He warned him as the boy glanced back at the tall junior in surprise before rolling his eyes and making an annoyed snorting noise that Isaac just chuckled at. Not so long ago he had been just like this kid, angry at the world and unable to control it. "Bite me!" Liam growled under his breath and Isaac snorted at the young man's anger, yep just like how he had been. "LIAM!" Coach roared and the freshman spun around and gripped his stick tightly as he waited for the countdown. At his whistle, the boy dashed forward before bobbing and twisting around Stiles, faking towards one side and then sending the ball straight into the opening that Scott left as his concentration broke.

"That was just luck! I call for a do over!" A scream came from the bleachers and Isaac turned slowly with a wince in time to see Malia standing up and Kira and Allison trying to pull her back down. Coach snorted at that as he hollered back, "There are no 'do overs' in practice sweetheart." Despite Allison and Kira's efforts, Malia was still standing and had time to yell out, "10 bucks on Scott and Stiles!" As the other two supernatural girls finally managed to pull her back into her seat, Coach grinned maniacally at that as he fired back, "I'll take that action. Run it through again Liam." Isaac tried not to show his anxiety for Stiles and Scott as the two looked at each other and sighed in acceptance that they couldn't get out of this rematch. Scott raised his head and tensed his shoulders as his eyes flashed red at the same time as Coach's whistle screeched and Liam took off. As the two teens met with a resounding smack of pads, crack of sticks, and thud of bodies crashing to the ground, Isaac rushed forward already knowing the results of the tackle. The Alpha quickly leapt up while Liam rolled about on his back clutching his leg. "I'm fine!" The boy winced out and Issac rolled his eyes, he could smell the pain, heard the crack of his ankle breaking, and knew the boy was lying through his teeth. Kneeling down beside the pained human, Isaac reached out and took the broken stick from him with one hand while the other held him still so Coach, who had arrived moments later, could assess his injuries. "Lahey and Stilinski get him to the nurse's office. McCall get the doors for them. The rest of you, go run a lap, NOW!" As everyone rushed off to run their lap and Isaac and Stiles picked up the moaning Liam, Coach spun around and sent the ball spiraling towards the bleachers in his anger. It would have crashed into the top of Malia's head as she bent down to tie her boot laces if Kira hadn't launched forward and caught it in the nick of time with the lacrosse stick that she had been toying around with for the entirety of try outs.

The further they walked towards the school, the less the boys caught of the conversation but it was enough to hear Coach offering Kira a spot on the team before she and Malia ran after them. Allison had been far ahead of them and was at the door holding it open for them leaving Scott jobless. He, therefore, held back as Isaac and Stiles carried him past Allison and into the building. Since Stiles kept peering back at where Malia was hanging back just inside the doorway. "We've got him." She reassured Stiles with a smile taking Liam's other arm and helping Isaac get him into the locker room. "Nurse is already closed. Think it's more than a sprain too." Isaac nodded, he'd sussed out as much from the way that the injury smelled and the sound that he had heard. "So the hospital it is." Liam glared at them both in turns as he again added, "I'm fine." Both juniors looked knowingly at each other and Allison smirked slightly as she replied, "If you're so fine, why don't you just walk in there and get yourself changed."

The freshman accepted the challenge and stepped on his unhurt foot with all his weight at the same time as Isaac and Allison let go. "See just fine." He gritted through his teeth as the two nodded knowing what was about to come next. When Liam placed all his weight on the hurt leg, his body absolutely crumbled into a pile of limbs and moans of pain. "Maybe not so fine." The amended statement made Isaac chuckle as he pulled him up and Allison took his other arm and helped him into the locker room with a shared smile. "Go get changed." Allison's tone softened as Liam finally succumbed to the inevitability of having to be cared for and nodded obediently as they helped him to his locker and he grabbed out his things. "Will I be okay?" This question was directed at Isaac who grinned at him reassuringly, "Of course you will, we know a good nurse at the hospital who will fix your right up." The boy nodded and grabbed his clothes as Allison and Isaac turned to give him some privacy. "You know you can't fix him right?" Allison asked her voice so low that there was no way that the human could hear and Isaac looked over at her with a sad smile, "When helped by the right people, people like him and you and I will fix ourselves." She looked at him knowingly, "No matter what Scott says then, you want to help him?" Isaac nodded as he closed his eyes and remembered a similar angry boy with scars across his chest and back that he hid through lacrosse, and a thick black leather jacket and matching bad boy attitude. "I have to. People like us are the only ones who can."

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I will attempt to update very soon, cannot say when due to academic and social obligations. In the meantime, as always, read, enjoy, and review!